ABSTRACT
Religion is universal. There is no society known to history which has not practised religion in some form or another. Criticisms are sometimes made about marriage and the family. What is 'marriage'? Surely any definition of marriage, like that of religion, must have wider connotations than those usually associated with it in the Western mind. Religion would seem 'originally' to belong to the latter category, as probably no reputable authority would maintain that it derives from any single source. One factor which may well have given rise to certain kinds of religious belief and practice, is the simple one of trying to secure an adequate food supply. A more meaningful way of approaching this problem is to ask what possible causes are likely to produce religious beliefs and practices as their effect? After all, looked at 'from a distance', as it were, religion is a rather strange business.
