The social effects of religion. What are they? I ask for your aid, social sciences guys. Please, keep in mind the end result is to be a list.
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I’ve heard it said that material can never unite; only the spiritual. So one thing religion (or a universally-honored philosophy) does for a society is to unite it – if I can argue that unity is a good thing for a society.
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Religion protects moral standards in a society without the need for totalitarian government.
mrn
Religious people - tend to be optimistic with regard to the possibility of a better future
Atheists - tend to be pessimistic and miserable
Agnostics - tend not to give a duck either way
Let’s see… Religion is a force for unity(already mentioned), the definer of cultural morality, a pacifier, and the most powerful form of totalitarian rule possible depending on the specific religion and culture.
Sorry, mrn, but many religions are the definition of totalitarian rule - historically and currently.
tentative,
Don’t confuse ‘religious societies being totalitarian’ with ‘totalitarian societies being religious’. The point being that in the West, during the 20th century, which is supposedly when we became secular, we saw fascism, communism and corporatism. All secular forms of totalitarianism. All responsible for millions of dead. This would indicate that religion doesn’t have a thing to do with it, because the exact same mistakes and atrocities occur in secular societies. The common factor in all totalitarianism is people and power structures, not religion.
Again, it’s easy to bash religion in such a generalised manner, but I’m a little surprised to see you doing it.
Hi siatd,
Don’t be surprised. That religion and government become a mixed bag isn’t anything profound. Totalitarian is just that - religious or otherwise, and both government and religion “use” each other to retain power.
I won’t waste space with the copious examples, but Catholic dominated Europe come to mind historically, and the picture of the soccer field execution of an adultress in Taliban Afghanistan is a current graphic reminder.
The qualitative difference between religion supported government and government supported religion becomes irrelevent in the face of the miilions of god-approved deaths laid directly at the feet of religion.
SAITD, good statement on religion and politics. Your posts seem to be becoming more mainstream lately.
Atheistic governments have killed many people in the last century – and they’ve only recently come on the scene.
Yes, well, the truth is totalitarian.
Just think up a list of debatables right now, don’t argue the veracity of each one yet. It would be a help to have this as a resource.
Siatd, that was not helpful.
Irrelevant. Don’t clutter my post by trying to instigate eachother.
So, currently we have,
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Unites society. Possible questions (don’t answer them here): In what ways does unity help or hurt a society? What is unity in a society? How does it unite society?
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Protects moral standards. I assume you mean that people all follow the same moral rules in a religious society; that people are moral voluntarily, without expensive enforcement. Is that right?
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Pacifies. Not necessarily true in all circumstances, but I think it can be agreed that in normal, everyday life religion discourages violence. This has to do with #2.
There are lots more. Think of some.
In the prisoner’s dilemma, the christians always win. That is the social effect of religion. Case closed.
Religion is, by and large, a reflection of culture. Since religion also has a determining role in culture, this creates a rather powerful positive feedback loop. Look at America and Turkey, two countries that are supposedly secular.
So, it both reinforces and creates the culture of a society. Where doesn’t religion have an influence in society is a better question. I can’t think of a single example. I’ll leave that to wiser head, because saying something affects everything is the same as saying it affects nothing – it is a worthless statement.
Still, I can’t think of a single culture without that. Even Communist Germany has a religion-replacement ready (check out the hagiography of resistance fighters in Germany) and the titanism of the Nazis was quite religious.
Uhh, can you give us a working definition of religion? I feel that would be helpful.
i think the social effects of religion are really just one major one, to unite a society.
everything beyond that is a method in which the society is brought together. and by ‘bringing together’ i mean creating an orderly society that promotes a prosperous co-habitation of its group.
these sub-effects would be things like:
1 - protect moral standards
2 - improve emotional well-being
3 - create hierarchy
4 - improve physical well-being
1 - one group needs to have a rough collaboration on morals in order to have order. if they vary to widely, no one will be able to maintain order (think murder and stealing). if there is a baseline morality, this is what the laws will be based on. no laws, no order, no society.
