Humanities

===Religion===
<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Beckford |first1=James A. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=vA8edg7bv0kC&dq=religion+and+sociology+SAGE+publications&pg=PR5 |title=The SAGE Handbook of the Sociology of Religion |last2=Demerath |first2=Jay |date=2007-10-29 |publisher=SAGE |isbn=978-1-4462-0652-2 |language=en}}</ref>
''[[Religious Studies]]'' is commonly regarded as a [[social science]]. Based on current knowledge, it seems that all known cultures, both in the past and present, have some form of belief system or religious practice. While there may be isolated individuals or groups who do not practice any form of religion, it is not known if there has ever been a society that was entirely devoid of religious belief. The definition of religion is not universal, and different cultures may have different ideas about what constitutes religion. Religion may be characterized with a '''community''' since humans are [[The Social Animal (Aronson book)|social animals]].<ref>{{Cite book|last=Aristotle|title=Politica|publisher=Oxford|year=1941|location=New York|pages=1253a}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|last=Berger|first=Peter|title=The Sacred Canopy|publisher=Doubleday and Company|year=1969|isbn=978-0385073059|location=New York|pages=7}}</ref> '''[[Ritual]]s''' are used to bound the community together.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Stephenson|first=Barry|title=Rituals|publisher=Oxford|year=2015|isbn=978-0199943524|location=New York}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|last=Bell|first=Catherine|title=Ritual|publisher=Oxford|year=2009|isbn=978-0199735105|location=New York}}</ref> Social animals require rules. '''[[Ethics]]''' is a requirement of society, but not a requirement of religion. Shinto, Daoism, and other folk or natural religions do not have ethical codes. While some religions do include the concept of deities, others do not. Therefore, the supernatural does not necessarily require the existence of deities. Rather, it can be broadly defined as any phenomena that cannot be explained by science or reason.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Hood|first=Bruce|title=The Science of Superstition|publisher=HarperOne|year=2010|isbn=978-0061452659|location=New York|pages=xii}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Bowie |first=Fiona |title=The Anthropology of Religion: An Introduction |date=2000-02-29 |publisher=Wiley-Blackwell |isbn=978-0-631-20848-8 |location=Malden, Mass. |language=English}}</ref> '''[[Magical thinking]]''' creates explanations not available for empirical verification. '''Stories''' or [[myth]]s are narratives being both didactic and entertaining.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Segal|first=Robert|title=Myth|publisher=Oxford|year=2015|isbn=978-0198724704|location=New York|pages=3}}</ref> They are necessary for understanding the human predicament. Some other possible characteristics of religion are pollutions and purification,<ref>{{Cite book|last=Douglas|first=Mary|title=Purity and Danger|publisher=Routledge|year=2002|isbn=978-0415289955|location=London and New York}}</ref> the sacred and the profane,<ref>{{Cite book|last=Eliade|first=Mircea|title=The Sacred and the Profane|publisher=Harvest|year=1959|location=New York}}</ref> sacred texts,<ref>{{Cite book|last=Coward|first=Harold|title=Sacred Word and Sacred Text|publisher=Orbis Books|year=1988|isbn=978-0883446041|location=Maryknoll, NY}}</ref> religious institutions and organizations,<ref>{{Cite book|last=Berger|first=Peter|title=The Sacred Canopy|publisher=Anchor|year=1990|isbn=978-0385073059|location=New York}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|last=McGuire|first=Meredith|title=Religion: The Social Context|publisher=Wadsworth|year=2002|isbn=0-534-54126-7|location=Belmont, CA}}</ref> and sacrifice and prayer. Some of the major problems that religions confront, and attempts to answer are chaos, suffering, evil,<ref>{{Cite book|last=Kelly|first=Joseph|title=The Problem of Evil in the Western Tradition|publisher=Liturgical Press|year=1989|isbn=0-8146-5104-6|location=Collegeville, Minnesota}}</ref> and death.<ref>{{Citation|last=Becker|first=Ernest|title=The denial of death|date=2009|pages=ix|publisher=Macmillan|isbn=978-0029023105}}</ref>

The non-founder religions are [[Hinduism]], [[Shinto]], and [[Ethnic religion|native or folk religions]]. Founder religions are [[Judaism]], [[Christianity]], [[Islam]], [[Confucianism]], [[Taoism|Daoism]], [[Mormonism]], [[Jainism]], [[Zoroastrianism]], [[Buddhism]], [[Sikhism]], and the [[Baháʼí Faith]]. Religions must adapt and change through the generations because they must remain relevant to the adherents. When traditional religions fail to address new concerns, then new religions will emerge.