Angelina Morales Behind Religion

Many people believed that religious prayer would save them from their angry god, “Prayer was… a universal response to widespread outbreaks of illness, and many societies had prayers specifically written for such occasions.” (13) From a religious standpoint and not scientific, almost everyone believed that they were divine, and placed on earth by god. These people would attend ceremonies, or marches “in hopes of driving the disease out… ironically, bringing large numbers of people together for public gatherings actually facilitated the spread of contagious illness and may, in fact have worsened epidemics in many cases.” (12) Eventually, families noticed their prayers weren’t working, this confused people, they would repeatedly question what their society was doing wrong. This confusion ultimately lead to the feeling of hopelessness shared among their communities, in some extreme cases of ””” despair, individuals would lose their will to live.””” (113) Oftentimes, the power of colonial societies would be further weakened by an experience where “The introduction of Old World pathogens and the subsequent arrival of Christianity forced native societies to reevaluate and reinterpret their cosmological structures.” (112) The contemplation of switching to a new religion created an internal struggle

Her religious indoctrinations allowed for her subjugation but ultimately, she broke free from her false consciousness and used her faith as a tool to fight oppression. However, this is an atypical response and there is a disconnection between teachings of the church and her own developed religious beliefs that empowered her to fight. The church as an institution can and has been used as a tool of oppression, Menchú recognizes this “Catholic Action and other religions and the system itself have all tried to keep us where we were. But I think that unless a religion springs from within the people themselves, it is a weapon of the system” (Menchú 157). In her own words the church is a weapon of the system, the system of oppression. However in time

Although religion is not the universal opium of the people, it helps many escape from reality. Sister Cecilia wants to become a saint, which seems to be her goal in life

Religion is a part of every person life. Religion touches the lives of a lot of people, be it for the positive or negative. Relationship between people and religion develop quickly and powerfully. In Shirley Jackson’s “The Lottery,” a yearly ritual is performed in which a person is stoned to death. Though no religion were stated, the ritual had many religious actions. The chosen woman, Tessie, follows along with the proceedings, she begins to quickly denounce the ritual once her family became the target. The relationship shown here is one of her sacrifices. The author Shirley Jackson seems to wonder how we would react, if we were made to be the sacrifices that our rituals or religions calls for.

While growing up with her father, her religion was forced upon her, as for their punishment the children were sentenced to “the verse”, in which they were required to right out one hundred lines direct from the bible by memory. She doesn’t seem to enjoy the idea of faith, but there is no doubt that she realizes it’s

An adage everyone has heard at least once in their life is “There is more than meets the eye.” The statement couldn’t be more relevant to those who grew up in religion. There seems to be this lens a religious person sees through based on what they've been taught. A person of faith is finally taught that what they see through this lens and what one has learned is not a concrete and direct reflection of the outside world when their perception of it has been challenged in one way or another. Upon this new realization most often, people would lean towards religion to gain the clarity that is needed. In the case of a child named Antonio, religion only added to his conflict. In the novel Bless Me Ultima by Rudulfo Anaya, Antonio instead turns to a woman named Ultima who stimulates his struggle between secular and spiritual thought, all while simultaneously removing the lens that was placed by narrow-minded thought.

could no longer go on. She believed in her faith and religion more than anything and

How do we find answers or meaning to the seemingly senseless experiences of violence, death, suffering and adversity? Why do some people turn to religion in times of adversity and suffering? Every day we eye witness or through media see many people who are faced with many types of struggles. These past few weeks the media has been swamp with the injustice and suffering of the families of young black men who are being abused by officers. Overseas we see many men, women and children being killed each day due to war, natural disasters, out breaks of disease and etc. And almost every day we see people who are homeless in the street. Many of which are ex veterans and or cannot find a job, therefore they are forced to live on the street without shelter, food, and proper clothing. Many people might not experience a great magnitude of adversity and suffering, but how can we deal with it and find meaning in it? What is religion really? Why is it that some people feel they can turn to religion? And what is it that turns people from religion The objective of

Spirituality and religion are often seen as significantly positive resources for individuals dealing with hardship and adversity throughout the life course. Spiritual coping is often effective and most often employed when in unfathomable situations or faced with "problems of human insufficiency" (Pargament, 1998). However, spirituality may also be diminished when it becomes associated with demoralization or negativity, such as when one feels abandoned by faith or condemned by the world (Van Hook, 2013) in their current situation or experience. Higher powers and spiritual connection then begin to appear either irrelevant or beyond reach, and viewpoints become fatalistic as individuals resign to the belief that their faith has not helped them.

