Seriously
2006-12-08, 18:28
This is the paper I promised to deliver in a previous post.
Religion in Society
Religion and religious institutions exist in every country on the earth and many have been around for thousands of years. What is the role that religion and its institutions play in our lives? Peter Berger explains that people socially construct beliefs as a response to the uncertainties in life. In the past such uncertainties were often related to our environment, such as the sun, the moon, lightning, earthquakes, volcanoes, etc. Eventually people came to question other things in life such as, what is right or wrong, why are we here, how did we get here, and what happens when we die? Religious beliefs inspire hope in times of distress. They serve as a guide to societies’ morals, and individual values, and affect the structure and function of the family unit. Religion gives people an ideal to live up to and offers up to the imagination the possibility of what our society could be like. One woman I interviewed said, “going to church just makes me feel good and it reminds me of how to live.” Society the basics, edited by John H. Macionis reports, ‘researchers have linked a number of social patterns to strong religious beliefs, including low rates of delinquency among young people and low rates of divorce among adults. According to one recent study, religiosity helps bind children, parents, and local communities in ways that benefit young people, enhancing their educational achievement.’ All of this supports Emile Durkheim’s analysis which suggests religion promotes social cohesion and conformity and gives meaning and purpose to life.
Many people are drawn into a religion by the need to belong and because of the apparent caring attitude of those who declare themselves of one religion or another. Some people seek out religion because they feel like something is lacking in their life and hope that God or spirituality will fill that space they feel inside themselves. When interviewing a woman from Topeka, Kansas, she commented, ‘I go to my church because as soon as I walk in the doors, I can feel the presence of God.’ She went on to say that going to church makes her feel like she belongs and she thinks going to church has made here a better person.
Religious organizations provide a place for like-minded people to meet, organize charity work, and discuss social issues that may conflict with their morals and values. During the 19th century, religious leaders played an important part in a movement to create social equality in America. This movement eventually exploded into the American Civil War and abolished slavery. Religious leaders such as Dr. Martin Luther King were at the core of the civil rights movement in the 60’s and 70’s and Mahatma Ghandi triggered massive changes in India and throughout the world with his non-violent protests and political activism. When one enters a church today, there is the possibility of hearing a sermon on political hot topics such as gay rights, abortion, and stem-cell research.
While religion apparently has many benefits it also has it’s downfalls. Religious institutions preach conformity to their own beliefs and hamper creative, individualistic thinking that may differ from the institutions beliefs. Religion can also create tension and act as a barrier between societies and people. One religious leader may preach love and tolerance and another may preach a distrust for those of differing beliefs and call them evil or suggest that we pity and them and teach members to look down on those who don’t conform. I think Pastor Fred Phelps in Topeka, Kansas is an example of this with his, ‘God hates fags’ slogan and his protesting at the funerals of U.S. soldiers. Karl Marx revealed that sometimes ‘religion actually supports social inequality by claiming that the social order is just.’ We can easily see this if we look at the patriarchal religions of Islam, Judaism, and Christianity where women have been placed below or subservient to men. And if we look at the ongoing war between Israel and Palestine we see how religious beliefs can affect the politics of a country and be misused to justify killing. If these are not examples enough, look at the birth of Christianity when Christians were persecuted by the reigning government or to the current issue in Tibet where Buddhism has been outlawed and the ruling government of Buddhist monks are exiled, imprisoned, or tortured by the communist government of China.
All of this tells us that religion has a definite impact on societies throughout the world. Various churches and temple have stood for hundreds of years and, without considering some of their vast libraries, in their architecture alone serve as houses of knowledge and history. The five most popular religions; Islam, Christianity, Hinduism, Judaism, and Buddhism have been around for thousands of years, helped establish cultural norms, and have even become associated with the identity of countries and cultures across the globe. Not only do religious ideas affect society, they are affected by culture and societal changes. For example more women are assuming leadership positions in religious organizations and gender-neutral language is being used in newly printed religious books.
With travel becoming increasingly faster, cheaper, and easier, we see people traveling and immigrating to countries other than the one in which they were born bringing their beliefs with them and experiencing beliefs and cultures which may be new to them. ‘An increasing number of people are seeking spiritual development outside established religious organizations’ and ‘although most people in the U.S. claim to be at least somewhat religious, only about 1/3 actually report attending religious services regularly.’ With these things taken into consideration, I wonder what the future holds for religion.
All information for this paper was gathered from personal observation, one on one interviews, and Society the basics, edited by John J. Macionis.
