• In a belief in a POWER higher

• In having “HOLY WRITINGS”

• In having “HOLY PLACES”

• In having a number of IMPORTANT PEOPLE

• In having a set of SYMBOLS

• In having a PLACE OF WORSHIP

• In having a LITURGY of observances

• In their belief in the “GOLDEN RULE”

1. In their idea of SIN or EVIL

• Some believe man is basically evil.

• Others believe that he is good, but corrupted by society’s rules

• Others that he is a part of nature & neither evil nor good except in the sense that he does not conform to nature

2. In their idea of SALVATION

• Some religions are MESSIANIC - salvation from one divine person or deity

• Others see their god as remote

3. In their idea of PRIESTHOOD

• Some believe a select group of men act as official intermediaries

• The “power” or authority given this group is different for each religion

• Others believe worship is a personal matter & no priest class exists

4. In their idea of a PERSONAL GOD

• Some religions believe their god can communicate personally with each human being

• Can be contacted, persuaded, involved

• Others believe that their god is unreachable; man is on his own to find answers

• Yet others believe that their god is “immanent”

• Can be experienced and known)

• God is “transcendent” (beyond the limits of experience and knowledge)

• To become SUB-DIVIDED into groups

Conservative

Orthodox

Traditional

Middle of the Road

Contemporary

Reform

Others

• To oscillate between INTELLECTUALITY & EMOTION

• To move from POLYTHEISM (many gods) to MONOTHEISM (one God)

• To feature SACRIFICE for purposes  of THANKS, PETITION, REPARATION, INTERCESSION, WORSHIP

• To be DIVISIVE, self-perpetuating and self conscious