Free Essays on Religion

World Views on Religion Religion is the eternal search for the divine. This quest has been sought after since the dawn of mankind. Over time there have been countless types of religions. People have died for their religion, people have killed for their religion and people have dedicated their lives to their religion. With such a powerful force as religion it is no wonder why people are so dedicated to their beliefs. Due to this fact it is easy to see why there is so much conflict in regards to this driving force. There are many types of world views that define the meaning of religion. I feel that religion is a choice of a person’s beliefs and the goals in their daily lifestyle they wish to pursue. Every culture in the religious world differs from one another. The question we ask ourselves is what is the difference? The beliefs of the eastern philosophies have a different outlook on religions than the western philosophies. In the western beliefs, people focus on the question in relation to one single god and its overall relationship with the universe and mankind. In the eastern beliefs people analyze the factual details in life and nature and the spirituality in life. As of my own personal views on religion as a whole, I believe that it works as a foundational â€Å"brace† for humankind. It allows a culture to follow traditions in their religion to reach their goals and moral standards.... Free Essays on Religion Free Essays on Religion It is important to show simultaneously the exceptional and the common, the national and the universal, the realistic and the mystical. The moment a writer attempts to generalize a problem and see it on an expansive scale, he stops being a writer. It is only after his literary endeavor is completed that he may go and make a speech in support of a candidate or a loved one. His novel, however, must not be a political dissertation. The role of literature is not to analyze ideas but to describe experiences. Frankly, mixing social and political issues with writing is not a very healthy practice: its outcome will reside outside true literature. True literature focuses on experiences and situations. When you read the Bible, you do not know what somebody was thinking, but you always know what the person was doing. People may sit and talk for hours about what they are thinking, but it is only through their action that we may judge their true colors. It is a heresy of our times that we use our thoughts and moods as the yardsticks in appraising almost everything that is around us. Instead of searching for words, the contemporary art of writing consists of restricting them so much that they become cliches. I refer to such words as good, bad, decent, immoral, charming, ugly, noble, abstract, cunning, talented those and many others which have been emasculated. Talents are born; I do not believe talent can be achieved through hard work. Genes do not produce many talents, in every generation talent is a rarity. Talent is a freak of nature. At the same time, it would only be fair to say that a talented person may write bad novels and bad stories. AZ-B: How do you write? IBS: In my early days, I wrote in the third person, now in the first, but I will go back to narrate in the third person. I write with a pen, then I type, but I find it more and more difficult to write by hand. I think I will soon switch over to a typewri... Free Essays on Religion case for prayer in school Many people believe that prayer and religion should be placed in schools for the betterment of children of all ages and society as a whole. There are many strong opposing facts to say why prayer and religion should not be allowed in schools. Those who feel religion has a place in school say that the violence of the world would be diminished with religion and prayer in schools. While those who feel otherwise believe prayer in school would not do any good and that it blatantly violates the 1st and 14th Amendments of the United States Constitution. In this paper I will argue why religion and prayer should be placed in school to increase morale and behavior of children, and how prayer in school would decrease violence in and out of school. The separation of Church and State is a fundamental principle of American government which rests primarily on the Constitution's First Amendment, which states: "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof." While many may argue that prayer in school violates the constitution, our First Amendment didn't separate God and government but actually encouraged religion. The First Amendment of the Constitution declares that the federal government cannot establish one religion for all of the people. The simple idea of everyone in our nation being limited to one form of religion is inconceivable. The second section insists that the government should do nothing to prevent people from exercising religion. But forbidding officiated prayer in schools discourages religion, doesn't it? The founders of the Constitution recognized the freedom of religion as an important factor in establishing a democracy. The government is not upholding their part of the Constitution. They are trying to tell people that saying prayers in public school is unconstitutional. I attended a public school which allowed us to pray before class. Pray... Free Essays on