[This message has been edited by Seriously (edited 12-08-2006).]
Religion in Society
Religion and religious institutions exist in every country on the earth and many have been around for thousands of years. What is the role that religion and its institutions play in our lives? Peter Berger explains that people socially construct beliefs as a response to the uncertainties in life. In the past such uncertainties were often related to our environment, such as the sun, the moon, lightning, earthquakes, volcanoes, etc. Eventually people came to question other things in life such as, what is right or wrong, why are we here, how did we get here, and what happens when we die? Religious beliefs inspire hope in times of distress. They serve as a guide to societies’ morals, and individual values, and affect the structure and function of the family unit. Religion gives people an ideal to live up to and offers up to the imagination the possibility of what our society could be like. One woman I interviewed said, “going to church just makes me feel good and it reminds me of how to live.” Society the basics, edited by John H. Macionis reports, ‘researchers have linked a number of social patterns to strong religious beliefs, including low rates of delinquency among young people and low rates of divorce among adults. According to one recent study, religiosity helps bind children, parents, and local communities in ways that benefit young people, enhancing their educational achievement.’ All of this supports Emile Durkheim’s analysis which suggests religion promotes social cohesion and conformity and gives meaning and purpose to life.
Many people are drawn into a religion by the need to belong and because of the apparent caring attitude of those who declare themselves of one religion or another. Some people seek out religion because they feel like something is lacking in their life and hope that God or spirituality will fill that space they feel inside themselves. When interviewing a woman from Topeka, Kansas, she commented, ‘I go to my church because as soon as I walk in the doors, I can feel the presence of God.’ She went on to say that going to church makes her feel like she belongs and she thinks going to church has made here a better person.
Religious organizations provide a place for like-minded people to meet, organize charity work, and discuss social issues that may conflict with their morals and values. During the 19th century, religious leaders played an important part in a movement to create social equality in America. This movement eventually exploded into the American Civil War and abolished slavery. Religious leaders such as Dr. Martin Luther King were at the core of the civil rights movement in the 60’s and 70’s and Mahatma Ghandi triggered massive changes in India and throughout the world with his non-violent protests and political activism. When one enters a church today, there is the possibility of hearing a sermon on political hot topics such as gay rights, abortion, and stem-cell research.
While religion apparently has many benefits it also has it’s downfalls. Religious institutions preach conformity to their own beliefs and hamper creative, individualistic thinking that may differ from the institutions beliefs. Religion can also create tension and act as a barrier between societies and people. One religious leader may preach love and tolerance and another may preach a distrust for those of differing beliefs and call them evil or suggest that we pity and them and teach members to look down on those who don’t conform. I think Pastor Fred Phelps in Topeka, Kansas is an example of this with his, ‘God hates fags’ slogan and his protesting at the funerals of U.S. soldiers. Karl Marx revealed that sometimes ‘religion actually supports social inequality by claiming that the social order is just.’ We can easily see this if we look at the patriarchal religions of Islam, Judaism, and Christianity where women have been placed below or subservient to men. And if we look at the ongoing war between Israel and Palestine we see how religious beliefs can affect the politics of a country and be misused to justify killing. If these are not examples enough, look at the birth of Christianity when Christians were persecuted by the reigning government or to the current issue in Tibet where Buddhism has been outlawed and the ruling government of Buddhist monks are exiled, imprisoned, or tortured by the communist government of China.
All of this tells us that religion has a definite impact on societies throughout the world. Various churches and temple have stood for hundreds of years and, without considering some of their vast libraries, in their architecture alone serve as houses of knowledge and history. The five most popular religions; Islam, Christianity, Hinduism, Judaism, and Buddhism have been around for thousands of years, helped establish cultural norms, and have even become associated with the identity of countries and cultures across the globe. Not only do religious ideas affect society, they are affected by culture and societal changes. For example more women are assuming leadership positions in religious organizations and gender-neutral language is being used in newly printed religious books.
With travel becoming increasingly faster, cheaper, and easier, we see people traveling and immigrating to countries other than the one in which they were born bringing their beliefs with them and experiencing beliefs and cultures which may be new to them. ‘An increasing number of people are seeking spiritual development outside established religious organizations’ and ‘although most people in the U.S. claim to be at least somewhat religious, only about 1/3 actually report attending religious services regularly.’ With these things taken into consideration, I wonder what the future holds for religion.
All information for this paper was gathered from personal observation, one on one interviews, and Society the basics, edited by John J. Macionis.
[This message has been edited by Seriously (edited 12-08-2006).]