Religion in United States Political System - Essay Example

How United s political systems have been affected by our religious heritage I. IntroductionThe question f the proper role f religion and f religiously based moral convictions within American public life has been hotly debated during the past fifteen years. The rise f the Moral Majority immediately prior to the first Reagan presidential campaign and the presidential candidacies f ordained ministers Pat Robertson and Jesse Jackson directed the media spotlight to the issue f religion and politics. These years have been a time f aggressive Christian politics, as evangelicals entered the political fray seeking to mold public policies that would conform to their own religious convictions. On issues ranging from abortion to prayer in the public schools, evangelicals sought to use the instruments f the American political system to forward their interests and values. Since their agenda fit snugly with that f conservative politicians, advocates for "public religion" were generally associated with conservative political causes. During the 1980s the Moral Majority targeted "liberal politicians" for defeat in congressional elections. II. Religious Traditions In the 21st Century we are all taught to believe that the right political systems are those that exist in countries like America, Britain and other parts Europe. We are taught this in the reading f books and the watching f television programs from the west. All f these sources have influenced and changed the way the rest f the world thinks. It is therefore better to look at each society while it was untouched by the ways f another. The best ways are by comparing different political systems f societies from different geographical locations. Since the traditional and cultural values f each society are different, the thinking and the way f life would be very different if compared to one another. Therefore, a political system to one society is likely to be different if compared to another. At the same time, western society might be unfamiliar to the ways f the eastern society and vise-versa. Sometimes as time passes, there develops new theories f new political systems by great thinkers. So we see one political system being changed to another. This proves that it's impossible to take just one time frame as different political systems developed at different time lines. III. Western Civilization & Topic In western society and other societies in the world, religion was a major factor and still is in some societies when it comes to their own politics. Some believe religion and politics should be separated in order to create a true political system and some says it should not. No matter which society it is, we will always have people with greed in it. And these types f people are the danger to any pure political system, as greed and wanting f power can only lead to corruption. Corruption can only lead to suffering. In each society they have adopted to a mutual understanding f what's right and what's wrong. So it can be said that what's right for one society might not be the same for the people living in another. What happens then is that one society who might not want to accept the ways f another, responds to it by labeling it as deviant. For example: Howard Becker suggests "social groups create deviance by making the rules whose infraction constitutes deviance, and by applying those rules to particular people and labeling them as outsiders." Therefore at times, we see revolutions that bring about a whole new political system, even though sometimes all the promises that was to come with the new system vanishes somewhere. An example would be communism. Politics cannot be pinned down to a single aspect f life, it occurs throughout society, it involves every aspect f our lives, but it is especially concentrated in the modern nation state. It is the nation state that "establishes sovereign jurisdiction within defined boundaries...the state commands ultimate power in that it stands above all other associations and groups in society; it's laws demand the compliance f all those who live within its boundaries." In politics there is a phrase that says, 'power corrupts, and absolute power corrupts absolutely'. What it means is that everyone who comes by political power becomes corrupted morally from the opportunities that this power brings with it. This really applies to most people since they shape their morality in line with social pressure. In other words, at first they are scared f society's disapproval and punishment and therefore avoid immorality, however, when power makes them strong, it decreases social pressure and as a result they become corrupted. And at times if they had real power as in; rule f a nation, they might try all means to satisfy their desires. IV. Make the connection between the religion and the political system Religion is undoubtly a big influence in society but it has declined in countries like the US and UK in the past century. Capitalism is thought to be behind the reason for the decline in organized religion in the US and UK. Since capitalism supports inequality, it is pretty much impossible to believe in a religion that says to not oppress the weak and at the same time wanting to make as much money as possible. In this new age f Imperialism, we are seeing one society that is colonizing the world and inflicting its own laws in these countries. Destroying their history and remaking it the way they see it best. Mostly these victimized societies are those that don't have the same beliefs as the Western society has. Therefore western society is inflicting their culture and way f life on those that never asked for it to be. An example f this would be if any society goes against the will f America (The World Superpower), economic sanctions are imposed on them to make them do what they want. So now instead f having a one group in a society labeling another group, we have a few societies that have labeled every other society and enforced their way f living on them and still do. So what would actually happen if we take our religion first before the law Is it so hard to be generous Is it so hard to help others without asking anything in return and just feel good for the fact f being able to help someone We live in a society where individuals claim f wanting to help the weak, but when a chance comes, they end up satisfying their own wants. V Conclusion In a materialistic world, our wants are unlimited and our satisfaction can never be completed. There are consequences in living in a materialistic society. Life might get more luxurious for a few, but for the majority, life would be spent working, trying to earn a living, and mostly being depressed with not having what you want in life. When making decisions like having children and getting married, automatically a few questions come into mind. Example f a few would be: 'Can we Do we have the finance to support ourselves How about the kids All our income will have to be spent on the child and that would leave us with little to spend on ourselves.' Hence to an extend, living in a society where money is the main value, will make a lot f things hard for people. To have a happy life, you need to have more money. Now if the politics that is practiced in these materialistic societies are only favoring the rich, there must be a problem with it. As it cannot be a part f a pure political system. Human Rights itself is given its definition by those from the western society to protect the rights f individuals. But yet you can find the biggest so-called democracy in this world America, kidnapping hundreds f people from over 42 countries and treating them as if they were animals caught for slaughtering. Bibliography Becker, Carl (1958) The Declaration f Independence: A Study f in the History f Political Ideas. Random House Inc. New York. Brake, Wayne (1998) Shaping History: Ordinary People in European Politics 1500-1700. University f California Press Fahmy, Ninette (2002) The politics f Egypt: State-Society Relationship. RoutledgeCurzon, NY, pg44 Gage, Jennifer (1996) The Laws f Hostility: Politics, Violence, and the Enlightenment. University f Minnesota Press Guantanamo Bay. (n.d). Retrieved January 10, 2004, from http://www.guardian.co.uk/usa/story/0,12271,941876,00.html Harman, Chris (2003) Analysing Imperialism. International Socialism, London Janet, Abu-Lughod (1989) Before European Hegemony: The World System A.D 1250-1350. 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