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Discuss in detail the significant role of religion in society
Discuss in detail the significant role of religion in society
Discuss in detail the significant role of religion in society
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The impact that religion has by express mankind’s history is a phenomenal trait, even in 21st century human perceptions are beguiled highly on religion than any other episode. Majority of nations base their policies, economic stances and political associations on religion. According to the “Scriptures of the World's Religion”, religion is viewed as a communal system for which peoples believes are channeled to focus on unseen being, supernatural occurrences and revelation of the highest truth. Hinduism- “Burning Dead Bodies” Documentary record reveals that Hinduism is one of the dominant religions across the globe, mainly practiced in India subcontinent with a current population of over 700 million people. The religion is mainly dominated by diversity, and its ability to accept any doctrine or practice. Majority of the Hindus are monotheists while others are polytheists. Hinduism as a religion, however, is stern in their authoritative traditional practices such as burning of the dead bodies. To them, “the concept of life after death is usually vague practice” (Fieser 15). They believe that their first man to die Yama had a clear reference to the world of the dead. Through the hymn book, Agni is requested to burn the corpse of the dead and ensure that it is disposed of promptly to the land of the dead. The Agni call explains why globally, the Hinduism devotees are practicing crematories (Fieser 16). “The Beneficial Effects of Drinking Soma” The identity and utilization of the plant referred as Soma among the Indians is one of the greatest unresolved mysteries in the study of Hindu religion. This sacred plant was regarded as a god, especially when presented during the time of worship to the worshiper to provide powerful attribut... ... middle of paper ... ...n Buddhist religion. The Buddhist scriptures also provide a great emphasizes on the need to honor and value women as the perfection of creation (Fieser 102). Hinduism, Buddhism, Christianity, and Islam are just a few remarkable religions with distinctive characteristics that are recognized in the world today. As it is expressed by “Scriptures of the World's Religion”, and I quote “the living world will always continue to express their religion and ensure that it occupies the greatest sphere,” this issue stands to date. To their best, all the world religions are striving to control the sphere and remain relevant in accordance to their stipulated doctrines. Works Cited Fieser, James, and John Powers. Scriptures of the World's Religions. New York: McGraw-Hill, 2011. Pp. 1-541 Print. Fisher, Mary P. Living Religions. Boston: Pearson, 2014. Pp. 1-543 Print.
Religion is an institution that can provide stability for societies through various religious concepts, and is substantial for the support of social cohesion and order. Many functionalist theories of religion, for example, claim that religion functions in such a way as to integrate societies (McCauley, 1984). There are many types of religion that people practice world-wide such as Christianity, Catholi...
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.
Hinduism is a polytheistic religion with countless Gods and Deities, that is now the third most followed religion in the world, after Christianity and Islam. The word “hindu” originated from the Sanskrit word “Sindhu” which is a historical name of the longest river in Asia, northwest of India. Hinduism is unique, the only religion without a founder, no one scripture, and it is without a specific set of rules and expectations. It is often described as being a way of life, unlike other religions, and is said to be an assortment of different religious, philosophical ideas, and cultural practices that began in India. While it doesn’t have specific teachings, it does have sacred texts, the Sanatana Dharma, otherwise known as “The Eternal Teaching”.
Religion has greatly influenced western civilization. Religion is a way to express ourselves in our own way. To be able to choose who or what we believe in freely. This gives us a sense of individualism and helps our civilization to grow and develop each religion. Just about every ancient culture practiced religion in some way. They were either monotheist, polytheist, atheist, or believed in “magic”. Western civilization was impacted by religion in more ways than one. Every religion contributed in their own way. Some religions even worked together to help create a stronger, more structured civilization.
...ld note that all three religions, Buddhism, Hinduism and Jainism, have been the dominant, prevailing religious trends in India for many centuries, and they clearly reflect the culture, history, and spirituality of the country. All three of these religions effectively reflect the views of believers on life, death and honorable conduct. Nonetheless, despite the fact that they are very much related with each other, each has some distinct features distinguishing it from all others, and contributes to the understanding of the religious background in India both at the beginning of the new era of humanity, and in the contemporary period of time.
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...
