James G Frazer considered Religion as a belief in power superior to man which are believed to direct and control the course of nature and Human life.
Elements of Religion:
Supernatural and the Sacred: At the centre of almost every religion lies the idea of the supernatural. It is something beyond physical understanding. It is omnipotent infinite or extraordinary. According to E.B.Tylor Belief in supernatural begins is called religion.
Belief in the supernatural begins might also include belief in other kinds of begins like magic forces, angles or soul of dead ancestors, believers might arrange the supernatural begins in a hierarchy according to their power or they may differentiate the supernatural begins in terms of their functions. It should be interesting to note that Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva, the three Hindu Gods, are said to perform the function of creation of the cosmic order, its maintenance and destruction, respectively.
Beliefs and practice: Religious belief is a system of knowledge about the divine and its relationship with the human. It is simply not enough to believe in the existence of a supernatural force. The knowledge of its existence must be explained to people and to generations to come. Belief serves this purpose of revealing the existence of the supernatural or divine or the sacred. Belief explains the nature of the divine.
Provides Moral Prescriptions: Religion is the source of moral values, and religion without moral prescription is virtually not possible. Religion can distinguish between the right and the wrong, more powerful than other social institutions.
Methods of Salvation: Methods of salvation constitutes another elements of Religion. If may be in various forms like attaining moksha, Nirvana, Salvation, and the Christian has a redeemer in Christ, the son of God, who gave his life for man’s Sin. In short religion is the institutionalized set of beliefs men hold about super natural forces belief are formalized and regularized.
