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 …show more content…
The church was able to explain why such devastation had happened and gave the social masses an explanation to something they could not fathom. The church used this opportunity to gain the respect and belief of the Irish public (Larkin 1984). Religious identity can come in two forms, one from a nation of people all believing in the same values and another from the personal view of each individual or family within that nation. In a family or local community sense, it ties the smaller community together against its neighbouring ethnicities. It provides a feeling of togetherness and strength for the society. It is the basis for 'ethnic honour: the excellence of one's own customs and the inferiority of alien ones' (Weber, cited in Bruce 1996, p. 96). Religious identity brings great pride and hope to the citizens of any particular society and lends itself towards social cohesion (Browne 2005). In a national sense, religious belief and identity can separate whole nations from one another, like in the case of Ireland and England, one of the defining differences is our belief in a different branch of Christianity. This can have disastrous effects on the world as a whole. Religion can be held accountable for the majority of warfare and bloodshed in the world today as nations attack each over their differing beliefs and ideals. Many nations will use religion and beliefs to try to justify the awful atrocities they commit on one another. In this sense, religion
Religion is defined as A set of beliefs, values, and practices based on the teachings of a spiritual being (Mifflin). It is known that many of our behaviours are determined by the presence of religion in one's life. Religion implants its principles in a person and their attitudes, personality, morals and ethics and alters it to a great extent. This
Searching back to its beginnings, religion has a profound impact on cultural identity through the presence of deep and ancient roots that connect a people to their glorious, memorable and often idealized histories. By equating a given religion with the success of a society often times national pride and religious pride become intertwined. Though this manifests itself differently in each country, throughout all four surveyed this attribute seemed to be present.
Religion is universal. Although people may have different ideologies and practices, everyone believes in something, whether they deem it their religion or not. In this way, religion is a powerful connection between all of humanity; thus, it is important to understand the people behind religion and how their unique characteristics correlates with and influences religion—whether that be their social class, ethnicity, gender, or politics. However, ethnicity and gender, along with the closely linked topics of sexuality and politics, are the most significant concepts to understand religion in our modern world.
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:
Religion can be a delicate topic to deal with and can be dangerous when you have two large populations beleiving in religions with opposing beleifs. Religion has caused wars, divided countries in half, and divided populations into two. Although it has the capability to divide groups of people apart, religion also unites people. Religion gives
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.
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
“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
What has once been an important role in society, is now uncommon due to outside forces such as education, peers’ beliefs, and the natural evolution of religion, in which all of the above causlessened need or want for religion over time. The underlying question is; do we actually need religion?
Religion is and has always been a primary foundation for individuals, families and communities. It plays a tremendous role, and can be interpreted as the engine of life, which holds people in good and in bad moments. Individuals find in religion a refuge. Such is the influence of worship, regardless of the type that it is, it has served in human beings over the centuries; therefore, these influences have brought with it a large number of situations and opinions which have indeed managed to leave no one indifferent. In the same way, there have been wars and armed conflicts of various kinds that have sustained in the religion to be carried out. According to Marsden “The term religion may be
Religion means a lot for the individuals today, for example the religion Christianity has a following of 2 billion people that is quarter of the people in the world and that causes war and conflict. These wars are started because people fight over which religion is real and which one is fake. So Christianity had the pacifist tradition which is to be able to become a roman soldier they had to make a sacrifice swearing an alliance to Cesar. Christians believe picking up sword
It is a widely accepted fact that religion is not limited to Christianity and Islam. Instead, it also incorporates issues such as the fanaticism of expertise, worldly humanism, the consumer culture as well as the consecration to Thursday Night Rugby among other illustrations. Analysis of the historical definition of religion, it has been found that the five core features of religion are also met by politics. For this reason, it is hard to distinguish religion from a policy. As pointed out by the arguments provided regarding religion as a source of conflict, absolutism leads to a scenario where religion is concerned with the ultimate objective (Esposito).
Religion has played a pivotal role in people’s lives. Religion has an important role in shaping personal morals, social interactions, helping people understand the world, or finding a purpose in their life. However, the importance role of religion and its purpose have a different meaning to each individual. There has not been a definitive explanation what the function of religion in human life is that is unanimously agreed upon. The different conception of the function of religion in human life is seen in Durkheim’s and Marx’s view on religion.
Most of the world's population, people from all walks of life, believe in some type of divine power or god. Most families have traditions and religious beliefs that were passed down generation to generation for centuries, making it very difficult to interpret the truth from fiction. From different perspectives religions appear to be more like a big business than faith, constantly collecting money from their followers in trade for a service. Religion can also be used as reasoning to start wars or to dehumanize, torture and murder entire civilizations of people who have different beliefs or just live a different lifestyle from the majority. In my opinion, religion is just the vehicle of validation for violence and lies that allow
religion in the history of the country and in the life of the individual. An