Wait a second!
More handpicked essays just for you.
More handpicked essays just for you.
Role of religion in politics
The relationship between religion and society
Relationship between religion and society
Don’t take our word for it - see why 10 million students trust us with their essay needs.
Recommended: Role of religion in politics
Is Organized Religion Necessary for Society
According to Charon, organized religion is very important to society. However, it seems as if the social world is biased upon which society they base their religion on. The book brings up many points defending this.
One example of the biased definitions s placed under the question “can society exist without religious social morals?” If you look at the laws in the general area you will notice the Ten Commandments from the catholic religion being placed into the legal system. Thou shall not kill, and thou shall not steal are a main factor in the laws. In some religions it is right to kill depending on the reason it is done. In America today however, it is wrong to kill regardless of your reason.
It was also brought up that religion helps us explain the unexplainable. This however is also not an up to date concept. I understand that we still explain good and evil by way of religion. Nonetheless, People these days have found ways to divert the rule of God by having more of an out of this world explanation for why things happen. The focus today turns to aliens and extraterrestrials. There is also a philosophical view point that maybe we don’t actually exist. There re theories being brought up around the world to try to get people to not look towards a religion. Religion is becoming a backdrop in the social world today.
Another thing that I noticed when reading this section was the way society does focus on a biased religious agenda. If you look at the schedule of different religion events you will notice the force on a catholic way. Schools and stores close for Christmas but not for Hanukkah. We also find that schools close for Easter and Ash Wednesday,
Passover, etc. These are all catholic holidays. Why aren’t the other religions included in the days of dedication? It is not fair that our society is so biased.
It is true that one’s moral system is based on religion though. I believe this because it is relevant everywhere. Very rarely will you find those hardcore practicing Catholics or Protestants disobeying the laws because they believe it is wrong. It is very noticeable that practicing religious people are very rarely the “bad ones” in society.
Another point is the fact that government is completely ruled by God, and God’s rules.
Morals are usually the standards by one which lives in, whether them being good or bad. However, how about when religion influences ones morals? Religion isn’t or it doesn’t work for everyone, and that’s okay. But, there are many people out there that religion influences their morals; and the most common reason for that is that religion was influenced into them and into their morals as a child. Iri...
In March of 1775, the words of Patrick Henry rang in the ears of his fellow Virginians. He stood in St John’s Church, located in Richmond, made an audacious public speech containing his opinions in relation to the colony’s next step of action in the war. This was not the first time that Henry stood in front of an audience to present a speech. Henry was known for speaking messages that people did not forget. Prior to this speech, Patrick Henry had made his name known by writing the ‘Virginia Resolutions’ against the despised Stamp Act. In the view point of this specific speech however, Henry spoke his opinion of the war starting and what he believed as truth. Virginia was the largest American Colony, with the House of Burgesses that was the longest-serving legislature that Virginia proudly claimed. Patrick Henry was also previously known for his incredible words and messages he had shared in the past. This speech went over the top compared to former speeches. As a known Christian man, Henry referenced an array of Biblical subjects throughout his speech “Give Me Liberty, or Give Me Death”, in which his audience could take time to deeply digest. During this era, most Americans were Christians, making it easy for Henry to never quotes scripture directly, but imply it for his audience to grasp.
One of the important subjects during the civil war was Religion even though it received minor attention until recent years. Historians have considered civil war an important story of war; however, religion rose as an important factor with many publications. For example “Religion and the American Civil War” is a collection of essays and poems by various writers (Harry S. Stout, George Reagan Wilson, etc.1)
There are many social institutions that have major impacts on society. One of the trickiest social institutions would have to be, religion. Religion seems to have a huge impact on a society even if it’s directly or indirectly. Why is that? Do we need it? Does it let us live a more fulfilled life? What effects does it have on society? Is it necessary for a functioning society? According to Dalton Conley (2013:611) sociology defines religion as being a unified system of beliefs traditions, and practices around sacred things; a set of shared “stories” that guide belief and action. Religion is a way for people to make sense of the world, it keeps society in line with expected behaviors. Without religion people would subside to create their own rules and would deem to follow a path that could harm a society and come to an end. Religion is necessary for a society to function, prosper, and for someone to learn how to be a well moral contributor to society.
Religion has many effects in any society. It can either destroy it by proving customs wrong or it can guide it like it guides converts to believe in the religion. Religion creates two different societies and while it guides one to become stronger it will destroy another at the same time. Religion guides societies and destroys them.