Religion While other religions are precisely defined by explicit and often unyielding beliefs, Hinduism condones no such constraints. For the Hindu, intuition is far more important than intellect; experience supercedes dogma; and personal realization is held infinitely more precious than outer expressions or affiliations of faith. Philosopher and once President of India, S. Radhakrishnan said it well: "The mechanical faith which depends on authority and wishes to enjoy the consolations of religion without the labor of being religious is quite different from the religious faith which has its roots in experience." Hindu religious philosophy is based on experience, on personal discovery and testing of things. It does not say, "Believe as others do or suffer." Rather, it says, "Know thy Self, inquire and be free." There are no heretics in Hinduism, for God is everywhere and in all things. In such an open laboratory, Hindu spirituality has grown over the millennia so diverse and rich that it defies definition. Even knowledgeable Hindus, after a lifetime of study, will hesitate to say that Hinduism is one thing and not another. Indeed, the very idea of a Hindu catechism is, for many, unthinkable, a perilous and impertinent pursuit. Until now, no one has attempted such a complete overview, making this a rare, and perhaps remarkable, book. One might even say an inevitable one. If, therefore, in undertaking the impossible we have overlooked any lineage, neglected any tradition or vital issue, please call to mind that it is human to err and only God is perfect and find room in your heart to overlook a ny oversight. A simple warning is due. This collection of customs and beliefs is not a detached, scholastic analysis of Hinduism, but a view from the inside, a view of the religion as Hindus themselves would wish their tradition honored and explained to others. Nor is this yet another dogma added to the mountains of doctrines and decrees which ha... Free Essays on Religion Religion is part and parcel to every culture’s worldview. Religion serves to answer questions, which otherwise are beyond a group’s control. Whereas in most complex cultures religion has a certain time and place, amongst structurally simpler societies, religion is inextricably weaved in the fabric of their existence. The supernatural beings that are specific to a certain culture can be grouped into several categories. First, there are gods and goddesses. A pantheistic religion has several gods and goddesses. Goddesses are most prominent in societies where women play a significant role in the economy and in egalitarian economies. Second, ancestral spirits resemble humans in their appetites, feelings, emotions and behavior. Ancestral spirits reinforce social reality. Third, we have animism, a belief that nature is energized by distinct personalized spirits, separate from bodies. This belief is popular amongst people who view themselves as a part of nature rather than supe rior to it. Fourth, is animatism; a belief that nature is enlivened by a certain impersonal spiritual power. Religious specialists, also known as priest priestesses, and shamans serve to guide and supplement religious practices. All cultures have religious rituals that mark important events in the persons life. These rites of passage have three different cycles, including separation, transition, and incorporation. Witchcraft serves as a means for people to explain their personal misfortunes. It allows them to place blame on something or someone else rather than to take responsibility of their own actions. Religon serves many functions, some of them which include, building social solidarity, and providing guidelines of acceptable conduct.... Free Essays on Religion Religion: Important or Insignificant? Religion is a very vital and meaningful thing in most people’s lives. Each person believes in a type of religion to guide their lives or doesn’t believe in it at all. This is an important ethical issue to Americans and world citizens that involves questions of duty, consequences, and moral reconstruction and was highly recognized by many famous philosophers such as Immanuel Kant, John Dewey, Karl Marx, and Augustine. Dewey begins by claiming that doubt or insecurity creates the quest for certainty. Before there was modern science, religion had an answer to all questions about the world and any doubt was resolved by religious explanations. "Unity of thought and practice extended down to every detail of the management of life; effectiveness of its operation did not depend upon thought. It was guaranteed by the most powerful and reliable of all social institutions."