Religion is a complex and overruling aspect of human history that over the course of countless events, situations, and settings, religion has been the root cause for human thought, conflict, and ultimately a great part of history. Clearly, each of the different religious groups and beliefs, such as Judaism, Christianity, Islam, Hinduism, etc. Although, the religious groups almost have more similarities than they do differences, different than what may seem on the surface; but when looking historically beneath the mere outline/structure of the religions, they share so much that it almost contradicts the entire reason for having multiple religious beliefs and practices. It breaks down to really one primary difference: that is the difference between “do” and “do not”. Now, it may seem obvious and elementary, but when looking at it from strictly a historical perspective, it explains so much of the history regarding religions. Religion has revolved around a series of rules or beliefs that have been set according to a god, physical ruler, a king (basically anyone in a seat of power or influence over a certain group of people), and the followers and believers of a religion would be determined so based on the extent to which those rules were observed and acted upon. Accordingly so, religions had seen the most spreading and expanding during the time when a ruler either ruled under or over a certain religion as it had interfered with the politics of history, and therefore, more people following the “Dos” and “Do Nots”, or the rules of a religion, means more followers; the religion would further grow in size, placement, and importance in human history. I quote: “Instead of rules that were to be followed, religion became a set of beliefs that followers needed to embody by what they did, not what they did not do...the very "truths" of these religions, open to interpretation, change as humanity changes.” Essentially, this is saying that religion had transformed into something comparable to a rulebook or guidelines to which people abided by throughout their lives, following and believing the religion they saw fit best for them and their individual lives. What happens when it is individuality that plays a key component in the growing and setting of religions? Individual interpretation. People had begun to determine what religion means to them on their own, based on their own lives. These personal meanings clearly went to effect what it meant to be a follower of a certain religion, as that religion’s identity and/or rules (Dos or Do-Nots) may change as well. So, it makes sense to say that religion changed and progressed as human history progressed as well. Now, the world continues to adjust and gauge itself to the concept of religion on a Do versus Do-Not basis rather than looking at it as something that unifies a group of people together based off of a common belief. Don’t get me wrong, religion is still a communal label and brings together the people that share it, but it has developed into a general rule book of ways of life, but how those rules are interpreted and executed are entirely variable, up to the individual. In that way, religions are not that much different as they all serve as an overarching rulebook by which humanity can follow in order to gain something in their lives or for whatever personal reason it may be, but religion has become so much more personal and individual than it has communally or generally speaking. This may be as a result of the progressing history or accomplishments like mobility, where religion has the ability to move with the individual to individual places, not staying in one greater area and being forced upon those constituents, not changing as everyone was subject to the same thing; but when people could spread out, it pertained more to them alone than to a greater crowd, allowing it to individualize itself. That being just one explanation, religion progresses with history, and because of that progression, religion means something entirely different than it did throughout all moments in history. Although, one thing has not changed: religion is something that tells you what to do and what not to do. But just like religion as a whole did, the interpretation and execution of those dos and dont’s altered as well.
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