Religion
INTRO
For this inquiry our class had to research a topic relating to social justice. I chose religion and researched how it is a social justice. Religion has caused many things which include war, terrorist attacks. And other small things like some people and their beliefs not getting a job because of what they believe in. In this report I will be describing what religion is, talking about the social justice aspect of this topic and my thesis which is helping religions to understand other religious beliefs.
WHAT IS RELIGION?
Religion is based on beliefs, what a certain group of people believe in. It is usually believed that there is a being with a higher power that can provide people with moral guidance. It also involves looking at objects in another perspective. For example there may be a tree or a plant that one religion might just think of as a tree that you could cut down. Another religion could look at it as being sacred. There are many different religions that look at things as being sacred objects. While an atheist ( non religious person ) might want to cut down a tree to make timber, there may be a religion that thinks the tree is sacred and there will be a group of people that won’t like it being cut down. Others will look at that religion as crazy and they will most likely treat those people unfairly.
WHEN DID RELIGION START?
The first religion started around 2,000 BC. Hinduism was the first and it is currently the third largest religion with around 1.2 billion followers today which is about 15% of the world's population.
PRO’S AND CON’S ABOUT RELIGION
First of all the pros. Religion can help people think they have a purpose in life. Religion supplies people with meaning and direction which can benefit people's mental health. Some people’s beliefs are the source of courage which they need to keep going in life. Most religions wish to believe that there is more to physical reality than just the physical, scientific universe. Religions believe that “everything happens for a reason”. This can be comforting in difficult times. Religion lets people feel they have been forgiven for something they regret.
Now what are the cons of religion? In most religions they teach that if you do bad things you will go to hell. That is not really good because that would mean that you will suffer for eternity. In a lot of religions you have to be a follower of whatever that religion believes in or you will go straight to hell. Some religious people think they may go to hell when what they think they're doing is wrong. It is unnecessary to have anxiety like this in your life. Some religions, especially Catholic churches. Have a long history of trying to supress human sexuallity. Some religions also teach that being homosexual is a bad thing. In the past religions have been known for treating women unfairly. Religion has played a massive part in wars. Because of their beliefs they have put down other cultures and communities. They have gone to the extent where they kill people because of their beliefs.
SOCIAL JUSTICE IN RELIGION
What is the social justice aspect of religion? First of all, what is social justice? Social justice is when a group of people are treated unfairly or differently because of their looks, thoughts or way of living. Social justice fits into religion quite well. Religion has been around for over 4,000 years and over those 4,000 years social justice has played a part. Like world war 2 with the jews being treated unfairly by the Nazis. Another example is the terrorist attack in christchurch where one man killed 50 people in a mosque (a place to pray for islam).
BELIEF DISCRIMANTION
Belief discrimination is when you are discriminated because of your religion or beliefs. For example you could be wearing a cross around your neck and you went to apply for a job, you had all the skills needed and the employer didn’t let you have the job because you represent that religion. Unless it would be an undue hardship on the employer’s operation of the certain business an employer must respectfully accommodate an employee’s religious beliefs.
WHAT CAN WE DO TO HELP PEOPLE THAT ARE AFFECTED BY RELIGION?
There are many things we can do to help people that are affected. The first one is helping religions understand other religions beliefs and respecting their beliefs.
There have been huge wars in the past because of this and I think it would benefit everyone. All people need to do is just understand. Of course there's going to be certain individuals that will stay the same and won’t want to understand other religions beliefs.
The second is multiculturalism is quite similar to getting religions to understand other regions beliefs. But it is the belief of cultural diversity. Multiculturalism carries the belief that society is enriched by preserving, appreciating, and fostering cultural diversity. So many different cultures and religions can coexist peacefully and don’t look at other groups of people differently.