I was looking to do some research on religions recently. I know there are a lot of them, I’ve heard, from others, the term thousands used. I’ve never really questioned that assertion, but if I’m going to write something about the subject, I’d like to be a little more precise. So, I asked one of those online knowledge bases, you know, those programs people erroneously refer to as artificial intelligence, how many religions there were and to make a list for me.

To my not so much surprise, the program couldn’t really come up with a number because, and I quote, …there is no single agreed-upon number of religions… I found that interesting and was curious as to why I had head for so many years why I had been told there were thousands. It seems because it’s dependent on how a person views religion. Take Christianity (please!). Christianity may be viewed as a single religious belief, or several, as in Catholicism, Eastern Orthodoxy, Protestantism, Mormonism, Jehovah Witnesses, etc. It can even be broken down, like Protestantism, into it’s various denominations, as many of these, although holding a single basic belief, in practice that belief differently and claim biblical authority in those specific beliefs. That would add literally dozens, if not hundreds of religions from the one.

So, this knowledge base has been very useful in doing light research for posts like this one where I’d like to be as accurate as I am able. There was one thing that surprised me in the list I did eventually receive: The database included agnosticism and atheism as religious beliefs. This shows me that the artificial intelligence, is not very intelligent and takes on not only the personality of its coder, but its knowledge gaps as well.

We can look at religion any way we want to as far as the number extant, but that number doesn’t explain the need for the same. Which is a topic for a heck of a. lot more future posts.