Why Study Religion - 1537 Words

It seems as if there has never been a time known to man when there has not been a religion in some shape or form. Nor has there been a race of people who have never tried to practice it in some form or another. The study of religion should not be regarded as a new venture for mankind or a new idea that man is trying to grasp. Also, it could be argued that by researching such a topic as religion, it does not look like man will come to any unified agreement in the near future - especially if it all comes down to what religion means to you, and whether you believe in such a thing or not. So what is religion? Can it be a way of life? Does there have to be the existence of a supernatural? Furthermore, what are the consequences if we†¦show more content†¦This way everyone can have access to the â€Å"truth.† This does not necessarily mean that everybody can have conflicting truths while at the same time agree with the â€Å"Ultimate Truth.† Rather it is to say that one can have a â€Å"truth† that agrees with ones conscience and beliefs, as well as ones understanding of something as important as religion. Modern human beings need a reference point for all the problems that we are facing in the world today. It is easy to see the impact that religion can have on social behavior. Examples of this would be the roles of the religious movements in the struggle for civil rights in the United States, or the way it was involved in the former apartheid system in South Africa. Many times religion lies at the central point of conflict, whether it is Judaism, Christianity, Hinduism, or Islam. It can also lead to increasing hostility between religious groups within society. The study of religion can help us find out why these conflicts exist, especially when they all share the same basic concept of peace to all. Many people have the misconceptions that there would be fewer wars if there were no religions. This may be because many wars throughout history have been fought in the name of religion or another. If we study the teachings of the religion that people have supposedly been fighting for, we may come to the conclusion that the bloodshed around the world is not so much due to religion, but rather the reign ofShow MoreRelatedWhy Study World Religions1431 Words   |  6 PagesPHL230 Religions of the World I think that it is important to study world religions because it can help people to become more tolerant of other’s beliefs and more compassionate to other people’s causes. With so much war and misunderstanding in the world based on religious viewpoints, it is important to take the time to find out where and why people believe the way that they do. While I find that most people in the world follow a religion based on their geographical location, this is not the caseRead MoreThe Between Mccutcheon, Marx, And Nietzsche s Theories On Religion921 Words   |  4 PagesRussell McCutcheon urges terms like â€Å"religion† and â€Å"religious† should not be used by scholars when referring to the study of religion. McCutcheon even suggests these words should be abandoned and removed from our vocabulary all together. He claims studying social sciences like anthropology, sociology, and psychology and using appropriate terminology will lead to a more accurate underst anding of why we as humans are religious and how our religion ultimately affects our behaviors. Feuerbach, Marx,Read MoreThe Categories Of Religious Studies1124 Words   |  5 PagesReligious Studies When most religious studies students think of religion they think of people that are very passionate about their particular god, but most people do not understand why people act the way they do in religions. In religious studies they examine how different categories of religion help people of that religion conduct a structured way of life. There are many categories, that once are utilized, will help religious studies students obtain a deeper understanding of people in religions. TheRead MoreMarx, Weber, And Social Distress972 Words   |  4 Pagesincrease on the foundations of rationalism. Many people of the day questioned religion and had no need for a God. Marx was born in 1818 and was the earliest of the other thinkers. The crazy thing is that he wrote very little as it is about religion. According to Marx, he sees religion as an ideology. Religious distress is at the same time the expression of real distress and also the protest against real distress. Religion is the sigh of the oppressed creature, the heart of a heartless world, justRead MoreA Study of Religion Converts among Muslim Malaysian1298 Words   |  5 PagesTitle: A study of religion converts among Muslim Malaysian. INTRODUCTION Nowadays, the issue of apostate again had given attention by the mass media, recently. Due to the fact, apostasy among Muslims in the country has reached a critical level. The number of people born Malay-Muslims who seek to change the original name and the new converts who do not practice the Islamic way of life or want to return to the religion are increasing year by year. According to Perak Mufti Tan Sri Harussani ZakariaRead MoreReligion Toolkit Response By John Morreall And Tamara Sonn1616 Words   |  7 PagesReligion Toolkit Response p. 1-14 The introduction to The Religion Toolkit: A Complete Guide to Religious Studies by John Morreall and Tamara Sonn establishes the basic purposes behind studying religion. It tries to show its readers that religion may be a much broader and undefined topic than they might be expecting. The Religion Toolkit discusses how the academic study of religion differs from the normative study of religion, how religion is not clearly described, and how Religious Studies comparesRead MoreReligion And Its Effect On Society1649 Words   |  7 Pagesâ€Å"Religion is a practice for people to believe in a higher deity—a superior to the mortal world in which we, humans, live in.† At the beginning of this semester, this was the definition I composed when I was asked to define religion. While this initial answer has some relevance to what religion is overall, it is still over-simplistic because it does not address all the various components that religion incorporates. During the course of this semester, I have learned how to more accurately define religionRead MoreDefining Religion Essay1687 Words   |  7 PagesDefining Religion The most fundamental question when examining a religion is what is religion? That is a distinctly hard question to answer considering that what is ordinarily considered to be religion is not all it is, and what many consider not to be religion may be near religious (i.e. sports). The truth is that there are no genuine answers to the question of what is religion. Definitions of religion tend to suffer from one of two problems: they are eitherRead MoreA Sociological Study Of Religion1159 Words   |  5 PagesReligion is one of the most difficult topics in life, not to mention the oldest. People look for the ultimate truth to religion, which in my opinion leads to misguidance and a slant of science. I think this helps true believers find their way to a faith; it certainly helped me. Science does get carried away at times; however, it is good that people are questioning stories from the bible because then we can see how corrupt the world is. Why can t faith exist? Why does everything have to be blackRead MoreEssay on Religious Relativity1017 Words   |  5 Pagespracticing, preaching, and learning religion. We find people everyday that recognize their own beliefs to be beliefs and nothing more but we also see people who consider their beliefs to be the truth and hold that truth to be the highest. I believe it is entirely possible for us to step outside of our own belief system and to tolera te and understand other people’s religious beliefs. I believe religion teachers exemplify the theory of religious relativism the best. Religion teachers can very well believe