Any religion is capable of becoming a global religion if present in a particular cultural sphere and the religions often have or develop many different branches. Religion also has a great influence on society and is often seen to act as a higher force than secular morals.
It may be said many religions would too greatly oppose social norms. However, it has been shown that religion perhaps has a greater influence over society than society over most religions. This can be seen with the development of the United States. The formation of the US came after great religious movements such as the protestant reformation. It is able to be seen how different parts of religion were woven into the United States at its formation and are still present.
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In fact due to their popularity and differing beliefs global religions arguably face the largest amount of scrutiny. It can be seen that some countries better foster particular religions. For example Latin America is most greatly influenced by Christianity than Buddhism and the Middle East is dominated by an Islamic belief system. This serves to show how different cultures may better cater to particular religions. So though one religion may not mesh with Japanese culture, it could perhaps align very well with South African culture. This predisposition for some societies and regions to be more accepting of certain belief systems is crucial to understanding the potential global growth of any religion. Also many religions are highly dependent on the surrounding region and the overall region cultural standings. A recent example of religious persecution that is still very present is the persecution of Christians in the Middle East; one of the many horrific acts was a “bombing [of] a church in Alexandria which killed 20 and injured 70”(Clark). However Christianity still remains “10 percent of the global total” of practiced religions (Clark). So though extreme persecution is present, Christianity remains highly influential in many other regions. This shows that though some religions may not be as widely accepted in certain regions, they could find support …show more content…
This may be true for the future as the earth becomes increasingly globalized and cultures begin to more greatly blend, creating a more universally interconnect earth. However, here are still significant cultural differences and opposing views even with in regions which would foster nearly any religion and belief system. Though it can be said in the distant future, it is more liable that an increasing number of religions face extinction or will not find growing support on a global
Religion is a part of society that is so closely bound to the rest of one’s life it becomes hard to distinguish what part of religion is actually being portrayed through themselves, or what is being portrayed through their culture and the rest of their society. In Holy Terrors, Bruce Lincoln states that religion is used as a justifiable mean of supporting violence and war throughout time (Lincoln 2). This becomes truly visible in times such as the practice of Jihad, the Reformation, and 9/11. The purpose of this essay is to show that as long as religion is bound to a political and cultural aspect of a community, religious war and destruction will always occur throughout the world. A historical methodology will be deployed in order to gain
There is no society without religion. James has also states that religion is “personal destiny”, which means that it existence is infinite in human life. Human lifestyle has been influence by the religion, so religion is a principal factor in universe. Religion is based on different believes and practices of humans which is totally understandable, despite of difference in religion people have same shared belief of putting their God above the others and shows the love and affection toward it. God has created this universe, the specious around us is the sign of his existence.
America today still maintains the separation of church and state, an idea that was founded by some of the earliest colonists.... ... middle of paper ... ... William Penn, Quaker and founder of Pennsylvania, soon after wrote the Pennsylvania Charter of Privileges and Liberties, a constitution for the colony of Pennsylvania, which enabled the people to freely practice their religion of choice without fear of government punishment. American colonies were clearly established with the intent to all live together with Christian beliefs, but with so many interpretations and versions of the same religious scripture, freedom to practice whichever adaptation feels right became most important in colonial life. And as a safe haven for those who were persecuted in their home countries, America truly flourished as a place for the religiously tolerant.
The Next Christendom: The Coming of Global Christianity written by Philip Jenkins looks over religion as a whole in the future. Philip Jenkins was a Distinguished Professor of History in 1973 and was the Co-Director for Baylor's Program on Historical Studies of Religion, he has studied the Bible and the Quran. The main religion being Christianity, as it flows South to other countries such as Central America and southern Asia and Africa. Jenkins also covers “The Rise of Christianity” where he predicts that it will increase in the coming years. The world would be moving from secularism to non-secular as the Northern states and countries are urbanized. The Southern countries are not urbanized, they believe in the practice of spirituality. In the Next Christendom, Jenkins also predicted that there will be a big population growth in the next coming years as Christianity spreads. Christianity as a whole can be adapted to many different cultures, as it is not as strict as many other religions such as Muslims. In other religions you would have to be
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.