Colonists of all religions are able to make a connection between God’s wrath towards the ancient Jews, and themselves if they continued to fall under the rule of the King of Britain. A majority of people who flee to the colonies are looking for religious freedom and obey God’s rules religiously (no pun intended). Evangelists believed all humans are sinful but they can be saved by divine right. Paine makes another reference to the Bible when he says, “Ye that oppose independence now, ye know not what ye do” (99). This is a reference to what Jesus says, “Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do" (Luke 23: 34). Jesus’ executioners do not realize they are slaying the Son of God. Thomas Paine advises that opposing liberation is the same type of decision for Americans as killing Jesus is for his killers. The idea of hereditary succession confuses and angers Paine. If a ruler of a great nation has a son, what makes the son fit to rule? Just because he is the King's child doesn’t mean he will be a successful ruler in the future. A monarchy and hereditary succession produce nothing but bad governance, corruption, revolutions, and unnecessary
To understand the ideologies of the American Revolution the circumstances that created the dramatic desires for change must be closely examined. The American frame of mind in the years before the revolution was hostile at best. The years of laments falling on deaf English ears had pushed the American Colonists to the edge. The tensions were rising between Britain and the American Colonies. During this time some of the most influential writers in American history emerged. Many of these writers took on different methods of publishing. One of the most important forms was the pamphlet, which could quickly develop an idea.
To compare and contrast the effects of religion, before and after the War of 1812, I would like to discuss two major events leading up to the war, as well as events that came as a result of its ending. Vast amounts of religious reform and prosecution erupted during colonial times leading up to the American Reconstruction and because of this we have, what is known as, the First and Second Great Awakenings.
When viewing the history of the United States of America and that of its revolution, it is plain to see that the United States owes a large amount of credence to its religious aspirations. The colonies were vibrant in religious practices. Some were more fundamentalist and some were more lax in their convictions. The one thing that was common though is that there was dissention and rebellion in their roots.
Today the controversy of the importance of Christianity to the colonists in the years preceding the American Revolution is raging. When the pilgrims moved to America, they hoped to find freedom of religion, and government. Therefore, when they left England, King James 1 wrote charters and laws for them to keep while in America. For he was technically still in charge of them, but just from afar now. One of the many charters written by the king said, “and well knowing when a people are gathered together the Word of God requires, that to maintain the peace and union of such a people, there should be an orderly and decent government established according to God, to order and dispose of the affairs of all the people at all seasons as occasions shall require; do therefore associate and conjoin ourselves to be as one public state or commonwealth, and do, for ourselves and our successors and such as shall be adjoined to us any time hereafter, enter into combination and confederation together, to maintain and preserve the liberty and purity of the Gospel of our Lord Jesus which we now profess” (fundamental orders of Conne...
“It is science, and not religion, which has taught men that things are complex and difficult to understand”-Emile Durkheim. Understanding religion is a very difficult task, with so many views and thousands of different religions. No matter what the religion is, or where it is located they all have an importance for society. The importance religion has is establishing what is correct and what is not. Religion has been around for many years, so has the many different understanding of the purpose religion has on society. Most of all the three key factors of religion that has an impact on society are; Social support, experience, maintain social control.
Religion is a collection of belief systems, cultural systems, and world views that relate humanity to spirituality and moral values. (Edit spacing) Moral values are the standards of good and evil, which govern an individual’s behavior and choices. It is our moral values that dictate what another person is to be perceived as good or evil. Most of the time, these are considered in black and white views with no regard for the various shades of grey. In the grey area, we will find a true person. The moral code, we follow determines whether one should commit homicide or make the decision to do the “right” thing. The paper found on this topic revolves around the Southern region, but further research was done to understand the Northern take on religion to better grasp the United States as a whole. It is believed that the South hold God closer to the body than North does in that they believe the Bible is truly the word of God and should be taken literally. “Personal salvation through faith is the only escape from eternal damnation....
After looking at philosophy’s of Goerg W.F. Hegel, Wilfred Cantwell Smith and Jacques Maritain clearly society cannot ignore religion. In ignoring religion society would as a result overlook the essence which makes an individual a whole. There can never be a society free of religion, nor can religion be without the secular social world they are intertwined.
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 has screwed us up for a long time and we'd be better off without it. By "us" I mean Americans living in the 21st century. Without religions we would have fewer labels separating us from each other and we wouldn't hate Jews or Catholics or Muslims. If we didn't have religions, we wouldn't have to convert anyone or "save" anyone. If we didn't have religions, people could no longer get caught up in the fine lines of religious rightousness or be trapped in a double-standard morality. And most importantly, we would be truly free of religious engendered guilt that never quite goes away.