The Mayan religion was based in the regions of Honduras, Guatemala, Belize, and parts of southern Mexico. It is a southeastern variant of Mesoamerican religion. Beliefs about death and the afterlife have always played an important role in all religions. Some religions have similar beliefs while others are very different. The Mayan religion is very similar to Roman Catholicism. Many Mayans were able to adopt Catholic beliefs while retaining their own faith: many of their customs remain evident today. The first creation myths are found in the Popol Vuh, which in K'iche means "the Book of Community"; it involves the creation and genealogy of the rulers of the Mayan kingdom. It has been considered the most important work of Mesoamerican literature. It consists of a preamble and four sections describing the creation, history and cosmology of the Mayan religion. The original Popol Vuh is said to have been lost and recently rediscovered. The alphabetical Popol Vuh gave “a long performance and narrative” (Tedlock, 1996, p. 29) written in two columns on each page; one in Quiche Maya alphabetical text, the other a Spanish translation made by a priest named Francisco Ximenez in the early 1700s. The words of the Popol Vuh describe two creator gods, Gucumatz and Tepeu, created from the sea. Once the Earth was created, animals came next; humans followed but were created from mud and ultimately destroyed. Hence the creation of humans from the sacred Mayan culture of corn. These corn people could be worshiped and could also feed the people of the land. The Mayans worshiped a number of gods and goddesses: their main god, Itzam Na "incorporated within himself aspects of many other gods: not only creation middle of paper ...... y that I found a new respect for the Mayan people. They were able to resist the forced transition to Catholicism without renouncing their own Catholic identity. Religion seems to make up the majority of this country, but it's amazing how similar other religions around the world are to it. Works CitedCoe, Michael D. “The Hero Twins: Myth and Image In Justin Kerr ed.,” The Maya Vase Book. New York: Kerr Associates, 1989. Keen, B. and Haynes, K., (2004). A History of Latin America (7th ed.). Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company. Sharer, R., (1996). Daily life in the Mayan civilization. Westport, CT: Greenwood Press. Tedlock, D., (1996) Popol vuh: the definitive edition of the Mayan book of the dawn of life and the glories of the gods. and kings. (2nd ed.). New York: Simon and Schuster.