The Evolution of Religion
Near the end of his novel, Darwin's Dangerous Idea, Daniel Dennett questions religion and contends that it was an evolutionary process to keep humans entertained. He says "they [religions] have kept Homo Sapiens civilized enough, for long enough, for us to have learned how to reflect more systematically and accurately on our position of the universe"(519). Dennett's position is a controversial one, and it is difficult to argue because it is such an abstract subject. Religion is associated with free will, and has been part of humans for thousands of years. Is religion as we know it useless now, have we arrived at the point in evolution where it is no longer necessary?
Dennett never completely dismisses current religion, but he does not support its perpetuation either. Dennett's view of religion is as function, something that humans need, like opposable thumbs. He claims that religion has become merely about the actions, and that soon they will die out and belong in museums and "zoos". Dennett elaborates this thought, "what,then, of all the glories of our religious traditions? They should certainly be preserved, as should the languages, the art, the costumes the rituals, the monuments"(519). Is this right? Should only the material aspects be saved? Have they served their only purpose. Dennett seems to say that humans no longer need religions, and that since they have existed for so long they are no longer needed, it is their time for extinction. Will religions disappear leaving only the materials and traditions as Dennett seems to suggest they will, or will they evolve, and change to meet our modern world.
In Karen Armstrong's History of God she says "for 4,000 years it [the idea of God] has cons...
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...sappeared, but they became infused into other religions. The ancient Hellenistic religion became infused into Christianity, and the Sumerian religion was an influence for the writers of the old testament (http://www.comparative-religion.com/ancient/). In that sense the ancient religions continue to exist, they have merely taken a different form.
Will the modern religions of today follow a path decreed by Dennett and Armstrong and disappear, or will they merely become influences in the next wave of religion? The major religions today have been in existence for thousands of years, but that does not mean that they will not evolve. As people and culture change, so will the worlds religions. People will always have faith, and humans have not achieved a point in evolution where religion is no longer needed, and it is highly unlikely that it will ever reach that point.
The paper will discuss minicases on ‘The White-Collar Union Organizer’ and ‘The Frustrated Labor Historians’ by Arthur A. Sloane and Fred Witney (2010), to understand the issues unions undergo in the marketplace. There is no predetermined statistical number reported of union memberships in this country. However, “the United Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) excludes almost 2 million U.S wages and salary employees, over half of whom are employed in the public sector, who are represented at their workplaces by a union but are not union members. Not being required to join a union as a condition of continued employment, these employees have for a variety of reasons chosen not to do so. Nor do the BLS estimates include union members who are currently unemployed” (Sloane & Witney, 2010, p.5). Given this important information, the examination of these minicases will provide answers to the problems unions face in organizational settings.
Union affiliation was first seen in the 1600’s when the roots of the United States were just being planted with skilled trade groups such as artisans, laborers, goldsmiths and printers. Over the next two hundred years, unions developed their desires for higher wages through the use of strikes and protests. The nation’s progress spurred the need for more labor and so began the Industrial Revolution. During the Revolution, many union members began to witness the power that employers had and as a result decided to make use of the concept of power in numbers. The National Labor Union formed in 1866 and worked to persuade congress to set a Federal eight-hour workday, which applied to government employees (Miller). Many large unions formed following in the NLU’s footsteps and uni...
Her diary not only helped her come to terms with change, but also allows us deeper insight into her life and what life was like for Jews during World War II. Anne changed from a young girl to a young woman, and the diary shows her journey through the hardships she faced during her time in the
Beginning in the late 1700’s and growing rapidly even today, labor unions form the backbone for the American workforce and continue to fight for the common interests of workers around the country. As we look at the history of these unions, we see powerful individuals such as Terrence Powderly, Samuel Gompers, and Eugene Debs rise up as leaders in a newfound movement that protected the rights of the common worker and ensured better wages, more reasonable hours, and safer working conditions for those people (History). The rise of these labor unions also warranted new legislation that would protect against child labor in factories and give health benefits to workers who were either retired or injured, but everyone was not on board with the idea of foundations working to protect the interests of the common worker. Conflict with their industries lead to many strikes across the country in the coal, steel, and railroad industries, and several of these would ultimately end up leading to bloodshed. However, the existence of labor unions in the United States and their influence on their respective industries still resonates today, and many of our modern ideals that we have today carry over from what these labor unions fought for during through the Industrial Revolution.
Throughout the course of history, man has looked to religion for answers. Curiosity as to how we got here and why we are have driven people to seek out answers to these somewhat unanswerable questions. Over the past few thousand years, several varying religions have been established, some more prominent than others. Many of them share a similar story of a divine creator who has always been and will always be. In the case of Christianity, whether true or not, it has proven to be beneficial to society as a whole. The Bible set the standard for the moral compass that humans live their lives by to this day. The key fundamental problem with religion, although not the fault of religion, is that man has often used it as a gateway to power and prominence. In the case of the 18th century Gallican church, the French were abusing their religious powers, thus creating vast inequality throughout France, which eventually led to a rebellion against the church, and the eventual destruction of the church within France.
Frank, Anne. The Diary of Anne Frank: The Revised Critical Edition. New York: Doubleday, 2003. Print.
