Religion : The Effect Of Religion In Society

Almost all religions around the world are based on a belief. Almost every religion have certain rules and principles that order together within a society: Many people misunderstand and misinterpret the holy texts the Bible, Quran, Torah, and others fabricate. Religion is defined as faith to a higher being who one believes has created us. It has also been used as laws through history to stop the committing of crimes. In many religions, the consequences of breaking rules and regulations of the religion are burning in the pit of hell. Religion is man-made and was created for many reasons but mainly to keep peace and justice in the world. But the words can be manipulated and used as an excuse to start wars on this planet. This caused many to believe that the world would be a better place without religion.

societies usually desire the perfect reflection of them .As time passes and life changes so do religions ,however the bases of the religion remain. Each religion has different dominations, each to fit certain societies . some of the reasons why one may be religious could include social and psychological aspects. Religion could help cope with stress, give hope and peace of mind .It could give a sense of community , along with a support group , It also gives a worldview , purpose , and a system of ethics . Because religion fulfills human needs it has not extinct

Religion, in some form or another, is the oldest fundamental belief every culture has in common. For a lot of people, it defines a way to live our lives. Religion accentuates the meaning of being good and righteous. It also sentences those of us who are immoral and do wrong. Religion strives to make us better in all that we do in order to reach the highest level so that we live a good life. If we fail in our quest, we may be condemned to Hell, and if we succeed, we may become rewarded by God and allowed to go to Heaven. In a nutshell, this sums up what I have been taught about religion since I was old enough to attend church on Sundays. I believe that religion is more than a black and white issue. If that were the case then everyone around

“Religion is simply an ideal. It is an ideal force that tends to free the human being from material bonds. ” (Nikola Tesla) Religion has played a leading role in the development of the human race, providing people with the motivation and purpose that they needed to survive and thrive in more barbaric times. Living in fear of being slaughtered by your neighboring countries is something that we have the fortune of not worrying about, but we do deal with more sophisticated issues. With developments in government, technology, medicine, we live in an age of scientific enlightenment and creativity. In this new era of intelligence, the ideal of religion is being put on the backburner. Religion has become an archaic system that people use to reject proven

Religion to me is a set of rules and beliefs of one individual to be followed by an abundance of people. As William A. Graham states in Why Study Religion In the 21st Century “Religion is the key element in every culture and in every phase of history.” All over the world, religion is a huge thing for people. Religion has brought people closer than ever before, An example is how close America became during 9/11. That day America was united as a whole. Religion has also had its down right degrading moments. The holocaust, is one of the most disturbing and screwed up things to ever happen to a group of people because of who they believe in.

Religion is one the oldest practices in the history of society or communities of people. It is human nature to want to believe in something greater than just what you can see. Religion has been found in practically every single society that has ever existed and it will most likely never cease to exist. It is found in every corner of the earth and in every time period and with each one there are lots of similarities along with a few differences. In today’s social climate, a great deal of interest seems to be placed on the differences and not on the common threads. Buddhism and Christianity are two religions that began in completely different parts of the world and were founded for completely different reasons, but actually have a lot more in

Through out history religion has play many crucial roles in the lives of the peoples of early civilization. It seems that early in human social and cultural development there was a need to explain the supernatural forces that governed the world around us. Things that had no reasonable explanation must have been attributed to something much larger and much more powerful. Throughout the development of these civilizations when religion was tied to the centralize power with a power projection or claiming some divine right. While in certain civilizations religion took on it’s own intrinsic value and from there developed distinct beliefs that set them apart from other developing cultures/civilizations versus the uniqueness of their own.

The other common feature in many religions is the distinction of sacred places, time, events or people from ordinary ways of life (Steinicke and Volkhard 17). Muslims, for instance, have set up Fridays as their holy day of worshipping Allah. Every member of the Muslim faith are expected to present themselves to the Mosques on Fridays in order to thank God for almost everything that had been done to them. Friday, therefore, is not like any other day in Muslim’s calendar. The Buddhists have built temples where they worship on specified days or time (McKim 28). The temple is also furnished with idols representing Buddha in order to separate such a place from any other building. Christians consider churches as the most holy grounds for worshipping God. The place that has been selected for worshipping or meeting to discuss matters related to religion is usually separated from other places in order to show the importance. Such a distinction makes it easier for people to notice the difference and strengthen their faith or belief in the supernatural being (Walter 79). A day that has been set a set for worshipping shows a recognition that the belief is real and people should focus on strengthening their faith.

Pascal Boyer 's article of "Why religion is natural?" is one that really gets the audience to think. It begins to raise questions like " Where does religion come from?" and "Who sets the standards for religion?". More importantly, it causes us to wonder what religion really is. In this article Boyer perfectly defined and framed his view on religion which came mostly from a psychological point of view, but he also mentioned it from an anthropology perspective and neurological perspective. Religion is a system of beliefs and practices that are found amongst all human groups and can be dated back to the beginning of human culture and interaction. He mentions that "belief in religion activates mental systems involved in a whole variety of non-religious domains." (Boyer. 2). For most of my life I have always seen religion as being associated with God as the superior being only but, after reading Boyer 's article, I have realized that it is actually more than that.

