The Impact of Religion
The belief in and worship of a divine entity, usually a personal God or gods, is known as religion. There are many different religions worldwide, with the most common being Islam, Hinduism, Christianity, and Buddhism. Religion has a significant impact on people's lives. It not only ensures a better future for individuals but also aids in the upbringing process. On the other hand, religion has had its share of negative consequences in today's world, especially among extremists. As a result, this paper aims to compare and contrast the positive and negative aspects of religion.
Point 1: Morality and Personal Actions
Positive: Religious belief has a significant impact on societies' behavior. Therefore, one of the major positives of religion entails enhancement of personal conduct. This is because the conviction heightens legitimacy in the community-level above the personal level thus prohibiting risky behaviors. A religiously sound community is not compounded by high-level crimes and other detrimental impacts. With high-level personal conduct, it is easier to live in harmony within the society and country at large. It is through the religious teachings that individuals improve their personal conduct.The religious teachings also enlighten people on morality. Moralities are the principles or values that govern between what is right or wrong. Through the religious teachings, an individual can differentiate between what is acceptable and what is not. With morality, every other aspect of life can be handled. Therefore, religion affects how people think and make decisions. It can be used to make business decisions, professional guidance, and leadership choices among others.Religion gives purpose to life. In other words, through religion, human beings find the purpose to live. For instance, according to the Christian teachings, people live because of the belief of the second coming of Jesus Christ. As such, religion gives people the hope for a better future. Without this purpose, the world would be unlivable. As the people strive to uphold the commandments entailed in the holy books, they maintain peaceful coexistence within the community.Another positive impact of religion entails self-esteem and self-efficacy. Religion, especially among the youths contributes to high self-esteem, which helps people to live a positive life. An individual also improves regarding self-efficacy. In general, through religion, individuals have positive attitudes towards life and all the challenges entailed in the same. With high self-esteem, they work to achieve what they lack without disheartening themselves.
Negative Effects of Religion
Even if the positive aspects of religion are vast, there are also some detrimental impacts in this faith. It is a vehicle for fundamentalism and intolerance that provides extremist groups with an excuse to indulge in wars as well as persecutions. For instance, radical groups such as Al Qaeda, Al Shabaab, and ISIS base their conduct on religion. Therefore, through religion, the groups indulge in Christian persecutions in the name of safeguarding their faith. Such behaviors are detrimental to the community, country, and the world as a whole.Religion is also the basis of oppression in some communities. For example, as per the Hindu caste system, the fate of people is decided even before birth. In other words, a person's state in the society is determined by the family in which he/she is born. If one is born into a family of slaves, then one automatically becomes one and does not have to seek any other improvements in life. The caste system has been a destabilizing factor preventing people from progressing. It restricts people born in lower castes from enhancing their lives. The perception that some people are only born to serve the wealthy tends to be unfair. Likewise, there are other religions championing oppression in various ways.Religion is also a basis of division. As elucidated above, there are thousands of religions across the globe with the most prominent ones being around four. Furthermore, the religions are divided into various denominations thus widening the differences. In most instances, all the religions strive to indicate that their religion is the best. For example, a Muslim will believe his/her faith is the right one similar to a Christian. Such beliefs are divisive and heighten enmity among people.
Conclusion
Religion is a fundamental aspect of life. The religious beliefs drive various societies, and they make decisions based on this perspectives. As mentioned above, it has both positive and negative aspects. Religion at its purest state benefits humanity. It only leads to detrimental impacts when extremists are involved. However, comparing the positives and negatives, it is evident that the positive aspects outweigh the negatives, especially if they are accurately comprehended.
