How does religion function in society?

Do you think it plays a role? and if so how needed is that role?

I think we're going through a phase when religion is increasingly used by political elites as an excuse for effecting (and in many cases, for opposing) societal changes that they agree with (or disagree with). There is really nothing new in religion being used that way. So, I think that one role religion has in society (and has had for quite some time) is to provide elites with excuses for implementing their policies.

Sunstone are u saying excuse in your theory when you mean avenue or meathod?

robtex said:

Sunstone are u saying excuse in your theory when you mean avenue or meathod?

Click to expand...

Yes, avenue or method might be clearer terms for what I was trying to express.

Sunstone said:

Yes, avenue or method might be clearer terms for what I was trying to express.

Click to expand...

dont you hate it when you expound on a theory and some knucklehead who thinks he is ernest hemingway or something comes along and knitpicks certain words? :bonk:

robtex said:

dont you hate it when you expound on a theory and some knucklehead who thinks he is ernest hemingway or something comes along and knitpicks certain words? :bonk:

Click to expand...

LOL!!! Well, in this case, it was helpful.

pah said:

Religion is still used for the exercise of personal power and ego gratification by leaders of religion. This is not to say all of them are corrupt but all have a "calling" to lead - some abuse it.

Bob

Click to expand...

I think this is an interesting idea. It is this abuse of power that gives religion a bad name altogether. As usual, someone's personal ego or greed turns somthing pure into something loathesome in some cases.

Rex_Admin said:

Do you think it plays a role? and if so how needed is that role?

Click to expand...

It's part of society, so of course it plays a role . However, I think it plays a rather large role and functions to console people, bring about change, establish order, etc. All of these can be either good or bad.

If it consoles someone in grief so they can get on with their lives better, this is good. If it consoles men who do things like the Holocaust, then this is bad. It can be used to change society and establish a new order, a la the 60s civil rights movement. It can also destroy a whole society, such as the Taliban in Afghanistan.

It functions in every aspect of society, and what it does reflects the men and women who use it, so it is often used for both good and evil.

I can't speak for other religions, but I can say that chritianity's role in society is simple: Do what God says. If you truly want to please God, you will act on His word (1 John 5:3 - For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments; and His commandments are not burdensome.). After that, ALL decisions (both social and personal) will fall into place so that you can effectively function in society while pleasing the LORD at the same time. Christians shouldn't let the influences of the world get in the way of their faith. We have to remain firm despite the messages that are out their. If that comes at the risk of losing friends, being cut of from society, or anything like that then it's just too bad.

Joshua 24:15 - "If it is disagreeable in your sight to serve the LORD, choose for yourselves today whom you will serve: whether the gods which your fathers served which were beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you are living; but as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD."

Linus,

Nothing is "simple" in how it functions in society. Christianity tends to work towards being a state religion. Christians, specifically Smythe, first proposed a hard separation of Church and State. Christians feed the poor and build hospitals. Christians have waged holy war and burned heretics. The same man preaching acceptance may well be the one with fire and brimstone sermons against political candidates in the next. It's not quite that simple...

How is it not simple to obey God's word? I don't get it. If you obey God in all things and keep his commandments in the front of your mind, all things should fall into place from there. I'm saying that that's the way it should be, not the way it actually is. There is a lot of hypocracy in christianity out there, but it shouldn't be that way. I hope I'm making sense.

The problem is, this question isn't about how things should be. It's about how things are. There is a lot of hypocrasy in Cristians, but there's also the problem that many of these Christians honestly believe what they are doing is morally right, and thus, not hypocrites. The fact that the ideal is simple is really irrelevant to the question. I wish we could have the ideal as much as anybody .

As we've seen in history it's used as an excuse to mame, torture and kill everyone they don't agree with. Oh and then there's the other side of the triangle. It's also used to confuse the masses who aren't to savvy with the details of the religion to begin with. But then there's the last side of the triangle that peace and harmony stem from. Which from the standpoint of a historian doesn't show up on the books as anything more than a mosquito bite does on the back of ones hand.

Rex said:

Do you think it plays a role? and if so how needed is that role?

Click to expand...

The Buddhist answer wouldn't be relevant to anyone else, so I'll try for a common sense, broad answer on this one.

I think religion generally speaking gives people the feeling of being worth something. It gives them the hope they can do better than nature may incline in the base instinct. It makes humans and things worth more than just things to be used. In religions, humanity has worth and sacredness. The things we do matter. The ways we treat one another matter.

The reason we're seeing secularism sink lower and lower into authoritarian models around the world is because there is no objective reason for anything based on a secular model alone, much less HOW we ought to treat one another and the earth.

I think people need practical and reasonable religion in today's world, and today's America- to bring it closer to home for me. Many people don't believe greed or selfishness are bad now, and think it's okay to let their fellow human being suffer. I think this is because secularism by itself teaches nothing inherently valuable to life, and people are being treated as cattle to make profit in a bad economic model.

Rex said:

Do you think it plays a role? and if so how needed is that role?

Click to expand...

It plays numerous roles, some positive and some negative. I provides a sense of belonging and community for those wiling to accept the religion's dogma. Religious organizations do a lot of charitable work (albeit possibly at a higher cost than if it were done through secular means)
Religion has at various times also been a source of racism, slavery, torture, warfare, misogyny, divisiveness, and other evils. So it is a mixed bag.

Religion is many things ... as diverse as the humans who experience it. Belief in "gods" is primarily (and incorrectly) explanatory. I don't know how or why stuff happens, so let's invent God. Belief in a "life after death" is -- as even James admitted -- not so much "faith" as "desire."

Humans are social animals, but with a pathological problem -- we are capable of wanting for ourselves that which would offend the society on which we depend (ants and bees can't do that). So in order to make a workable "social group" we have to find things that we can jointly agree on (and in so many ways, the means "believe together").

The only thing, in my view, that is true about religion is that it never actually deals with anything that is, or can be shown to be, factually "true."

It functions poorly, very very poorly . . .

I believe it is a very relative question since religion itself is a byproduct of society and not often something imposed or added to it. Religion is closely associated with geographics, culture, race, chronology and scientific progress.

I think a better question is what type of religion is best suited for a society at the present since due to the massive shifts in both culture and race we now have a more diverse system of arrangements for what we can experience now. Throughout history no Englishman could taste both French, Chinese, German, Japanese and Pakistani food in one day without ever having to go outside of his city to experience it.

With all this comes a more diverse set of arrangements and progressions that alter the initial start of our experiences and make us become sympathetic to thoughts of cultural customs. We have multiple religions in society and most are in complete isolation of each other and despite publicity stunts compete and reject each with a fervent animosity that cannot be matched by any company or nation.

But when religion does function despite the circumstances . . .

It functions universally as it should broadly be expected to. It culminates in the creation of ethics whether they be good or bad and extends a society's horizons in terms of community. The one modest thing that gets people out of the house besides dining is religious attendance and it does so in a way that no convention ever could. They bond communities and also put communities at odds with others regardless of circumstance and regardless if the religion is hostile or friendly.