...It is not only unrealistic to believe that religion and politics can or should be separate but it has proven to be exactly what the majority population desires. Ülker, Ö, (2013), stated, “Some global level developments –such as the secularization experience of the USA, the Iranian Revolution, the effective role of religion in the experience of democratization in the Latin America, the rise of religious nationalisms opposed to secular nationalisms, the rise of Christian Right- has revealed that religion has no intention of leaving the public sphere, on the contrary its intention is to take an effective role in the construction of the public space.” As time has progressed through the many ages of mankind there has been one constant, religious influence. The origin of religion is equated to the origin of civilization. The conflict of interest that has been ethically lingering throughout history is the issue of religion’s influence in Politics. In “Religion and the US Presidency: Politics, the Media, and Religious Identity,” Michelle A. Gonzales writes about how John F. Kennedy was worried about his faith and the Roman Catholic background because he feared the population would worry that the Vatican would have an influence in American politics. He then realized that a candidate’s religious background has a large impact on the credibility and support he or she will receive from the population. This has shown many leaders that people will support a political candidate who shares a...
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...Religion and Politics and the effect of religion in America For a virtuous instance of how religion affects politics in our current world we need not look very distant but rather look around you. The influence of Catholicism on Latin American politics, and the role religion plays on Middle Eastern politics have had a profound affect in those related societies. After examining the effects of religion into the above mentioned societies it is clear that the introduction of religion into politics has proven to be suppressive and counterproductive to most third world countries, and various subcultures in first world countries. A very well known writer and scholar on the history of Egypt, Budge, E. A. Wallis, "Egyptian Religion and Society: Egyptian Ideas of the Future Life (Library of the Mystic Arts)". Citadel Press. August 1, 1991. Wrote, “Most scholars have concluded that, in later times at least, there was no close personal tie between the individual Egyptian and the gods, that the gods remained aloof, that their relationship to humans was indirect, communicated to him by means of the king”. We must remember that there was no established book or set of teachings, as the Bible or the Qur'an, and few prescribed conditions of behavior or conduct. Humans were guided essentially by human wisdom and trusted in their belief in the goodness of the gods and of their divine son, the king. An important concept in Egyptian life was the idea of justice. Although the Egyptian was entirely...
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...American Culture: A Medley of Food, Language, and Religion Bre McCauley COM/156 June 30, 2013 Sheri Jens American Culture: A Medley of Food, Language, and Religion I believe it was Marcus Garvey who said, and I quote, “a people without the knowledge of their past history, is like a tree with no roots.” You have to know where it is you came from, befriend that knowledge, and use what you know to move forward, to progress throughout life and make history based on your heritage. How many of us embrace our history? Never mind the pigmentation of our skin, or our style of dress, nor the way we wear our hair; keep in mind that being an American means that we are all influenced if not molded, by several other races who speak life into the way we communicate, the foods we eat, our interest in the arts, and even our beliefs of a higher power. As a child we are taught a variety of motor skills. The skills may include, but are not limited to, using our hands, crawling, walking, and of course speech. We are expected to mimic the sounds we hear from our moms, dads, siblings, teachers, and the world around us in order to communicate everything we see, hear and feel to whomever will listen. The power of language and communication is beyond words, in fact without language, how could we communicate? What is the value of communication without language? Well, according to martinfrost.ws “there are four major regional dialects ( A particular form of language that is peculiar to...