The Korean War was a turning point in history. Sandwiched between the global scale of World War 2 and the nightmare of Vietnam, Korea is sometimes referred to as the “Forgotten War”. Korea might not be in the forefront of the public’s psyche, but it set in motion events that changed the world. Without Korea, history would have been very different. Korea forced the United States to develop coherent policy to deal with the perceived communist threat. The new policy established shaped the course of the Cold War, international politics, and the world today.
The balance of power between management and labor has long been an issue. Historically, employers had the upper hand, and workers were afforded few rights in terms of pay, working conditions, or fair treatment (Fossum, 2012). Individual workers found that they had little influence over their own work situations and were frequently at the mercy of employers. Over time though, some progress was made in drawing attention to the plight of workers. The power of organizing began to give groups of workers some voice in workplace matters. Unfortunately, however, initial attempts at unionization of workers during the nineteenth century were short-lived and often marked by violence (Fossum, 2012). It was not until the twentieth century that major legislation gave unions a sense of legitimacy and workers slowly gained some leverage in the employer-employee relationship.
Pierpaoli, Paul G. Jr. Truman and Korea: The Political Culture of the Early Cold War. Columbia: University of Missouri, 1999.
The labor union movement over the years has shaped the way individuals work and live for both the nicest and unpleasant. Some would think the unions influence has created a power struggle between management and union leaders. In today’s time, some citizens insist the existence of unions are a must to aid in employee freedom, while others view the labor unions as just another problem in the line of progress. The purpose of labor unions was for employed workers to come together and collectively agree on fundamental workplace objectives. The rise of the union came about after the Civil War- responding to the industrial economy. Surprisingly at the least unions became popular within the 1930-50’s and began to slowly decrease, starting in the 1960’s on to today. Although, the popularity of labor unions has decreased, its importance remains to be evident with politics, journalism, auto, and the public education industries. The objective of this paper is to shine light upon labor unions, taking a closer look at the disputed issues of union ethics, concerns of union diversity, and the opposing viewpoints of labor unions.
The Korean War was seen to be a turning point for the cold war but the world is still left in confusion and the tension is still strong between North and South Korea present to this day. On June 25th of 1950 the Cold War had turned hot and the involvement of the two major superpowers the US and the USSR contributed to an increase in tension. The Korean War was the one of first big steps America took in enforcing the new policies of Containment. The Korean War was thought of as the ‘forgotten war’; though it had been thought of forgotten it had a large influence on the cold war world wide, communist growth and modern Korea.
'In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. The earth was without form and void, and darkness was upon the face of the deep; and the Spirit of God was moving over the face of the waters. And God said, "Let there be light"; and there was light…'(Gen 1:1.5) '…then the LORD God formed man of dust from the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living being. '(Gen 2:7) This part from the bible is a typical example of what people used to believe before scientists came and gave logical explanations to the questions of mankind.It is possible, of course, to define a non-supernatural "religious" worldview that is not in conflict with science. But in all of its traditional forms, the supernatural religious worldview makes the assumption that the universe and its inhabitants have been designed and created by "forces" or beings which transcend the material world. The material world is postulated to reflect a mysterious plan originating in these forces or beings, a plan which is knowable by humans only to the extent that it has been revealed to an exclusive few. Criticising or questioning any part of this plan is strongly discouraged, especially where it touches on questions of morals or ethics. Science, on the other hand, assumes that there are no transcendent, immaterial forces and that all forces which do exist within the universe behave in an ultimately objective or random fashion. The nature of these forces, and all other scientific knowledge, is revealed only through human effort in a dynamic process of inquiry. The universe as a whole is assumed to be neutral to human concerns and to be open to any and all questions, even those concerning human ethical relationships. Such a universe does not come to us with easy answers. We must come to it and be prepared to work hard. According to Thomas W. Clark science and religion are in a battle from the day that scientists got in the fields of the theologises
What is its role in civilization and the development of civilization? Religion helps establish mankind’s place in the order of the universe. As civilization began to be established through the domestication of animals, the irrigation and cultivation of agricultural crops, and life became more complex (moving from mainly a hunter/gather existence to one that could settle down and have more time to consider advanced ideas) people began to consider questions such as, where life comes from, is there a creator or creators who helped make the world, and what happens after we die. Religion helps answer some of these questions. It gives people purpose, meaning, and perspective.
Religion has screwed us up for a long time and we'd be better off without it. By "us" I mean Americans living in the 21st century. Without religions we would have fewer labels separating us from each other and we wouldn't hate Jews or Catholics or Muslims. If we didn't have religions, we wouldn't have to convert anyone or "save" anyone. If we didn't have religions, people could no longer get caught up in the fine lines of religious rightousness or be trapped in a double-standard morality. And most importantly, we would be truly free of religious engendered guilt that never quite goes away.
Religion, a word shrouded with mystery, confusion and complexity. For some it is the answer to everything, a path to guidance and hope. For others it is the reason for all evil or just a manmade phenomenon for people who refuse to understand that everything happens for a scientific reason. Whatever the case is, it is a topic that is quite controversial and much debated among scientists, cultural theorist and conspiracy theorists. Religion plays a major role in functioning and forming social and psychological behavior of a society. It is connected more towards the emotional side of a person and everyone has their own perspective about it. Therefore religion has become an important part of human identity.