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Impact of religion on society
The effects of religion in society
The effects of religion in society
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Thomas Jefferson once stated, “Millions of innocent men, women and children, since the introduction of Christianity, have been burnt, tortured, fined and imprisoned. What has been the effect of this coercion? To make one half the world fools and the other half hypocrites.” This (1) profound statement gives the (2) implication that people often use religion in order to avoid blame or criticism for their (3) reprehensible actions. Many individuals hold great (4) disdain for organized religion because it allows people to believe that they are no longer held by the morals of society if they have religion on their side. Religious individuals can be seen to have a (5) propensity for going against what they believe and twisting their beliefs to support their hypocritical actions. (6) Contempt for organized religion is (7) engendered by the idea that since religious people are so engrossed in their principles, they are excused of any obligation to consider the evil in their actions because their religion automatically makes them righteous. The concept that organized religion is (8) loathed for its hypocrisy is demonstrated in various pieces of literature. In the novel entitled To Each His Own, by Leonardo Sciascia, the animosity towards the Catholic Church demonstrates how organized religion is looked down upon because of the insincerity of its followers and how they tend to use their religious beliefs to conceal many actions that would be judged as evil and immoral. In order to find a copy of the newspaper to use as a clue in his investigation, Professor Laurana goes to visit the rector at Santa Anna. Towards the end of their conversation, Laurana and the rector speak about the rector’s decision to become a priest... ... middle of paper ... ...trusts Church over Scandal.” This article discusses the effects that child sex abuse scandals in the Catholic Church have had on the public opinion of the Church. According to the article, over fifty percent of Americans feel that the Church would continue to cover up scandals in order to preserve its image. This shows how even though the scandals are a clear violation of the Church’s beliefs, they are still willing to do whatever it takes to cover it up and show that they are still an upright and honorable institution. The Catholic Church is only one example of many religious organizations that follow similar methods. Many religious institutions around the world are also responsible for using their beliefs to claim that their moral superiority. In essence, organized religion often times will come with connotations of the hypocrisy and insincerity of its followers.
In the inconclusive court case on the “Scandal at the Church” of 1872 New Spain (Mexico), José de Alfaro fights in court to save his wife, Josefa Cadena, his unborn child, and his family’s honour by taking her attacker doña Theresa Bravo, her daughter, her sister, her woman deposited (her ward) and her husband to trial for their wrong doings. It was after mass at church that Mrs. Cadena brushed up against Mrs. Bravo; resulting in a violent outburst from the high class lady and her family. The six month pregnant Mrs. Cadena was brutally beaten. With the possibility of losing both his wife and child due to bleeding, Mr. de Alfaro seeks justice from those who harmed his family. Mr. de Alfaro brings his wife’s
Through their superstitious beliefs, devout religious convictions, and established customs the severity of the collective conventionality of the inhabitants of Valle del Sole in Nino Ricci’s Lives of the Saints is evident and crucial to the ruination of Cristina Innocente. The people of the town have proven themselves to be incredibly superstitious, irrationally believing in things such as the “evil eye” to prove ________________. In addition to their superstitions, their exceedingly pious beliefs further their condemnation of Cristina, casting her out in the eyes of God. The citizens of Valle del Sole also denounce Cristina for her lack of regard to the very specific roles and responsibilities within their
Sor Juana de la Cruz is born into a wealthy family in 1648 that lived near Mexico City, Mexico. After being a part of the Viceregal court and a lady in waiting, Cruz begins her spiritual journey and joins the convent. Here, Cruz explores both secular and non-secular studies. She is an exceptionally talented writer with a passion for reading, learning, and writing. She is scolded for the information she writes and is told to focus exclusively on religious dogma. Soon after the Bishop of Pubela reads one of her letters, he publishes it (without her knowing), and she responds with a respectful yet sarcastic letter (Lawall and Chinua 155-156). Cruz’s “Reply to Sor Filotea de la Cruz” was written during the period of Enlightenment of Europe (1660- 1770). This era in Europe casted an opaque shadow over women’s rights to educate themselves and self-expression. Sor Juana’s piece however is both inspirational and empoweri...
The size of the Christian megachurch is manifested in its title, which demonstrates that this typically prodigious and resplendent edifice sustains a weekly attendance of at least two thousand congregants; and that the majority of the mega churches are of the Protestant persuasion, of which its doctrine is basically the antithesis of Catholicism’s authoritarian structures, as well as the other major religions of Islam, Hinduism and Old Testament Judaism (The Hartford Seminary). Over the years, there has not only been an enormous emergence of mega churches here in the US, but also of many disparaging remarks from the public, comedians, books and the news media, about this institution. Some assert that these types of churches are not really concerned about the souls of the people, and they are prodigious only because of the avarice, a misrepresentation of Jesus Christ and a manipulation of the hearts of people, in conjunction with a gross negligence of spiritual leadership. The truth is, that in some instances there is malfeasance, but in others, the church is led by the Spirit of God with vigor and integrity.
