Covenant religion
From Halopedia, the Halo wiki
Template:BigQuote The Great Journey is a central theme for the Covenant and its theocratic government. The Covenant believe that when the Halos are activated the Covenant will embark on a "Great Journey" similar to that undertaken by their gods, the Forerunners. Finding and activating the Halos is a prime goal of the Covenant. Upon the activation of the Halos, the Covenant believe they will escape a doomed existence of fighting an endless struggle against The Flood and allow them to transend into gods with the Forerunners.
However, a few of the Covenant are aware that the Halos, when activated, destroy all sentient life in the galaxy. Whether the High Prophets do know the true effects of activating a Halo is uncertain, but the very fabric of the Covenant is built on accomplishing it, believing this will propel them into the "Divine Beyond", a heavenly paradise they will share with the Forerunners.
The Jackals are not thought to believe in the Great Journey. They are simply mercenaries hired by the Covenant to be scouts and snipers. Because they have been a part of the Covenant for a very long time though, it may be that in time they came to believe in the religion of the Covenant.
As the Master Chief and UNSC discovered, the Halos were not built as religious icons; they are galactic weapons of mass sterilization built by the Forerunners to contain a parasitic race known as The Flood. After exhausting all other options to destroy the flood, the Forerunners activated the rings, allowing all sentient life to die, eventually starving and killing the Flood.
The currently living Arbiter, who is either leading or an important member of the separatist movement, knows the true function of the Halos after speaking with 343 Guilty Spark, a Monitor of the lost Installation 04 who is considered by the leading Covenant caste as one of the holy oracles. Following this conversation, he helped some UNSC troops stop Tartarus from activating Installation 05, and hence the entire remaining Halo network. The loyalists still seem to believe in the Great Journey, and will most likely continue to try to activate the Halos.