(Pg. 291) This â€Å"powerful authority† was religion and it was very useful in sustaining a stable social system in times when security was hard to come by. Religion’s function was to provide certainty, but the development of science began eating away at away this single reality. Dewey defined religion as the higher realm, "consisting of the powers which determine human destiny in all important affairs"(Pg. 290). The other significant field of exploration was man’s own skill or matter-of-fact insight. Based on the same concept as mathematics, the idea of having a purely logical and rational knowledge became very important. Many people began to believe that this â€Å"rational ideal† was exercised in science. Science tended to have â€Å"explained† many things that led to a questioning of the importance of religion in people’s daily lives. Science uses an experimental procedure in order to draw conclusions about a given situation. The use of the experimental method in order to determine things was changing the way one ha... Free Essays on Religion There is nothing more powerful than a strong belief, it is what pushes a zealot, and it is what brings people together. Religion is the core of civilization, but is it still needed in today’s society? In the past it has been used to placate people during hardships, to make them realize that no matter how bad things are now, there will come a time of peace. It doesn’t matter if life is tough and there is no reason to fear death, because in the end all righteous people will reach a better place. There are no highs nor lows, tremendous victories, or crushing defeats, they are all gods’ will and you are no more than a pawn in a cosmic game of chess between good and evil. This is why religion is not as widespread and zealously followed in a place like the United States as it is in most third world countries. Citizens of the United States are living the good life, we are rewarded for the work we do, we don’t have widespread poverty and starvation there is a sense of security v! irtually all the time. People in third world countries don’t have the luxuries of a nice house, or warm meal like we do, and in many of those countries violence is a daily occurrence. Gunfire and bombings do irreparable damage to the human psyche, these people need something to cling to, and when death is everywhere it is something you worry about on a daily basis. "As I understand the Christian religion, it was, and is, a revelation. But how has it happened that millions of fables, tales, legends, have been blended with both Jewish and Christian revelation that have made them the most bloody religion that ever existed?" - John Adams, letter to F.A. Van der Kamp, Dec. 27, 1816 The danger of religion lies in belief and how it affects desperate and evil people. Being raised in a shack, sleeping on a dirt floor, eating spoiled food, and the interminable presence of death are the fuel for the fire. In the United States we worry about television ... Free Essays on Religion No part of the Bible and its interpretation is more controversial than the book of Revelation. The book of Revelation is the last profound book in the New Testament. It conveys the significant purpose of Christianity by describing God’s plan for the world and his final judgment of the people by reinforcing the importance of faith and the concept of Christianity as a whole. This book was written by John in 95 or 96 AD. What is, what has been, and what is to come is the central focus of the content in Revelation. Literalist fundamentalists read Revelation’s multivalent visions as predictions of doom and threat, of punishment for the many and salvation for the elect few. Scholarly scientific readings seek to translate the book’s ambiguity into one-to-one meanings and to transpose its language of symbol and myth into description and facts. In Elisabeth Schà »ssler Fiorenza’s The Book of Revelation: Justice and Judgment, a third way of reading Revelation is depicted. The collection of essays in this book seeks to intervene in scholarly as well as popular discourses on the apocalypse from a liberationist feminist perspective. The first two parts of the book discuss the kind of theological-historical perspective and ecclesial situation that determines the form-content configuration of Revelation. The first section attempts to assess the theological commonality to and differences from Jewish apocalypticism. Fiorenza focuses of the problem that although Revelation claims to be a genuinely Christian book and has found its way into the Christian canon, it is often judged to be more Jewish than Christian and not to have achieved the â€Å"heights† of genuinely early Christian theology. In the second part of the book, Fiorenza seeks to assess whether and how much Revelation shares in the theological structure of the Fourth Gospel. Fiorenza proposes that a careful analysis of Revelation would suggest that Pauline, Johannine, and C... Free Essays on Religion â€Å"All have sinned and come short of the glory of God.†(Romans 3:23) The fall of man- it’s a common topic all throughout the Bible. Many allusions to this familiar Biblical theme are made in the war-time novel, A Separate Peace, by American author John Knowles. In this work, Knowles relates many of his experiences as a teenage boy attending boarding school during World War Two. He uses Biblical allusions to reveal much about human nature. In Genesis 4:3-5 the Bible says, â€Å"In the course of time Cain brought some of the fruits of the soil as an offering to the Lord. But Able brought fat portions from some of the firstborn of his flock. The Lord looked with favor on Abel and his offering, but on Cain and his offering he did not look with favor. So Cain was very angry and his face was downcast.