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Religion influence on society
Role of church in society essay
Religion influence on society
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“But superstition, like belief, must die, And what remains when disbelief has gone?” (Larkin 867) For most people, church can be a terrifying place. It is thought to be filled with rules, consequences, and judgment. Its doctrine can also be very confusing, although never contradicting. Some churches are merely buildings with a cross displayed outside. When a church loses its truly religious attributes, it becomes no more than a club. However, not all are bad. Churches can sometimes be the only place people find a sense of peace. While God can appear scary, people who truly love the Lord know that fearing Him is a good thing. In “Church Going” by Philip Larkin, the protagonist becomes very timid when they find themselves outside a church, yet their …show more content…
There will always be a hunger for religion, to add a meaningful purpose to life. “And that much never can be obsolete, Since someone will forever be surprising A hunger in himself to be more serious” (Larkin 868). The desire for something with meaning in this world will always attract people to the church, not just the physical side, but to its tenets of belief and hope. The church is a place someone can learn and expand their education, not just in verses, but in life as well. “And gravitating with it to this ground, Which, he once heard, was proper to grow wise in, If only that so many dead lie round” (Larkin 868).
In “Church Going” by Philip Larkin, the speaker has much curiosity about the church and all it symbolizes. The more they explored and thought about religion, the more they answered their own questions. Curiosity can be a great thing. It can reflect who you truly are and who you were meant to be. While the main character did not become the most devoted Christian, they did gain a sense of respect for religion, and migrated from having no beliefs to believing in something; comfort and safety through a religious
Why I Left the Church” by Richard Garcia is a poem that explores the ongoing and conflicting relationship between a child’s fantasy and the Church. Although the majority of the text is told in present tense, readers are put through the lenses of a young boy who contemplates the legitimacy of the restricting and constricting nature of worship. It is a narrative that mixes a realist approach of storytelling with a fantasy twist that goes from literal metaphors to figurative metaphors in the description of why the narrator left the church. The poet presents the issue of childhood innocence and preset mindsets created by the Church using strong metaphors and imagery that appeal to all the senses.
Yet the Reverend also uses the word 'beautiful' and appreciates the wonders of the natural world. Certainly, a sense of something beyond the pragmatic permeates Maclean?s story. This ?something? is incarnated in Paul, who obviously does not conform to a narrowly-defined description of a ?good Christian.? He is a rabblerouser adrift in the world, a sophisticated ladies? man and gambler who squanders what is seemingly ample journalistic talent. Paul, however, is also effortlessly artistic, able to break free of his father?s strict fishing instructions to create his own poetry with a rod. Surely, something holy must reside in the sheer, effortless beaut...
only can comedy use the subversion of expectation facetiously, but it can comment on the real
Many churches were the center of their community in the early-1800s. The church was a place to bind closer relationships with others in the community to include businesses and other social venues. Many public figures had this one thing in common, that is their will of self-perception be defined in the public view as one with character and high moral convictions. Religion produced social morality which became the substance that bound all elements of society in the Jacksonian Era.
Who does society consider the faithful? Is it the man on the street corner screaming for everyone to repent their sins before the apocalypse? Is it the zealot who straps a bomb to his body, and walks into a crowded marketplace? Is it the monk who renounces all his worldly possessions, and takes refuge in a monastery? While these may be extreme examples of the faithful, they all have one thing in common; they are conveying their devotion in their own way. It doesn’t matter who people choose as their god, be it Allah, Buddha, Jesus or Vishnu. The one common aspect of every religion is that you worship. Congregations around the world are supposed to prove their faith by worshipping at their local synagogue, church, or mosque. A place of worship can be a huge monstrosity of a building, or a small clapboard house in the middle of a cornfield. It doesn’t matter where you worship, what matters is that you be present to worship. In Emily Dickinson’s poem, “Some keep the Sabbath going to Church-“; the speaker conveys her faith and devotion in God by communing with nature, therefore creating her own church at home. By juxtaposing the solemnity of worship with the natural beauty of one’s backyard, Dickinson questions the hypocrisy of conventional religion.
