Lesson 3: Effects of

Religion
Prepared by: Sherymay Paguirigan-Dayag, LPT, MST
 POSITIVE EFFECTS OF RELIGION

❑the principle of separation of state and religion was

established in many countries
❑it inspires values that cultivate peace, compassion
and kindness.
❑Religion upholds traditions of shaping human's
spirituality and embracing the goodness in each
individual;
 Religion Promotes Social Harmony

▪ Religion provides divine authority to ethical and moral principles

which also help promote unity among people
▪ It helps lessen the feeling of helplessness among people who
believe that they are not alone in this world, that they need not
rely on their capabilities alone
▪ In ancient Philippine society for example, spiritual leaders
were
called babaylanes or catalones, whose functions were to
intercede between the deities and people
Xiao/filial piety
❑significant aspect of Confucianism
which promotes social harmony
❑refers to the attitude of obedience,
devotion, and care of one’s parents and
elder family members
Jainism also has a key concept which helps
promotes social solidarity, which is called
ahimsa, or the concept of non-violence
❑killing and consumption of animals is strictly
prohibited
❑particular stand on issues, such as
international conflict, economic equality,
abortion, and even civil rights
 Religion Provides Moral Values

• oneis able to distinguish right from wrong,

good from evil
• most people give more importance to the
reward and punishment in the after life
• Peoplethen acted according to what they
thought would please or displease the gods
and goddesses
 Religion Provides Social Change
• For
example, the Church in the US has been active in the
campaign for civil liberties as well as the antislavery
movement
• In the Philippines, much credit has been given to the Catholic
Church for the success of the People Power Revolution in 1986
when Archbishop Jaime Cardinal Sin urged the people to join
the protest rally to oust the dictator, former president
Ferdinand Marcos.
• Satyagraha advocates the belief that nonviolence of the mind
can lead to the realization of the real nature of an evil
situation and that by refusing to cooperate with evil, truth can
be asserted.
 Religion Provides Social Change

• In general, religion has the potential to institute

social change, especially in the issues concerning
poverty, reproductive health, gender equality,
and religious discrimination.
 Religion Reduces Fear of the Unknown
• Religion provides answers for phenomena and questions that science or
reason cannot explain
• More importantly, religion has provided assurances as to where spirits will
go when people die, reducing people’s fear of death as something
undesirable
• For the Hindus, how they follow their dharma (moral and social obligation)
determines what will happen to them in the afterlife: as long as they follow
their dharma, they will reap good karma (karma refers to moral
consequences of one’s act) which will eventually liberate their souls from
bad karma, leading them to attain moksha, or the reunion of Brahman or
universal soul and atman or individual soul (this will be further discussed in
the lesson on Hinduism).
 Religion Reduces Fear of the Unknown

• Among the Christians, obeying the Ten Commandments and

being good to others will earn a reward of eternal life in heaven;
doing the opposite will lead to eternal damnation in hell
• Among the Muslims, there are certain circumstances which will
guarantee them a place in heaven, like dying in jihad (a struggle
against unbelievers) or performing the hajj (Muslim pilgrimage to
Mecca
 Religion Gives Positive Goals in Life
• Moses was ordered to liberate the Hebrews from slavery in Egypt and
lead them back to the promised land; Mohammed was chosen to
challenge the supremacy of the ruling class in the desert by preaching
equality and founding the Islamic religion; while Siddharta Gautama
gave up his wealth and power to find the solution for sickness, poverty,
old age, and death.
• Through religion—may give people a sense of meaning in life; that they
are not placed in this world without a purpose; that each and everyone
has a mission to fulfill and it is up to them to fathom what their missions
in life are.
 Religion Gives People a Sense of Belonging

• For some, religion provides people with personal identity as

part of a group with similar worldviews, beliefs, values,
practices, and lifestyles
• Belonging to a particular religion—whose members share
the same beliefs, practice the same rituals, and worship the
same god—gives individuals a sense of being in the right
place with the right people
• Members of a religious community can have the assurance
that they can rely on other people’s help in times of need
NEGATIVE EFFECTS OF RELIGION

