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 …show more content…
Furthermore, we can explore how different societies influence religion and utilize it to propagate their agendas while justifying their actions to still fit the core tenants of their religion. With the exception of a handful of very isolated, very rare societies, the world is patriarchic. Meaning that on every level of hegemony, the male figurehead is the ultimate leader. From head of state, to CEO, to General, to even the household, a man has historically been in charge. Multiple studies have shown that human beings naturally form groups and elect leaders to dictate what the group does; this serves two functions 1) it makes the group more effective by having one person dictating everyone’s actions instead of wasting time pursuing different methods and 2) Gives everyone assigned roles so that, for the most part, people do not further their own interests and act in relation to their position to the leader. While we claim that our society is democratic and all people are equal (in the Western World primarily) the majority of history has been a form of monarchy, tribal elder, or warrior-chief. That is to say, humans formed groups with one ultimate voice that ruled unchallenged, “it is not surprising, then to find religious leaders in every
As time has progressed, religious scrutiny has expanded. Systems of faith are often written off as fruitless, but religion holds strong purposes. Cultures have religion to explain surroundings, unite individuals, and provide hope.
The riddle of the origin of man has been subject to many ponderings and theories for thousands of years. In America, two theories concerning this timeless question have driven a spike through the general populace. These two beliefs, Evolution and Christianity, have driven a riff through the American populace and fueled several debates and conflicts over which is the truer theory. Incidents such as the decision of the Kansas school board to ban schools from including the Evolution Theory from their curriculum are becoming a tragically frequent and threaten to escalate if not checked soon. However, there is a growing belief in America today in the possibility of believing that evolution is an inescapable fact while still
Humanity is constantly searching for inclusion. Everyone has an innate and incurable desire to feel like, to feel wanted, to feel needed. For many people, religion is a tool to achieving that goal. Religion is like an open door to a group of peers who are often accepting and loving all all strangers who seek embrace. However, the problem of religion arises when it becomes too self serving and the original purpose of religion is forgotten, the morality and kindness that God embodies. Illuminating the undeniable similarities between all forms of religion, religious wars become insignificant, proving the human desire to achieve superiority and dominance with their social group.
The meaning of religion is something that scholars, along with society at large, have attempted to define for centuries. Although the term cannot truly have one solid meaning, it is clear that religion is much more than a set of beliefs and practices. In Religion: The Basics, author Mallory Nye discusses his approach to studying religion. In arguing that culture and religion strongly influence each other, he explains that those studying religion must make people and culture their focus, as variations even within the same religions exist and must be considered. Moreover, Nye explains how religion is, essentially, a universal concept, as it takes form in an array of shapes across the globe. With Nye’s argument, I have developed new insights
1. In a minimum of 100 words, describe the basic teachings of Zoroastrianism. What a fascinating religion, Zoroastrianism is! I never knew this religion existed. The first time I heard the word “Zoroastrianisam” it was a few months back when someone on Facebook was talking about Gal Gadot, the actress that plays wonder woman and saying that she is Zoroastrian, like it was a bad thing. Then, I found a chapter in my text book pertaining to Zoroastrianisam and I was excited to read the chapter, just to see what they are talking about. I asked myself, why would this be a bad thing if someone is Zoroastrian? I learned that this is probably the oldest monotheistic religion on the world and most importantly, the base for 3 major religions. Judaism,
Religion as a Conservative Force Describing Religion as a 'Conservative Force' seems to imply that Religion is an inhibitor of social change and used as a means by which to maintain the existing order of Society and the Status Quo. Some Sociologists such as Durkheim and Marx would agree with this and there are others who would argue against such a claim. It is a debate, one side says Religion inhibits change and the other says it sets social change in motion.
Radical Religion is a religion that takes what is good from life and turns it into evil. The Crusades and the Taliban are an example of a Society that does take good and turn it into evil. There are different ways of how they might show the good and the evil as they can ban events that might have history in the country.
