Why Does Religious Affiliation Continue to Be an Important Source - Essay Example

SOCIOLOGY OF RELIGION By Insert Your Name Presented to Instructor’s Name, Course Institution Name, Location Date Due 1. Why do you think religious affiliation continues to be an important source of identity for believers across the globe? Critically discuss by drawing upon key sociological literature. Introduction The manner in which human beings identify themselves does not depend on whether one has faith or not, but it is characterized by the individual features that a person portrays. Every person has a number of features, though only a few of them are linked with the identity of an individual. Some of the features that a person portrays tend to be unavoidable, especially when engaging in social communication, while others are essential in terms of revealing the identity of an individual. A person who believes in religion may also be a husband, a cook, a brother to another person, a chess player and disabled among others. However, just a few of these responsibilities shape the identity of an individual (Queen 2012). This paper will evaluate whether religious affiliation serves as an essential source of identity among believers in the world. Discussion Religious Affiliation Background In the past, no significant emphasis was given to the manner in which individuals got affiliated to a particular religion. Historically, significant effort has been employed in order to try and educate and assimilate people to certain faiths. However, the advancement that has been realized in the case of religious identity has failed to gather sufficient attention. This is because the religious identity of an individual was historically regarded as ascriptive. The religion of a person was driven by the society and cultural norms that they practiced, and not by the choice that an individual made (Eitle & Steffens 2008, p. 507). Religion played a strong cultural and social role, especially during the various religious upheavals that took place. For instance, the most notable events that are linked to religious identity include the Reformation and Hellenistic periods. During these two incidences, significant change in religion became evident, which brought about implausible confusion. The encounters that were witnessed as a result of the formation of different religions heightened the issue of confusion, and thus led to the collapse of the ascriptive nature of religion affiliation. These variations were later followed by a series of political and social unrests, which reveals that religion was not regarded as an individual choice but a form of cultural identity, which had the potential to bringing about both political and social ramifications (Eitle & Steffens 2008, p. 509). Influence of Religion on Superiority Most people believe that they are supposed to safeguard their beliefs against the influence of outsiders. There are certain times when people who are affiliated with a certain religion desire to develop relationships with individuals of other faiths, though they tend to treat the outsiders with droopiness, indifference or outright disrespect. The influence of this form of religious affiliation is mostly common in the case of civilizational and countrywide levels, especially in the case of global community. In a much subtle manner, this issue is also evident in the case of national affiliations among “Western” nations (Sorek & Ceobanu 2009, p. 43). There are incidences when particular countries view themselves as being endowed with a superior mission or determination than others, thus revealing that they portray superiority in terms of safeguarding the interests of other countries across the globe. For instance, with regard to the history of the US, this attitude is more evident, especially with the practices being adopted by the prevailing government. These issues raise the question as to whether it is wrong when a country, civilization, or individuals regard themselves as having a special purpose globally (Cohen-Zada & Justman 2012, p. 954). This may not be a wrong idea, though it is treacherous when one regards himself as being on a special mission. Influence of Religious Affiliation on Politics With respect to texts gathered from various belief systems, more value should be placed on the community’s role where an individual is regarded as playing a vital role in life. However, this teaching is noted to be ironic, especially when viewed in line with the negative social impacts that result from religion. This is because a sense of superiority is the one that is noted to lead a large number of civilizations, groups and nations. These tend to practice selfishness, which later results to violent activities in different parts of the globe. This issue raises the question as to the manner in which the capability of religion should be handled in order to foster positive inspiration (Oppong 2013, p. 11). Religion is given significant emphasis since it has the potential of imposing a sense of togetherness among individuals as well as brings down issues that are linked to violence. Individuals are not capable of alienating themselves from religion entirely. The secular world is embarking in initiatives aimed at making religion a secluded matter among individuals, though this move does not seem to work as anticipated. Religion is still dominant with respect to persuading the political and social environment on the central level. For instance, it is not possible to distance the Catholic Church from the administration practices that Western