† Much like Cain’s jealousy toward his brother Abel in Genesis, the protagonist Gene is often placing himself in competition with his best friend and worst enemy, Phineas. Phineas, affectionately known as Finny is much like Able. He is innocent and pure in his views on life and others. Knowles says he â€Å",Did abide by certain rules which he seemed to cast in the form of Commandments. (Pg 26)† Able was honest and wise by choosing to follow God’s orders. Thus, God was pleased with Able’s offering. Cain, on the other hand was quite the opposite. He is presented as being rather depraved and corrupted. In this way, Gene is similar to Cain. In the book Gene realizes the grip that sin has on his soul and claims, â€Å"It was just some ignorance inside me, some crazy thing inside me, something blind, that’s all it was. (Pg 183) † Unfortunately, Gene, like Cain, becomes consumed with jealousy of Phineas, due to the realization that he can never be as good as Finny- morally or athletically. The reader sees this when Gene states that, â€Å"there never was and never could have been any rivalry between us. I was not of the same... Free Essays on Religion A religion is a system of beliefs usually involving the worship of supernatural forces or beings. Religious beliefs provide shape and meaning to one's perception of the universe. In other words, they provide a sense of order in what might otherwise be seen as a chaotic existence. Religions also provide understanding and meaning for inexplicable events such as a loved one being killed in an earthquake or some other unpredictable force of nature. For most religious people, their beliefs about the supernatural are at the very core of their worldviews. Karl Marx declared that as society changes so does religion. Marx’s opposition to this was from Max Webber who stated that religious ideas and beliefs shape changes in society. Although these men had varying ideals of society and religion, it is my belief that neither of them is incorrect in their thinking. When one looks at the origin of the major religions throughout the world one notices on important fact about each one. Each religion was created, by man, after the creation of the group of people who follow it. Marx was correct in his belief tat social changes bring on religious changes. Religions fulfill psychological needs. They help us confront and explain death. They help relieve our fears and anxieties about the unknown. Supernatural powers and beings may be appealed to or manipulated by people in times of crisis, as for example in praying to win a war or survive a fierce storm. Religions help ease the stress during life crises such as birth, marriage, serious illness, and death. It is not a coincidence that in most societies the "rites of passage" that are performed to help people adjust to these often highly emotional transitions are strongly religious. We also get psychological relief from "divinely given" moral codes. They lift some of the burden of decision making from our shoulders in difficult situations because they tell us what is right and wrong. Knowi... Free Essays on Religion What do I think about religion? That is a very tough question to ask myself. The first thing that comes to mind is what I was taught as a younger version of myself. That religion, in my case Christianity, was what my family did on Sundays. I was taught that religion was the reason I was here and why I continue to be here. It was a place and a thing of comfort. It had all the answers, except when it came to the point where I actually needed them. I was taught that the reason religion was around is to give the people that believe in it, hope. It was also our job to tell the people who did not believe that they should. Over the 23 years of my life I had had many â€Å"religious† experiences some good most bad. I have had a very tumultuous life in which I have been an inch away from death 3 times, in a coma for 2 weeks, and had many surgeries, most poignantly the removal of my left lung when I was 2 and a Kidney Transplant 1  ½ years ago. Now the reason I call these â€Å"religious† experiences is that my parents believe that God saved me. Also they think that I was â€Å"saved† for some reason that I have not figured out yet. They also believe that He (being God, of course) will show me the way. The reasoning for all this back story on me is so that you might understand what I think religion is, not necessarily what it was meant to be, but what I think it is now. I think religion originally intended on being exactly what my parents sought to teach me, a place of hope, faith, and love; knowing that some higher power is up there watching out for us. After many long years and numerous churches, youth groups, pastors, and sermons, I have come to think something entirely different from anyone else I know. Religion has come to be a place where the people who are â€Å"allowed in† come to bask in their own self-righteousness. It is an institution of separation. I am not saying that there is no such thing as religion any more, I... Free Essays on Religion Many people may be wondering what religion is exactly? Religion is a sacred engagement in which is believed to be a spiritual reality. Religion is a worldwide event that has played a part in all human culture and it is a much broader, more complex category than the set of beliefs or practices found in any single religion tradition. In all cultures, human being make a practice of interacting with what are taken to be spiritual powers. These powers may be in the form of god, spirits, ancestors, or any kind of sacred reality with