Introduction  

Evidence indicates that people have had religious beliefs since pre-historic times. These beliefs usually include supernatural explanations for the existence and nature of the universe. One common supernatural element is a god, or group fo gods, who may have created the universe, and who control everything that happens in it.

Religious beliefs are usually shared by members of a particular community or society, and are passed down from one generation to the next. This sharing is often achieved through teaching, worship, and participation in rituals, all of which generally take place in traditional settings. The resulting commonality of beliefs tends to encourage conformity to the prevailing views and moral values of the society.

Many religions represent an attempt to answer basic questions about the human experience and the meaning of life. They typically try to explain suffering, the existence of evil, and what happens after a person dies. The answers to such questions are often sought in sacred writings preserved from the distant past.

In the broadest sense, a religion is any belief system that provides a set of teachings about ultimate reality, the meaning of life, and how an individual should behave. This definition could include various philosophies, deism, agnosticism, spirituality, and even atheism under its umbrella.

A number of beliefs and practices are common to many religions. These include the study of sacred texts, the belief in reincarnation or some other type of afterlife, rites, stigmata, and prophesy.

Religion Gateway was created to serve as a guide to some of the religious resources available on the web. However, it doesn't provide links to websites that advocate violence, slavery, or religious oppression. It also doesn't list sites which promote gambling or pornography, or encourage aberrant sexual practices or child abuse.

Sections  

• Buddhism
  Web resources pertaining to the various branches of Buddhism

• Hinduism
  Websites that relate to Hinduism

• Islam
  Websites about Islam

• Christianity
  Web resources that relate to various Christian denominations and sects

• Judaism
  Websites pertaining to Judaism

• Other Traditional Religions
  Web resources about Confucianism, Jainism, and other traditional oriental belief systems

• More Religions
  Websites about various other religions

• Skepticism
  Websites which express or promote a skeptical view of organized religions

• Some Common Themes
  Descriptions of some ideas and themes common to many religions

• Other Resources
  Other useful web resources about religion

Religion Gateway is a non-commercial ad-free site. The image at the top of each page, a depiction of a Buddhist Mandala, is a public domain work reproduced courtesy of WikiMedia Commons.

In web directories, Religion Gateway may be listed in the categories such as Religion, Spirituality, or Society.