Religion as social institution

   Religion is the set of beliefs and practices regarding sacred things that help society understand the meaning and purpose of life. Religion as a social institution answers questions and explains the the seemingly inexplicable. Religion provides explanations for why things happen and helps understand them too. Religion helps unite many people around a city, state, and a country. When people unite due to religion, it helps teach many people about the religion of others. Many people become influenced by religion and so they want to teach it to others and make them understand other religions. Whenever families attend religious services or if they put up some decorations in honor of holidays, they are teaching the children and others about their religion and how to observe it. By engaging in these activities, children and adults are united with others of the same or different religion around the world. In this way, families teach their own culture as well as the culture of the society at large. 

    We tend to think of religion in individual terms because religious beliefs and values are highly personal for many people. However, religion is also a social institution, as it involves patterns of beliefs and behavior that help a society meet its basic needs. Religion determines the way most people act towards certain things in life. For example, some people accept gay marriage because of the religion, but others in a different religion would not accept that. Everyone has their own set of beliefs and practices.
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