Religion is man’s answer to the question why are we here. People devote themselves to their God or gods, finding purpose and meaning through their faith. In Flannery O’Connor’s Good Country People and A Good Man Is Hard to Find there are several characters who have found their faith and purpose in it, but there are also a few who still are lost. To hide their disbelief in God Manley Pointer and The Misfit created a set of polite mannerisms to fool other people. It is when these polite speeches break that one realizes that the human mind is hard wired to believe only what it can see, but a faith in the unseen is necessary to live a purposed life.

Soon after being held in captivity, Mary Rowlandson’s attitude started changing from hopeless to hopeful; “Oh, I may see the wonderful power of God, that my Spirit did not utterly sink under my affliction: still the Lord upheld me with His gracious and merciful spirit, and we were both alive to see the light of the next morning” (Rowlandson 131). Here Rowlandson is talking about how she is able to keep her spirit up even though her daughter is extremely sick and she has no friends to comfort her. She claims she is able to do this because of the great power of God. It seems like her mind is being uplifted by the thought of God, and she is able to focus on the good things she still has in life. I believe without her religious beliefs keeping her mentally healthy throughout all of her hardships, she would have never been able to handle her captivity as well as she did. Even after her daughter died, she is still able to keep herself together; “I have thought since of the wonderful goodness of God to me in preserving me in the use of my reason and senses in that distressed time, that I did not use wicked and violent means to end my own miserable life” (Rowlandson 132). She recognizes looking back that she could have easily decided to take her own life after losing her daughter at such a young and helpless age. It is God who protected her and kept her from doing anything bad to herself at such a low point

Angela “Angie” Robin Drury is the second daughter to father, Ronald Baxley, and mother, Mary Baxley. Born in Thomaston, Georgia, Angie grew up on a farm with her two sisters where she lived for 20 years. Growing up, her father being a former Navy officer, she experience a very strict household with little attention being given to her. Aside from home, Angie also experienced hardship in school being as her mother is Hispanic and father is White; growing up in the 60s and 70s was filled with no tolerance of different races, so her darker complexion made her a target a various racial terms as opposed to her older sister who inherited paler features and thrived in social settings. On top of her biracial background, Angie grew up in a household that held two different branches of Christianity, Catholic and Baptist. Though forced to practice both religions, as adult she decided to become a Baptist though she did not believe in any religion. Being that she did not like the feeling of having no control, Angie’s forced regular attendance caused her a lot of anger.

Religion provides hope for those who are hopeless. It aims to welcome those who are alienated and feel that their life has no purpose. Religion served the same function in the Middle Ages and Renaissance as it does today. However, religion was embraced more during the Middle Ages by desperate

She begins to feel even her own children are trying to kill her. She is shown then searching television for an answer. She stumbles upon the “700 Club” and becomes interested in its message. She allows Jesus into her heart and is saved. She has now become two things, a television star, and closer to Jesus. “To the uninitiated, it is not entirely clear to which is the higher estate.” (Postman, 115). Meanwhile, the untrained viewer sees this and becomes attracted. No one is saved, money is made by the producers, and wasted by the viewers. In Aldous Huxley’s Brave New World, there is no money. You are given privileges based on how you are born. There is also no religion. Without money or religion, all of these problems would have been avoided. Although the story of the suffering woman was no more than a well played act, this does happen in real life. However in the Brave New World society you are not given the chance to be sad. You are forced to be happy and are not given time or the will power to think on your own. As a child, you are conditioned to like certain things both awake and asleep. Love and emotion are outlawed in this society, both of which are associated strongly with religion. With contributions running in the millions, today’s religious television shows have no problem competing with other more popular shows, as they believe they are relaying a more important message. It has been estimated that the total revenue brought in by “electronic