Wait a second!
More handpicked essays just for you.
More handpicked essays just for you.
The role of religion in our society
The role of religion in our society
The role of religion in our society
Don’t take our word for it - see why 10 million students trust us with their essay needs.
Recommended: The role of religion in our society
Religion has always been with us. Throughout history, it has expressed the deepest questions human beings can ask, and it has taken a central place in the lives of virtually all civilizations and cultures. As we think all the way back to the dawn of human consciousness, we find religion everywhere we turn.
This may be true of the past, but what about the present—and the future? In recent times, critics have suggested that religion is on the way out. Technology and science have changed our view of the world radically, leading some to say that we've entered a new stage of human existence, without religion. Soon, they argue, it will truly be a thing of the past.
In our day and age, rumors of religion's demise seem very premature—and perhaps there's no grain of truth in them at all. Religion persists and is often on the rise, even as scientific and non-religious perspectives have become prominent. We still find religion everywhere, on television, in film, in popular music, in our towns and neighborhoods. We discover religion at the center of global issues and cultural conflict. We see religion in the lives of the people we know and love, and in ourselves, as we live out and wrestle with our own religious faith. Why does religion continue to thrive? There are many reasons, but one thing is certain: religious traditions are adaptable in important ways. For many, contemporary religion even has room for skepticism, science, and the secular, which allows it to keep going strong in our rapidly changing world.
-Religion has been around as long humans, no matter how you believe they were created
The United States is commonly thought to be on an inevitable march towards secularization. Scientific thought and the failure of the enlightenment to reconcile the concept of god within a scientific framework are commonly thought to have created the antithesis of religious practice in the rise of the scientific method. However, the rise of doubt and the perception that secularization is increasing over time has in actuality caused an increase in religious practice in the United States through episodic revivals. Moreover, practice of unbelief has developed into a movement based in the positive assertion in the supplantation of God by the foundations of science, or even in the outright disbelief in God. The perception of increasing secularism in the United States spurs religious revivalism which underscores the ebb and flow of religious practice in the United States and the foundation of alternative movements which combines to form the reality that the United States is not marching towards secularism but instead religious diversity.
Imagine that you’ve been suffering through a time of immense hardship and you are economically disadvantaged. You haven’t eaten in days, you’re home is about to be foreclosed, and you are hopeless about finding employment. You take what little food you have left, scrounge together whatever possessions of yours that have value, and for good measure throw in your first-born son. Taking all of these items, you then light them on fire and utterly destroy them. If this happened today, no doubt would a person be arrested and deemed a risk to himself and others. But for centuries, people carried out these sacrificial rituals, wasting precious resources and time & energy, in hopes that things would get better. Religion is immensely costly both in terms of resources and time. We know that the most evolutionary fit creatures do not waste their energy on pointless tasks and that everything done in life is because the reward is bigger than the risk. So we ask ourselves, what is the reward of following religion given its immense expenditure. How has religion survived for so long and what does it offer to those who follow it? Furthermore, how did religion come to being and what purpose did it serve in the early days of its inception? When human beings first invented agriculture and settled down, the foundations of society began shaping. Tribes grew and became more permanent, people interacted with each other in more sophisticated ways, and civilization formed. Through this communal “puberty”, culture was born and memes (ideas, behaviors, and styles that spread from person to person) came to being. If we look at religion through an inverse perspective, one that says human society and culture developed religion as opposed to religion dictating so...
"RELIGION, A BRIDGE OF HOPE: Why Religion Is so Important." World around Us. Accessed May 29, 2014. http://aneelbaqar.wordpress.com/2010/11/11/religion-a-bridge-of-hope-why-religion-is-so-important/.
Religion is considered as a pervasive force in this world. It shapes people as to how they behave and interact with almost everything present in the society. Influencing behavior, character formations, ideals, policies, standards are just among the dimensions and societal perspectives affected and impacted by religion. Because of these applications and implications in human lives and existence, religion should be understood deeply, particularly, on how it affects the world. Looking at the American perspective of the term "religion," it could be simply
Religion has existed since the dawn of civilization and over time has evolved into the religions we have today. Today the most prominent religions are monotheistic, having one omnipotent god, and despite having many differences they share basic tenets of respect and kindness. Religions, such as Judaism, give explanations for the unknown, provide hope, and bring about a sense of community.
