Public Affairs and Religious Beliefs - Research Paper Example

Public Affairs and Religious Beliefs Religion is a contentious issue in any society and has to be treated with utmost careto ensure you do not elicit unwanted emotions since if one tries to come up with opinions or policies that seems to undermine a certain religious belief probably he/she will face resistance from the group that advocated for that particular religion (Apostolidis & Juliet, 2004). Globally there are a number of religious affiliations that people identify themselves with, however, the most common religions in the world include, Islam, Christianity, Hindu and Buddhism,, however, there are a number of other smaller religions that are formed as a result of differences of beliefs concerning the doctrine of the major religions and thus, a sect of people break away from the main religion to start their small religion. Basically, religious beliefs are founded on faith of certain doctrines as taught by the respective religions so the believers of those doctrines are supposed to believe the teachings as they are without much questioning. For instance, religion has greatly contributed to the spread of HIV and AIDS. Some religions for example Catholics discourage the use of condoms hence its follows can engage in unsafe sex contributing to the spread of the pandemic (Apostolidis & Juliet, 2004). Also some of the Africa beliefs provided for the use of one surgical instrument when performing circumcision hence a risk in the spread of HIV and AIDS. Christian teachings tend to brain wash people into a certain school of thought in whom they cannot easily get themselves out of since they are bond by doctrines which they are supposed to follow to the letter without questioning their legitimacy or logic (Apostolidis & Juliet, 2004). Religion is a major impediment when it comes to solving social affairs in the public arena. For instance, politicians who are majorly the policy makers in countries will be limited to the scope of issues they will discuss and polices that will be formulated since is one is strongly affiliated to a certain religion the doctrines to that religion will in most of the time coincide with the policies being formulated thus, creating a deadlock of whether to adhere to religious teachings and doctrine or formulate polices that are against the religious teachings but for the common good of the general public. The utilitarian theory advocates for something to be regarded as ethically correct it has to be done so that benefit is for the greatest number of people. Thus, religion should not act as opium that impedes service delivery to the citizens at the expense of doctrines that are only based on faith and cannot be substantiated in practical sense. Religion can, however, not be dismissed since it seeks to instil morality and faith among the people as advocated by the teachings of gods of the respective religions (Audi & Nicholas, 2007). Christianity is a religion that bases its doctrines and believes on the life of Jesus thus its followers are supposed to emulate the example of Jesus in their day to day lives as that is the only sure way to seek righteousness from the Most High (Audi & Nicholas, 2007). However, it is prudent to note that Jesus was a divine being whom was beyond the understanding of human beings He had supernatural powers and abilities thus, He would perform things that are strange to ordinary human beings. Thus, by Christians being asked to emulate the life of Jesus it is fine since as Christians those who conform to its teachings and doctrines are supposed to live lives that are free from sin or any other act that is against the will of God. Hence it is a bit hard for them to model their lives to the extent it matches with whatever the bible says Jesus did during His time. The obligation that is placed on them is often overwhelming and people live miserable lives just to beat the Christianity threshold of purity (Lü & Zhen, 2014). The religious believes that are held by people play a great role in the decisions that they make in their day to day lives since they are always influenced by the teachings and believes that those people hold regarding the matter at hand (Lü & Zhen, 2014). The theory of religion is among the most controversial social theories since it manipulates everything that a person performs in his/her life. It will influence the kind of life that a person will lead since in the Holy Scriptures there are some regulations that are set on how a person is supposed to lead a righteous life (Apostolidis & Juliet, 2004). The teaching thus, regulates the social affairs of people by dictating on the does and don’ts as far as that religion is concern. People who are not affiliated to any particular religion tend to act contrary to their counterparts who are inclined to certain religions. You will notice that people without religious affiliations will tend to make open decision in their lives concerning crucial matters that face people in the contemporary world (Lü & Zhen, 2014). However, they make polies which are not limited to any religious limitation and their decisions are open ended as seeks to provide the greatest benefit for the largest number of people. These groups of people are not conservatives and they lead