The Complexities of Religious Decisions - Assignment Example

The Complexities of Religious Decisions Life Changing Decisions Everybody somehow has been forced or willingly made a difficultdecision once or twice in his or her lifetime. It is obvious that human beings make the easy decision frequently, every day. For example, can they go to school or church? Can they maintain the required speed limit? Can they order chicken or pizza for dinner? However, what about the hard decisions? Fortunately these do not occur that frequently, although when they come around people are forced to take drastic measures to confront them; this can be in the right or wrong manner. Such hard decisions typically transform the lives of those individuals bearing the burden of the decisions. Most people are confronted with hard decisions such as: what person is best to get married to? Should he relocate to another state (i.e. Illinois)? Should he buy a car or a penthouse? Do they intend to have kids? These hard decisions are usually termed as life changing decisions that shape someone’s destiny. Matters such as politics, religion, best ways to ensure human and civil rights are upheld, good procedures to ensure the nation’s security, procedures to realization of an equitable, just and free society are usually disagreeable by reasonable minds. Other critical issues that reasonable minds can disagree revolve around on if it is best to legalize early term abortion or legalize same-sex marriages. The scope of this paper will explore the issue of religion freedom based on beliefs, values and the theories of freedom that justify or contrast the varying perceptions of religious freedom (Scheinin, 2000). Religious Faith and Consequences An important allegory of a person who made a life changing decision in the bible is Abraham. Trust was a key requirement that Abraham was supposed to have first. God needed him to follow God, be a loyal servant and in turn he would bless him and all his descendants. Also, his descendants would be as many as a million stars in the sky. Furthermore, Abraham was already old and had no kids. Abraham decision to truly and completely trust God with his heart was one such hard decision that transformed his life. God in turn fulfilled His promising by blessing Abraham and all of his descendants. Furthermore, He gave him a son at that old age which is impossible. The trust in God portrayed by Abraham is hard to find in the current society. Alternatively if there is, it may not be a full conviction from ones’ heart. Moreover, people sometimes question if God truly exists. Reasonable minds can argue such a case by various theorists such as the creation theory and evolution theory. In present times, it is difficult to find such great personalities with utmost faith like Abraham. However, let’s look at the case of Abubakar Kadir, who stood strong on his faith. Abubakar being an international student in the U.S., in the course of his academic studies he converted to Christianity. After his studies, he returned back to Afghanistan and was welcomed with tough decisions to make in his life. His family members turned against him since he declared himself to be a Christian. In Afghanistan, the only recognized religion is Islam (it is a Muslim religion). Taking into account that death is the penalty for any person that rejects Islam and turns to Christianity. Abubakar had a choice; to openly admit that he was mistaken and was not truly a Christian. Contrary, to these Abubakar decided to go on live Television and declared that he was a true Christian even though this meant signing his own death sentence. However, due to international pressure he never made to the death penalty but was just termed as being merely insane. If it was you, what would you do in such a situation? Values and Beliefs Do people have such strong faith in God? Can they die because of their faith? Personally I trust in God, but subjecting me to a matter of death is still debatable. I hope the faith I have could help in such circumstances that I can be able to declare I am a stunt Christian with complete conviction: even though I know such utterances mean my death sentence. This question is crucial for everyone: what next if the US government declares any religion illegal? Would people continue to uphold their trust and faith in God or would they denounce Christianity? The Bible says that many people will die because of their faith in Jesus Christ (Revelation 20:4). In addition, the Bible says that those who will stand strong in their faith will be blessed and have eternal life. Throughout history, there are many who have been condemned to death due to their faith in Christ or religion. Some may view religion is such a hard choice. However, people can never be the same in their faith some recognize God’s existence and some do not even know that there is a higher supernatural power referred to as God. Moreover, the remaining flock are between these two groups. People question the existence of God mostly when they are confronted with difficult situations i.e. sickness, financial difficulties. These conditions make it difficult for people to trust God completely with their heart. However, for most people turn to God when they are confronted with the hardest decisions or situations in their lives. It may be people do not know what they truly believe in, but they still seek the help from God. However, what is life like when everything is perfect in an individual’s daily activities? For example, all family members are healthier than previous years. One has had a promotion at work or got a lucrative job. Life is going on smoothly. In such