.... largest religion today. This religion has been seeing a lot of people leaving this religion and joining other churches. But even though many people are changing to other religions, there are also many people leaving their churches and converting to Roman Catholicism. It has been growing rapidly in the last few years. “Today we are seeing more than a hundred and fifty thousand converts enter each year in the United States� (Catholic Answers). From what I can see the Roman Catholic Religion will continue to grow and prosper. It is a well-established religion that has been around for many years. It can be found in many different places all .....

.... and each of them wore a black garment. Along with all of their neatly organized possessions was a patch on their arm that said, "Heaven’s Gate, Away Team." The leader’s of heaven’ Gate were Marshall Applewhite and Bonnie Nettles. They believed that the humans above all others sent Jesus to teach on how to get to the "Kingdom of God." They carried on this belief, but in a different form. They said that a UFO would come and take them to the level of the "Kingdom of God." The ability to accomplish this was by leaving behind the body in which their soul live. To prepare themselves, each person gave up possessions, hid who they were, watched th .....

.... the incorporation of the saints added something new to their religion. Because of this they included into their rituals statues of the saints, candles, and other Christian relics. It is combinations like this that form religions such as Santeria, a blend of Voodoo and Spanish Catholicism, that proves what a malleable religion it is. Voodoo has spread throughout the world into major communities on Rio de Janeiro, New Orleans, Miami, and New York city. Vodoun has as many as 50 million followers throughout the world now. Although varieties of this religion occur in different regions there are some basic tenets common among them. They all believe .....

.... eleven through thirteen, the creation of vegetation is explained. God called for every plant that comes from a seed, and every fruit tree that bears fruit with the seed in it. God again saw the goodness. The third day ended with night, which was followed by morning. In verses fourteen through nineteen, the creation of morning light, night light, and the stars was explained. Also, he used these to mark the fixed time, days, and years. God saw the goodness, and the fourth day ended with night, which was followed by morning. In verses twenty through twenty-three, the creation of creatures that live in the sea, and winged animals were formed. .....

.... several questions. What is God? Does God exist? If such God does exist, then where does this being come from? Why do believers and non-believers hold on to their beliefs as they do? What significance does the existence of God have upon mankind? These are only the tip of the iceberg amongst the vast array of unanswered questions related to God. Though there are so many uncertainties as we have just mentioned, the existence of all other uncertainties in our world may explain why the existence of God is so real to many people. For the believers, God provides a convenient answer to all these questions except for the answers regarding God itsel .....

.... church and state. That wall must be kept high and impregnable. We could not approve the slightest breach.� (Barton, Original… p.13) This exact case began the reversal of Supreme Court trends and opinions that had lasted for one hundred and fifty years. Now, for almost fifty years, the Supreme Court , and the United States population in general, has used the phrase “separation of church and state� when referring to the religion clause of the 1st Amendment. The 1st amendment's actual wording is “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion or prohibiting the free exercise thereof.� (Barton, America: To… p.15) .....

.... that every man, despite size, color, religious preference, or personal background, should assume responsibility for his actions. Throughout time men who have entered the courthouses scattering the United States, like the colorful leaves scattered across peoples' yards during autumn, have pleaded innocence - blaming parents and their unjust upbringing. They scream to the jury that it really wasn't their fault, but the fault of their parents because if they had a perfect childhood then they wouldn't have committed the crime. It is true that the values that children develop in their early years are important in influencing future decisions but how .....

.... as a way of recognition of our existence. As human beings we have a difficulty in accepting death and an ending of our personal existence. Different types of religions, beliefs and gods evolved, along with prayer. There are different types of prayer. From quiet contemplation to complete ectasy or chaos in my opinion. Religious orders, specifically, differentiate from contemplative cloistered to active, or a little of both. Once I visited a different church with a friend and I found it incredibly hard to accept the way born again christians prayed so freely and openly compared to quiet contemplation, in a contemplative cloistered monastery with .....

.... political climate. Both the Papacy and the King of France would be stern upholders of traditional Catholic ways. Luther being German gave him immediate sympathy within the German state governments. And, with the rise of nationalism at the time helped to protect him in spreading his ideas. The Protestant League gave them a form of political power against the rest of Europe also. Until , Catholicism was a uniting force in Europe. Since all people there, other than Jews, were members of the Church, there was a sense of solidarity, which would never exist again in Europe after the Reformation. The power of the Church, then, was both religious and .....

.... of telerance society should not cross. Firstly, what distinguishes cults from religions is the manner in which they operate. Cults are designed with a view of insulating the individual from the rest of society. Once a member of a cult, in most cases, the individual is removed of most (if not all) of their personal autonomy. Most decisions are made by the cult leader, access to the outside world is often denied, and all information about the outside world is distorted by the leader. These types of operations should be intolerable by society. Second, there should be no tolerance for ‘religions' that espouse any form of sacrifice, be it human .....