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Religious influences on society
The impact of religion in a society
The impact of religion in a society
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Have you ever wondered why religion exists, or maybe how come there are so many different religions? Each religion claims to be the one true religion, having the one (or many) true god(s). Well, have you ever thought there may be more to the story? Different religions appeal to different people, right? Religion is one of the things that keep people in order. The Ten Commandments, The Bible, prophets, and all of that. They all drill into your mind that if you don’t obey terrible things will happen to you, for example, hell, karma, and the like. What if I told you that religion was put here for the soul purpose to scare you?
In theory, religion is part of system control. So, your next question might be, what is system control? System control is exactly what it sounds like. It’s the system controlling you, the people. Well then what is the system? The system is made up of many different components. The government, churches, and even schools. Now “the system” isn’t all bad. That’s not my point here at all. System control on the other hand is almost unconstitutional. Life, liberty, the ...
Religion gives rise to and is born with the unreasonable and uninviting desire to make man at home in what seems to be very close to an uncaring world. With this being
Imagine that you’ve been suffering through a time of immense hardship and you are economically disadvantaged. You haven’t eaten in days, you’re home is about to be foreclosed, and you are hopeless about finding employment. You take what little food you have left, scrounge together whatever possessions of yours that have value, and for good measure throw in your first-born son. Taking all of these items, you then light them on fire and utterly destroy them. If this happened today, no doubt would a person be arrested and deemed a risk to himself and others. But for centuries, people carried out these sacrificial rituals, wasting precious resources and time & energy, in hopes that things would get better. Religion is immensely costly both in terms of resources and time. We know that the most evolutionary fit creatures do not waste their energy on pointless tasks and that everything done in life is because the reward is bigger than the risk. So we ask ourselves, what is the reward of following religion given its immense expenditure. How has religion survived for so long and what does it offer to those who follow it? Furthermore, how did religion come to being and what purpose did it serve in the early days of its inception? When human beings first invented agriculture and settled down, the foundations of society began shaping. Tribes grew and became more permanent, people interacted with each other in more sophisticated ways, and civilization formed. Through this communal “puberty”, culture was born and memes (ideas, behaviors, and styles that spread from person to person) came to being. If we look at religion through an inverse perspective, one that says human society and culture developed religion as opposed to religion dictating so...
Lastly, religion shows evidence of absolute truth. All religions of the world give meaning and definition to life. Religion was made from mankind’s desire to want more than existence. Through religion, humans hope to get closer to God by asking for forgiveness and asking challenging questions. God who is the “Creator” becomes the standard for absolute truth.
The necessity of religion is a topic that has been widely debated by many people for many years. The vast majority of the 7 and a half billion people on this earth practice some sort of religion but for what purpose? Whether it’s too give people hope for an afterlife or too fuel their need for contact with others people can list hundreds of different reasons why they rely on religion but is religion actually essential to our wellbeing and and life quality on this planet?
Religion, “part of the human experience that has to do with a god or gods, a higher power, or the ultimate values of life” (Cason & Tillman 6-7), is one of the most controversial and interesting subjects for humanity. It has been around for as long as anyone can recall and they have difference and similarities in their founders, beliefs, and history. Religion has served to give some sort of a meaning to life and everything around it. In modern society, some religions have grown and expanded significantly. These larger religions have been classified as world religions. In addition, these world religions have been split into two categories known as Eastern and Western religion.
Though there are many religions that are still practiced in the world, it is important to see what role they play in culture and thinking. When religion is taken in healthy amounts with a strong mind, religion can be a blessing and a gift to people everywhere. It can provide hope to people who need it the most, while inspiring others to take action and make positive changes. However, overdosing on religion can cause equal amounts of pain and anger.
Religion is a symbolic representation of society. The sociological approach to religious belief looks at how society behaves on a whole, to answer the question, “Why are people religious?” We express our participation in religious events through plays, acts of confession, religious dances, etc. To begin to understand why we have such term, let’s understand the common elements of religion. There are different types in which people believe in or follow and that is: animatism, animism, ancestral spirits, god and goddesses, and minor supernatural beings. Beyond these different elements, such one is to have religious leaders to follow.
