Religion's Effect on Society

Religion is a very central part of just about every society across the world. There are literally thousands of different religions and many of those are confined to a little area with no more than a small amount of supporters. John J. Macionis defined religion as "a social institution involving beliefs and practices based on a conception of the sacred." For example, the Jews believe the Torah is sacred. On the other hand, the Christians believe the Bible is sacred. It is these differences in beliefs that help shape social diversity.

Christianity is by far the principal religion worldwide. More than 2.1 billion people follow the Christian belief. That is close to one third of the world population. Christianity has dozens of denominations, Baptist and Methodist being the two largest. Their most sacred objects are the Old and New Testaments of the Bible and the cross. Ten laws called the Ten Commandments rule Christian society. You can review these Commandments by reading the Bible, Exodus 20:3-17. Many of today's laws in the United States Government are based on these Ten Commandments. Also many of the Christian holidays are National holidays in the United States, such as Christmas and Easter. Being the most common religion, Christians are the most socially accepted religion internationally.

Islam is the second largest religion with 1.2 followers, called Muslims. This represents nearly twenty percent of the world population. Islam, like Christianity, has several branches. The Sunni and Shi'ite are the two largest branches. The Qur'an, or Koran, is the sacred book of the Islam faith. It is believed to be the word of Allah, the Arabic word for God, as spoken to the prophet Muhammad. All Muslims follow the Five Pillars of Islam. You can examine these Pillars at http://www.islam101.com/dawah/pillars.html. I do not believe there is any United States national holiday based on any of the Islam holidays like Ramadan, the holy month of fasting for adult Muslims. Many believe the women of Islam are among the most socially oppressed group. However, most of them find security in the Qur'an that guides them. Sadly, since the attack on the World Trade Centers in 2001 and the war in Iraq, Muslims are either feared or looked down upon as inferior. It was not the religion that attacked us; it was a group of terrorists who happen to be Muslims. Society tends to fear what they do not understand.

Hinduism is the third largest religion worldwide with 900 million followers or approximately 14 percent of the world's population. Although they have no sacred writings, their body of literature consists of the four Vedas, a word meaning 'knowledge' in the Sanskrit language. Although Hindu beliefs and practices are rather diverse they all follow two principles. Dharma, a moral force that presents everyone with responsibilities and karma, a belief in the spiritual progression of the soul. Their actions are ruled by these beliefs.

I expected Judaism to be among the top three worldwide religions. Nonetheless, only 15 million of the world's population is Jewish. Their sacred writings are referred to as the Torah, the first five books of the Old Testament. There are three major denominations of Judaism. These are Orthodox Jews, Reform Judaism, and Conservative Judaism. Jews tend to have a higher than average social standing. Next to Christianity, Jewish holidays are more socially accepted than either Hinduism or Islam. Just about everyone in the United States knows about Hanukkah even though it is considered a minor holiday. Another social difference is that they attend services on Saturday rather than Sundays. This day is known as the Sabbath and no work is performed on this day.

Something like 6 percent of humanity is Buddhist. Buddhism was founded in northeastern India and based on the teachings of Siddhartha Gautama, who is known as the Buddha, or Enlightened One. Buddhism is split into two branches known as Theravada, the Way of the Elders, and Mahayana, the Great Vehicle. Like Hinduism, they believe that each action as spiritual costs. Another common belief is reincarnation; that peace can only be found through cycles of death and birth. Buddhists believe in the Four Noble Truths. The first of these Truths is that 'life is suffering'. Because of this belief many Buddhist monks take a vow of poverty. Many live in social groups known as Monasteries, which are extremely isolated.

A person's social environment depends greatly on their religion. Christians visit services on different days than Jews do and therefore their social interactions depend on that schedule. Many Buddhists live in Monasteries and rarely interact with others outside their faith. Hindus and Buddhists act on the belief that their actions will greatly effect their next cycle of life, or next reincarnation. Where as Christians and Jews believe their actions dictate where they will spend eternity. Religion is one of the major influences on society.

Resources

1. Hunter, Preston. World Religions Religion Statistics Geography Church Statistics. 29 Apr. 2005. . 23 May 2005.
http://www.adherents.com/

2. Macionis, John. Sociology. New Jersey: Pearson Prentice Hall, 2005.

3. Holy Bible. Grand Rapids, Michigan: Zondervan Publishing House, 2001.

4. Islam 101. 2005. The Sabr Foundation . 23 May 2005.

http://www.islam101.com/

5. Microsoft Encarta Encyclopedia Standard. 2003 ed.