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...controversy. Ancient history is full of examples of the state or governing authorities interfering with religion. There were rulers or kings that assumed various “priestly” titles, like the “temporal” titles that their offices command. An example of such state-church mixing and melding, led to the execution of Socrates, for his disrespect for the gods( in Biblical times, like kings of Israel were anointed by Priests, as a sign of God’s approval. This is why separation of church and state is bad for America. For centuries, Monarchs ruled by the idea of divine right. This later metamorphosed into monarchs ruling over church’s administration in a way. There was this catholic doctrine that the Pope, as Vicar of Christ on earth, should have authority over the church on earth and indirectly over the state. This led to claims in the middle ages that the pope has authority to depose Catholic kings and they did try to exercise this authority. Thus in the medieval times in western world, monarch who ruled in secular world tend to encroach on the church’s rule of the spiritual sphere. This led to power struggles and crises. In the 1530s, Henry VIII, rejected the annulment of his marriage with Catherine of Aragon by the Pope. He consequently, formed the Church of England (Anglican Church) and set himself as the ruler of the new church, thus ending the separation that had existed between the church and the state of England. From that period on, the Monarchs of Great...
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...Comparing Major Religions With regards to religion, there are many different characteristics across various cultures. One major difference is how they interpret divine beings, or Gods. Some, like Christians, are monotheistic because they believe in a single God. Other religions are polytheistic, because they believe in many different Gods such as India where there are millions of Gods. This influences praying rituals and sub groups that may focus more on one single God rather than others. Rites of passage are also important. These are transitional periods from one social status to another. Within Judaism, the Bar Mitzvah transitions young boys into men where they have to take on other responsibilities and society views the, differently. Within African cultures, each village or tribe may have their own local religious rituals as well. Despite these sharp differences, there are also some similarities. One major similarity is that most religions have some sort of organizational structure. This means that it is an established institution that exists separately of the people involved. Leading these organizations are clerical members and priests. Priests join the ranks by either going through training programs or apprenticeships. While the exact rituals by which religious leaders are initiated or conduct their work may be different, the main element of having a core infrastructure with designated leaders is still present throughout various cultures. Another major set of commonalities...
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...Alcohol Abuse and Dependence Correlated with Age, Gender, Ethnicity, and Religion [Name of Writer] [Name of Institute] Abstract This research paper entails the correlation of alcohol abuse with age, gender, ethnicity, and religion. This paper also explains in detail the implication that can be undertaken for the substance abuse. Alcohol is one of the factors that are creating the majority of the health problems in the United States, creating negative impacts on the life of an abuser’s family and children. Alcohol abuse has direct relation to the age, gender, race and religion. Table of Content Abstract 2 Introduction 3 Discussion 4 Age 4 Gender 5 Race 6 Religion 6 Strategies for Prevention of Alcohol Abuse 7 Conclusion 7 References 8 Alcohol Abuse and Dependence Correlated with Age, Gender, Ethnicity, and Religion Introduction In the United States substance abuse is one of the most common health problem that touches life of every individual in the family, child, community, and congregation. In contrast to the popular perception, the problem of substance abuse in the United States not only results in illegal drug usage like crack cocaine, but also in the form of the recreation known as soft drinks such as marijuana, along with the usage of extra medicine use prescribed by the doctors. The influence of substance abuse and alcohol abuse on families, children, and communities are dreadful in a manner like: negligence of family, abuse...
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...The Influence of Religion on Society’s Daily Life By Aris Totle FOUN 1001: English Society, as it is known, is built on the basis of religious teachings. Religion has a huge impact on daily life. Almost every aspect of everyday life has been influenced by religion. Religion can be described as a system of shared beliefs. Christianity, being the most widely practiced religion in the world, especially in western territories such as the United States of America, Europe, and the Caribbean; has also been the most influential. Although many persons may not be practicing the Christian religion, their values and daily practices are still mandated by Christian beliefs. The biggest influence that Christianity has on everyday life probably is that the social norms that exist in society today are almost all based on the teachings of this religion. Social norms refer to rules that govern socially acceptable behaviour. Societal norms and practices in western civilizations are largely dictated by Christian beliefs. Religion greatly impacts the morality of individuals within these societies. Collectively as a society, and individually, persons attempt to live their lives in accordance with codes of morality and ethicality. Morals refer to an individual’s own principles regarding right and wrong. Ethics also relates to right and wrong conduct. There is a strong connection between religion and morality and ethics. Although these are distinct concepts, and morality can exist without a...
