In God We Trust Question 4 - Research Paper Example

Based on this and many other factors that this paper will illustrate, the discussions will concur with the assumption of many that America is a Christian nation. To help in proving this point, the paper will illustrate the role of religion in the society, basing its illustrations from Paul Bloom’s essay, Is God an Accident? (Comely 2012) Other illustrations will emanate from sociological theories of evolution, functionalism, and collective conscience. Religion is crucial in upholding the morality of the society as well as its legal structures.

Bloom proclaims that, “The United States is a poster child for supernatural belief” (Bloom). Paul Bloom is a psychology professor at university of Yale, formerly having written Descartes’ Baby. Individually, he is an atheist but recognizes the existence of belief in religion. From polls, Bloom established that about ninety-six percent of the American population believes in God. In relation to this, more than fifty percent of the same American population believes in angels, the devil, and miracles.

Religion has performed the role of instigating morality and ethical values in the society (Ijaz 2011). As such, most people believe that religion offers guidance by defining the difference between wrong and right. This is extremely a necessity in today’s world especially with the emergence of modernity. This implies that there is ardent need to balance the negatives with the positives in this modern world. Religion has established itself, since the beginning of times, as the positive side. Belief in God somehow restrains people’s actions, by so doing controlling evil and wrongdoings.

In addition to this, religion also brings with it the conservancy nature of the world, which will similarly work towards maintaining balance between the right and wrong. From sociology, it is absolute knowledge that the world often tends to shift from liberal to conservative aspect, and vice versa. Religion comes into play here as it brings the world from its liberal phase back to the conservative one in instances where the liberal phase is to the extreme. According to functionalism sociological theory, religion offers a set of ethical practices and beliefs that people tend to conform with, thus uniting them.

Also, supporting proposal is the ‘collective conscience’ proposed by Durkheim. Secondly, religion has been the greatest element of unity all over the world. As Bloom said, “Just about everyone in this country (United States of America) believes in God” (Bloom). There are certain concepts in religion that are universal, irrespective of one’s denomination. For example, almost all religious people believe in a supernatural being, angels and /or the devil, as well as an afterlife. Such common beliefs act as a unifying factor in the society.

As such religious people often tend to view themselves as one community of believers, unified by their common religious teachings. Unity is a paramount aspect in every society, especially since people are of different ethnic groups or cultural values. There is a need in such societies to have a common feature that unites multicultural groups, and religion fills that gap. Furthermore, religion is fundamental in the identification, awareness, and respect for other cultures that are different from one’s culture.

Through religion, one can learn about other cultures, including their language, foods and clothing as well as their cultural