POSITIVE AND NEGATIVE

EFFECTS OF RELIGION

INTRODUCTION TO WORLD RELIGIONS AND

BELIEF SYSTEM
MOTIVATIONAL ACTIVITY

• Discuss the possible consequence if a

society has no religion. Make atleast 5

possible consequences
Dating back to the emergence of ancient societies, religion has already played
an important role in the lives of our ancestors. In Mesopotamia, for example,
the Sumerians organized their settlement into temple communities, wherein the
temple was found at the center of their communities and the veneration of their
gods and goddesses govern their daily lives. They believe that the lands which
they tilled were owned by the deities that is why they offered part of their
harvest to their priest, who was also their leader and who was seen as people's
intermediary to higher brings. In the absence of an organized religion, their
concept of morality was based on the belief that right actions earn the approval
of the gods and goddesses and wrong actions may cause punishment. Hence
the importance of ritual practices to appease the supernaturak beings whom
they considered as having control over their lives.
POSITIVE EFFECTS OF RELIGION

•There is no doubt that religion has an important role in the

society. In fact, it has become so close intertwined with their
institution suck as political and economic system that religions
beliefs sometimes became the basis of political legitimacy. This is
the very reason why the principle of separation of state and
religion was established in many countries.
However, religion has serve purposes beneficial to society in
general. In one way or another, it inspire values that cultivate
peace, compassion, and kindness. Religion upholds tradition of
shaping human's spirituality and embracing the goodness in each
individual.
 RELIGION PROMOTES SOCIAL HARMONY

•Religion believes in supernatural beings and powers. It

practices a set of rituals and ceremonious rites of passage and
rites of intensification. It also regards religious leaders such as
priest, priestesses and shamans in high esteem. These
characteristics help advance social harmony by assimilating
and stabilizing cultures and nations. Religion provides devine
authority to ethical and moral principles which also help
promote unity among people. Common participation in rituals
together with basic uniformity of beliefs help promotes social
cohesiveness.
RELIGION PROVIDES MORAL VALUES
•Perhaps one of the most significant functions of
religion is that it encourages moral values. It provides
a systematic model of the universe, which in effect
determines organized human behavior. By providing
moral values, one is able and punishment that
administer and standardize people's behavior in
society. Some people believe that it is sometimes
more effective than the laws implemented by the
state, since most people give more importance to the
reward and punishment in the after life.
RELIGION PROVIDE SOCIAL CHANGE

•Religion is a source of moral

values, religion provides social
change. It can be very effective in
lobbying and made death a better
alternative to living in uncertainty.
RELIGION REDUCES FEAR OF THE UNKNOWN

• Religionwas developed froms man's need to

have a sense of origin and destination; to
discover where they came from and where they
are bound to go to when they die. Religions
provide answer for phenomena and questions
that science or reason cannot explain. Religions
has provided assurance as to where spirit will
go when people die, reducing people's fear of
death as something undesirable.
RELIGION GIVES POSITIVE GOALS IN LIFE
•People were inspired by the stories of
different prophets from their own
religious affiliations, like Moses,
Siddhartha, Muhammad. These people
showed how ordinary people like them
where given important mission in life ,
and how they struggled to carry out their
respective missions.
RELIGION GIVES PEOPLE A SENSE OF
BELONGING
• Just as family, ethnicity, or nationality give
people a sense of belonging so do religion.
For some, religion provides people with
personal identity as part of group with similar
worldviews, beliefs, values, practices, and
lifestyle. It provides communities with prosfect
to recognize and offer vital action and service
to provide the needs of the larger community
NEGATIVE EFFECTS OF RELIGION

• Religion has often been named as the culprit

behind divisiveness and conflicts among people.
There is also a belief that religion can be
dangerous to society whenused to advance the
interest of a group of people at the expenses of
other people especially those with different
religious beliefs. Religious fundamentalism or the
demand for a strict adherence to orthdox
theological doctrines is often considered as the
reason behind most religious conflicts.
RELIGION AFFIRMS SOCIAL HIERARCHY

•Some religions affirm social

hierarchy often favoring men and as
a result, perpetuate the notion of
class or gender discrimination and
oppression.
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.
RELIGION TRIGGERS CONFLICT AND FIGHTS

•Religion also has some aspects which

make it susceptible to be a source of
conflict and war. History witnessed
numerous lives sacrificed and lost in the
name of religion. Wars have been fought in
the name of religion, and this phenomenon
continues up to the present time.
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. According to
Marx, it maintain social inequality by propagating a
worldview that justifies oppression. He believed
that religion can be effectively use by the ruling
class to maintain a social order that is more
favorable to them.
RELIGION IMPEDES SCIENTIFIC SUCCESS
AND DEVELOPMENT

•Religion has proven to impede

scientific development.
• Religion-based mortuary practices
can also be detrimental to public
health and sanitation.
NICHOLAS COPERNICUS

• A renaissance
mathematician and
astronomer, prove that the
sun is the center of solar
system, disproving the
Ptolemaic theory advance by
the Catholic church, which
claimed that the earth is the
center of the solar system.
RELIGION OBSTRUCTS THE USE OF REASON
• Many question the suitability of religious doctrines to
the needs of the present and future generations. In
order to put these dogma to practice, religion should,
therefore, evolve and learn to adapt to the ever
changing world. Ancient religious beliefs and practices
which have proven to be inhuman should be replaced
with sensible ones. Take the case of trepanning, or
the ancient practice of boring holes in the human
skull, a surgical procedure performed on epileptics
and the mentally ill, with the belief that through the
hole the evil spirit will leave the person. During those
days they regard it is an attempt at exorcism, but at
• Can you say that
the religion is a
double-edged sword?
Why or why not?
THANKS