What do you think of when you hear the word religion? Personally, I think of God, Sundays, church, worshiping, praying, and the bible. Now, what do you think of when you hear the word football? Personally, I think of the Carolina Panthers, other football teams, Sunday afternoons, stadiums, cheering, and praying. If you take a closer look, the two have a lot of similarities. “A ritual is considered a religious or solemn ceremony consisting of a series of actions performed according to a prescribed order (dictionary).” While comparing the two, you will see how the rituals of these two subjects have much resemblance in meaning. On Sunday mornings, thousands of people gather together at their local church to celebrate our Lord. On Sunday afternoons, thousands of people gather in front of their television sets to watch their favorite football team. Although going to church and watching football seem to be on two opposite ends of the spectrum, they could both be considered a ritual or religious experience for the people involved. “Let’s simply take a look at the vocabulary associated with both, faith, devotion, worship, ritual, dedication, sacrifice, commitment, spirit, prayer, suffering, festival, and celebration (Barber, 2017)”. Contrary to popular belief, football is America’s fastest growing religion. Religion does not necessarily have to be about God and going to church, but can also be expressed as sporting events through players, coaches, and fans. I am going to explain to
Pakistan, May 2007 around 8:00 pm, I existed the local madrasa (religious school), completing the 5th daily prayer and recitation of the Quran, and proceeded to head home wearing my light blue Kameez, White Salwar, and a Kufi on my head to offer a sign of humility before God. The reason I remember that warm windy night is because that day the mullah taught me that we humans are sent to earth by almighty god so he can test our loyalty to him. Those who follow his true path will ascend to the heavens upon death, and those who disobey him and his prophets will suffer in hell for eternity. I was 8 back then and life was good. Despite the Taliban decapitating captured soldiers and letting them rot in the intersections to
Religion is constructed on faith and belief of an individual even though it is the individual choice to follow it or not. It has stirred a lot of debates for years; those who are trying to prove that God exists throughout history and follow to modern day. While, those who are atheist are trying to prove their point of God does not exist. There are still more and more theories and debate over the subject of religious view. It is a matter of theism versus atheism; new and old philosophers have joined the debate and all with different sides to another philosopher’s theory or view on the matter. In this paper, I will attempt to illustrate the reasons given by Louis Pojman of why religion is good or bad, as well as evaluating Bertrand Russell argument about religion. This can define the meaning of life and the creation of life as we know it. It can change views or switch sides for there is always another explanation to exactly what religion is all about and having a superior ruler that created all.
Michael Jordan once stated, “Obstacles don’t have to stop you. If you run into a wall, don’t turn around and give up. Figure out how to climb over it, go through it, or walk around it.” This inspirational quote motivated many to overcome adversity when challenged by it. The texts, Speak by Laurie Anderson, “Third and Final Continent” by Lahiri Lahiri, and “The Art of Resilience” by Hara Marano, all have themes similar to Jordan’s quotation. All three articles support this through symbolism, foreshadowing, and character interactions. A common theme that one must stay resilient in order to overcome challenges while also staying level-headed during the positive and negatives is shown in Speak, “The Third and Final Continent,” and “The Art of Resilience.”
Religion was the third value that was a key to the success of Louie. Louie went through many things. A couple of things he went through were: many attacks by the Japanese when he was in the Air corps, being stranded in the ocean for forty seven days, and being a prisoner of war at Ofuna, Omori, and Naoetsu for two years. When he was a prisoner of war he was always tortured by the Japanese guards and especially by Mutsuhiro Watanabe, the bird, who was the commander. They injected Louie with the dengue fever several times to see how much his body could take and he slept with maggots. The bird beat him all the time and he ended up leaving him death in one ear. When American planes got closer the bird made the guards punch each prisoner 200 times
Chris Kalassen’s Religion in Popular Culture argues sports can act as a religion today. Seemingly, tests of athleticism and skill have been around for years. Perhaps this lived religion is more prominent in communities today. One common trend sports possess is their ability to unite a crowd and provide a sense of community. While those who are the chosen best embodies what it means to be the best. The best example of how to lead a great life are often the religious figure head many worships. Sunday is the sacred day for many Americans. This past Sunday, along with its religious significance, was the annual super bowl. The Atlanta Falcons and the New England Patriots went head-to-head in the Houston NRG Stadium. The Super Bowl drew in over
Draven forgot his lines once, and when he remembered, he yelled out dramatically, “Million dollar question goes to Draven!” When he accidentally said ‘grows’ instead of ‘blows’, he shouted ‘blows’ three times while clapping horrendously loud, igniting loud laughter from the other kids. perhaps that’s how he dealt with nerves. He added a comedic aspect to the group. However, he still maintained a focus on what he was doing. He fiercely acted out his lines while still having fun and being himself.