Through the years from the medieval ages up until now, the Roman Catholic Church has always had a major influential presence in all walks of life for European people, whether it was for taxation, the establishing of laws, the rise and fall of monarchs, and even daily social life. Furthermore, the Catholic Church held such power that they could even appoint and dispose of great kings with just the writing of the pen. However, their power started to wane once human curiosity overcome ignorance and blind obedience. For example, the Enlightenment Age brought a series of shocking blows to the Church’s power such as disproving the Church’s theory of geocentricism and presented an age of questioning and secularism. In essence, by looking at the Church’s
During the Great Jubilee year, John Paul II gave a relevant speech of apology on behalf of the entire Catholic Church for the serious sins committed by its members for over 2,000 years. Since John Paul II did that, he wished the Church to enter the new millennium with a clean slate, allowing it to speak to and discuss freely with the other religions of the world, including the cultures and nations from a place not only of permanency but also of moral and religious power, having acknowledged in specific ways the crimes, from time to time unbearable, committed by its human origins throughout history. These apologies were hardly accepted, and common apologies for sins committed against the Church and its members have not been imminent. “Catholics distinguish between the holiness of the inevitable sinful nature of men, including the men who serve the Church stated by Thomas E. Woods Jr.”
...en civilization and the individual. Living in a nation still recovering from a brutally violent war (Germany), Freud began to criticize organized religion as a collective neurosis, or mental disorder. Freud, a strong proponent of atheism, argued that religion tamed asocial instincts and created a sense of community because of the shared set of beliefs. This undoubtedly helped a civilization. However, at the same time organized religion also exacts an enormous psychological cost to the individual by making him or her perpetually subordinate to the primal figure embodied by God.
When a person or a family chooses to participate in a religion, it is usually a big decision which entails much thought and consideration. Catholics believe that Jesus died for their sins, so that they could live. Practicing Catholics, one must follow the ways of the 10 commandments described in the bible. They attend mass and hear the readings from the priests, by which they have much respect for. Priests or Deacons are supposedly the messengers of God, and in turn they instruct their people how to act through the words of Jesus. How do you think a person would react when they hear the news that one of their priests did sexual acts to little boys? The allegations of priests molesting little boys has been rampant for many years, but nothing could hit harder when the priest actually came from their own church, especially if a family had young children who participated in the masses. The urgency to leave the parish might arise, just as Suzanne Keen did with her parish, especially having children who she wanted to protect. When the escalation of the rumors surfaced, she first ignored it as many people did. How could be chu...
The church confesses that it has not professed openly and clearly enough its message of the one God… The church confesses its timidity, its deviation, its dangerous concessions… The church was mute when it should have cried out, because the blood of the innocent cried out to heaven… It did not resist to the death the falling away from faith and is guilty of the godlessness of the
Third, religion is hypocritical. Although it might profess valuable principles, it sides with the oppressors. Jesus advocated helping the poor, but the Christian church merged with the oppressive Roman state, taking part in the enslavement of people for centuries. In the Middle Ages the Catholic Church preached about heaven, but acquired as much property and power as possible.
The recent cases in our criminal justice system dealing with the abuse by Catholic priests of young boys have been successfully prosecuted because of our belief as a society that if it walks like a duck , talks like a duck, the chances are, it’s a duck. In the past, such abuse might never have come to light because of our predisposition to believe that a priest was not capable of such behavior.
There are several issues at play as this scandal continues. In this paper I hope to look at the actual scandals involving retired priest Paul Shanley and defrocked priest John Geoghan. These two men served as priests in the Boston community for over 20 years under the leadership of three different Cardinals. Throughout their years of service they had sexual relationships with males ranging from the age of 4 to 26. Only within the past year were legal steps taken against them. John Geoghan was tried and convicted and Paul Shanley’s case is still under investigation.
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...
“One of the most marked characteristics of the new secular intellectuals was the relish with which they subjected religion and its protagonists to critical scrutiny. How far had they benefited or harmed humanity, these great systems of faith? To what extent had these popes and pastors lived up to their precepts, of purity and truthfulness, of charity and benevolence? The verdicts on both churches and clergy were harsh. Now, after two centuries during which the influence of religion has continued to decline, and secular intellectuals have played an ever-growing role in shaping our attitudes and institutions, it is time to examine their record, both public and personal. In particular, I want to focus on the moral and judgmental credentials of intellectuals to tell mankind how to conduct itself.”
In the Western world, the schism within the Catholic Church has made its most significant impact due to rapid changes in social standards. Of greatest importance is the evolution of modern society and their response to the reverberated traditions of the Catholic Church as well as the evolving Protestant sects. In consequence of increases in technology and science, modern society has redefined its acceptable and moral behavioral standards within a social setting, whereas, the Catholic Church stands firm in its doctrines despite social and moral movements in the twentieth century. Except for the Second Vatican Council and the Council of Trent, the Roman Catholic Church has not worked to revise its religious traditions in response to a changing society. As a consequence with this unparalleled development, many young adults and the population in general has swayed from the devout Catholic worship.1