M3

• Religion provides Social Change - Since religion is a source of moral values, it provides social change likewise it can be very effective in lobbying and campaigning for certain social issues using its own moral teachings as a basis of argument.

  • For instance: US Church is active in the campaign for civil liberties and anti-slavery movement.
• Religion helps create Disciplined and Beneficial Citizens - As religions encourage members to live in line with the precepts of religious traditions, they provide models for ideal living.

  • For example: Christians strive to be Christ-like; Buddhists - imitate the Buddha
• Religion boosts Self-worth and Dignity - Religion explains that a person, regardless of his social and economic status, is important in the sight of God who considers him or her as His beloved child.

  • Such a case: Being unsuccessful in careers does not take away one’s hope to receive eternal life
• Religion promotes Charity and Humanitarianism - Numerous religious organizations dedicate their time and effort to charitable and humanitarian activities for the welfare of the poor, destitute and those who are suffering the effects of both natural and man-made calamities.

  • Ex: Gawad Kalinga (Catholic Lay movement) extension of Catholics’ efforts to renew and strengthen Christian values by giving help to the poor
  • Islamic Relief Worldwide (IRW)healthcare program that provide a corrective surgery to children with cleft or palate and strengthening Islamic partnerships with government worldwide
• Religion reduces Fear of the Unknown

  Religions provide answers for phenomena and questions that science or reason cannot explain. The belief in the afterlife has become very important in most religions because it has become the basis for their daily conduct or how they live their lives.

  • In such cases: Hindu – Dharma (social and moral obligations) determines what will happen to them in the afterlife.
  • Christians – Ten Commandments, obeying the law and being good to others will earn a reward of eternal life in heaven; doing the opposite will lead to eternal damnation in hell
• Positive Effects of Religion:

  1. Religion provides Social Change
  2. Religion helps create Disciplined and Beneficial Citizens
  3. Religion boosts Self-worth and Dignity
  4. Religion promotes Charity and Humanitarianism
  5. Religion reduces Fear of the Unknown
• Religion affirms Social Hierarchy -Some religions affirm social hierarchy often favoring men and as a result, perpetuate the notions of class or gender discrimination and oppression.

  • Like: Chinese Confucian concept emphasize the relations between the ruler and the subject, with the former exercising authority over the latter
  • Indian Caste system propagates that people had to be subdivided into certain social classes with particular social roles and that the attainment of moksha (union of universal soul and individual soul) would depend on how they perform their duties on their designated class.
• Religion teaches Dependence -It is said that there is a relationship between religiosity and resignation for believers depend on God’s will and laws to solve problems and for some, this attitude is harmful to society at large as well as to individuals.

  • Examples: In Judaism, women are deemed as more righteous if they let God manage their family planning
  • In Christianity, famines, poverty and diseases are attributed to the will of God rather than bad decisions and corrupt systems.
• Religion sanctions Barbarism and Conflicts -Religions sacred text are said to sanction these things including slavery and brutal warfare. further explain that believers looking to excuse their own rage, sense of superiority, and aggression can find justification in texts that claim to be authored by God.

  • Catholic Inquisitions refer to the Roman Catholic Church groups charged with subduing large movements in Europe, which involved in heresy and paganism that resulted to torture and death
  • Jews vs. Muslims in Palestine
• Religion marginalizes Women’s Rights -Many religions have been criticized for advocating patriarchal system which marginalizes women who play lesser roles or even prohibitions in religious activities and in society.

  • In Muslim countries, a notable act of violence often associated is the “honor killings” where women and girls are murdered because they have violated and have brought shame to their respective families
  • In India, acid attacks against people deemed “untouchable” are prevalent; these acts mostly target women.
• Religion instills Fear -Religion indeed requires that individuals prove to God that they are worthy of heaven by following his will, thus people find themselves in the state of fear.

  • Examples: Doctrine of Sin – the fear of hell or being born sinners is continuously in the people’s mind filling them with worry and anxiety
  • Religionists instilling that the “fear of the Lord” is the way for people to be saved from eternal suffering.
• Negative Effects of Religion:

  1. Religion affirms Social Hierarchy
  2. Religion teaches Dependence
  3. Religion sanctions Barbarism and Conflicts
  4. Religion marginalizes Women’s Rights
  5. Religion instills Fear
• Historical Events that Primarily Caused by Religions

  • History can provide pieces of evidence that religion brought about significant events.
• Violent and Deadly Crusades

  • Crusades were a series of religious wars sanctioned by the Catholic Church between the 11th-16th centuries with the purpose of seizing Jerusalem from Islamic rule, to take back Christian territories, defend Catholics in non-Christian lands, attain political or territorial advantage or to fight heresy and paganism.
  • Thus, the term crusade includes religiously motivated Catholic military campaigns.
• Religions’ Anti-Slavery Commitment

  • In 2104, the gathering of Jewish rabbis, turbaned Sunni Imams and Shia Ayatollahs, Catholic Pope Francis, the Archbishop of Canterbury, a Hindu Guru and the orange-robed Buddhist Chief Priest of Malaysia agreed that slavery in its various contemporary forms is a sheer evil, a disgrace to God and dishonor to humankind.
  • Hence, they signed a declaration with commitment to work together for the extermination of what is called as the crime of humanity.
• Self-Immolation of a Buddhist Monk in Vietnam

  • Self-immolation or killing oneself as a form of sacrifice is used as a form of political protest or martyrdom.
  • This case was reported that a Buddhist monk named Thich Quang Duc in 1963 set himself on fire in the middle of a street in South Vietnam in protest against the religious discrimination experienced by the Buddhists by the Roman Catholic regime of Ngo Dinh Diem.
• Widow Burning Among the Hindus in India

  • It is believed to have started among the ruling class or rajputs in India, when the rajput women burnt themselves to death after their men were defeated in battles to avoid being taken away by the conquerors.
  • Later on, in 2006, it has become a manifestation of wifely devotion to which Janakrani, a widow had burnt herself to death on the funeral pyre of her husband.
• Doomed LGBTQI persons in Westboro Baptist Church

  • Many religions viewed the group of lesbians, gays, bisexual, transgender, queer and intersex, as living in defiance of religious doctrine.
  • In fact, members in this church believed that anyone who does not follow the laws of the Bible is doomed to suffer in hell; this organization is known for its slogan, “God Hates Fags” and it has been deemed as a group that fosters hate against gays, Jews and non-Christians.
• Historical Events that Primarily Caused by Religions:

  1. Violent and Deadly Crusades
  2. Religions’ Anti-Slavery Commitment
  3. Self-Immolation of a Buddhist Monk in Vietnam
  4. Widow Burning Among the Hindus in India
  5. Doomed LGBTQI persons in Westboro Baptist Church