Religion is one of the most significant efforts to answer the most profound questions of human existence. Where do we come from? What should we do while we are here? Why is there so much suffering and pain in life? What is our ultimate destiny and how do we get there? Religion serves many human needs by helping cope with tragedy, by giving hope for practical benefits or blessings, and by drawing us into a community through which we can accomplish things we could not do on our own. Religion has inspired much of the greatest art in history and reflects our sense of wonder about ourselves and the universe.

Some scholars have speculated about the origins of religion. Some of these theories state that religion grew out of a pre-scientific attempt to manipulate nature for human ends, or that it was an attempt to appease ancestor spirits, or was simply a projection of childhood fantasies and fears that make us feel more secure in an unfeeling universe. Others have seen religion in a more favorable light, noting that it has a positive influence on people; leads to an integrated relationship with others and the cosmos; that it represents a true encounter with the deepest and most mysterious levels of reality; or that it both reflects and prompts the highest levels of human growth and personal integration.

Scholars today strive to study religion in a way that is unbiased and that assumes all religions are worthy of study. This is difficult since we tend to bring assumptions from the religion with which we were reared or from the dominant culture. Because of the diversity among religions, scholars now talk about elements that appear in varying degrees in the different spiritual paths. They include a belief system, a community that embraces it, central stories called myths, ceremonies or rituals, material expressions, ethical guidelines, characteristic emotions or experiences that occur, and a sense of the sacred. Conceptions of the sacred are very diverse. Examples are a transcendent personal God, an immanent pantheistic power, and polytheism, or multiple gods. Other paths embrace atheism, agnosticism, or nontheism.

Use of symbolic images and actions conveys religious truth or ideas in a powerful way and may suggest a sort of universal language spoken by religions. The comparative study of religion also has proposed three patterns of similarity and difference among religions. The first pattern concerns beliefs and practices in orientation toward the sacred. It identifies the sacramental, the prophetic, and the mystical orientation. The second pattern deals with views of the world and life, such as the nature of the sacred itself, the nature of the universe and humanity's place in it, conceptions of time, human purpose, the role of words and scriptures, and notions of inclusiveness and exclusiveness. The third pattern addresses views of male and female according to both prescribed social roles and conceptions of deity. These three patterns provide useful reference points for comparison and contrast between religions.

Religious studies as a discipline has grown in complexity and sophistication in over two hundred years of development. It draws on many disciplines because religion has influenced so many areas of life. Today the study of religion offers many insights and pleasures. It assists us in understanding the experiences of others and helps us to better interpret the complexity of the world and our place in it.