Why Study Religion?

Assess the view that religion is a major source of instability and conflict in society today

Religions differing has caused many conflicts throughout history. “The feeling of attachment to tribalism and fake patriotism under the umbrella of religion is stronger and more apparent than respect for human rights and pluralism” (Mhamed 2). When people are tied so greatly to their religion, they will be willing to throw away their morals and do whatever they deem is right for their beliefs, leading to constant wars. “different tribal and so-called patriotic groups resort to religion to gain legacy and popularity” (Mhamad 2). Religion is even just a way to unite people to war such as saying they are doing something in the name of their deity

Religion is one of the greatest creations of mankind. Human beings are different from any other animals because of their ability to think and to create. When man evolved to form societies or countries, when they need to understand better the world around them, religions were created naturally.

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.

Religion is used as a tactic to violently advance one’s political beliefs. So, religion becomes that fault line between war and politics that creates an assumption that religion is the cause. But, the global governance of resources and power, known as politics, is the focus of war. Of course, us humans will always have the tendency to assume religion is the cause of war, I mean we have done it for hundreds probably thousands of years, so the traditional statement “religion is the cause of all wars” will continue to be held as truth by many. But, as we become more interconnected as a society, we will realize that religion is the exploration of our values and that politics is the true cause of all

There has been a continuous debate within recent generations over whether religion really has a place in modern society. With the rise in population and cultural diversity, there are more religions than one can count anymore. Past that, atheism and secularism have been on a steady rise. Religion is a social construct created by humans to function as a society and give life a sense of purpose. A few consistent arguments in this debate are that religion gives us a moral code to stand by, gives us a purpose and a way of life, and something to look forward to in the afterlife.

Religion is used for many different reasons in this world. Inner peace, political agenda, finding the meaning of life, eternal life, and answers to life’s biggest questions, all fuel the desire for religion. Believing in something gives people hope, and hope is craved by all people. Science and math attempt to answer some questions, but a multitude of things cannot be proven. That is when faith comes into play. Since so many questions cannot be answered, you have to believe in something. While science and math can explain some things, we are still left with many questions. Like, “what is the meaning of life?”, “where did we come from”? , and “do I have a purpose?”. This is when religion comes into play. Man

A very prominent and controversial topic of debate is whether to have religions and if they should have been created in the first place. Overall it is for the greater good that religions exist, religions give people many things including hope, wisdom, and other valued traits. Also, religions have formed much of history. There are many views opposite to this, some of which are simply misunderstandings.

Religion is found within all societies on Earth and plays a major role in the culture of a community. Today I will be defining religion, discussing the three religious beliefs systems that exist, why societies have religion and delving into magic and rituals.

Religion is as old as mankind. Evidence for religion playing role in human life dates back 500000 years ago when ritual treatment of skulls took place (p2). Why has religion endured over this enormous span of human history and found in all known human societies? Because religion remains exclusively potent forces affects many different cultural parameters, moral concepts, and ideals, and influencing human thinking and behavior by offering answers on the meaning of human existence.

What is religion? Can it, in all its entirety, be defined in just one word? Maybe a couple sentences? Trying to discover just a few sentences that describe something as vast as religion is like attempting to explain the universe in its entirety in a short paragraph. It’s virtually impossible. However, no matter how impossible, society continues to attempt to define religion. Answering the age old questions of why religion is so difficult to define and why society continues to attempt to do so is in the basic human desire to understand.

Religion is a major force in human experience. Religion has influenced and continues to impact our daily life directly or indirectly, and is far bigger than most people realize.

Thirty years ago, I would not have had one iota of interest in studying world religions in a secular institution. As a former student of a private Bible college and a member of a Christian semi-cult in the Bay Area, I did not view the study of world religions as an innocuous or trivial activity. Classes in my college that taught about other religions were called “apologetics.” In these classes, through a biased world view, our mentors taught us how to present people with logical and persuasive arguments that would win them over to the only “true” belief.

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.