Is Organized Religion Necessary for Society
Essay title: Is Organized Religion Necessary for Society
Is Organized Religion Necessary for Society
According to Charon, organized religion is very important to society. However, it seems as if the social world is biased upon which society they base their religion on. The book brings up many points defending this.
One example of the biased definitions s placed under the question “can society exist without religious social morals?” If you look at the laws in the general area you will notice the Ten Commandments from the catholic religion being placed into the legal system. Thou shall not kill, and thou shall not steal are a main factor in the laws. In some religions it is right to kill depending on the reason it is done. In America today however, it is wrong to kill regardless of your reason.
It was also brought up that religion helps us explain the unexplainable. This however is also not an up to date concept. I understand that we still explain good and evil by way of religion. Nonetheless, People these days have found ways to divert the rule of God by having more of an out of this world explanation for why things happen. The focus today turns to aliens and extraterrestrials. There is also a philosophical view point that maybe we don’t actually exist. There re theories being brought up around the world to try to get people to not look towards a religion. Religion is becoming a backdrop in the social world today.
Another thing that I noticed when reading this section was the way society does focus on a biased religious agenda. If you look at the schedule of different religion events you will notice the force on a catholic way. Schools and stores close for Christmas but not for Hanukkah. We also find that schools close for Easter and Ash Wednesday,
Passover, etc. These are all catholic holidays. Why aren’t the other religions included in the days of dedication? It is not fair that our society is so biased.
It is true that one’s moral system is based on religion though. I believe this because it is relevant everywhere. Very rarely will you find those hardcore practicing Catholics or Protestants disobeying the laws because they believe it is wrong. It is very noticeable that practicing religious people are very rarely the “bad ones” in society.
Another point is the fact that government is completely ruled by God, and God’s rules. Government bases all they do on God. I believe all of the presidents of the United States have been Roman Catholic. And on our dollar bills and coins, in fact all currency contains the words “IN GOD WE TRUST.” This as the book mentions is also biased considering that not all religions focus their belief on God himself. Although many do look to a higher being they may refer to that being as Allah or Buddha, this still may offend them. There is also a controversy on the pledge of allegiance because it contains the phrase “One nation under God.” This is not much to argue with because when you live in this country you should understand that we base our government and country on God.
It is painful to many that new comers to America argue the views that our government has based its success on for so many years. If I go to another country I am expected to respect their religion just as they should respect mine when they come here.
I also agree with the fact that that religion helps to defend one’s identity. I don’t want to make religion sound like an excuse to do certain things but in some cases it does
seem like religion is used as one. In public schools they can not yell at someone for wearing a head covering if it pertains to religion, yet you can not wear a Phillies hat into a classroom. Also certain religions require waiting to have sexual relations until after marriage. This must