which humans believe themselves to be connected. Sometimes a spiritual power is understood broadly as a complete reality, and sometimes it is approached through its appearance in special symbols. It may be regarded as external to the self, internal, or both. People interact with such presence in sacred manner-that is, with reverence and care. Religion is the term most commonly used to designate this difficult and different area of human experience. Where did religion come from? The word religion is derived from the Latin noun religio, which denotes both earnest observance of obligations and an inward spirit of reverence. Ways of Defining Religion In modern usage, religion covers a wide range of meanings that reflect the huge variety of ways the term can be interpreted. At one extreme, many committed believers recognize only their own traditions as a religion, understanding expressions such as worship and prayer to refer completely to the practices of their tradition. Some see religion-for example, â€Å" true love of God†, or â€Å" the path of enlightenment.† On the other hand it could be equated wit ignorance, passion, or wishful thinking. By defining religion as a sacred engagement with what is taken to be a spiritual reality, it is possible to consider the importance of religion in human life without making claims about what it really is or ought to be. Religion is not an object with a single, fixed defin... Free Essays on Religion Religion Religion in the 50's, 60's, 70's and 80's was seen as a spiritual movement and today since times have changed it is more what God can do for me than what I can do for God. So if we are to view in proper perspective the spiritual and religious conflicts of our age, as they are reflected in drama and fiction, then we must look at the outset to understand the nature of the relationship between literature and belief. Nothing is harder for a writer to write how they view religion or anyone else for that matter because it does not always go along with society’s ideals or views. Religion itself to day is seen as a joke especially with the televised religion that just takes money out of your pocket. After the attack on 9-11 and the war with Iraq this nation has started to turn towards God again, but honestly they are still to impatient because they don’t understand why things happen or for what reason. The world is running on time instead of patience or faith and that is wh at has lead this world into a downfall with religion. My father is almost fifty-one years old and grew up in a time in this country when there was a great spiritual awakening and a sensitivity to the things that pertained to God and it seemed like with religion, it didn’t matter what you believed there was a sacredness to it. For example in the Protestant religion they communed with God in their daily lives, either through their own understanding of the Bible or through experience with the Holy Spirit, and therefore needed no special rituals to secure or strengthen their faith. In practice, though, Protestants depended primarily on the Sunday service to preserve and reinforce their religious sentiments. It was in the church that people felt closest to God. It was there they heard the sermons that explained the Bible and upheld the evangelical ideal of moral behavior. My father said the he has seen many changes over the last few decades. His view on t... Free Essays on Religion According to the dictionary "religion is the service and worship of God or the supernatural."1 I challenge that definition. It is true that all religions do involve the worship of some supernatural force, however, it is also true that no religion in history has ever stopped at that. For a more complete definition of the word religion we also have to examine two other aspects. How has it affected man over the centuries? And what is the true motivation of its leadership? Some would have you believe that it has brought peace and harmony to the world and that its leaders are motivated by the service of their god. I suggest that a more accurate definition of word would be as follows. Religion, a feudal system of government which uses fear, hate and sometimes lies to control and manipulate people for the betterment of a select group of individuals. To better illustrate this point let's look at just three of the countless examples that human history has to offer. The Inquisition, "judicial institution, established by the papacy in the Middle Ages, charged with seeking out, trying, and sentencing people guilty of heresy."2 Heretics were considered enemies of the state. The penalty for heresy was torture and death. The crucifixion of Jesus Christ, "Jesus was taken to Golgotha and nailed to a cross, the Roman punishment for political offenders and criminals."2 The Crusades, "The name Crusade (from Latin, "Cross") was also applied, to the wars against pagan peoples, Christian heretics, and political foes of the papacy."2 All three examples illustrate how man has used God to justify his greed and quest for power. When the leadership was challenged, it used devine decree to justify the murder and torture of the innocent. We are expected to believe that a non-physical being order the religious leadership to aquire riches and land, ofte n at the demise of the poor and helpless. The misuse of God isn't limited to the Ancient world. Today we have... Free Essays on Religion Ethical Values In The Old Testament How we live our lives is governed by ethics. Ethics is â€Å"human moral conduct according to principles of what is good or right to do.