❑Religion has often been named as the culprit

behind divisiveness and conflicts among people
❑affirmation of social hierarchy; reason why
people fight each other; promotion of
discrimination; obstruction of scientific success
and development; and hindrance to the use of
reason
 Religion Affirms Social Hierarchy

• perpetuate the notions of class or gender discrimination

and oppression
• another example of religion reflecting the hierarchy of
political structures would be the Confucian emphasis on
the relations between the ruler and the subject
• The traditional caste system in India would also reflect
how religion reflects political and social structures since
it propagated the idea that people had to be subdivided
into certain social classes
 Religion Causes Discrimination
• Religion can also be a source of discrimination, or the
prejudicial treatment of different categories of people
or things, especially on the basis of race, religion, age,
or sex
• InIslam, the practice of wearing the hijab (a head
covering worn in public by Muslim women) is
considered by many critics as a form of suppression
against Muslim women.
Religion Triggers Conflicts and Fights

• Wars have been fought in the name of religion, and this

phenomenon continues up to the present time. In Palestine,
the Jews are in conflict with the Muslims; in Kashmir, it is the
Muslims against Hindus; in Sudan, it is the Muslims opposite
Christians and animists; in Sri Lanka, it is the Sinhalese
Buddhists against the Tamil Hindus; in Indonesia, it is Muslims
contra Timorese Christians
 Religion As An Economic Tool for Exploiting the Masses

• According to the German philosopher Karl Marx,

“religion is the opium of the masses.” This is in relation
to his critical approach to religion in which he proposed
that the bourgeoisie keeps the proletariat in control
through religion
• Whether one is Christian, Jewish, or Muslim, religious
teachings justifying one’s acceptance of oppression as a
normal part of life on earth and as a means to get an
everlasting reward in the afterlife
Religion Impedes Scientific Success and Development

• For example, it has often been said that the Catholic

Church used to teach that the world is flat and warned
people against going to faraway places if they do not wish
to fall off the edge of the earth.
• that the earth is the center of the solar system, also known
as the Ptolemaic theory
• Aristarchus,
and later on, Nicolas Copernicus, proved that
the sun is the center of the solar system and all other
planets move around it, hence advancing the heliocentric
model
 Religion Obstructs the Use of Reason

•In order to put these dogmas to

practice, religion should, therefore,
evolve and learn to adapt to the
everchanging world
 HISTORICAL EVENTS CAUSED BY RELIGION

• each country there are majority and minority

religious groups and sometimes the power
struggle between these two groups escalates
into historical developments which oftentimes
shock the world
Self-Immolation of a
Buddhist Monk in
India
• Self-immolation, or the
killing of oneself as a
form of sacrifice,
originally referred to as
the act of setting
oneself on fire. But now
it refers to a much
wider range of suicidal
choices
Widow Burning
Among the Hindus in
India
• Sati, or the practice
of self-immolation of
a widow on her
husband’s funeral
pyre, is said to have
originated 700 years
ago in India
The Godhra Train
Incident in 2002
• Those who died inside
the train were mostly
Hindu pilgrims
andactivists returning
from the holy city of
Ayodhya
 SUMMARY
• Religion can be described as a double-edged sword: it can
have both positive and negative effects on society. It has
played a very important role in the development of
societies by integrating and stabilizing them; however, it
has also created conflicts.
• Some of its positive effects are: it promotes social
solidarity; it is a source of moral values; it nurtures positive
goals in life; it gives people a sense of belonging; and it
fosters social change.
• Some of religion’s negative effects include: it affirms social
hierarchy; it triggers conflicts and fights; it promotes
discrimination; it impedes scientific success and development;
and it hinders the use of reason.
• Some of the world’s atrocities and conflicts were caused by
religion such as the self-immolation of a Buddhist monk in
Vietnam; the practice of sati or widow burning in India; the
Inquisition of the Catholic Church; and the Godhra train
incident in India