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...Introduction In any nation state, internal and external policies are closely related to the country’s own traditional social culture and reflect the country’s own cultural values. The United States is a society of religions, a vast field of religious identities and conceptions, a sea of swirling religious currents. Religions legitimate the existing social system, institutions and values to a certain extent. They also provide a means to contend with and change the system; they are at once conservative and liberal. They motivate people to do things, to change the world in many ways. It might be said that the ultimate purpose and effect of religion is to take humans and their cultures to the “Ultimate”. (Eller, p 330) Owing to the importance of religion in America’s national identity, which is largely shaped by American core cultural values and "mainstream religions", these attitudes and traditions have played an important role in American social life, thus religious power naturally has penetrated into politics and foreign policy decisions more regularly in America than in other countries. Religious values are the sources of American “exceptionalism” and “messianism”. (Xie, p 39) After the Cold War¹, it became evident that religion was a key factor in many conflicts, including Bosnia, Rwanda, and Afghanistan. However, the ¹ “Cold War”: the state of hostility that existed between the Soviet bloc countries and the Western powers from 1945 to...
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...didn’t really say much about religion. The ones who wanted to give faith a greater part, and those who were afraid that it would do so, were very concerned. Some worried that the Constitution did not exclude the kind of state supported religion that had thrived in some colonies. This resulted in Congress adopting the first amendment to the Constitution. When it was ratified in 1791, it prohibited Congress to make any law "respecting an establishment of religion” (Paulson, 2001). Religion has become a very important topic in the US, today. The ideas that shaped our government were...
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...Running head: RCP DIVIDE Religion Plus Castes Equals Political Divide In India, religion is an integral part of the lives of the population. The writers at asianinfo.org claim that, “For the majority of Indians, religion permeates every aspect of life, from common-place daily chores to education and politics.” No part of Indian life exists without the presence and influence of religion. Over ninety percent of the Indian population state that religion plays an extremely important role in their lives. India is the founding place of four major religions; which are Buddhism, Jainism, Sikhism and Hinduism, and the country has remained religious even during and following modernization. The religions practiced may have shifted a bit, nevertheless, the country remains deeply religious. Among all aspects of Indian life, religion also plays an important role in the politics of India. A political party’s support greatly depends upon the religion the group acknowledges. The two main religions practiced in India are Hinduism and Islam and each religion has parties from whom support is given. Often political support rallies can become so animated that the participants have the need to take action against other religious and political groups. The purpose of this paper is to highlight religion and the caste system of India and explain its impact on Indian political structure and lifestyles. Of the two religions, Hinduism is overwhelmingly more popular. Eighty-two...
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...An American Journey through Religion Throughout history man has attempted to makes sense of his existence. Allah, God, Krishna, Mother Nature or Zeus, are but a few names given to divine beings said to govern the natural order of things. Varied nomenclature aside, the beliefs and practices religion imparts on its followers are far important. Missionaries provide aid to the impoverished, extremist murder thousands and everything else in between has been attributed to the observance of some set of religious influence. Many are born into a religious denomination, and remain faithful without question. However, others find their theological journey is not as certain and must seek out personal truths to define their understanding of the cosmos. Millions of Americans find this particularly true, who by law, fortunately have the freedom to choose any religion they see fit. Unfortunately, freedom of religion is a privilege many Americans often taken for granted. Nevertheless, an individual has the opportunity to discover their own interpretation of a higher power (or powers), in order to better explain their world and their supporting role. Art, literature and philosophy have been used for thousands of years to express and inspire religious conviction. An examination of ideology and the...