† Our ethical values today descend primarily from a Christian ethic in which â€Å"a truly ethical decision, we are told, must be spontaneous, undirected, free - the individual's unfettered and uncoerced response to each new decision-demanding situation.† The ethical values of today, especially Christian ethics, borrow and carry forward the Hebrew ethics of the past. Yet it is hardly fair to explain Old Testament ethics with only what was borrowed from it. What sets Judaism apart from other religions of the time was its monotheistic basis. The ethics of Judaism is historical and traditional as opposed to philosophical and theoretical. â€Å"In Israel, for the first time, an ethical conception of God is attained, and this not philosophically but historically; while its view of the moral life is certain of justification not only by reason but by history.† Thus God is looked at as an ethical personality and is looked to as an example of good and right. In the Old Testament, God's voluntary (voluntary for God) covenant with man must be looked at as the prime example of ethical value. The covenant's requirements is the source of all ethics, morals, laws, and justice in the Old Testament. The Mosaic Covenant is the best example of ethical values and norms in the Old Testament. The Mosaic Covenant has three parts; the Decaloque, the Covenant Code; and the Holiness Code. The Decaloque is made up of apodictic (or absolute) law, it is unconditional and has no â€Å"ifs or buts† about it. This is commonly refereed to as the "Ten Commandments." Although legally vague these commandments are the basics for all ethical norms in the Old Testament. The Covenant Code is made up of casuistic (or conditional) law, it has a characteristic ... Free Essays on Religion Throughout the ages of Christianity, there have been many drawbacks to this cause. Many leaders among the Christian community were persecuted due to the disbelief of Christ being the Messiah among pagan worshipers, heathens, and even other credible religious leaders. This persecution more often led to death, or other horrifying results. But no matter what horrendous effects, there was always a brighter side causing the Christian faith to grow even stronger. Because of Rome’s strictness in following the laws and rules, they were very tradition bound. Many of the Pharisees were determined that the Old Testament was the only acceptable basis of religious law that the people of Rome should follow. The believed that Elijah was the Messiah, and they were waiting for his return. They also didn’t expect a â€Å"Messiah† to act the way that Christ did, having anything to do with sinners was looked down upon. However, after Christ’s death and resurrection, the disciples were told to go out into the world and spread the good news of their salvation. This didn’t appeal to the Pharisees at all, and they immediately set out to stop this message of freedom. The religious officials continuously put Simon and Peter in jail, Stephen was stoned to death, and there have been accounts of John’s attempted murder in boiling hot oil. Many Christians were flogged, stoned to death, skinned alive, fed to lions, an d many more gruesome things. Nero burned half of Rome and then blamed the Christians, he even dipped some in kerosene and then lit them on fire so that there was light for the sporting events. Peter was even crucified, but he didn’t feel he deserved to die the same way as Christ so he was crucified upside-down. Persecution was so bad that Christians were accused of having a â€Å"hatred for the human race,† cannibalism, and incest. The response of the Christians has a lot to do with the influence upon the church. The Bible sta... Free Essays on Religion World Views on Religion Religion is the eternal search for the divine. This quest has been sought after since the dawn of mankind. Over time there have been countless types of religions. People have died for their religion, people have killed for their religion and people have dedicated their lives to their religion. With such a powerful force as religion it is no wonder why people are so dedicated to their beliefs. Due to this fact it is easy to see why there is so much conflict in regards to this driving force. There are many types of world views that define the meaning of religion. I feel that religion is a choice of a person’s beliefs and the goals in their daily lifestyle they wish to pursue. Every culture in the religious world differs from one another. The question we ask ourselves is what is the difference? The beliefs of the eastern philosophies have a different outlook on religions than the western philosophies. In the western beliefs, people focus on the question in relation to one single god and its overall relationship with the universe and mankind. In the eastern beliefs people analyze the factual details in life and nature and the spirituality in life. As of my own personal views on religion as a whole, I believe that it works as a foundational â€Å"brace† for humankind. It allows a culture to follow traditions in their religion to reach their goals and moral standards....