Religion and Society - Essay Example

Religion and Society How Is Religion Changing Societies? Religion has been and continues to be an integral part in the society as it has played a crucial role in instilling morals that are to be followed by members of the community. There are various arguments on the role of religion in society with others arguing that it inhibits change while others holding to it that it plays an integral role in changing the society. Various charismatic and religious leaders are known to have brought about change, for example, Martin Luther King, who is seen to have played a crucial role in liberating the blacks. Religious leaders are known to have some sort of control on the members of the society, implying that people will follow their directives in the effort of bringing about change in the society. Various scholars have come up with theories that explain how religion acts as a radical force for revolutionary change, and give examples from various actions of church leaders, which have shown that religion has the command to change the status quo, e.g., during the apartheid when Archbishop Desmond Tutu fought against it (Idinopulos). The society also depends on various religious bodies and institutions to lay down rituals and values on the society, and this plays a crucial role in bringing unity in the community (Gerrie and Tsuruoka 14). In most families that follow some religion, at a tender age, children are brought up with values from the church and they are introduced to the religious side of life, and this guides their behavior and how they grow up. Families will rely on religion for moral socialization of their children, which enforces a sense of ethnic identity and morality, which they will take up for the rest of their lives. Therefore, religion has changed the society as it acts as a source of social control, hence playing a paramount role in bringing order in the society. 2. How Is Religion Raising Questions of Identity and Challenging Concepts of Citizenship? The fundamental meaning of religion is laid down on the basis of common beliefs and practices carried out by a group of people that dictates their moral conduct (Gerrie and Tsuruoka 5). Therefore, people of one religion will have rules that govern their conduct and will stipulate the ways of living, failing which equals to going against the will of God. On the other hand, identity will have to do with knowing where one belongs, and the two will come into play as there are various religions in the world today, which range from Christianity and Islam to Hinduism, just to name a few. Religion now raises questions of identity in that people will belong to different religions, and this comes into play as this will dictate the various identities of people from various religions. Therefore, people will have different identities in that they will identify themselves with various religions, which will determine who they see themselves as. This means that people will identify themselves as Christians, Muslims, Hindus or any other follower. This lays a divide in how people identify one another as they will have different beliefs that they follow. Religion is also known to challenge the concept of citizenship as both will have different laws depending on the majority religion in the country. There are Muslim nations, Christian ones and so on, and this means that different countries will have a majority religion following implying that the religion of the majority will be the one used to form most rules in the country. The laws of the country will be used by citizens, and this forms the basis of citizenship, but religion will also have a role to play in governing how people relate and their way of life. There are situations where the laws of the land are not in line with those of citizenship, and this implies that there will be a clash between the two; hence, there is a dilemma on what should be followed. For example, there might be a conflict on what a Christian, who is a citizen of a Muslim country, should do in matters that relate to Christianity and are prohibited in the Muslim laws, which to some extent govern the whole country. Therefore, while religion lays down the common beliefs of a group of people, identity will deal with self-recognition, which will determine which religion one decides to follow, while citizenship will entail the legal status of an individual. Since the three may have different values, the question of which to uphold becomes the issue of contention. 3. How Is Religion Creating a Dilemma between Faith and a Way of Life? Faith entails believing in something without necessarily knowing of its existence. A person’s way of life will dictate how they lead their life and morals that they uphold. Since religion lays down the common belief of a group of people, it follows that religion, faith and a person’s way of life are somehow intertwined, but there exist disparities, which will create a dilemma on an individual’s life. For example, there are beliefs of some religions that prohibit people from engaging in various acts, which may be the normal way of life. For example, some Muslim followers restrict women from owning bank accounts, and this is a way of life for most people in the world. This lays a divide as religion will restrict these women from leading the normal way of life. This creates a dilemma between faith and the way of life (Idinopulos). Despite the fact that it is reasonable to do some things in life so as to survive, religion and what certain religions believe in will restrict people from leading a normal life due to the restrictions that they place on their followers, failing which is seen as rebellion and could cause one to be alienated from the society. The most surprising thing is that these beliefs do not have any supporting arguments and people are just expected to follow them without questioning. Therefore, religion brings a dilemma on people as they try to decide if they are to follow their faith or just lead a normal way of life without having their religion interfering with what is expected from the social order or diverts from normal reasoning. Works Cited Gerrie, Ter Haar, and YoshioTsuruoka. Religion and Society: An Agenda for the 21st Century. Boston: BRILL, 2007. Print. Idinopulos, Thomas A. “What Is Religion?” Cross Currents 48.3 (Fall 1998). Web. http://www.crosscurrents.org/whatisreligion.htm. 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