Jake Wilson

Mrs. Thomas
UWRT 1103
21 October 2015
After discussing my inquiry proposal with my classmates I think it is safe to say that I will be
sticking with my topic of religion. My classmates enjoyed and understood my proposal because
it was clear and relatable, which were my goals. I plan on going more in depth about religion and
how connects to myself and the others around me. I am happy with what I accomplished in this
second draft and the proposal in general. It raised the questions I wanted and I cant wait to find
the answers in my future research.
Why Religion?
For as long as Humans have been roaming the earth, they have had beliefs and values.
These have literally defined every event and every story ever told and gave them meaning.
Meaning is all humans search for, using their unique beliefs and values to do so. As humans
progressed through history and began to become more organized, religion, which is collection of
beliefs and values in a group a people took shape. People lived and still live today based on their
religion. I do not have a question I am asking yet, but what I am researching is how religion
effected and is changing human life today.
I was lead to the question of Why Religion? by Religion itself. The reasoning is
because when I was thinking to myself about what would be something that can be relatable to
every human and have the same genuine effect? Everyone knows about religion and everyone

has different viewpoints on it. Each human being has their own beliefs and values, even people
who arent religious. Today religion is still one of the most talked about and debated about
topics and likely will be for the rest of human time. No one will settle for some elses beliefs
which what makes it so unique and also so dangerous. Research in religion today is asking
questions like, Is it responsible for the development of civilization? and What is the effect of
religion on creativity and innovation, and its relationship to human nature?
Going back in history Religion was the vocal point of society, Religion was society and
in some places it still is today. The oldest religion in the world is Hinduism which has
Approximately 1.2 Billion followers and only the third largest religion, began in Egypt around
4000 BCE. The next two largest would be Islam and then Christianity. The first human
civilizations were created around 3500 BC, it can be and is assumed that religion, Hinduism, is
key factor in this development in the Middle East. As more and more civilizations were build
more and more religions were formed all across the world. As time went on all these religions
and their beliefs began to vary more and more until the inevitability of conflict came to light
between different religions. As everyone knows, history is defined by conflict, the first human vs
human major conflicts were over territory. But as these religious conflicts grew they became
some of the most iconic and important. Everyone knows the victor of conflicts and wars writes
the history books but in these circumstances the victors religion became dominant and
bystanders had no choice to convert. And of course as time went these bystanders would
eventually stand up and create a civil war which is a very well know theme throughout human
history. After learning all this I am even more interested in religion and how simple beliefs and
values shaped society and still change us today.

The connection to my classmates would be direct because it connects directly to

everyone. Everyone is involved in a religion today and effected by all the other religions. If there
was one thing that connects every human being it would be religion because everyone holds
beliefs and values.
I knew the importance of religion already and how much it really effects society has a
whole. I knew this because its everywhere, in every culture and society, and some of the biggest
events take place in the name of religion. As you grow up you learn about how devoted people
are to their religion and how they live their life around it. Also I was raised in a religion and put
into church before had any idea of what it was all about, which most likely happens to the
majority of kids today. Kids today are fed knowledge which contradicts what other kids are told.
So once they are adults so are completely sold on their beliefs and theirs only, so when someone
who was taught something different disagrees, a conflict arises. This is seen all the time today,
arguments and debates over things with nothing to do with religion, and the only reason there is
an argument is because the two side dont share the same beliefs and values and have a different
viewpoint on the topic. Because of this I knew how big of a role religion had in todays diverse
society.
By writing this inquiry I have already thought of more in depth questions about religion
worth researching. Should kids today be allowed to choose a religion on their own and not be
born into one? What would life be like today in the US if religion was formed earlier or
later, or never formed at all? Is religion going to continue to change and define humans
development whether we want it to or not? Now these are just some question that would be
interesting to research for my thesis.