As above, every religion has a number of proofs that they are correct, each deny every other religion, and each are convinced that they are the one true religion.
How are we any different from the rest of the world religions.
**Most religions (at least those with some age on them) developed in specific cultures. People of a specific region or tribe had their specific deity or deities and norm,practices, teachings. When they ran into a different tribe, they understood that the other tribe had their specific deities etc. If the tribes merged, the ideas would often merge as well. People didn’t always believe that their religion was right for everyone. They had a more tribal understanding of it.
If tribes came to war, the conquered tribe would often have to give up their gods and follow the religion of the conqueror, but still, it was not uncommon for the religions to merge. The idea was that perhaps the gods of the conquered people might have “rule” over that area or region and it would be good to preserve relations with them.
People believed their religion was right, because it worked for them, everyone they knew practiced it. It was one of the things that kept the tribe working together in harmony. It was important to daily survival.
For most of human history, people have not had acess to a cafeteria of religions. Most people had little exposure to other religions, and even fewer has the idea that there was one right religion that everyone needed to believe. Polytheism was the norm, and if there can be more than one god, then it was not all that surprising to find out people of a different land knew of different gods. Religion was not a choice, it was inherent in one’s culture, like language, dress and food.
As people began to interact on a wider scale, and began to mix cultures they came into contact with other belief systems.Monotheistic religions are inherently more intolerant of other faiths. If there is only one god, then all others must be false. If a faith is important to a group, and the group is monotheistic, they cannot tolerate the belief and worship of other gods, and those other gods are a threat to their own god. In order to protect their tribe and it’s belief system (and mind you, at the point in civilization when this was taking place religion was so pervasive as to be indistinguishable from the culture of a tribe itself) it was an actual threat to the survival of a people to allow another belief system to infiltrate.
For monotheists, one cant just adopt another god into the pantheon and get on with things. One must prove, to keep one’s people together, that their one god is the only god.
Even today, polytheists are basically tolerant of other belief systems. They do have a problem with monotheism because, obviously, monotheism by its very definition insults their belief system. Many religions still hold that they have truth for their own participants, but accept that people who serve other gods are not under obligation to their gods.
The idea that “my belief is the only belief” is a monotheistic viewpoint, not a universal viewpoint.
Now because we have such a global community, we are exposed to the ideas of many religions, and because holding the same faith as our neighbors is not critical to our very survival, people explore and change faiths. It is clearly not a “death sentence” to do this in this earthly life. Some faiths teach that to change faiths is a “death sentence” in the afterlife. This helps hold the community together. Teaching that your faith is the only faith and that eternity hangs in the balance helps unite the group against the outside threats posed by the multitude of ideas and beliefs we now come in contact with.
It is a modernized version of “lets win this war and prove our gods are stronger!”.
Religion is a very powerful and effective cultural tool. It can provide a much needed “tribe” in a society where, though surrounded by people, the individual often feels isolated.
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On a side note, if everyone in the world is convinced that their religion is correct, how can anyone go to hell?
**Again, not everyone believes their religion is the correct one for everyone. A great many religions don’t worry over what other faiths believe unless those beliefs begin to infringe on their rights and freedoms.
Most religions believe you are only bound by the teachings of your own faith.**
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