Introduction: The Dual Nature of Religion in Society
While there are some aspects of region that are positive there are mostly negatives outcomes. The definition of religion is the belief and worship of a controls power. My four avenues of research are does religion cause conflict? How can religion cause equality?How is region good for the world? And Abuse within religion. Throughout my investigation I weighed up the pros and cons of religion. I evaluated at each of my avenue of research throughly to come up with accurate information. The five most popular worlds religions are Christianity with 2,116,909,552 members.Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism, Sikh and Judaism.
Religion and Conflict: A Historical Perspective
Religion can be a powerful tool used to better people but it can also be so powerful that people view their religion as the best and to spread awareness about their religion acts of violence can be committed. Religious conflicts have been going on for thousand and thousand of years. The Crusades were a series of religious wars that were enforced by the latin church in the medieval time period. The war was between christians and muslims as both religions wanted to secure holy sites. There have been countless attacks on religious places of worship. On the 27th of October 2018 there was a anti religion attack on a Shule. The gun man worked into the Shule yelling “all Jews must die”(Shooting at Pittsburgh synagog 2018, viewed 6 November 2019, ). The gunman killed 11 people and injured 6 this is 11 too many. Here we see the dangers that religion has as it can lead to death. Its not right that people feel they can kill someone based on their believe but as long as their is religion people are going to commit crimes targeting particular religions. In 2017 a man named Sayfullo Saipov drove a pickup truck down a crowded bike path along the Hudson River. As he was driving he screamed out “Allah Akbar” which is meaning for god is great in Arabic(Terror attack kills 8 and injures 11 in Manhattan 2018, viewed 6 November). This is just anther example of people believing their religion is superior to others. This highlights the dangers of religion as it can spark violence as people may have hate towards a certain religion or they may feel their religion is supper to others. Over the last years terrosim has been on the rise in more western countries. Groups such as ISIS carrying out their deadly attacks to prove that their religion is superior. In 2017 there were 18,814 deaths from terrorist attacks. The four main groups that carried out these attacks are Islamic state, the Taliban, al-shabab, and book haram. Religion can cause hate and conflict throughout the world.
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Gender Inequality: A Religious Perspective
Most religions are equal in the way men and women live their life but some religions have inequalities within them. It can be small things that create the inequality. In Orthodox Judaism men and women pray in different sections and have different prays to say. In the male pray he says”Thanks a god who has not made me a women”. This is just one example of the many inequalities throughout religions. Over time women have progressed in gaining equality. Women and men used to not be seen as equals. Men were seen as superior to women and women were expected to stay home and look after her family. Now days it is seen as normal in most counties and religions for women to have jobs and not stay at home. Mainly in the middle east and North Africa. In Saudi Arabia in the muslim religion women are only allowed education to live a proper muslim life. Their access to education is very limited they’re taught certain aspects of the Quran. In the Islamic law women are obedient to men. Women are forced to expect that that they’re inferior to men. The proper job of a women is to look after her husband, the house and her children. The main reason for a hijab is to control a womens sexuality, it teaches them to limit their sexuality. At the age of 9 based on a Lunar year she is considered an adult and has to pray and is eligible for marriage. Women living under islamic law cannot travel, work, study and leave their house without permission from their husbend or father. Women can not get custody of their children. If her partner dies or she gets a divorce the husbands family gets the children.In many religions such as Judaism or Christianity women cant be priest or rabbis. As times have progressed it Is more common for women to have higher power within their religion. As evidence shows their is inequality within religion men and women may have differs standards or overall can be treated very differently.
Religion as a Source of Comfort and Moral Guidance
Religion can help and guide people within their life. It can be a moral guide to help people make the right decisions or something for people to turn to when they don’t know where else too go. Religion can be a motivation to do the right thing. Religion goes hand in hand with charity. A study found that religious Americans give more, volunteer more and give more often.55% of Americans said religious values are an important motivation for giving (How religion motivates people to give and serve 2017). The value of giving is deeply expressed in a lot of religious texts. In Judaism there is a concept of Tzedakah. It is considered a commandment and a moral obligation that all jewish people should donate to charities. Religion has helped many people over come traumas in their life. 22 year old Mahrukh Shaukatt said “Islam helped me overcome an eating disorder”(How religion saved our lives 2017)Mahruk is a muslim women. She talks about how she knew god was there when she was at her lowest point how she knew that god wanted listen to what she was saying to listen to her prays. This is just one example of the positives of religion and how it can be so good in peoples life. Sophie Dishman 22 said “Buddhism calms my anxiety”((How religion saved our lives 2017). While in university Sophie began getting very stressed and anxious. To the point of never wanting to leave her room. As a child she attend a christian youth club but as she got older she distance from the religion. As her anxiety grew she confindned in a couple of friends who were Buddhist. Sophie became intrigued in the Buddhist faith. She began following the faith.
