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Conflicts due to religion
Religion & conflicts
The influence of religion and beliefs on individuals and society
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Many times Religious exclusivism is the aftermath of monotheism, and both share a great amount of connections to each other. These two different named aspects share the same view of life as each other, but could not be more different then the idea of democracy and its intensions. Therefore conflict arises, and the question is asked which view is better? In the end all that counts is the one, which makes life better for the general public.
First lets start off with religious exclusivism and what it consists of. This concept includes proposition or the beliefs that there is only one religion that is in fact true. It’s a very straightforward form of close-minded thinking, and negative attitude in the non-belief of other religion across the globe. It teaches, and enforces followers or by standards that only those who accepted there faith will end in heaven to enter the golden gates. Others who consider other religions will be convicted to eternal damnation or in simple terms sent to hell or in any form of that word. This system is seen in some religions, which are Abrahamic, as well as some Jewish traditions. Most surprising was seeing that Christianity was one of them. Now being a Christian I always knew that there were some dark sides to the church, but to read that those who follow to their version or understanding of faith would reach heaven, but those whom are outside of the church would end up in hell is unreal. Going to church for many years I always thought that the church was inviting to new ideas and that there doors would always be open, but even if this is true does it not come with a price? For some giving up a belief is life changing which can be positive or negative. Religious exclusivism was used to rationali...
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... as different religions, there are so many. Now think of all the people who are members or in our case have accounts to these sites. All the creators of these sites want more people to join and start following others on there creation so they will make people of power join so that they can feed there feeling of being supported. This is exactly like the people who started these ideals that there can only be one god or you can only follow one type of religion they were in a time where power was everything, and what is the best way to get this power by telling a group of human that after there hard lives here on earth they will never rest in peace and probably go to hell. Both share the threat factor as well. There are political aspects that do not coincide with these two different topics of religion, and one that is very opposite sided is democracy and its intentions.
For more than a century, the concept of secularism and its boundaries has been widely disputed by secularists and non-secularists alike. English dictionaries define secularism as simply the separation of church and state, or, the separation of religion and politics. Michael Walzer, a true secularist, believes that this separation is an essential democratic value and ultimately fosters toleration of a plurality of religions (Walzer, p. 620). Wæver, an opponent of secularism, defines secularism as “a doctrine for how society ought to be designed”– that religion and politics ought to be divided in order to ensure religious liberty, as well as religious-free politics. However, he does not deem that such a principle exists (Wæver, p. 210). Based on these different viewpoints, I have established a unique concept of secularism: the principle that religion and politics be kept apart, that the state remains neutral in regard to religion, and that liberty, equality, and fraternity be upheld in an attempt to successfully promote religious toleration and pluralism.
While the impact of religion on democracy has been well documented, it is difficult to trace the impact of democracy on religion. Nevertheless, historians like Nathan Hatch argue that democracy was a significant influence on the development of American religion. Hatch identifies three marks of democratic spirit found in early American religious movements – redefined leadership, acceptance of spiritual experience, and grand ambitions. All three are exempli...
In 1789, the First Amendment established that “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion…” This meant the Federal and State Governments could not be partial or show support for any certain denomination or religious organization. However, throughout the history of the United States the controversial question over the relationship between church and state has always been called into question in establishing a one religion government. The main focus of the inquiry is to decide whether to keep the establishment clause or to tear it down and move towards a theocratic system. One side of the debate is the group against the separation of Church and State, who believe that if America was a more religious nation that it would become more moral as well as bring everyone in agreement with national decision making. Therefore the belief is that the United State would become more unified in an already corrupt system. On the other hand, the side for separation argues that the distance between established religion and national government is inherently necessary to keep maintain: religious tolerance, prevent biases, and prejudices, along with any sort of religious freedom in country that has thousands of different organized religions.
Throughout the course of history, man has looked to religion for answers. Curiosity as to how we got here and why we are have driven people to seek out answers to these somewhat unanswerable questions. Over the past few thousand years, several varying religions have been established, some more prominent than others. Many of them share a similar story of a divine creator who has always been and will always be. In the case of Christianity, whether true or not, it has proven to be beneficial to society as a whole. The Bible set the standard for the moral compass that humans live their lives by to this day. The key fundamental problem with religion, although not the fault of religion, is that man has often used it as a gateway to power and prominence. In the case of the 18th century Gallican church, the French were abusing their religious powers, thus creating vast inequality throughout France, which eventually led to a rebellion against the church, and the eventual destruction of the church within France.
The accomplishments and success of civilizations are closely linked to their religious outlook and the role of religion in their governments and society. Throughout history rulers have used the influence of religions to control their populations and provide the justification for their power. A society with a greater degree of separation between religion and government promotes a superior level of liberty and creativity amongst its people. By the time of the decline of the Roman Empire in the west, however, the world had come full circle to a return to theocratic dictatorship.
There are three different perspectives towards all religions: Excluivism, Pluralism, and Inclusivism (lecture notes, 1/12). These views towards religions vary greatly and determine the parallels or disconnects between all of them. In brief, excluivism determines that whatever faith is outside their belief system is false. Pluralism is on the other side of the spectrum. Pluralism express the fact that though there are many different religions and practices they are all equal in truth. Catholicism takes the perspective of Inclusivism. This point of view stresses the fact that all religions have some grasps of objective truths but, to do not have the universal truth.