In 1895 Charles Darwin published a book describing his theory of evolution, and his theory of the natural selection process. This theory caused much uproar in the religious community because Darwin’s theory went against the story of creation portrayed in the Holy Bible. His theory claimed that all life currently in place had evolved and adapted from a single organism in the beginning. Over time and by process of natural selection only the dominant species were left over while the other, less dominant species, went extinct. His theory, backed by scientific analysis, had dismissed the idea of a single deity creating all life on Earth. It is not like Darwin had a personal agenda against religion or anything,
There are several reasons why I have the religious affiliation that I do. My membership, unlike that of so many, has very little to do with the choices my friends and family have made. My decision was based on reason and personal experiences. While some may say that these things are both easily influenced by parents and peers, in my case I have parents of different faith and therefore have less direct influence from them.
Religion is interesting to me because it is a prevalent part of society and my community, but is a subject in which I have minimal experience or education. Investigating religions and their intent vs. impact will give me an opportunity to have my own unbiased experiences with these religions, and will allow me to provide my community with information that might help them to better understand society. I believe that my project fits best under the global contexts of Identities and Relationships, as well as Personal and Cultural Expression. Identities and Relationships is about exploring the beliefs and values of myself and others. This is what I plan to do when studying these religions and the various members of them. Personal and Cultural Expression is about the way in which people express their beliefs and values. This applies to my project because I intend to look at how these choices of expression impact the way these religions are perceived by the majority of society. Viewing my project through the lens of these global contexts will allow me to stay in the correct frame of mind when attempting to achieve my
I was born into and have grown up in a time of terrorism in the world. It is a word I frequently hear in my life from people I know, on the News, or in things I read. But terrorism unlike persecution hasn’t always been a common term. Persecution of faith has always been in the world. Ever since the old testament times; The Lord shows this when Daniel writes Daniel 6:10-12 “10 Now when Daniel learned that the decree had been published, he went home to his upstairs room where the windows opened toward Jerusalem. Three times a day he got down on his knees and prayed, giving thanks to his God, just as he had done before. 11 Then these men went as a group and found Daniel praying and asking God for help. 12 So they went to the king and spoke to him about his royal decree: “Did you not publish a decree that during the next thirty days anyone who prays to any god or human being except to you, Your Majesty, would be thrown into the lion's’ den?” The king answered, “The decree stands—in accordance with
Have you ever wonder how both culture and religion influence each other? Well they are more than just an influence to each other, in fact they are connected to each other. For example, culture leads to religion and religion leads to culture, in fact culture and religion are a great influence to the growth and success of a civilization. Also, culture and religion have a great effect on whether a civilization declines.
In my short life on this planet I have come to question things that many take upon blind faith. We all know that we must some day die; yet we continuously deny the forces at work inside ourselves, which want to search out the answers of what may or may not come after. It is far easier for humanity to accept that they will go to a safe haven and be rewarded for their lives with pleasures and fantasies of an unfathomable scale than to question the existence of a supposed omnipotent being. Yet, there are a few of us humans who tend to question the why's and wherefore's that society puts forth to us. We question the existence of God, or the creation of mankind rather than blindly accepting faith-filled beliefs we may received from our parents
We all have some experience with religion. Whether our parents are religious, our own religious views, or others who try and convert you to a religion, we have all come in contact with a religion. But what do sociology and religion have to do with each other? The answer to this question is that religion meets sociology in the affects that it has on an individual or society (Schaefer, Richard T, 2009, pg 323).
As long as humans have walked the Earth, we have sought out answers. Answers for questions like: "Why are we here? Where do we go when we die? Where did we come from? and What's that?" How different people answered these questions is important to study because it shows us the spiritual side of human nature. Especially now, a time of conflict between Islam and Western Civilization, it is important to look back and trace the evolution of religion. To see where we started and perhaps, gain some perspective into what is happening now and what may happen in the future.