INFLUENCE OF RELIGION ON INDIVIDUALS, SOCIETY, AND THE WORLD 1

Impact of Religion on Individuals, Society, and the World

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Impact of Religion on Individuals, Society, and the World

Religion is one of the major parts of a society and can be used to solidify or weaken

societal bonds. Therefore, religion can either unit or divide humanity. It can unite humanity

by bringing individuals of a society together for a common purpose or through curiosity in

humans to explore the teachings and exploit the wisdom within religions. Equally, religion

can divide humanity in many other ways. It has been proven throughout history that religious

ideologies might lead to wars and violence including the inquisitions and crusades where

Christians waged war against nonbelievers. Wars between different religions like the Muslim

and Christian wars for control of Palestine, North Africa, and Europe are triggered by

religious affiliation and beliefs. Spiritual appeal of the promise attached to these wars was

some sort of propaganda applied to recruit men into battle with each; Islam and Christianity

wanting more territory (National Religions, n.d.). Such wars have created religious rifts that

divide humanity based on religion. Therefore, religion has positive and negative influence of

individuals, societies, and the world including in morality and ethics and the society.

One key influence of religion is on the concept of morality and ethics. Religion is the

primary source of value construction in which religious values, guidelines, and laws are

outlined. For instance, in Christianity, Islam and Judaism, ideas for what is right or wrong are

found in sacred texts with the ideas being diffused in the form of stories to teach laws, rule of

conduct, and morality (National Religions, n.d). Religion defines marriage, sexuality, and

family as part of moral obligations and aspect of life with Christianity considering marriage

as a sacred and an unbreakable bond. While such values help unit individuals, there are others

such as just war which specifically leads to division between rival groups. Just war is a theory

developed by Christian to justify the use of military force against other religions. Such values

which have been cemented through quotes from the holy text lead to wars and violence that

result to division between people.

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Religion also plays a central role in influencing the society. Religion directly

influence the society in matters related to gender, social structure, law, economics, and family

structure (National Religions, n.d). Religions have their views on gender roles, family

structure, and laws that govern the society. For instance, in Islam, a man can marry as many

wives as he pleases and the wives must be loyal and respectful to their husbands. However, in

a Christian society, people are encouraged to marry only one wife. When it comes to gender

roles, women are traditionally aligned with chores that focus on caring for their families

which including children and their husband. This is fairly the same in all religions with a little

deviation seen in modern societies. Despite the differences, a convergence is achieved when

different religions decide to come together and define common laws and values that will

govern the societies they live in. Such actions help unit rather than divide these societies.

Religion is a paramount part of the society but has positive and detrimental effects on

the society. It outlines key values and laws that help guide individuals on how to engage with

others, the environment, and their Supreme Being. While the values in each religion may

vary, some are similar and through consensus, agreeable values are defined and accepted

creating unity rather than chaos.

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Reference

(n.d.). National Religions [MOOC]. In Approaches to Studying Religions. Sophia

Learning. https://app.sophia.org/spcc/approaches-to-studying-religions--2/unit1/study-

guide/7845/primal-religions-2