Churches, synagogues, mosques and monasteries. People have been attending and integrating their own beliefs into these religious places for centuries.

According to the study done by Pew Research Center’s Forum on Religion & Public Life, 84 percent of the world population has some religious affiliation. Of those who have a religious belief system, one-third are Christian, 23.2 percent are Muslim and 16.3 percent are unaffiliated.

Religion started changing the day humans started interacting with one another, and has continued to change every day since. According to science blogger John S. Wilkins, who has an associates degree in philosophy, religion changes and adapts over time to their environment and the people in it.

“I personally don’t believe in a God, but I’m not entirely opposed to the idea,” senior Wes Jones said. “I’m not religious, but I think religion can be a good thing. I feel that believing in a God brings people comfort during hard times and gives people a set of moral guidelines when they are unsure about if something is right or wrong.”

The Pew Research Center reports that three quarters of the world’s population lives in countries where their religious groups make up a majority of the population. The other 27 percent live in areas where they are the minority religion.

“I feel like people have become a lot more open minded about religion,” Jones said. “They accept other people’s beliefs more and have just become more diverse. A lot has happened in the past 100 years, [the] civil rights movements and stuff like that, and I think it has gotten people to accept other people’s cultures more.”

Technology has become a catalyst for the change and spread of religion. Now with iPhones within arms reach, apps like ‘Buddhism for Beginners’ and ‘The Monastery Online,’ a place to be digitally ordained, religious practice is more accessible to than ever before, giving people the opportunity for self-exploration. For those who don’t align with a specific religion still feel they have a deep thought in what they do believe.

“I think God is real to some people, but I think other people have a hard time accepting or comprehending a higher force interacting and interfering with their lives,” junior Jake Chapman said. “For me, God is my conscience. God is the little voice inside my head that makes me feel guilty, but also makes me feel proud about myself.”