Rainsea

I like reading, writing and people. I currently work in a library and attend CSUS, where I will be recieving a BA in Anthroplogy this spring.  

There are a number of ways I could interperet this question...so I'll answer this in bits.

1) Humans are different from other creatures because the combination of opposable thumbs, bipedalism, and abstract thought has led to the production of material culture.  Through the mediums of art, writing, sewing, etc, humans are able to express philosophical ideas and pass their thoughts on to the next generation, and into the next millenia.   This provides a sense of archival continuity which can be contrasted with oral-history traditions which also provide a sense of continuity, but without the physical reality of the written word.  

2) Various human groups are so different because the legacy of their own philosophies/ material culture have different histories, cumulating in a diverse present time.

Moreover, as the global village emmerges, each groups decisions as to what they will accept and reject from outside societies is dictated by the relavence of their past to their current social position and each of the materials adopted into the society further produces culture change that can make individual societies appear more similar to the group, but in actuality still retain a level of their own individuality, causing the dominant society to broaden the defination of its own cultural identity.    

Personally?  I think to learn is the purpose of life.  But I don't think its a universal truth, I think there are as many reasons for living as their are individuals.  I do suppose learning fits that framework, though; we all must find our own indivual purpose, and that requires learning about ourselves. 

The goal of religion is to provide an abstract guide that will lead the individual questing for spiritual enrichment along that path.  I think it is another means by which an individual can conme to know themselves and through that knowing, be connected with everything around them. 

Religion also offers a sense of identity, through Church or other affiliations. In the United States has helped in the preservation of European cultural identity, often swapped out for "I am Luthran," or "Presbyterian." So despite the differences to different views of Christianity, the "Lutheran," can be both "Lutheran" (hence hiding German or Dutch ancestry in the affiliation with the church)  but still join the larger "white judeo-christian" segment of the society without conflict (as the Catholics experienced, even though teir version of Christianity is far older).