Belief in a God is necessary for a moral society Essay

Not all people who are religious have sound morals, just as not all people who are atheistic are immoral. In his article, John Arthur discusses why religion does not depend on morality and morality does not depend on religion. Arthur seeks to alter the perspective of those who believe religion is necessary within a society to have a proper moral code. Many believe religion provides a purpose in life, a motivation to do what is right, and a set list of guidelines to follow in order to be a good person.

1. Examine the strengths and weaknesses of the argument for the existence of God based on religious experience. (18) 2. ‘The argument merely indicates the probability of God and this is of little value to a religious believer.’ Discuss. (12)

All moral arguments for the existence of God work on the principle that we all have a shared sense of morality. Despite cultural differences, broadly speaking, humans worldwide have a vague idea of what is right and what is wrong; a moral argument for the existence of God would say that this mutual understanding is proof of God's existence.

The focal purpose of the article ‘Americans get an ‘F’ in religion’ by Cathy Lynn Grossman is to explain how ignorant Americans are when it comes to other religions around the world and their own. Religion is a set of beliefs concerning the cause, nature, and purpose of the universe, especially when considered as the creation of a superhuman agency or agencies, usually involving devotional and ritual observances, and often containing a moral code governing the conduct of human affairs; a specific fundamental set of beliefs and practices generally agreed upon by a number of persons and sects. Being ignorant to something as vital as religion scares the author of this article

The belief that morality requires God remains a widely held moral maxim. In particular, it serves as the basic assumption of the Christian fundamentalist's social theory. Fundamentalists claim that all of society's troubles - everything from AIDS to out-of-wedlock pregnancies - are the result of a breakdown in morality and that this breakdown is due to a decline in the belief of God. This paper will look at different examples of how a god could be a bad thing and show that humans can create rules and morals all on their own. It will also touch upon the fact that doing good for the wrong reasons can also be a bad thing for the person.

Religion is a necessity to life, as backed up by Thomas Paine’s “American Crisis.” Paine has had quite the history revolving around the American government, as he wrote “Common Sense,” a best seller that offered a rhetorical view about why the colonies should split from Britain. However, he then decided to write “American Crisis” in order to offer his unique but logical view on religion and how everyone should go about deciding what they worship. His idea was that religion is necessary in order to live and keep one’s morals straight, however widespread religion are corrupting and brainwashing everybody, so everyone should have their own religion in the church of their mind.

Faith and reason can be viewed as opposites. Faith is an element of belief, something an individual does not necessarily require a reason for accepting without reason. For example, an individual’s reason for believing in God may not seem too rational when they are trying to explain them. They may not even stand up to criticism. On the other hand, reason is constructed as a formula. Faith is basically something we believe in, like something we learn in church. Reason is something we learn in school, such as a math formula.

Religion, whether we realize it or not, is a major element of American society (and also worldwide history). For many, religion is a significant part of their cultural identity. Religion plays a part in all levels of politics and is often an aspect of community events and organizations. Everyday, we all interact with people who have different religious backgrounds and personal beliefs. Children born into religious families are very connected with their religions from birth and this affects the way they will see the world for the rest of their lives. Even those who later explore other faiths or convert to other religious ideas will be affected in

In a 2016 poll conducted by Gallup.com, 89% of Americans states that they believe in God. Moreover, in a different 2014 poll conducted by Gallup.com 75% of Americans stated that the bible was the word of God. Additionally, in a 2014 poll conducted by Pew research found that only 3.1% of Americans consider themselves atheist and 4% consider themselves agnostic. It is a common narrative that in recent years less people are following religion atheism is growing. This narrative is somewhat correct, as more people are becoming atheist, the trend is happening much slower then most people believe. The fact that 89% of Americans believe in God clearly shows that God matters in todays world. The reason that belief in God is proof that God matters in the present world is because people who believe in God have different views on society than people who do not. The 2014 Gallup poll referenced earlier also found that 28% of Americans believe that the bible is the exact word of God and should be taken literally. This implies that this 28% of people believe in verses from the bible like “I do not permit a woman to teach or to have authority over a man; she must be silent.” Moreover, in more religious places in the world the idea of God has an even larger impact.

This section provides us with two selections from the essays of William K. Clifford (1845-1879) and William James (1842-1910). Clifford's essay, The Ethics of Belief, is based on the concept of evidentialism. This concept 'holds that we should not accept any statement as true unless we have good evidence to support its truth'; (Voices of Wisdom, 346). James wrote his essay, The Will to Believe, as a response to Clifford's essay where he endorsed a philosophy called pragmatism.

Most of the Earth’s population believes in some type of religion, but some don’t have a religion. Most of the time when someone thinks of a person without a religion they think of the stereotype in which they are bad people for not having one. I personally don’t believe in any religion, I don’t even believe in ghosts. I’ve always questioned religion. In my opinion, bad things happen for no good reason. Terrible things happen to innocent people. Why would a god with unlimited power let those terrible things happen? I wasn’t too sure if a god did exist at first but I felt sure after what happened three years ago.

Morality only exists if we believe in God; therefore if God doesn’t exist there is no morality. There have been so many evil acts committed in the name of God that it is difficult to maintain that a belief in God equates to morality. There are situations that happen every day where decisions are made based off of human rights that contradict the word of God. Morality comes from within, it is an understanding of right versus wrong and the ability to choose what is right. Knowing all this a belief in God is not a requirement for a person to be moral. (Mosser, 2011)

Religion in the world has always been considered a rather important aspect of society. Although this is true, there are still people that question the existence of God. A survey done among 1000 people showed that 65 percent of Americans believe that religion is losing its influence on American life (Sheler, 8). Even so, Belief in a God is necessary for a moral society because since the beginning of history man has always made up some sort of role model to explain events and situations that seem inexplicable, God gives people a sense of comfort and hope to know they aren't alone, and when a society believes in a God, there is a religion behind it that gives ethics and values that they must

Of course, it may well be that the Universe is not fair – Kant had a

Belief - having an affinity in believing something is true. This single word, vague, and short. As submissive as it is, Belief tends to get on roads that it never means to. The road diverges into two, and a choice has to be made. Manipulation passes, and it takes a hold of Belief. Without any knowledge, he willingly follows. This is the basis of a belief. I love the manipulation angle. Usually I think of “belief” as such a positive, hopeful word. But you are right… it is equally dangerous. Good.