relaxed life that are not bound to any particular restrictions concerning religion or any other social affiliations that will tend to dictate the way in which people should live and also the kind of decisions they are supposed to make in their lives (Audi & Nicholas, 2007). That notwithstanding religion plays a crucial role concerning the policies that are implemented that affect the general public for instance, when it comes to issues concerning HIV/AIDS, abortion or even amount the use of contraceptives (Apostolidis & Juliet, 2004). The Roman catholic to be specific has been waging a war with public policy makers concerning the idea of legalizing abortion .In most civilized countries abortion that is done to secure the mother’s life is allowed since that is an exceptional scenario that needs to be treated differently from the conventional abortion that is done to avoid the responsibilities that comes with new-borns (Lü & Zhen, 2014). The argument on the basis of ethical morality can be dismissed as human rights activist and religious leaders will argue that the new-borns also have a right to live and hence their lives should not be terminated prematurely in whatever situation whether compromising or not (Audi & Nicholas, 2007). On the other hand religious leaders will argue that it is against the commandment to terminate the live of a new-born since you could have gone contrary to the commandment that states that nobody should kill thus, that amounts to sin. If a person who is affiliated to religion is caught up in this scenario she will tend to stick to the teachings according to that religion and thus, avoid performing abortion despite the effects it will have on her own life or even if it will lead to her death (Apostolidis & Juliet, 2004). For that person it is better to die for having done the righteous thing according to her religion that to live and commit the sin of murder. In contrast ordinary citizens who have no particular religious affiliation will view this scenario from a totally different point of view, for instance, they will argue that despite both the mother and child having a right to live the life or a grownup supersedes the life of an unborn child since we are not sure if that child will survive or not (Lü & Zhen, 2014). Thus, the life of the mother should be preserved at the expense of that of the child and hence in compromising situations abortion should be allowed to save the life of the mothers (Apostolidis & Juliet, 2004). Religious leaders are supposed to lead the rest on the right direction as far as morality is concerned thus they are expected to make decisions or come up with policies that should lead people to follow the right path based on the teachings of the holy book (Apostolidis & Juliet, 2004). Religious leaders are not expected to indulge in conventional issues like politics which may jeopardize their image and status in the society since they are regarded to be morally upright and thus, holy and should not engage in worldly issues (Lü & Zhen, 2014). However, that notion does not indicate that leaders of religion should not contribute to public debates that involve serious matters that affect the people. Indeed they should since their input is much needed as it will seek to steer the rest in the right direction as far as that topic is concerned (Audi & Nicholas, 2007). The other citizens are not supposed to confine to any particular line of thinking as they would just speak their mind and air whatever argument that they have concerning the topic. Their arguments do not follow any particular logic as long as they serve to prove a certain hypothesis (Lü & Zhen, 2014). Ordinary citizens can traverse a number of thoughts despite whether they are regarded as morally correct or not they freely air their views concerning that topic without any restrictions (Audi & Nicholas, 2007). In a nutshell, decisions made by people are mainly inclined towards religious teachings and doctrines. Without religion being a factor, people tend to be open minded without fear of engaging in controversial discussions and implementation of various policies that are of benefit of the whole community (Apostolidis & Juliet, 2004). Therefore, when people tend to disengage themselves from religion they can engage themselves in good decision making and avoid social evils for example terrorism (Lü & Zhen, 2014). Religion, nevertheless, plays a great role in the community in that it instils good morals and behaviour in youths as well as in adults. Religion should, therefore, not be abandoned but people should be liberal minded when it comes to implementation of policies that of best interest to the nation. Religious leaders should be warned against radicalization of their followers and instead they should be encouraged to teach the positive side of the religion (Lü & Zhen, 2014). Works Cited Apostolidis, Paul, and Juliet Williams. Public Affairs: Politics in the Age of Sex Scandals. Durham, N.C: Duke University Press, 2004. Print. Audi, Robert, and Nicholas Wolterstorff. Religion in the Public Square: The Place of Religious Convictions in Political Debate. Lanham, Md: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, 2007. Print. Lü, Daji, and Zhen Chi. Marxism and Religion. Leiden: Brill, 2014. Print. Read More