Secularism: The Hidden Origins of Disbelief - Research Paper Example

What Would Happen To Mankind without Religion Introduction In the context of the modern society, there is a possibility of indicating that science and technology has had a great influence in determining people’s approach towards religion. One critical assumption about religion is that it makes it helps in the identification of experiences or responses to the sacred, which includes the human quest of seeking favor from holy beings or from the sacred. Individuals in society are able to express religion through practices that include fellowship with fellow believers, or through their thoughts. Historically, individuals in the society have been extracting different forms of religion through ethnic rituals and prescriptions, myths, and institutional beliefs, among other considerations. The different religious practices were beneficial for the development of acceptable moral codes, which are not only necessary for developing a sense of community, but assist in controlling behavior among individuals in the society. In the modern era, there is a possibility of insinuating that scientific and technological developments have led to the secularization of religion (Jacoby, 2004). Some of the effects that result from the secularization of religion include the fact that quite a number of people are shunning away from the different forms of religion. This means that people in the modern era no longer regard religion as an important factor in society, with quite a number of them showing a complete disregard of religion, or even the existence of God, or any other being that is regarded as supernatural. The different forms of religion that individuals in the world ascribe to are inclusive of Christianity, Judaism and Islam, among other forms of religion practiced worldwide. In the determination of some of the things that might happen to humankind devoid of religion, it would be crucial to mull over several questions. One of the factors for consideration includes the determination of the significance of the sociology of religion as well as some of the functions that religion plays in the lives of the human beings (Clarke, 2009). Even though the answers to this inquiry might be debatable, this paper looks into some of the factors that might determine what might happen without religion in the modern era. For this reason, the paper will include an extensive literature review that is necessary for answering the research question. Functions of religion in society Individuals view religion as a belief system that affects their values, customs, laws, as well as their behavior patterns. These factors have an effect to individual people, groups or communities that they live in as well as an entire nation, and due to this, one might be able to argue that religion plays an integral or peripheral role in the society (Kevin et at, 2008). It is possible to see religion as a complex entity characteristic to organizational bureaucracy or it might be viewed as a simple relationship between an individual and an object or something that is a subject of worship. One of the key role of religion in a society is the explanation of the nature of life, explanations of the primal origins of a given society, and the determination of the functions as well as aims of living. Contrary to the modern era, people used religion in the ancient times as a means for the achievement of order in society, and for the delegation of roles and responsibilities for individuals (Johnstone, 2007). From a sociologist’s perspective, the Ten Commandments in the bible were a set of rules for governing behavior, which were necessary for creating a harmonic society, and would allow society to function in a systematic and organized manner. Following the sociological point of view, it is possible to determine religion serves the purpose of regulating the behavior of individuals, which makes it indispensable in ensuring a complete control of the behavior of individuals. On this note, one might argue that without religion, it might be difficult to ensure a systematic and organized functioning of the society. Through religion, dictates on some of the acceptable standards that people in society must adhere to are determined. This means that people wishing to live by these dictates will remain in society and they should be able to ascertain that they adhere to the dictates. However, the regulations should be based on acceptable limits. For people who may not be able to follow the set standards, for whatever reasons, they can choose to leave or abandon the idea of belonging to the society (Asad, 2003). On the other hand, the individuals can be able to choose another religion that fits with their beliefs. Emile Durkheim is presumably the first sociologist to present an analysis of the concept of religion. It was possible for Durkheim to analyze this concept by looking at some of the impacts that religion brought about to the society. According to him, the concept of religion is communal, and for this reason, it is possible for individuals in society to experience social cohesion. On the other hand, religion promotes behavioral consistency among individuals as well as ensures social control. The functional approach of religion in relation to arguments by Durkheim gives individuals in society the purpose and meaning of living (Johnstone, 2007). From this argument, there is a possibility of insinuating that without religion, the functional provisions of religion, according to Durkheim, might be obsolete, leading to a state of chaos. Karl Marx’s notion of religion follows the fact that religion is a reflection of the social stratification in a society. Marx indicates that religion perpetuates the status quo in society, which means that religion extends the concept of the proletariat. From the Marxist argument, there is a prospect of deriving the conflict theory on religion. According to the theory, religion helps in the maintenance of some of the patterns that promote social inequality in society. The conflict theory stipulates that individuals should be able to derive satisfaction from the circumstances that they might be forced to live in, which promotes the idea that individuals with power in a religious organization have the authority to dictate the practices of their followers, their beliefs and the rituals. These authoritative figures also have the authority to make interpretations of some of the religious texts that they might be following. From the religious point of view advocated for by Karl Marx, it might be in order to argue