Possessing even more power than it does mystery, religion has a great impact on the way people live their lives. Its writings justify our existence, provide a model of how to live, and also explain death or afterlife. Much of religion is left to interpretation, primarily from the writings handed down to us. These writings include, but are not limited to the Bible, the Quran, and several other works sacred to Eastern religions. It is through these texts that the ultimate goal of practicing religion is achieved: salvation or fulfillment.

Western religions, namely Christianity and Islam, have a similar idea of salvation. Their salvation derives in some way from a relationship with God. Hinduism, however, is focused on personal enlightenment. This spiritual belief could explain the vastly different lifestyles of the Eastern and Western world. For example, the East places much more respect on elderly because wisdom is a virtue. It is the key to their salvation. As far as the West is concerned, it is everybody for themselves. We even build our cities differently. Asia expands horizontally, blending in with the land. The West towers upward toward the sky, thus showing dominance by becoming closer to the heavens. Buildings, statues, and monuments are all vertically erected. The District of Columbia has strict height regulations on monuments. A statue’s importance is directly related to its height; the freedom monument is the tallest.