Scientology - Essay Example

Scientology Discuss the criteria you will employ to determine if what makes these people religious or are they spiritual.
The first and foremost thing that determines the spirituality of a person is his never-ending belief in God, constant prayers and great knowledge in scriptures. Religious people find scriptures as the basis of their day today life. They are never ego centric that they put others above themselves and treat them with dignity. A religious person never goes after worldly pleasures and whatever he has in life is considered to be a gift from God. Rather than wealth, he attributes value to relations and his fellow men. They will preach their belief to the non believers and generates fathomless love for humanity. A religious person does not blame God for his failures he faced in life. However, whatever he does should not be a show off and he shall not be a hypocrite.
2. Describe three (3) examples of behaviors or beliefs you observe that meet the criteria you established above. 
Zac Poonen, in his article, “Three Marks of a Spiritual Man” describes certain examples of behaviors that substantiate the above mentioned criteria. They are;
(a). A spiritual man looks upward. It means his earnest desire to be one with God. He spent most of his time in prayers. The worldly matters such as wealth, conveniences etc never bother their spiritual life. His ultimate hope is in God.
(b). Secondly, a spiritual man looks inward. He is always aware of what he does. He is a good judge of himself. If there is something that destroys his spiritual life, he is ready to do away with whatsoever important it is in his personal life.
(c) Finally, a spiritual man looks outward. It means he is willing to impart the goodness that God has bestowed on him to others. He is ready to forgive his trespassers as he knows God forgives his trespasses. He is not worried about his own happiness and life but finds bliss in making the men around him happy.
(Source: Poonen, n.d.)
3. Based on your observations, explain what the function of religion appears to be. 
Religion has got both social and psychological functions. As the part of social function, it ensures social control and reduces conflict. Every religion sets a standard for behavior that is expected to be followed by the believers. Secondly, religions avoid social conflict by reducing tension and frustrations. As Ferraro and Andreatta (2009) point out, religion controls the animosity of people and makes them compassionate and charitable through various religious experiences; and when it comes to psychological functions, religion provides mental peace to the believers by consoling them during the time of crisis and helplessness (pp. 354-355). From the religious leaders, one gets emotional support and peace. It encourages him to face the problems with a renewed punch.
4. if you find that religion can be better discussed in terms of something other than its function, explain how else religion could be understood.
We cannot understand religion by setting aside its functions. Religion becomes an integral part of the society only through its functions. So, it is impossible to thoroughly understand a religion merely from the scriptures. Religion can be understood from what a religion does. What a religion teaches is from its scriptures and what it teaches in turn becomes its functions. So, the power of religion must be better expressed through its actions.
Works Cited
Ferraro, G. P & Andreatta, S. (2009). Cultural anthropology: An applied perspective. US: Cengage Learning.
Poonen, Zac. “Three Marks Of a Spiritual Man. Christian Fellowship Church”. Web. 2 August 2012. Read More