Clifford Geertz has focused more on the symbolic power of religion. He has talked about the fact that it is the symbolic power of religion that has a strong influence on the people. It is the religion, in accordance to Clifford that helps the people in understanding the place that the people have in the world. The actions that are undertaken by the people are also defined by the religion. Based on the arguments that have been given by Clifford, it can be added here that there is a great effect of religion and the religious values on the kind of politics being observed in the nations (Pals 309). When we talk about the religion, it can be added here that we are talking about the set of beliefs as well as the ethical values, which are used in the creation of the world and the ways in which the world is managed. So where does the symbolic state of religion stand in the modern political world. One of the main facts that need to be mentioned here is that politics is related with the development certain motivations in men. These motivations need to be powerful and long lasting. It has been found in the case of the definition of religion by Geertz. He has added that religion provides a set of symbols that develop long lasting, modulations in the people. There is no doubt about the fact that the politics and democracy has more to do with the development of strong states and nations. There needs to be a general order of existence in the nations and states, which leads to strong nations. Nations that are more democratic are the ones having strong order of existence. This is the order that has been mentioned in the definition of a ‘symbolic’ religion by Geertz (Pals 313). Thereby from here, it would not be wrong to add that the religion and ...
Indigenous religions exist in every climate around the world and exhibit a wide range of differences in their stories, language, customs, and views of the afterlife. Within indigenous communities, religion, social behavior, art, and music are so intertwined that their religion is a significant part of their culture and virtually inseparable from it. These religions originally developed and thrived in isolation from one another and are some of the earliest examples of religious practice and belief. The modern world; however, has taken its toll on these groups and many of their stories, customs, and beliefs have been lost to, or replaced by, those brought in as a result of popular culture and the missionary work of Christians and Muslims.
known in Northeast India in the 6th century BC. Looking back to the earliest roots,
The power and the order of the common customs can not bring human beings with the inner peace. As a mysterious power , religion can solve the problem which can not be solved by the science and technology. When the science and knowledge can not explain all the confusion in this world, religion came in. Religion has the significant function that it can provide the importance of life and eliminate the resentment . It offer the sense of security for the people who lived in poverty or lived confusedly. Religion deifies some value and religious doctrine which can control the desire and impulsion from people’s heart.
The various sacred traditions and beliefs of the Hindus capture the attention of people from diverse cultures around the world. From believing the Brahman is perceived as an impersonal form of God to performing Bhakti yoga to surrendering the soul to God, Hinduism promotes innovative ideas to calm and relax the bod, mind, and spirit. In addition to these particular practices, Hindu’s respect their geographical surroundings of the Indus River Valley. It is said that from this “valley,” ritual purity was important and often achieved by bathing or using water. In accordance with the previous statement, a certain tradition sparks further research amongst historians. This tradition involves the cleansing and bathing of the body, the sacrificing of animals, and the burning of deceased bodies in the Ganges River. Today, these purifying rituals have arguably yielded rise to not only the most detrimental health problems and diseases spread amongst the bank-side dwellers of the sacred Ganges River, but also have caused unwanted environmental disruptions.
The original Vedic texts were mostly comprised of hymns to gods and rules of sacrificial rituals; the purpose of which was to provide ancestors with food and means of sustenance in the kingdom of Yama (the afterworld). As a result of their devotion people expected certain favorable influences in their lives, such as good fortune and yet better life in the kingdom of Yama after their death. Sacrifices were supposed to be a means of survival in the kingdom of Yama. As the Indian philosophies evolved, Hindus developed the concept of reincarnation. The essence of that concept lied in the belief that no one is able to remain in the afterworld forever and eventually should return to the cycle of life, death and rebirth. As transcendent as the concept of reincarnation was, it did not provide Hindus with an ultimate salvation from suffering. Thus every living thing must eventually suffer and die. Such views resulted in further development of Hindu religion, Hindu philosophers such as Manu questioned the concepts of Vedas and laid the foundation for a philosophy that transfo...
Religions and practices are prominent throughout the world, and have major impacts to their followers and societies who practice it. They make up more than 84% of the entire world population, and many of them are similar in many ways.
How do we define religion? According to the Merriam-Webster dictionary, the definition of religion is as follows: “the belief in a god or in a group of gods, an organized system of beliefs, ceremonies, and rules used to worship a god or a group of gods, or an interest, a belief, or an activity that is very important to a person or group” (Merriam-Webster.) My personal definition of religion is that it is a set of beliefs and practices that generally pertain to the worship of one or more than one spiritual being or representation of a spiritual power. Religion can be a personal belief or an organization or group of people who have similar beliefs and values. There are many different types of religions in the world and have been since the beginning of mankind.
Hinduism is regarded as the world’s oldest organized religion, but it’s also a way of life for much of India and Nepal. Unlike other religions, Hinduism allows and encourages multiple paths to the divine. There is no single founder and no single scripture, but is rather a conglomerate of diverse beliefs and traditions. They are often understood to be different means to reach a common end. But this acceptance of variety makes it difficult to identify religious tenets that are specifically Hindu. Still, there are some basic principles common to Hinduism that are essential to one's approach to life.