Over 33,000 Protestant denominations - I had no idea there were so many! At first glance, it would seem that the Roman Catholic authorities were right. However, when freedom is allowed and we do not persecute those who disagree with us, different perspectives naturally develop. Having different denominations is understandable, even expected, as people are free to think through the truths of Scripture. Admittedly, 33,000+ denominations is a bit excessive.
Would a non-denominational reading of a prayer before school violate the United States Constitution? The First Amendment states, “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances” (Bill of Rights).That being stated, the Supreme Court had no reasonable explanation to take the privilege of prayer out of schools. Therefore, Church and state should not be separated as people have the right to express their religion, and with expression can teach children their own moral values.
Throughout my period of searching for arguments and discussions, I had come across a couple videos on YouTube that appealed to me the most. One video was about how a girl had pushed her so-called boyfriend to suicide. The people in that video had mentioned how the girl was wrong with her actions and how could a human ever push anyone to do that. Another argument was a video over an Anti-Rape activist who had posted an explicit video to stand up against rape. The people in that discussion argued how she was either doing right or wrong in her actions. Both of these arguments are the most appealing to me so I will focus on them for my analysis. The reason I had chosen these arguments is that I like how they both have people who bring their emotions into the discussion to argue for their side of what they believe is right in the situation.
Going to a place where poverty reigns supreme really makes you appreciate what you have. In past years the city of Detroit has taken on a less than admirable reputation. Crime and poverty are often associated with the former car capital of the Midwest. Most people wouldn’t want to step foot in the city, afraid of what they might experience. But if I had the chance to go back, I would take it in a heartbeat. Detroit is living proof that you shouldn’t judge a book by its cover.
Society exudes pressure to be someone who you are not, especially to high schoolers. The sporty people play all the sports, the nerds are all up in their books, and worried about the future and what’s to come. Then there are the outcasts, who just want to live their life, and just don’t care. And because of this, it’s hard for them to show who they really are. This is notably true for Margo Roth Spiegelman, everyone saw Margo as someone she wasn’t. They saw her as the it girl, or the mysterious girl, or the girl with all the girl with all the friends. This, however, is not true, she’s just like any other 18-year-old senior in high school, she likes music and has (or had) a boyfriend. But in other ways she was different, she didn’t want to go to college, start a family, have just one boring job where you work in a cubicle all day. She wanted to travel the world, live on her own, and just not care. However, this was hard for her to show because of the pressure to be someone else, in other words, she was what society wanted her to be. Then there was Quentin, he had his own friends, didn’t have any real problems with people, and was just overall himself. This is why he was not popular because he was himself. This is what Margo needed and eventually learned that you have to be who you are, and not what society portrays you as.
At the start of every school day, students in the United states pledge their allegiance to their country. But is it only their country their pledging allegiance to? It is clear that the government is blatantly trying to coerce children into believing in god, therefore I believe they should remove the phrase “under god” from the pledge.
Religion was discovered back in 2000 BC and is considered to be a trait common to cultures worldwide to this day. Some use religion as a way to cope, to connect, but few could use religion as a weapon against others. Since religion began, over 195,035,000 lives have been lost in tragedies brought on in the name of faith. Regardless of the brutality religion has created, it has also caused others to come together in order to speak out. As a result of religions regression in society, humans are able to progress for the sake of defending human rights.
In the United States there are over four million buddhists, one thousand temples, study groups, or Buddhists associations (Monroe 108). This number has come from just one man searching to find happiness and eventually enlightenment. Buddha’s story is how buddhism became a religion all over the world. It teaches a peaceful manner, reveals the key to happiness for the mind, and eliminates the desire in life. Not just the history of buddhism is important, but how it has spread through the world and what it looks like today.
Imagine a world in which you are prohibited from traveling to another country, even though you are guaranteed the basic right to practice your religion. Remember how over fifteen years ago, people that shared nothing but your religion committed acts of terrorism, and people still hold you responsible. Picture an era where you and your people were persecuted, but now reciprocators of the oppressors are marching freely without a second thought. You can stop imagining now. Because this is the world we live in. A society of religious intolerance. It is defined as, “not respecting the fundamental human right of other people to hold religious beliefs that are different from your own” (“Religious Intolerance Introduction”). Around the world in six predominantly Muslim countries, citizens are forbidden from coming to America because of an executive order issued by the US. Likewise, on September 11th, 2001, a group of Muslim terrorists hijacked a plane, killing thousands. In present day, people only connected to them by their religion are still being judged for actions they didn’t perform. Another situation in which bigotry occurred was in World War II. The Nazi Party attempted to gain control of many European and Asian countries, all the while trying to rid the world of races and religions they saw as inferior. Now the Neo-Nazis have the right to march freely and spread their hateful messages. Religious intolerance is a pressing issue, causing harrassment, inequality, violence, and