situations, people tend to forget about God. They see that God had no hand in their success rather it was due to their strength and hard work that bore fruits. Probably most people forget God during the good times and only remember Him when in difficult situations and times of crisis. Nevertheless, hard decisions are part of humans’ daily activities and some of them lie on a person’s faith, as well. The right to religion freedom (free to worship) can be arguable using freedom theories. The Human Freedom Theory According to the libertarian theory of freedom, every person has the right to chose what he or she does. People are influenced with both external and internal factors when making a decision. However, these factors do not fully control the final decision to be made. Even when the decision is partly influenced by factors that the person is not consciously aware of, there are some factors that he or she is conscious. Hence, a person can be able to independently make personal decisions (Gilberto, 2007). Abubakar case of religion freedom and his right to enjoy free worship sparked a huge debate. The liberals support his desire to attain personal autonomy. He knew the consequences of diverting to Christianity, taking into account he had grown in Islam since childhood. It is reasonable to assume that he was influenced to convert to Christianity by the new environment. However, his other conscious part new the repercussions. He had a choice to denounce Christianity when he returned to his country, but decided to remain strong in his faith. America is a free nation and everyone has a right to worship (Mariam, 2013). The no-free will theory suggests that a free-will be like an illusion. Moreover, as the name suggests free will does not exist. A person acts depending on events taking place in his brain, which in turn is sparked by external and internal events that took place earlier. A person is not liable to his actions since this chain of events date back before his existence. Hence, punishing him for his actions is just a practical justification and is not a moral one (Frankfurt, 1971). Maybe Abubakar was just influenced by his environmental surroundings and if given time could conform to Islam again. Theological texts also support the notion that the human mind is free to act independently. The traditional catholic belief on the nature of human beings emphasizes on the idea of free working human mind and a rational soul. Individuals are entitled to freedom of self-expression, full control of their lives and this right should not be denied (McGoldrick, 2012). The idea of religious restrictions among governments in the world infringes on fundamental perception of liberalists of freedom to act freely. A country such as china is well known to have stringent measures that regulate the religions in the country. It has enacted policies that enforce these regulations, and defined which religions are recognized in the country (Bureau of Human Rights and Labour, 2013). However, countries like the U.S.A have few restrictions when it comes to religion. The U.S. has just set apart religion and the state affairs. It policies acknowledge the freedom of worship, and has avoided any clauses that would try to favor one religion over the other (Theodorou, 2014). Conclusion The right to worship any supernatural, powerful being (religious freedom) can be considered as an illusion or allowable if not deemed to be a threat. The paper explored the idea of freedom of religion from the perspective of libertarian and no-free will theory. There are countries that restrict freedom of worship while others have few restrictions. People tend to be punished because of their faith, if it differs with what the majority of the society considers appropriate. A person’s faith is sometimes stronger than the pressure of conforming to the popular opinions and goes to great strengths to achieve autonomy (Stenlund, 2013). However, religion is not a subject that people can sit for a cup of coffee or talk over dinner and an agreeable solution reached. Religion should be left to individuals to decide what is best for them. Changing the mindsets of countries that restrict other religions is merely impossible. However, the media might be a good channel to advocate for religious freedom. Recalling that Abubakar was not put to death due to the opportunity the media offered him to relay the world his plight for religious freedom. References Bureau of Human Rights and Labour, N. (2013, May 20). 2012 Report on International Religious Freedom. Retrieved April 4, 2014, from U.S. Department of State: http://m.state.gov/md208222.htm Frankfurt, H. (1971). Freedom of the Will and the Concept of a Person. Journal of Philosophy, 68 (1), 5-20. Gilberto, G. (2007). Free Will, the Self, and the Brain. Behavioral Sciences and the Law, 25, 221-234. Mariam, T. (2013). Towards a Theory of Freedom. A Journal of Social & Political Theory, 60 (134), 1-25. McGoldrick, T. (2012). The Spirituality of Human Consciousness: A Catholic Evaluation of Some Current Neuro-Scientific Interpretations. Science & Engineering Ethics, 483-501. Scheinin, M. (2000). Freedom of thought, conscience and religion. Stud Theol, 54, 5-18. Stenlund, M. (2013). Is There a Right to Hold a Delusion? Delusions as a Challenge for Human Rights Discussion. Ethical Theory & Moral Practice, 16 (4), 829-843. Theodorou, A. (2014, January 14). Key Findings about growing religious hostilities around the world. Retrieved April 4, 2014, from Pew Research Center: http://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2014/01/17/key-findings-about-growing-religiuos-hostilities-around-the-world/ Read More