In the modern world there are plenty of freedoms, rights and liberties. The United States’ Constitution guarantees the freedom of speech, expression, assembly, and many others (US Constitution). And of course it includes the freedom of religion. There are three main branches of monotheistic religions nowadays, Christianity, Judaism, and Islam. All people are free to choose the most comfortable religion for themselves, according to their culture, values, beliefs, and motherland. And they do so. Since the world was created, people had been searching for an explanation for different things, which are around, from the natural phenomena to the miracles. People have to follow someone and to believe that there is a Higher Power which leads them. Because wherever people look, everything has the head, the ruler: a family, school, city, country. Moreover, there is an inventor and creator for everything. So, someone had to create, if not everything, but a starting point and help the world to develop. It is a theory of intelligent design, which states that the evolution takes place, but it is lead by someone well-known. People need to have something that unites them together. That is, basically, the purpose of a religion. But the problem is that every religious organization considers itself the best and the right one. Religious wars and conflicts involve millions of people throughout the history, even against their own will. Some religious groups have done their best to establish their religious rules in different states and forced people to obey these rules (Judd 266). But also one of the issues nowadays is that if there is a denomination of one religion which is doing something wrong, people start to accept the whole religion as wrong, they...
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...igious country. Ant here is the point; how such a religious country can be so violent? Someone can think that religion allows it. it is not an attempt to offend Christianity or The United States, because they are great and amazing. It is just an attempt to understand how different people view different people.
Works Cited
Judd, Daniel K. Taking Sides: Clashing Views on Controversial Issues in Religion (Taking Sides: Religion). New York: McGraw-Hill/Dushkin, 2002.
Janssen, Kim. "Tinley Park Woman Charged With Hate Crime". Chicago Tribune November 19, 2009.
The Holy Koran.
Bible.
The Rick A. Ross Institute, "The Ross Institute Internet Archives for the Study of Destructive Cults, Controversial Groups and Movements". Risk A. Ross Institute. 5 February 2010 .
Constitution of The United States Of America.
Religion has been a controversial topic among philosophers and in this paper I am focusing
Culture is made up of three main components: ethics, aesthetics, and religion (Lincoln 52). The lines of culture become skewed as it often blends in with political and religious views. In Western Europe during the time of the Reformation, the Church was the central ruler of the society. This meant that religion was not only a cultural view, but also a political one. As time moved on, the Church became less important, but today’s standards still connect religion to culture. This becomes an issue as individuals who are noticeably outside the culture in forms or religion are often judged and looked down upon (Lincoln 56). Due to this outcast it can cause anger to certain religions and culture which can often lead to these acts of violence. With the hate between cultures, religion becomes the justifiable mean on which violence can occur. Many individuals can state that God wants them to make their own religion superior, and one way they can draw attention to their religion is terrorism and other forms of violence. Due to this connection to culture, religion can not be separated into it’s own personal category, as it is forever affected by the changes and culture of the community (Lincoln 57). As time and culture progress, the religion of the community will either change with it, or fight the changes which will often cause conflict. This can be seen in the results of the practice of Jihad, the Reformation and
Roof, Wade Clark. "Contemporary Conflicts: Tradition vs. Transformation." Contemporary American Religion. Vol. 1. New York: Macmillan Reference USA, 2000. 226-27. Print.
Evans, C. Stephen. Critical Dialog in Philosophy of Religion. 1985. Downers Grove, IL. InterVarsity Press. Taken from Philosophy of Religion - Selected Readings, Fourth Edition. 2010. Oxford University Press, NY.
Just as there is a variety of identities involving race, gender, and class, so too are there a range of religious identities. Byzantine Catholics, Hindus, born-again Evangelicals, atheists, agnostics, and Buddhists are only a few religious identities I have encountered in America. This environment, at best, allows religious variety to be understood and embraced—and at worst, divides us. In Acts of Faith, author Eboo Patel discusses his belief that the “faith line” will define conflict and concord in the 21st century.
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.
Religion has always played a major role in the development of human society. This is the main reason why it has so often been used for unjust purposes. The concept of war is in complete opposition to what Islam and Christianity teach their followers. Still, by different means, religion was and is often brought into play to cater for the interests of powerful people.
In the essay "Worldviews in Conflict," Charles Colson and Nancy Pearcey compare and contrast the ideas of Christianity and the views of today's society. Throughout the essay, they provide information about how the changes in society affect views regarding Christianity. Charles Colson and Nancy Pearcy's essay was written to contribute information so others could understand their views about the shifting cultural context and how it affects society's beliefs. The authors Charles Colson and Nancy Pearcey's essay is credible because they both have knowledge and experience regarding the topic and researched various parts of the topic using reliable sources. Along with this essay, Charles Colson has written thirty books which have received much praise among the Christian community.
Religion, “part of the human experience that has to do with a god or gods, a higher power, or the ultimate values of life” (Cason & Tillman 6-7), is one of the most controversial and interesting subjects for humanity. It has been around for as long as anyone can recall and they have difference and similarities in their founders, beliefs, and history. Religion has served to give some sort of a meaning to life and everything around it. In modern society, some religions have grown and expanded significantly. These larger religions have been classified as world religions. In addition, these world religions have been split into two categories known as Eastern and Western religion.
...iberties. Ed. Noël Merino. Detroit: Greenhaven Press, 2013. Opposing Viewpoints. Rpt. from "Government Neutrality Is Not 'Anti-Religion'." Psychology Today (3 Oct. 2011). Opposing Viewpoints in Context. Web. 19 Nov. 2013.
...hal. Detroit: Greenhaven Press, 2009. Opposing Viewpoints. Rpt. from "Called to Love: Christian Witness Can Be the Best Response to Atheist Polemics." America 198 (2008): 23. Opposing Viewpoints in Context. Web. 8 Dec. 2013.
middle of paper ... ... Works Cited Goldwag, Arthur. The. Cults, Conspiracies, and Secret Societies. New York: Vintage Books, 2009.
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...
Hoekema, Anthony . The Four Major Cults . Ann Arbor, Michigan : Cushing-Malloy , 1963. 1-87, 373-388. Print.
Religious Fundamentalism is not a modern phenomenon, although, there has received a rise in the late twentieth century. It occurs differently in different parts of the world but arises in societies that are deeply troubled or going through a crisis (Heywood, 2012, p. 282). The rise in Religious Fundamentalism can be linked to the secularization thesis which implies that victory of reason over religion follows modernization. Also, the moral protest of faiths such as Islam and Christianity can be linked to the rise of Religious Fundamentalism, as they protest the influence of corruption and pretence that infiltrate their beliefs from the spread of secularization (Heywood, 2012, p. 283). Religious Fundamentalists have followed a traditional political thought process yet, have embraced a militant style of activity which often can turn violent (Heywood, 2012, p. 291). To be a fundamentalist is to wholly believe in the doctrine they are preaching or professing and will go to any lengths possible to have these beliefs implemented by their government , even using force or violence ( Garner, Ferdinand and Lawson, 2007, p. 149). All religions have a fundamentalist element, however, there is more of a significant conflict with Islamic fundamentalists and Christian fundamentalists. It is wrongly thought fundamentalism is exclusively linked to Islamic fundamentalist such as the jihadi group al-Qaeda nonetheless Christianity is the world's largest religion and is bond to have some fundamentalist component such as the Christian New Right in the Unites States of America (Garner, Ferdinand and Lawson, 2007, p. 150).