There are many social institutions that have major impacts on society. One of the trickiest social institutions would have to be, religion. Religion seems to have a huge impact on a society even if it’s directly or indirectly. Why is that? Do we need it? Does it let us live a more fulfilled life? What effects does it have on society? Is it necessary for a functioning society? According to Dalton Conley (2013:611) sociology defines religion as being a unified system of beliefs traditions, and practices around sacred things; a set of shared “stories” that guide belief and action. Religion is a way for people to make sense of the world, it keeps society in line with expected behaviors. Without religion people would subside to create their own rules and would deem to follow a path that could harm a society and come to an end. Religion is necessary for a society to function, prosper, and for someone to learn how to be a well moral contributor to society.
The Society Religion as a Social Glue The view in the title is a functionalist’s view. Durkheim claims that religion is to do with the sacred and certain things, people and places are perceived to be sacred for example Jesus Christ, totem and the Tajmahal. He claims that what people perceive to be sacred are actually symbols of a collective consciousness. By worshipping these sacred things etc. they are actually reinforcing the beliefs, values, norms and tradition which make social life possible.
In Introducing Philosophy of Religion, Chad Meister asserts “there are several components (that) seem to be central to the world religion: a system of beliefs, the breaking in of a transcendent reality, and human attitudes of ultimate concern, meaning and purpose” (Meister 6). Throughout my life, I feel that religion is one of the core social belief systems that people use to maintain what they feel is a good way to live. Giving them a sense of purpose or fulfillment during their earthly life, most hoping whatever beliefs that have will help them after death. Even though there are many different religions or religious value systems, everyone has most likely been exposed to one or more. There is only 15% of the world’s population that do not believe in one type of religion or another (Meister, 7).
Scholars have been trying to come up with a well-founded, acceptable and universal definition of religion for years; however, none of these definitions so far are a perfect fit for all religions of the world. There are many things in our life that are well defined and well understood but, unfortunately, religion is not one of them. There is no common ground and understanding of what religion really means. Religion is what we make of it, so no one can truly define religion in a way that is meaningful across all borders as it is outside of the realm of reason and rationale and the definitions we give could be either too exclusive or inclusive.
The place of religion in the public square is a debateable topic. In essence, the dispute centers on the fundamental question: should religious beliefs be excluded from consideration of public policy? That is to say, if society strongly believes that the state should not adopt or implement religious positions, views or policies; to what extent should religious ideologies or concepts be used to publicly support or oppose governmental actions? Or perhaps do religious beliefs and public policy make too dangerous a mixture to even consider? In any vibrant culture, governmental decisions and actions are largely influenced by the public square. Policy-makers discuss, justify and support or oppose public issues in hopes of reaching a consensus in the enforcement of public policy. Liberal thoughts within public debates clash when placed in the same forum as democratic pluralistic societies. Religion, in theory, is a sense of individuality. Thus, to exclude religious beliefs from considerations of public policy would be close to impossible. So is it acceptable for public officials to make decisions grounded in part by religion? This paper asserts that religious beliefs should be excluded from consideration of public policy because; 1) it leads to the ignorance of many religious minorities in the face of dominating religious groups; 2) religious views jeopardize social stability; and finally, 3) it diverges the basis of political decisions from the needs of the public.
Has it ever crossed your mind why we have a religion? Can you imagine the world without rules or a world without the disciplines of faith, where no one or nothing can stops you of doing whatever you want? The world where only can live the strong people and the weak dies everywhere. No friendship, no love, no relationship value, no respect even to family members. People cannot go to street because of fear. No truth, only lie and liars everywhere, you do not know whom to believe or with whom share your secrets. No indicator of humanity and love, no evidence of world familiar to us. If there were not any rules that prevents you of doing these bad things, the world would like the same as you read a few seconds ago. As we do not have that bad world
The Psychology of Religion is composed of a variety of different perspectives, which in certain cases proves difficult in determining both the clinical and pastoral implications of a theory. Modern-day psychology has demonstrated possible beneficial results in religious spiritual individuals, however, much of the current research has avoided questioning the “real” presence of the Divine or a Higher Being. Although a century has passed since his undertaking of psychoanalysis, Sigmund Freud readily settled the question of religion by declaring it a form of mental illness. While Freud’s Psychology of Religion is that religion only exists as a neurosis, his view provides the three clinical implications of hypnotism, free association, and dream analysis, each of which have also remained a source of criticism.
Religion has the power to bind one to others as well as the aptitude to alienate people with conflicting beliefs. Throughout history, cultures have created several different belief systems, each with its own ideals, to satisfy the typical human curiosity and explain the unclarified events that occur in nature. Inspecting the role of religion from the earliest civilizations to the present, its tendency to divide rather than unify groups becomes apparent.