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
...n the Kanto area and 23.8 percent in the Kansai region. At the very least, the fact that scores of younger Japanese are choosing Christian weddings indicates that the present environment is much more open to Christianity and that the stigma once attached to the Christian faith has declined during the past several decades”. Mullins further states that this observance of Christian rituals may not be considered as an indication of solid faith in the religion instead it could be associated with “popular movie stars and all of that”.
Just like in Europe and many other parts of the world, religion has been on the decline for many years now in America. From the historical point of view, religion in America is very different from what it was in Europe. The first amendment of the American constitution forbids the state to establish an official church of the state. In other words, secularization is the very premise that America is built upon. In many European countries it is the complete opposite as in for example Sweden where the state church has played a huge role for centuries, and where the church was separated from the state only a few decades ago
In conclusion, it is important to realize that it was not one single factor which was responsible for the spread of Christianity, all these figures came together to give the perfect platform for a new religion to develop, " Never before in the history of the race had conditions been so ready for the adoption of a new faith by the majority of the peoples of so large an area" (K.S Latourette).
The rise of Christianity in western civilization is arguably among the most important memories in history. There is no denying what the spread of Christianity has done for the world, for better or worse. Its impact on western civilizations is unrivaled and unprecedented. Christianity slowly became something for many individuals to turn to; in times of hurt it provided comfort, in times of pleasure it gave thanks. The will and belief for salvation has driven individuals to be better, and to have a reference while in need.
Religion can be viewed from many different perspectives. People throughout the world hold different religious values. One person’s religious value will not match the religious values of another person. Globalization as a whole has affected the way we view the different religions and our feelings towards them; it has moved towards a more symbolic representation of ideologies. Many have come to believe that the west is more superior to others. Martha Crenshaw argues that globalization is a key driver of terrorism because there is a comparison between countries having less access to means of production and others having more access. Furthermore, most religions go against each other’s beliefs and as for Islam; they have neglected the ideologies of the west. In order to understand how religious values are interconnected is through language games; we think in certain ways because of issues of power.
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.
Religion has existed for the entirety of human history. From Hinduism that is so old that it does not have a definitive origin to Baha’i that formed less than 200 year ago, religions are always prevalent in daily human life. However, some religions have spread all over the globe and have many adherents like Christianity whereas others are much smaller and have remained local like Judaism. Some religions are destined to remain local religions and not spread globally due to a lack of proselytism and shared cultural ties for adherents of local religions.
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.
The role of religion in politics is a topic that has long been argued, and has contributed to the start of wars, schisms (both political and religious), and other forms of inter and intra-state conflict. This topic, as a result of its checkered past, has become quite controversial, with many different viewpoints. One argument, put forth by many people throughout history, is that religion and the government should remain separate to avoid any conflicting interests. This view also typically suggests that there is one, or several, large and organized religions like the Roman Catholic Church, which would be able to use their “divine” authority to sway the politics of a given state by promising or threatening some form of godly approval or disapproval. By leveraging their divine power, individual figures within a religion, as well as the religion as a whole, could gain secular power for themselves, or over others. A second view, which was developed by many theologians through history, suggests that that without religion there would be a general lack of morality in the people and leaders of a given state, which would give way to poor political decisions that would not be in the interest of the people and perhaps even God (or the gods). This argument, however, does not address the fact that morality can exist without religion. In sociology, it is commonly accepted that social norms, which include morality, can result from any number of things. Religion, laws, or the basic desire of survival can all create these norms, so it suffices to say that as a society, our morals reflect our desire to live in relative peace through the creation of laws that serve to help us to survive. The argument of whether or not religion and politics should mix...