Religion : The Importance Of Religion In Our Society

For purpose of this essay, religion will be defined as a collection of institutional beliefs and customs concerning humanity and the purpose of the universe [1]. Key beliefs within religion that will be explored, as well as there relation to reason, are:

What purpose does religion serve? Why does religion continue to play an important role in human life? Koenig (2009) declared that atheism is rare, and rather, 90% of the world’s population practices religion or spirituality. Religion and spirituality have ambiguous meanings and are not universally defined. Although difficult to adequately define, Koenig (2009) inferred that “religion is rooted in an established tradition that arises out of a group of people with common beliefs and practices concerning the sacred” (p. 284). Spirituality, however, is often defined on an individual basis and not necessarily connected to religious beliefs (Koenig, 2009). Researchers often relate spirituality to personal interaction with spiritual entities

The social construction of religion should not be considered, in all, a bad idea. It does offer core values and represents in its simplest form – moral good, yet any man made thing can be corrupt. What led me to my position was where I

Religion is a species-specific human universal phenomenon, complex, full of paradoxes, and found in all cultures. Social scientists and anthropologists since the late 17th century have attempted to rationally answer questions about religion, and while we can't evaluate the veracity of religion’s claims, we can attempt to understand its functions.

“Religion is a ritualized system of beliefs and practices related to things defined as sacred by an organized community of believers.” (Basirico et.al. 379). Religion is an important element in the society because it influences the way individuals act and think. It has shaped the relationship and bonding among families as well as influenced the decision made in economics and politics. Religion in general has contributed to shape a society and a government structure which will influence the way the individuals under certain governmental structure behave. Sociologists are interested in religion mainly because religious belief is heavily rooted in individuals’ lives and it helps sociologists to interpret human’s actions, expression, and

In this essay we will discuss the importance of religion in society. We will attempt to explain why societies have religions and what functions their belief system has for them. We will also ask if these functions are now out-dated and if religions have any meaningful function in today's world or are they just stained glass windows into a bygone era? 'Religion' can be defined by two main groupings. 'The inclusive definition' covers all topics and subjects of a persons life including, not only, their belief in a deity but also their belief and belongingness to music, sport and any other interests the person may hold. 'The exclusive definition' refers to just their belief system regarding a 'supra-human' (Browne 2005, p. 311). It is mainly

Religion has never been a very big factor in my life. I celebrated Christmas and Easter, went to church for a christening once in awhile and was dragged to a few services around wedding or funeral times but other than that my family never actively practiced too much. I personally have never had any sort of religious service administered to me and have never had any religious model or figure that I would consider to be a follower of. My grandparents are slightly more involved in their religious endeavors however they still do just about as little with their christianity as possible. I have yet to discover a religion that I truly believe I would dedicate myself to however I understand the appeal as to why people find their support through religion.

Most might say, praying to God will forgive all the crimes we committed. To some, religion is the beacon of light that provides hope and prosperity. To me, religion is wasting my opportunity to finish my homework, to go to work, to hang out with my friends before they move on. These are some of the reasons why I believe religion is wrong. Furthermore, religion is a large corporation that cannot provide facts about itself.

With religion being an important structure in many people’s lives, it is important to understand what it is. According to Authors Hood, Hill and Spilka (2009), “Few human concerns are taken more seriously than religion” (p. 2). In fact research from Gallup and Lindsay (1999) and Poloma and Gallup (1991) show that, “[a]bout 97% of U.S. residents believe in God, and that about 90% pray” (as cited in Hood, Hill and Spilka, 2009, p. 2). All of this shows that religion is quite important to the majority of the population. It is even a large part of our culture with many every day events, such as births and marriages, having religious rituals associated with them (Hill, Hood, and Spikla, 2009, p.1). Because of the importance religion has in society, and even on an individual level it is of upmost importance to understand religion. To comprehend religion,

Sociological prospective on religion explains the functions of religion perform, the inequality and other it can buildup and maintain and the role it plays in our daily life.

Based on a sociological perspective religion is defined as consisting of three key elements: it is a form of culture; it involves beliefs that take the form of ritualized practice; and it provides a sense of purpose. However, since religion crosses so many diverse boundaries in human experience, it is notoriously difficult to define. Though many attempts have been made, and while every theory has its limitations, each perspective contribute significantly to our understanding of this multifaceted phenomenon.

Ever since I was little I’ve always admired the earth that we live on. How the grass grows and the animals move was always mesmerizing to me. I’ve always had a large respect for this planet and everything on it. Through religion I have always had a large connection to Earth and all the beings on it. Religion has always been a large part of my life even since I was a child I have always been a member of the catholic church and have been very religious. I was told as a child that God was the creator of everything and everyone but now that I have learned the theories of the origins of the world and the universe I have started to question this.

Religion has taken on many forms over the past 5,000 years. From the gods of ancient Egypt to Christianity as we know it, one aspect remains static. Religion has acted as a binding agent between individuals. It creates a group of like-minded individuals and sets guidelines in accordance to the core set of beliefs. What came first: society or religion? According to Emile Durkheim, religion is a product of society’s need for a social order. The role of religion in the society reflects the state of humanity at that time, not the state of God. Religious behavior in the United States, as recorded through a survey done by the Association of Religion Data Archives, is reflective of Durkheim’s central point that religion’s role in society is to act as the structural bones, and keep people contained. Society stands on its own, whereas religion stands on society.

For millions of years, billions of humans have existed and every single one of their lives will end with death. Over these years, many humans have founded multiple religions that explain that which cannot be explained. While the majority of people devote their lives to these religions, these religions come across as fear mongering campaign against the evils they are creating. The honest answer of what happens after death is still not proven in today, leaving millions of people to decide to either believe in a religion where they find closure, of the complete opposite. When it comes to religion, many humans lost their lives standing up for their cause in hopes of not being forsaken by their God. Christianity alone is responsible for many outburst of violence in the world, such as the Thirty Years War and the Crusades. While these wars do not disprove religion in any means, they do prove that people will fight others for having slightly different beliefs that themselves. In other words, religion can be used an excuse in order to fight for superiority amongst the Earth population. Humans genetically want to be involved in modern life and change, which all ends once death rears its ugly head, so is it possible that a religious afterlife after death is a man-made?

Organized religion has a huge influence in today’s world, we have seen religion have power and control over people in many types of ways in different religions, it is the only easy way to convince people in how to live in today’s society, government also has been involved to manipulate people enforcing laws and making you obey them, creating churches saying to make "donations" for the better cause of the church when they are just spending money on themselves right in front of the general public noises without them knowing, making themselves look foolish, another thing would make them believe they will be in hell for eternal life if they don’t follow the laws of their organized religion, making religion control people in what to do then how to do it themselves like creating their own customs or ideas about life, this all leads to wars making religion one the worst things in the world by manipulating them.