Religion has been a powerful force in human history. Mankind has longed and searched for the answers to its purpose, the reason for being and the possibility of life after physical death. They reasoned that an afterlife would be a place of accounting and reckoning for the life they lived on earth. Religious belief systems seemed to give the answers as to how to prepare for the afterlife. Religion became the means of giving answers to those basic yet deep-seated questions of both life and death. Religion provided a format of rules and laws for conduct and treatment toward others based on the desires and wishes of a god or gods that people envisioned, imagined or invented. Religious belief systems have been a powerful force for good and bad...good in the sense that it provided a measure of individual behavior and order in society for the wellbeing of the whole, but bad in the sense that men of ambition who craved power and control over others would often use religion as a tool of manipulation and fear. A casual glance of history tells us that complete civilizations have been built, grown and maintained around elaborate religious systems, ancient Egypt being a prime example.

Religions have been present in this world for thousands of year, providing ancient civilizations answers to their questions and a moral code to abide by. Today, religion still serves a similar purpose and more, forming and changing as time goes on. Though religions today may share some elements, they do share their own opinions and preach of different practices, all of them affect or are affected by the modern world.

As scientific studies have increased dramatically over the past few decades, religious numbers have been down. Religion has been a major part of people’s lives since the beginning of human existence. What if religion died off? How would people live? This is an important topic because it shows how science has proved religion wrong. Multiple studies have been conducted over the years to see if science really has an effect on religion and how people that believe in science compare to the people that do not; such as surveying scientists and regular people on their beliefs or organizing brain studies on religious and nonreligious people. Also, studies have been conducted on the moral choices of religious people and how it compares to others. From these surveys, regular people tend to be more religious than scientists. Criminals were most likely not to believe in Hell. Religious people tended to be more morally correct than atheists. These results have shown that religion has kept people thinking correctly and it is not going anywhere anytime soon. However, religious numbers are dropping, mostly due to scientific influence. Some people today do not feel the need to go to church. Overall, religion has left the lives of many people all over the world because of scientific studies that have proven many of their beliefs wrong.

This week was about religion impact on humans and world views, as matter of fact sometimes they are both closely connected. Many of collectivistic countries, especially in Africa, are also monotheistic. In class my professor said that many years ago, the big part of the world were collectivistic, people cared more about each other and they were more family oriented. Currently, both cultures individualistic and collectivistic are so distinct. One is family oriented, and the other is self oriented. Looking closer, individualistic people are obviously human doing because they are always busy trying to figure out what the future holds for them. They work tirelessly to achieve their goals which also take all time. In collectivistic culture also, people are no longer different from individualistic when it comes to time orientation. It is becoming more common that young people are leaving their family house early than it used to be for different reasons, education or work. This habit is becoming acceptable in our society because the education standards set on the labor market are higher. As my country’s government has set the masters degree, as the education level required to get a job in most of governmental institutions, people are working hard to get their masters degree and fit for the requirement.

I was raised in a Christian household and, as such, grew up with a set of Christian morals and values bestowed unto me by the social institution of religion. The function of religion in society is to satisfy our human need for the knowledge, meaning, and purpose of our existence. Religion also provides members with a sense of community and belonging; Christianity is no different. Weekly church service, Sunday school, church choir, and various other activities make members feel interconnected, as though they belong to an exclusive club. Nevertheless, it is an institution with an extensive set of rules. These rules are broad, ranging from the more obvious ten commandments and seven deadly sins, to the subtler expected Sunday offerings and dress-code. Males filling the position of pastor was uncontested in my childhood church, and I have personally witnessed a blind-eye turned to a victim of abuse in the church because her husband was a prominent member; members who did not hold a prominent position and bent the rules were often ostracized. Although they were not officially banished from the church, they were socially excommunicated and, therefore, lost the sense of belonging that the church once provided for them. These rules in the bible and church serve to govern peoples thoughts and actions, influencing them to behave in a way in which society perceives as acceptable.

Religion has been part of our lives for some 2,000 years. Philosophers, kings, Queens, Politicians, and ordinary individuals have explored the positive and negative contributions, which religion has had towards humanity. As we examine the impact of religion on us as part of a community and as individuals, we realize that in one way or another, religion helped to form concepts that harmed a group of people that were and still are massively relevant to the practices of such belief. Although women were allowed and are allowed to practice religion independently of the faith, many taboos were created that challenged the validity and credential of such practice. In medieval times and colonial Latin America, many women were questioned about the methods they used to communicate with God. Many women became the subject to be criticized, accused, expelled, and impelled by society, which with the help of their misunderstanding of the practices of religion, was responsible for depriving women who only had a different way of relating to God. One may argue that the reason why these women were accused of practicing religion in an “inappropriate” way was because of the lack of understanding of the word religion and how it should be practiced.