Sophie said that the mediative aspect has really helped with her anxiety. Religious institutions are responsible for establishing hospitals, schools, orphanges and soup kitchens. Religion is a glue that can hold society together. A religious place of worship can be a safe space for so many people ,Religious rituals bring so may people together allowing them to socialise and forget about their day to day lives. In many religions there are events that bring people together such as Christmas or Shabbat on a Friday night. This is a time for family and this shows the positives of religions as it binds people together and acts as a social glue. Religion provides meaning and comfort to thousand and thousands of peoples life. It installs an outlook on life that is bigger then day to day hardships. Religion can be a very powerful social force. Great leaders like Martin Luther king and Gandhi were both empowered by their faith. Through their actions they managed to change cultural attitudes and put a stop to oppressive government policies. Regular attendance of religious services are linked to a stable family, strong marriages ,well behaved children. The practice of religion can lead to a reduction of domestic violence, abuse, substance abuse and addiction. Studies have shown that religion can impact your relationships with those around you. Mothers who deemed religion as not important in their life, where as those who deemed it important in their life said that their relationships with their child was rated significantly higher. For example when 18 year olds attend religious services the same frequency as their mother. The mother reported significantly better relationships with them. Research shows that men who attend religious services at least once a week were more then 50% less likely to commit an act of violence against their partner or peers. Evidently religion brings a sense of meaning to many people life without meaning to someones life people may feel empty which can lead to bigger problems down the track like negative mental health. Religion acts as a sense of hope and inspiration to others. Its a social glue where people can have the same ideas,vaules,beliefs and aims.
Abuse of Power: The Dark Side of Religious Institutions
Abusive power is something that has come up in the media in recent years. Wether its a priest or a rabbi its someone in a higher power abusing someone who trust them. The Catholic church in Victoria has been faced with over 800 new legal actions for child sex abuse. Many victims have come forward to share their horrific stories. A Melbourne seminary which is a training collage for priest was recently caught out on abuse charges. “I recall that seminarians would come out through the corridor into the sitting room and select a boy to go back with them,” said the now 57-year-old Fells.“After a short wait, Ryan came out into the sitting room and selected me.” Re calls one of the victims (How a Melbourne seminary became the breeding ground for paedohles). There have even been claims that members of the Catholic Church tried to cover up criminal conduct. Other priest are planning to use a new state law that allows courts to over turn historical compensation payments. Seven percent of Australian Catholic priest were accused of abusing children in the six decades since 1950, according from data from the royal commission. Abuse from priest who the victims trusted has left many victims scared for their life.
Maurice is a boy who was abused at his Catholic school from the ages of 11 and 15. He was abused by a priest at his school. His parents didn’t pick up on any of the clues. He didn’t speak up as he got into his teenage years as he was in such a dark place himself. Maurice suffers from post traumatic stress disorder as a result of his abuse Evidently abuse on anyone is not ok and for someone in a place of power to abuse that role is sickening. There have been many more victims that have come forward in sharing their stories. Anther case of abuse Is at a religious jewish school in Melbourne with a women named Malka liefer who was the former principal. Police have layed 74 charges against her at least 8 victims have come forward. Malka fled to Israel where she was allowed freedom and she was living a normal life. This has caused outrage at the isralie court system. In 2007 a women named Dassi Erlich got counselling when she started to have recurrent nightmares and anxiety about the abuse she encountered. The physiologist contacted someone she knew and the information got passed around. The orthodox community helped cover up her abuse. As soon as the allegations came out the school helped Malka leifer book a flight to Israel. Dassi Erlich came out about the case publican ,march 2017. She sued the school in a civil case she received 1.27 million. This shows the dark side of religion as not only was someone abused but a community within a religion has helped cover up someone else abuse. Evidently even within the people you trust the most like a religious leader abuse can happen and get covered up easier if you have the power which In most of the abuse cases they have a lot of authority and power.
Conclusion: Weighing the Positive and Negative Impacts of Religion
As evidence shows their are many negatives and positives to religion within todays society. It can impact peoples life in a positive way as it is social glue and provides a moral code for peoples life. The negatives are that the power can go to peoples head as they start to see their religion being superior to everyone else. This can lead to violence and wars. Religion can have inequality’s and in todays society where we have come so far to achieve equality this is a negative. Lastly abuse within religion as people in a higher power abuse their role. Religion can be a positive and negative tool in our society.
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