Atheists say that not only there is no God, but religion has bad consequences in practice. The Inquisition was torturing people, burned them at the stake, were led and are still "holy" crusades or jihad. Fundamentalism refers more victims, and there are religions that are granted immorality, drug abuse, collective suicide ... The combination of church and state has always been in the history of bringing
A person’s religion has a large affect on how they live their day-to-day lives. It can influence the choices they make. Someone’s opinion on the government and the running of a country can also affect what they can and cannot do about religious issues. When religious freedom is taken away or silenced, people will either back down or speak up. A totalitarian government controls over everything society does, from public to private things. In a totalitarian government, religion can be put aside on certain issues.
The separation of church and state has been a long debated topic in the history of America. Although founded upon Christian ideals, the framers of the Constitution explicitly outlined the government to function secularly, in what is commonly referred to as the “Establishment Clause”. When interpreting the Constitution in regards to religion, there are two primary philosophies. The first philosophy this paper will explore will be referred to as Positive Toleration. In general, the idea of positive toleration creates an environment that is encouraging of all religions. The second philosophy, which will be referred to as the “Wall of Separation,” encourages government freedom from religion. Although historically these two philosophies have jockey back and forth in public popularity, as America moves into the future, the Wall of Separation philosophy will take a strong-hold and will set the course for how the Establishment Clause will affect local government, schools, and private religious practice.
Integrating Faith and politics can be difficult. Arguments can be made for whether to have complete separation of faith and politics, or to fully integrate the two. A balanced middle-ground between separation and integration can be looked at also. Examples of each can be looked at in history. Complete separation of faith and politics has consequences (both positive and negative). Government that is separated from faith can be efficient, but very inhumane and controlling. Complete integration of faith and politics is influenced by God and the Bible, but it can be just as controlling as complete separation. Multiple disagreements in the Christian doctrine would also cause more challenges in the government. Having a middle ground where only some aspects of the government are influenced by religion can pose problems in certain areas. The middle ground could allow Christians to spread the Gospel (which is the goal of the church). When these three options are compared, one may see an option stand out as an obvious choice. The middle ground between separation and integration is where the church can both stay relevant in politics and participate in the great commission.
Clifford Geertz has focused more on the symbolic power of religion. He has talked about the fact that it is the symbolic power of religion that has a strong influence on the people. It is the religion, in accordance to Clifford that helps the people in understanding the place that the people have in the world. The actions that are undertaken by the people are also defined by the religion. Based on the arguments that have been given by Clifford, it can be added here that there is a great effect of religion and the religious values on the kind of politics being observed in the nations (Pals 309). When we talk about the religion, it can be added here that we are talking about the set of beliefs as well as the ethical values, which are used in the creation of the world and the ways in which the world is managed. So where does the symbolic state of religion stand in the modern political world. One of the main facts that need to be mentioned here is that politics is related with the development certain motivations in men. These motivations need to be powerful and long lasting. It has been found in the case of the definition of religion by Geertz. He has added that religion provides a set of symbols that develop long lasting, modulations in the people. There is no doubt about the fact that the politics and democracy has more to do with the development of strong states and nations. There needs to be a general order of existence in the nations and states, which leads to strong nations. Nations that are more democratic are the ones having strong order of existence. This is the order that has been mentioned in the definition of a ‘symbolic’ religion by Geertz (Pals 313). Thereby from here, it would not be wrong to add that the religion and ...
For some Americans the solution is to remove all religious affiliation from the state. Upon analysis of Wilfred Cantwell Smith’s discussion of religious diversity, Maritain’s position on the relation between religion and the secular world, and Hegel’s presupposition about abstract rights, this common question arises. Should the secular world be isolated from the religious dimensions of Human life? With so much religious diversity among groups of people could government politics function without any religious affiliation and still represent the will of the people as a whole.
Religion is an institution that can provide stability for societies through various religious concepts, and is substantial for the support of social cohesion and order. Many functionalist theories of religion, for example, claim that religion functions in such a way as to integrate societies (McCauley, 1984). There are many types of religion that people practice world-wide such as Christianity, Catholi...
According to Merriam-Webster, religion is based on “an organized system of beliefs, ceremonies, and rules used to worship a god or a group of gods” (“Religion”). In every part of the world there is a struggle between individual religions that are trying to institutionalize their “system of beliefs” on each other, and within those individual religions there is also a struggle of sects that claims that their teaching should be the basis for that religion, not the teachings that is presented by other believers of the same religion. These religious sect later go on to create religious organizations. The first thing these religious organizations try to propagate to their followers is that anyone that are not a follower of their doctrines is corrupt and needs a divine deliverance from themselves. This deliverance cannot be given to the individual in another religious organization, it has to come from them. One of the biggest organization that has openly declared themselves as the divine judgers of men from God is th...
Monotheistic religions have helped shaped the world. Religion is a topic that has many definitions and is seen in many different ways. Some people believe in one G-d (God) which is known as monotheism while at the same time some people believe in many G-ds or no G-ds or G-d. Religion is something that has had a major effect on the world. Three of the major religions are all monotheistic. In this paper, I will talk about 3 aspects of three major monotheistic religions Judaism, Christianity and, Islam.