The Importance Of Religious Symbolism

1223 Words3 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Religion culture and identity

Banning Religious Symbols For those who are enthusiastic to expressing themselves religiously, say “yes” to using religious symbols, and “no” to banning them. The subject of tolerance towards religious symbols has given rise to discussion and polemic within society. Likewise, one of the discussion topics on the agenda in accordance with the universal dimension of religious freedom is still use of religious symbols. Religious symbols, along with modernism and sociological concepts of public space is a concept that attempted to draw its lines with the legal and political approaches. Religious symbols are associated with religious actions, even with religious feelings. They are included into each religion and are expression of both devotion and faith. Religious symbols should not be banned, for the reason that ban of religious symbols causes violation of human rights and conflicts within society, and religion helps politicians to stabilize whole country. Banning all visible religious signs and symbols in public places abuses the rights of freedom of …show more content…

Therefore, rejection of religious symbols in public sphere by the government even destabilizes whole country as well as causing obvious concerns within society. For example, after illegalization of wearing adornments that are explicitly associated with a religion for university students by French law, students have refused to vote in the elections in favor of the government. Consequently, the current vote balance of the country has changed in visible degree, ant it caused broking of consensus in national society (Hermann & Singh, 2013). This argument can be concluded from Chinese leadership’s (2001) point of view that “religion must be used in the aim of preserving national unification and the unity of nationalities” (“State Control of Religion”, p.

Show More
Related

  • Symbolism in Their Eyes Were Watching God

    1106 Words  | 3 Pages

    In Zora Neale Hurston’s novel, Their Eyes Were Watching God, she utilizes an array of symbolism such as color, the store, and her husbands to solidify the overall theme of independence and individuality. Their Eyes Were Watching God is considered by many a classic American Feminist piece that emphasizes how life was for African Americans post slave era in the early 1900s. One source summarizes the story as, 1 ”a woman's quest for fulfillment and liberation in a society where women are objects to be used for physical work and pleasure.” Which is why the overall theme is concurrent to independence and self.

    Read More

  • The History and Symbolism of the Swastika Sign

    1172 Words  | 3 Pages

    The swastika is a loved and welcomed symbol for many people in the world. The word swastika is derived from the Sanskrit word Su, meaning well, and Asti, meaning to be. It represents life, sun, power, strength, and good luck. The swastika is an equilateral cross with its arms bent at right angles either clockwise or anticlockwise. The ubiquity of the swastika has been explained by three main areas of significance: historical, cultural, and architectural. And this essay will show these three topics of swastika.

    Read More

  • The American Flag Pros And Cons

    580 Words  | 2 Pages

    In the First Amendment it says “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances.” Although some argued that the right to burn the American flag is fundamental to the First Amendment

    Read More

  • We are Free to Be You, Me, Stupid and Dead by Roger Rosenblatt

    1178 Words  | 3 Pages

    Freedom of speech has been a controversial issue throughout the world. Our ability to say whatever we want is very important to us as individuals and communities. Although freedom of speech and expression may sometimes be offensive to other people, it is still everyone’s right to express his/her opinion under the American constitution which states that “congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or the press”. Although this amendment gave people the right express thier opinions, it still rests in one’s own hands as how far they will go to exercise that right of freedom of speech.

    Read More

  • Symbolism In Gattaca

    1105 Words  | 3 Pages

    Set in the “not-too-distant future,” GATTACA, directed by Andrew Niccol, shows us a society where DNA determines your status. The film explores the significant idea of discrimination which is shown through Vincent’s character. The director’s use of techniques helped influence my understanding of the consequences of discrimination within society. Society discriminates against “in-valids” because they believe invalids aren’t as good as valids.