countries adopt (Oppong 2013, p. 12). Therefore, regardless of whether spirituality and faith are indirect or deep-rooted, they serve as forms of identity for the large part of the modern society. Therefore, religion ignorance does not serve as the answer to issues facing the world today, but it is crucial to embrace it as a vital tool that can facilitate in realizing conclusions in an honest manner. Ethnicity and Religious Affiliation Individuals from a particular religion may tend to affiliate themselves with a different ethnicity or faith. For instance, an individual from Czech Republic may treat himself as being from Europe or a world’s citizen. Moreover, a protestant may treat himself as a faithful person or a Christian. Also, the religious affiliation of an individual can be used to reflect his or her own way of life. For instance, the religious practices that most nations embark on serve as a reflection of the manner in which the society lives. In this case, religious affiliation separates the interests of individuals from secular backgrounds, which serves as a form of artificial separation (Seul 2006, p. 555). This is especially the case with certain languages, such as Chinese as well as aboriginal Indian languages, which cannot be equated to their religion, and are thus forced to use expressions that have been conceived (Queen 2012). Among Americans and Europeans, the religious affiliation of a person is based on his or her uniqueness, thus making identity to be associated with an individual while other cultural groups treat an individual as being a member of a community. Both of these concepts have their benefits and drawbacks meaning that none of them should be regarded as being more superior. Affiliation to Christianity is multifaceted given the idea that a series of conflicts prevail among diverse Christian groups, which have taken decades to address (Seul 2006, p. 557). Moreover, a group of Christians have been raised to distrust people who are affiliated with other denominations. Even though a number of movements have prevailed with the goal of addressing these conflicts, the prevailing barriers are centuries old, thereby posing additional challenges (Wilson 2013). Racial Hatred and Religious Affiliation Religious struggles and prejudices are unique while compared to other forms of encounters, such as racial hatred. For instance, once a person is subjected to an ecumenical background, he tends to shoulder more superior roles while compared to other people. In this case, such individuals fail to comprehend diverse opinions, faiths and lifestyles surrounding them. Also, they are subjected to strong prospects by the opposing groups, which desire to be the dominant faiths (Anderson &Morgan 2005, p. 166). This issue can be linked to the case where adults subject adolescents to a lot of pressure, while at the same time rejecting their own duty. In case individuals fail to comprehend diverse convictions that prevail among different religious groups, then one assumes the role of a child, which it the one that tends to be acknowledged. This is especially the case with those people who were raised from a single religion. However, people who have a good understanding of different religions are capable of living with people from diverse faiths. In this case, they are in a position to comprehend the manner in which people live and practice their religious practices (Anderson & Morgan 2005, p. 168). Moreover, they are supposed to learn how to cope with diverse religious practices that prevail across the globe, as well as the absence of contact with their peers who come from their usual religious background. Conclusion The paper has revealed that individual features are the ones that reveal the identity of a person in the world today, which then translate to the social responsibilities that one undertakes. Also, the issue of religious affiliation has been prevalent for decades, though there are those groups that treat this practice as a societal undertaking while others regard it as the duty of an individual. Moreover, religious conflicts are associated with the encounters that nations, civilizations and individuals engage in based on the manner in which they practice their own faith. In this perspective therefore, it is true that religious affiliation is a vital source of identity among believers across the globe. References Anderson, SK & Morgan, DR 2005' 'Assessing the effects of political culture: Religious affiliation and country political behavior', The Social Science Journal, vol. 28, no. 2, pp. 164-174. Cohen-Zada, D & Justman, M 2012, 'Affinity and tension between religious denominations: Evidence from private school enrolment', Regional Science and Urban Economics, vol. 42, no. 6, pp. 950-960. Eitle, TM & Steffens, M 2008, 'Religious affiliation and beliefs about racial inequality: White college students’ attitudes about Black-White and Native American-White inequality', The Social Science Journal, vol. 46, no. 3, pp. 506-520. Oppong, SH 2013, 'Religion and Identity', American International Journal of Contemporary Research, vol. 3, no. 6, pp. 10-15. Queen, EL 2012, The Formation and Reformation of Religious Identity, viewed 1 July 2014, . Seul, J 2006, 'Ours is the Way of God: religion, Identity, and Intergroup Conflict', Journal of Peace Research, vol. 36, no. 5, pp. 553-569. Sorek, T & Ceobanu, A 2009, Religiosity, National Identity, and Legitimacy: Israel as an Extreme Case, Sage Publications Ltd, Florida. Wilson, E 2013, Religion and Identity: As much bad as good, viewed 1 July 2014, Read More