We live in a world today filled with: low self-esteem, bullying, hate crimes, lying, abuse, child molestation, depression, racism, addiction(s), murder, corruption, violence, rape, self-mutilation, witchcraft, pornography, sexual immorality, broken hearts, hatred, greed, eating disorders, jealousy, suicide, starvation, torture, hypocrisy, and death. Religion is important because it teaches people about themselves. It gives them hope for a future free from all this sorrow and heartache, and through stories, parables, and quotes from prudent prophets of old said to be hearing the voice of God, or recalling evidence of miracles and extreme faith it provides a lifeline to God, and spiritual fulfillment. It teaches people morals, principal, origin, and integrity. Religion is important in today’s world because we all want to feel like we are of worth, and that there is a greater purpose for our lives than to live, die, and be forgotten. Humans want to know: why we are here on this earth, how we were created, what we are supposed to do with our lives, and what happens to us after we die? Religion answers some, if not all of these questions in some form or another. It gives people a goal to reach towards, and a lifestyle to abide by; it instigates brotherly love, offers hope, peace, and overwhelming joy to the lowliest broken soul, and the jolliest aristocrat. There are conditions to these gifts though, so religion is a blessing and can be used to better the world if it is practiced in humility not hypocrisy.
Would the world be a better place if its inhabitants all followed the same religion? Yes, but only if each person were to earnestly practice it to the best of their ability, with humility, and without judgment accepting every natio...
... middle of paper ...
...ed; no one is perfect. Ergo the deficit of this hypothetical world: what would be left to choice and free will? And what would happen if someone were to sin? It would be a sin for another to punish that person. Contemplating that, the point I’d like to make is that hypothetically, if everyone could completely lay their human selfishness down at the feet of Jesus, and understand and agree with each other, be totally honest with and open minded to other’s thoughts and feelings, and live in absolute peace and harmony with one another the world would truly be a better place for all on so many different levels. Although it is obviously not possible to reach a goal set this unrealistically high, it is an interesting though to ponder when considering how different the world would be when Adam committed that original sin, and what role women play in the corruption of men.
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.
The accomplishments and success of civilizations are closely linked to their religious outlook and the role of religion in their governments and society. Throughout history rulers have used the influence of religions to control their populations and provide the justification for their power. A society with a greater degree of separation between religion and government promotes a superior level of liberty and creativity amongst its people. By the time of the decline of the Roman Empire in the west, however, the world had come full circle to a return to theocratic dictatorship.
Religion is “the belief in and worship of a god or gods, or any such system of belief and worship.” (Cambridge Dictionary) Many people believe in something else out of the evidential or scientific view, thinking that good things happen because God says so, or that the universe was not made by the Big Bang. Even though is something that was more present in history years ago, a lot of people still believe and practise a religion. According to Stephen Juan there are about 4,300 religions in the world. About a 75 per cent of the population of the world practises a religion and the two religions most widely spread are the Christianity and the Islam. (2006) They can be divided in believers, adherents or not adherents, agnostics and atheists. People who are believers are the ones who have faith in something great beyond and
Religion is an important aspect in life today because it is a specific system of belief about a deity that usually involves rituals, code of morals, and how to understand the meaning and purpose of life in the world, yet everyone has their own belief. Religion is being incorporated into many things, especially in music and there is a big topic about hip-hop music incorporating religious language and themes.
Religion has always been able to give people something to look to for help. It answers their questions and gives them hope for the future. In the Christian faith, followers are taught that Christ will help them if they believe and follow Him. The painting by Carl Bloch Christ Healing at the Pool of Bethesda is a prime example of Christ helping and healing those who are experiencing times of hopelessness, and need someone to turn to. Religion is what helps ground people and gives them hope. If we didn’t have religion people would be lost and in darkness.
Religion in the ancient world played a vital role to society. Religion is the moral foundation of a civilization and it gives meaning, worth and determination. Even though not all religions encourage people to do what is right, Christianity, Islam, Buddhism, and Confucianism tells those who practice to obey their deity or god and do what is ethical within their religion. In some religions, doing this was a way to reach afterlife so their souls could maintain a continuing existence. Each of these religions has their own way of encouraging such behavior, whether it is from a holy book, sacred principle, making a sacrifice or meditation.
What has caused the most war, pain, and strife in the world? Religion. What has taught people to be kind, to love, to help one another? Religion. It has cowed many into worship and coaxed many into prayer. For some their entire world and existence is based on the principle that religion shall determine their next life, or lives, whether that be the afterlife or the next life on earth. That principle, in positive instances, has lead many into a life free of conflict, free of poor decisions, and free of unjust actions against others. In negative instances, it has been used as a basis for determining who is fit to live or to control entire populations of people. Besides these there are millions of examples of how religion has affected lives and how people view religion.
This isn’t a perfect solution, but it isn’t a perfect world, and it would be false to P.D. James’ premises to assume that everything can be returned to a state of Eden. However, James seems to feel that we as social beings have an obligation to keep everything as close to an ideal social paradigm as possible. Only in this way will everyone be in a position to achieve maximum happiness. The narcissism of Peter Nagle serves as a sober warning that we are not put on earth to ride roughshod over everyone else in our selfish search for happiness, but that happiness is a social construct in which everyone should reap equal benefit and for which everyone should assume equal responsibility.
In many areas of the globe, specifically the West, there is a new focus on individualism rather than seeing religion as an all-embracing principle. However, religion undoubtedly performs a social function to some extent in all religions, especially when analysing ideas surrounding death. Dumont argues that there has been a shift from ‘religious truth to a purely social fact’. (1970)
Over the years, society has come to evolve and progressively become more efficient as society’s viewpoints and perspectives on various aspects of life have also changed. However, the one aspect of life that has stayed constant has been religion. The impact of a constant religious opinion on a changing society has detrimental and benign effects on the populace of such a society.
In the book of genesis, God shows us that he gave us the gift of relationships by the creation of Adam and Eve. Eve was created from Adam’s rib. In Genesis 2:24, it says, “That is why a man leaves his father and mother and is united with his wife, and they become one flesh.” In this, we are able to see the joy of being in a relationship as Adam and Eve live in peace and harmony and they do things together. It however gets to a point when Adam and eve sin. This is the time when trouble is thus sent down to the earth and in the scripture this is seen as being the genesis of all problems (Brueggeman, (2010).
Religions have always played a vital role between humans and its society especially in terms of what is good and proper in the society. In modern world, people have become increasingly dissociated from religion and spirituality.
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 helped answer some of these questions. It gave people purpose, meaning, and perspective. Religion helped establish nations in the case of religious theocratic governments. In many of the ancient civilizations, such as the Egyptians, the Mayans, and even Mesopotamia, the priests and other religious leaders played prominent roles in help shaping the laws and government of these civilizations. As his...
Religion is the main source of morals and values today. I feel like many people today are not following the word of God. I think that religion is overlooked, and not taught enough. For example, colleges, high schools, and many other places are not even allowed to pray, teach or preach the word of the bible. I feel like that is a problem in the United States today. It has had the effect of more violence, problems in families, and the non- education of the younger generation. I feel that though religion is choice, it should be introduced, because many don't even get the opportunity to learn about it.
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.