    Read More

  • Handmaid's Tale

    613 Words  | 2 Pages

    In the first amendment, it is stated that all people have the Freedom of speech, religion,

    Read More

  • First Amendment In Public Schools

    911 Words  | 2 Pages

    Separation of church and state is an issue in the forefront of people’s minds as some fight for their religious freedoms while others fight for their right to not be subjected to the religious beliefs of anybody else. Because public schools are government agencies they must operate under the same guidelines as any other government entity when it comes to religious expression and support, meaning they cannot endorse any specific religion nor can they encourage or require any religious practice. This issue becomes complicated when students exercise their right to free speech by expressing their religious beliefs in a school setting. An examination of First Amendment legal issues that arise when a student submits an essay and drawing of a religious

    Read More

  • The Importance of The Bill of Rights in Society Today

    621 Words  | 2 Pages

    The Amendment I of the Bill of Rights is often called “the freedom of speech.” It provides a multitude of freedoms: of religion, of speech, of the press, to peacefully assemble, to petition the government. Religious freedom is vitally important to this day because it eliminates the problem of religious conflicts. Historically, many people died for their beliefs because their government only allowed and permitted one religion. T...

    Read More

  • Exceptions To The First Amendment Essay

    682 Words  | 2 Pages

    There are many exceptions to the first amendment in which limits a citizens abilities to practicing freedom of religion and speech. Yelling “fire” in a movie theater, for example, is illegal and an exception to the first amendment. Speech that intends or causes harm is also an exception to the first amendment. Sutlaana Freeman, for instance, is a Muslim American in the state of Florida decided to wear a veil across her face. When going to take a photo for her driver’s license, she was asked to remove her veil, as the state of Florida requires a fully uncovered face for an ID photo. Freeman refused arguing that the first amendment’s freedom of religion allows her to practice her religion. After fighting the state of Florida for her “religious rights”, the state declared that an ID photo must fully reveal a person’s face for easy identification and for safety. (Barnet 9). In this case, the safety of the people surmounted the religious rights of one person. These exceptions are enforced to increase the safety of the people and to prevent conflict among people and government.

    Read More

  • The Power of Symbolism

    671 Words  | 2 Pages

    A symbol is any “‘object, act, event, quality, or relation which serves as a vehicle for conception’” (230). Peyote Hunt: The Sacred Journey of the Huichol Indians by Barbara Myerhoff is a very intricate text which involves numerous aspects of symbolism. Myerhoff not only applies a much deeper meaning to deer, maize, and peyote, but she also uses these objects as a representation of divine beings and spirits. The deer, maize, and peyote are very powerful entities but together they form the deer-maize-peyote complex, which is central to the Huichol life. The unification of these disparate objects can be easily understood once they are analyzed on three different levels: exegetical, operational, and positional.

    Read More

  • Essay On Confucianism

    1410 Words  | 3 Pages

    In conclusion, it can clearly be seen through all of the examples posed that the belief systems of a nation can both directly and indirectly influence a nation’s people and culture. Whether it be negative, such as Legalism’s harsh rule causing revolts and Confucianism’s filial piety causing economic downfall, or positive, such as Buddhism reuniting the people of China and Daoism’s advancement in sciences, the correlation is clear. This influence has occurred in nearly every nation that existed, and likely every nation to come, as it all revolves around a single idea: all of the actions we take, and the products which sprout from them, are rooted from our beliefs.

    Read More

  • Reflection on the First Amendment

    1363 Words  | 3 Pages

    “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or the press, or the right of peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for the redress of grievances” (United States Constitution).

    Read More

  • The Role of Religion in Politics

    2726 Words  | 6 Pages

    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...

    Read More

  • Art Is Important To Religion

    611 Words  | 2 Pages

    Art is important to religion in many different ways. Perhaps none has analyzed how art and religion have influenced and affected each other through the ages. Pictures painted of past events that help to bring back the feeling and importance of the past have been forgotten by some. To the one’s that haven’t forgotten are able to see the event’s as the bible says they happened. Not only can you see the events, but it also allows the younger students of the church to understand the events. The use of images of God became widespread after the second century. This religious art has defiantly been around for centuries and plays an important role to the history of religion as well as the future.

    Read More

  • The Sacred and The Profane

    694 Words  | 2 Pages

    Eliade discusses humanistic principles of religion while providing a connection to traditional religion, explaining the concept of “sacred” and drawing a connection to time, space, and nature. They serve a purposeful function in rituals and practices presented by the various religions, both traditional and modern. This “re-enactment” of rituals or practices in various religions that people conduct provides them a sense of “reality,” while establishing a mystic bond. As a result, the experience of space known to non-religious man, one who rejects sacrality of the world, accepts only a profane existence.

    Read More

More about The Importance Of Religious Symbolism

Open Document