“What is it, this thing we call Religion? Whence did it come? And why? And how? What was it yesterday? What is it today? And what will it become tomorrow?” the writer, philosopher, and rabbi, Lewis Browne asked in his 1926 work, “This Believing World.”
Though there are many religions that are still practiced in the world, it is important to see what role they play in culture and thinking. When religion is taken in healthy amounts with a strong mind, religion can be a blessing and a gift to people everywhere. It can provide hope to people who need it the most, while inspiring others to take action and make positive changes. However, overdosing on religion can cause equal amounts of pain and anger.
Religion is an ever-growing idea that has no set date of origin. Throughout history religion has served as an answer to the questions that man could not resolve. The word religion is derived from the Latin word “religio” meaning restraint in collaboration with the Greek word “relegere” which means to repeat or to read again. Religion is currently defined as an organized system of beliefs and practices revolving around, or leading to, a transcendent spiritual experience. Throughout time, there has yet to be a culture that lacks a religion of some form, whether it is a branch of paganism, a mythological based religion or mono/polytheistic religion. Many religions have been forgotten due to the fact that they were ethnic religions and globalizing religions were fighting to be recognized, annihilating these ancient and ethnic religions. Some of these faiths include: Finnish Paganism, Atenism, Minoan Religion, Mithraism, Manichaeism, Vedism, Zoroastrianism, Asatru, and the Olmec Religion. Religion is an imperative part of our contemporary world but mod...
Ideologies creates a sense of community, purpose and order. Similarly, I find that my religion provides me with the conceptual frameworks in which to ground my life. My life revolves around my Islamic commitments, even school and work is set around my Islamic timetable. So to me, Islam is not just about praying, fasting and so on. Yet, it’s also about my moral conduct, the education that I seek and my worldly actions. Growing up in a community that practices an Islamic lifestyle and culture has convinced me that Islam is one of the exceptional religions which stress the development of the positive moral and ethical. I was taught to live peacefully, help each other and also tolerate with other religions. Not only that, Islam also governs all facets of my life such as moral, spiritual, physical, intellectual, social and economic via the Quran and the Hadith. I also learnt the true values of my faith which is Islam is not only for the Muslim world, it is to be practiced wherever I am.
With modern technology and the rapid advancement of science, it is easy to look back into history and point out the problems religion had created in the past (Violence, intolerance, ignorance etc.) However one must keep in mind that reli...
For thousands of years, religion has exerted a great influence over economic and political life. Even today religion is called upon to support rulers, contacts and other legal procedures.
Religion has the power to bind one to others as well as the aptitude to alienate people with conflicting beliefs. Throughout history, cultures have created several different belief systems, each with its own ideals, to satisfy the typical human curiosity and explain the unclarified events that occur in nature. Inspecting the role of religion from the earliest civilizations to the present, its tendency to divide rather than unify groups becomes apparent.
Religion helps establish mankind’s place in the order of the universe. As civilization began to be established through the domestication of animals, the irrigation and cultivation of agricultural crops, and life became more complex (moving from mainly a hunter/gather existence to one that could settle down and have more time to consider advanced ideas) people began to consider questions such as, where life comes from, is there a creator or creators who helped make the world, and what happens after we die. Religion helped answer some of these questions. It gave people purpose, meaning, and perspective. Religion helped establish nations in the case of religious theocratic governments. In many of the ancient civilizations, such as the Egyptians, the Mayans, and even Mesopotamia, the priests and other religious leaders played prominent roles in help shaping the laws and government of these civilizations. As his...
Religion is the one element of life that has connected the races and societies of the world for hundreds of years. It has given meaning to lives that may seem otherwise hopeless. Religion has provided for a universal language and culture among those who believe in a higher power. The spirit or being receiving the worship and praise may not be the same, but the practices are usually similar and serve the same purpose--to give direction, insight, courage, and a divine connection.