2 - it’s no secret that religious folks tend to be more upbeat. if you KNEW that you were going someplace great once you died versus completely snuffing out, you’d be happier. i relate it to the days just before going on vacation. who’s not filled with an aura of excitement just before?
3 - who would lay down the law without hierarchy? every older religion combined these aspects. the head priest was also the lawmaker. think moses, head spiritual leader and the one who handed down god’s commandments. king david, solomon, etc.
4 - physically, if everyone died of disease you can’t really have a functioning society. just like the last point the older religions combined health regulations in order to keep the general populace healthy in order to grow ranks. more numbers equals more power. more christian examples would be the many laws about cleanliness, foods that were ok to eat and not eat, circumcision, etc.
Yup. That’s what I said.
Religion reflects culture. How?
Exactly. Morality, and social rules, are versions of the prisoner’s dilemma, where if enough people break em, the rules are worthless. Some morally justified actions only have worth if most other people think the same way.
A feeling of purpose?
A way of creating hierarchy without offending, without the low men on the totem pole objecting.
While, not a social effect, but yes. Don’t eat pork and fish on the same plate, cause’ god will “smite” you with a sickness.
someoneisatthedoor: Religious people - tend to be optimistic with regard to the possibility of a better future
Atheists - tend to be pessimistic and miserable
Agnostics - tend not to give a duck either way"
K: such broad statements are not worthy of you.
I know plenty of religious types who are pessimistic
and miserable and plenty of atheist who are optimistic.
It’s prejudice to label atheist as pessimistic and miserable
and not supported by any facts but by personal experience.
Kropotkin
by putting into formal form whatever that culture deems as significant.
the easiest example that comes to mind is the several religions based on nature. shinto, pagan, druids, and a few others. to me, i feel that a culture with this reverance and respect for nature comes first and the ritualistic mentality that embodies so many religions is formed around that already existing emphasis.
the argument for the reverse order, religion then cultural emphasis, is more shaky as a religion needs a foot in the door in some way in order to gain popularity in the first place. but the cultural aspect first can be easily explained by the ways in which people get their food and water, or the animal that they most closely rely for survival on (i.e. indians and the cow), or the surrounding ecology/climate.
Unity only exists within the natural kinship invoked by similarities within beliefs, values and worldviews.
Beer brings people together more then religion does.
Sorry all, but religion can have any effect on any person.
Why are you hungery for a generalization…?
Stereotyping is the lowest form of logic.
Brainwashing of the masses is the only social effect of religion.
Wow, that’s extremely deep there, oldphil. Is this your life’s work? Or are you just spamming?
I don’t understand.
Not in the same way.
So, theoretically, it could make them float? Or implode? There are intended effects, D~ (Wow, that looks kinky…).
We work on generalizations. We are unable to function without induction.
How is what I am doing stereotyping? I asked for a rough list, a general idea of the effects, not a comprehensive report of what each religion does to each person in the world.
Eureka! So, religion just writes down whatever is already in place, is that it? I’m not being snide, really.
Well in America there is a religion of money and capitalist mentality, is that spiritual?
re·li·gion
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Belief in and reverence for a supernatural power or powers regarded as creator and governor of the universe.
A personal or institutionalized system grounded in such belief and worship. -
The life or condition of a person in a religious order.
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A set of beliefs, values, and practices based on the teachings of a spiritual leader.
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A cause, principle, or activity pursued with zeal or conscientious devotion.
Most childish criticism ever.
I’m talking about religion being able to have within it any form of ideology.
Example:
Satanism & Christianity are both religions.
Can you say religion is one thing, when there is room within it for exact opposites?
A strong belief system can be any belief.
You people are wasting your time if you’re looking for a generalization.
Be religion-specific or forget about it.