Sapientiae fountain, University of Louvain, Belgium © A. Szöllösi-Nagy

The importance of water in our everyday lives cannot be overestimated. Although it is ever-present, it is also ever-changing. Indeed, the ways in which water is perceived and managed are determined by cultural traditions, which are themselves determined by factors as diverse as geographical location, access to water and economic history. Water is not perceived the same way in Africa as it is in Asia or in Australia as it is in the Amazon. The role that water plays in shaping the lives of people can be seen in the huge variety of water-related religious practices, spiritual beliefs, myths, legends and management practices throughout the world.

Water is an intrinsic part of most spiritual beliefs. Its uses and symbolism in religion are many and varied; its spiritual and healing properties are seen in rites and rituals; and its representations are as numerous as they are diverse. These different religious and cultural aspects of water reflect the vast array of civilizations that have made water the central element in their practices. The Earth is a diverse planet, with hundreds of countries and thousands of different cultures co-existing. As such, water's different stories are all important, revealing a facet of our planet and its people: their strengths and weaknesses, their fears and desires, how they approach life, and how they approach death. It is clear that how we use water reflects how we perceive the world.

What emerges through these many and diverse manifestations and representations of water, be it through healing, protecting, cleansing, death rites or destruction and symbolic rebirth, is the central role that water plays in shaping the religious rites of people around the world. Through its purity, it represents cleanliness, and hope as well as freedom from defilement, sin and disease. In religions everywhere, water is a liberating force.

Water shapes how we view the world: from the very creation of the universe to the death rites of a family member, water is with us from beginning to end.