that without religion, the society might be devoid of the social stratification necessary for the perpetuation of its status quo. According to proposals from the rational choice theory, individuals in society are not essentially selfish, but are self-interested. This means that the individuals are consistently involved in goal-oriented activities, with the expectation that it will be possible for them to maximize the positive outcomes that they are determined to achieve, and minimize some of the negative outcomes that emanate from their activities. With this consideration, it would be relevant to view religion in terms of the costs and rewards that individuals are likely to incur by participating in some of the religious practices (King, 2007). On this note, the absence of religion in society means that people will not be able to participate in some of the goal oriented activities following the dictates of religion. However, sociologists do not agree to the idea by the rational choice theorists, arguing that it is impossible for individuals to look at religious matters rationally since it might not be possible to measure some of the rewards and costs that could emanate from religion. Religion as a determinant of ethical orientations The determination of some of the ethical orientations as a factor ingrained in religious provisions might be looked at in the context of religion and politics. This consideration follows the belief that attempts to pass laws necessary for the regulation of behavior are efforts to the imposition of beliefs of selected people to everyone in society. If a group of people believes that they are passing laws for the promotion of a common good, then there is a possibility of arguing that their cause is legitimate. For instance, there are religious groups that might be inclined to support laws that make abortion illegal. Because religion supports the development of ethical orientations in people in the society, an individual might be able to argue that the absence of religion in society is likely to lead to high levels of unethical behavior, which might also be in contrast with the societal norms developed devoid of religious inclinations. From this argument, it is possible to insinuate that religion is a factor that influences the societal norms. Without religion, the society would be in a state of lawlessness, with some of the behaviors regarded as unsuitable being allowed. Quite a number of beliefs in society are rooted in philosophies or a set of religious assumptions that determine the functioning of society as well as its well-being. On this note, one vital factor to consider is that societal convictions based on religion are legitimate, which means that Muslims, Christians, Jews, and any other religious organization pass laws based on some of their religious convictions. The existence of religion in society makes the laws appropriate, if they have a secular rationale (Jacoby, 2004). However, they should not involve the establishment of the religion in the subject society. This provision has an influence on the ethical orientations that individuals in the society are likely to adopt, and for this reason, religion aids in the encouragement of the common good as judged by societal values. Without religion, this provision might be impossible to achieve. Following Durkheim’s sense of religion, one might be able to indicate that the modern era does not consider religion as a social fact. However, some of the religious beliefs are subjective in nature, meaning that they fit in a privatized sphere in life. This is an ethical domain that is likely to lead to two different consequences, which includes the Christian ethical reasoning that depends on God’s will as the basis of ethics (Davie, 2003). However, because quite a number of individuals in modern society are exposed to rational provisions in the determination of religious practices, it is becoming increasingly difficult for them to accept some of the ethical provisions advocated for by the religious institutions. Today, people due to their exposure to some of the scientific facts, follow logically constructed ethical provisions that weaken their basis of depending on religious institutions for the determination of their ethical orientations (Harvey, 2000). This might mean that without religion, people might be able to explore on the validity of ethics in a logical sense, meaning that expected morals that cannot be able to make sense logically might be disregarded as invalid provisions for guiding behavior. Conclusion Through influences from scientific and technological improvements, there is a possibility of indicating that the religious institutions in modern society tend to disregard the existence of the supernatural in the determination of appropriate religious orientations. From the discussion, the religion serves different purposes that are inclusive of the regulation of behavior, influences to the norms in society and the development of guiding principles that assist in the determination of human relations to society. Apart from the determination of behavior as well as relations between individuals in society, religion serves a purpose of influencing the ethical orientations of individuals, with the main aim being the achievement of a common good. Despite these considerations, these considerations are slowly dying away, considering the fact that quite a number of people no longer trace their beliefs to religious provisions but to logical thinking as provided for by the development of scientific provisions. The likelihood of this is that the society is likely to be faced with lawlessness or even chaos. References Asad, T. (2003). Formations of the secular: Christianity, Islam, Modernity. Stanford University Press. Clarke, P. B. (2009). The Oxford Handbook of the Sociology of Religion. Oxford/New York. Oxford University Press. Davie, G. (2003). Predicting religion: Christian, Peculiar & alternative Future. Ashgate Publishing. Harvey, G. (2000). Indigenous Religions: A Companion. (Ed: Graham Harvey). London and New York: Cassell. Jacoby, S. (2004). Freethinkers: a history of American secularism. New York: Metropolitan Books. Johnstone, R, L. (2007). Religion in society: A sociology of religion. Eighth edition. Ball State university. Kevin J. C. et at, (2008). Sociology of Religion: Contemporary Developments, Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield ,Publishers. King, M. (2007). Secularism: The hidden origins of disbelief. Cambridge: James Clarke & Co. Taylor, C. (2007). A Secular Age. Cambridge: The Belknap Press of Harvard Read More