The church is most often associated with the idea of a sanctuary for peace and tranquility, a safe home. Everyone anticipates to be capable of going to church and get away from their concerns and not have to worry about whether they are in danger or not. However danger can appear in the least expected location. Dudley Randall's “Ballad of Birmingham” gives a poetic ballad of the bombing of the Birmingham church in Alabama in 1963. Its theme is revolved around the belief that no place is safe from racial hatred if a society doesn’t offer equal protection and punishment. Her mom trusts there is a place secure from racial hatred and violence. Her naïve belief cost her daughter’s life.
... in the church so much that they were willing to devote their whole lives to it. Whilst this period did see a rise in the influence of the church, this reflected a need for people to find some comfort against the hardships of disease, wars and the chaos from government collapsing.
Not all-church growth is beneficial. Churches tend to take on the persona of their pastor. If the pastor is an evangelist then they church will produce evangelists, if they are a deeper teacher then the it will produce deep thinkers. Because of this, churches need a team to lead them so they do not become one dimensional, placing the fate of the church on one persons shoulders (Reimer, 2016). A church can experience rapid growth in a specific area but if it can’t compliment that area to make the discipleship process well rounded then cripples the people. A church can’t be so focused on evangelism that it doesn’t spend time making sure that proper discipleship is taking place with the people that they are
All of us have encountered someone in our lifetime – a family member, a co-worker, a neighbor, or an acquaintance – who asked us WHY? Why do we pour all of our talents, all of our gifts, and all of our service into church?
Why do Christians leave the faith? Is it because church gets boring or a force of habit? Do they see other Christians acting the same as the lost people? Or is it because their questions are very complex and cannot be answered? For years people have asked these questions, and they have not found the source of the problem. Many people believe that the church as a whole has failed to do its job of containing members. This may contribute to the problem, but it is definitely not the only source. The source of this problem is somewhere in the mind of the believer that decided to turn away. One day a thought or an occurrence triggered them to turn away from their previous faith. If people ever want to find the source of this situation they will have to start by asking deeper more mature questions like: Do other religions look satisfying? Are other sources having a greater influence on believers? Is a “virus” in the church causing people to turn away from Christ? These are examples of the more intense questions that need to be asked, and the answers to these questions need to be dissected and taken piece by piece to help solve this magnificent problem. Through a series of investigations and interviews we can find the answer to why Christians leave the faith, and why most leave during their teenage years.
From an early age, Joe was involved in everything that the church had to offer. By the time he was 7 years old, he was an altar boy singing in the church choir. His parents always made it clear to him that it was imperative that he follow the teachings of the church. His grandmother, on his father’s side, was particularly strict with him. She made certain that he did not go astray and that he behaved as properly, according to church doctrines, as possible.
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.
That isn’t to say there aren’t pockets here and there where that spirit is alive, but as the Church is perceived as a body, so will the world perceive its function, which is largely as a partial paralytic. The nature of its mass congregation is in my opinion, reduced to following a ritualized practice that serves security of the one’s own soul, while vainly proclaiming messages from a practiced pulpit for world outreach in daily life. Then everyone goes home. The outreach that does get done tends to be of a charitable nature, highly organized and outperformed by many secular outfits, where the inductive power is carried by genuine empathy, a desire to help fellow man. Again, the Church means well, but its efforts seem to move with a sense of obligation, rather than true mission. I would argue that the congregations get too large, too organized, do not engage the issues that face culture ...
...faith in the God who creates the world, people will always fail to grasp the idea behind the Catholic Vision and Imagination. Furthermore, although God remains always present in the midst of His flock, one can easily lose the awareness and consciousness of this Presence that accompany all human being. When people forget what is to be a Church, that community that is to be formed and lived is also lost. However, there remains the tradition, images, and architecture that speaks and transmits a voice beyond themselves that definitely calls people to relate their desires for depth and truth to the living God.
I grew up in a Catholic family and went to Catholic grade school and high school and I don't regret it. It was an interesting experience and surely formed a great part of my character. But looking back, I see that the system of organized religion is rigged and the deck is stacked more in favor of the church than it is in favor of the faithful. Consider for a moment the Christian need to convert and save people, two more activities that could be done away with if we didn't have religion. Converting more followers keeps the organized religion afloat and promising salvation is the hook that gets people's attention. No one knows what happens after death. But some religions offer a promise of heaven or hell and, like children, we willing believe in this fantastic fairy tale.