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...likely to differ from business practices in the United States? If so, how?” I think that business practices in an Islamic country are different from business practices in the United States, some factors influence the business practices in different cultures. As the culture, values and norms, social structure and diversity of individual all might affect the business practices. Culture is a complex factor that includes beliefs, knowledge, arts, morals, law, customs, and other capabilities obtained by people as members of society (Hill, 2011). Values and norms are the cores of the components for culture, values are general ideals about a society’s good, correct and desirable fact. Norms are the social rules and guidelines that suggest appropriate behavior in specific circumstances (Hill, 2011). I don’t know much about Islamic country, but the American culture is different from Islamic culture. Due to the religion, social structure and much diversity in the two different worlds, the business practices would affect by these differences. International business is different from national business due to the culture and society. The ethics in Islamic world, governs almost all aspects of people’s life. Ethical norms and moral codes discernable from some verses of the Quran, and the teachings of the Prophet are far reaching and comprehensive (Azim, n.d.). Islamic teachings extremely influence the observance of the religion and ethical and moral code in Islam society. ...
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...The Supreme Court and Civil Liberties No matter what an individual believes, one thing is for certain, religion has a huge impact within our own society and throughout the world. Recent advances of this freedom have caused serious implications in the middle east. Religion in the United States is diverse and as a result of this diversity, we see that followers of certain religions will use the diversity of religion within to influence or even manipulate those who do not share the same views. Often times, this expression and influence has a negative effect on society. Throughout this essay, I will go in depth and discuss examples of the impact that religion has had throughout our own society and the world along with the greater impacts the freedom has had on our society. More specifically, I will select four religions that have created a fragmented society we have come to know. What is now being termed a terrorist attack, the attack on the United States consulate in Benghazi, Libya is an example of how the exercise of freedom of religion here in the United States has had severe implications elsewhere. An anti-Muslim film was produced by a right wing group here in the United States that sparked outrage within the middle east. Once anti-American Muslims found out about “The Innocence of Muslims,” attacks on United States consulates were planned. The attack that received the greatest amount of coverage was in Benghazi, Libya and resulted in the death of four Americans. Not...
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...3005 6/26/14 The question was asked if Global society was mainly shaped by the ideas of the Enlightenment period rather than other world views i.e. religion in the 1900. I do not believe Global society was mainly shaped by Enlightenment ideas rather than religion, however I do believe that this movement has had impact on society. The Enlightenment era was based on theories that reject religion. They views of answering to a higher calling and worshipping someone who is unseen. Enlightenment theorist believed that man made their own destiny. They believed that man could make their own rules to govern themselves instead of biblical beliefs and conducts. Enlightenment was brought on by the age of science. It originated in European countries. According to “Ways of the World” Robert Strayer states Growing numbers of people believe that the long-term outcome of scientific development would be “Enlightenment” a term that has come to define the eighteenth century in European history. If human reason could discover the laws that governed the universe, surely it could uncover ways in which humankind might govern itself more effectively” (745). Enlightenment theorist discourages religions views and encourage gaining knowledge to evolve human society. They didn’t believe in superstition, politics and corruption of established religion. According to Stayer “The central theme of Enlightenment and what mad it potentially revolutionary was the idea of progress. Human society was not fixed...
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...that has existed for many decades. The controversy behind this issue is caused by the different views that people and societies have regarding abortion. The social science disciplines of political science and religion will be used in getting a better understanding of the opposing views of abortion. In discussing the religious aspects of abortion, this paper will focus on the Jewish and Catholic views of abortion and how the two faiths effect an individual s decision upon having an abortion. When discussing the political controversy regarding abortion, this paper will discuss the abortion laws in Canada and the United States as well as the pro-choice and anti-choice movements of abortion. Society is greatly affected both socially and politically by abortions due to the different moralistic views regarding abortions and the controversies surrounding abortions. What are the views of the Catholic and Jewish religions on having abortions and how do their different views effect society? How is society effected by the political controversies behind abortions? Religion and Abortion Abortion is an issue that causes extreme divisions among various religious groups due to the laws of the religions, in particular, those of the Jewish and Christian religions. The Jewish religion is based on the belief in one G-d as well as respecting the laws that G-d imposed on the Jews. The Jewish people are expected to do what is just and merciful in the eyes of G-d (World Book, 1990). The Talmud,...
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