Religion and Theology

Many religions have place that are considered by adherents to be specially holy or sacred, places where they feel closer to God.. In Hinduism the river Ganges at Benares , one of seven holy cities where early Hindu scholars established their schools is such a site attracting many thousand of visitors each year. 

In Buddhism one of the most important sites is the place where Buddha is said to have received enlightenment. This was under a bodhi tree in the 7th century B.C.E. according to the web page Bohd Gaya, India.

There are Jain temples in many parts of the world, although the majority  are in India. One was constructed in Mumbai in 1904. It is considered to be one of the most beautiful because Jains consider this is what their idols deserve.

The Golden temple in Amaritser The building is decorated with words from the Sikh holy book s described on the Sacred Destinations web page. . As with all these holy places visitors are welcome but are expected to respect the beliefs of worshippers and so certain restrictions apply in order to avoid giving offence. In this case these include such things as leaving shoes behind and covering the head.

In Taoism certain high places are considered to be sacred. This is because they are suitable places for contemplation and because of the caves present.  Also reaching them is a challenge, often involving rock climbing, to worshippers are more inspired. They are also where certain mushrooms grow which are believed to have holy properties according to the web page Chinese Taoism.

Confucianism has no specifically holy places because it is more of a philosophy than a religion as such as can be seen on the Asian ArtMail web page .

All of these religions or philosophies still have adherents to whom their beliefs are very important. As fellow human beings this is to be respected, even if one does not share such beliefs or even thinks they are rather odd.