Faith Improves the Quality of Life
As a result of completing the course, I came to the conclusion that faith improves the quality of life. This quote was not chosen by chance since I noted a direct correlation in practice. In order to more accurately explain this choice, it is necessary to define what is meant by the term faith. The bottom line is that it is not so much about God or a specific denomination but about inspiration and motivation consumed from a worldview with an awareness of higher powers. It is believed that people with religious views have more developed empathy, but analytical thinking is suppressed. In fact, this is not entirely correct because there is a dependence on the priorities being set (Dockery & Wax, 2019). For example, adherence to certain vectors set by religion helps an individual to be not only a respectable person but also to maximize the effectiveness of achieving certain goals. In addition, the researchers argue that religion and science should not always be viewed as opposing forces. Many great scientists believed in God or other higher powers in one way or another, including 90% of the 21st-century Nobel laureates (Dockery & Wax, 2019, p.54). A fruitful combination of these two ways of thinking can mutually enrich them; religious feeling does not always conflict with science.
Under the right circumstances, it can positively influence scientific activity by creating and developing intuition. The thinking of a religious person is formed and built on the basis of fundamental, absolute concepts, which he does not question in any way. After perception and comprehension, sensory perception is transformed into scientific enlightenment. Later, after a while, as other evidence is approved, that very knowledge about the object of belief is confirmed, and faith, an idea about this object, is even more strengthened. Then this knowledge begins to affect the mind of a person and the actions he performs. Based on the foregoing, I can confidently conclude that religion improves the overall quality of life since it helps an individual to remain both an effective worker or family member and a citizen of justice.
Problem Solving
It is necessary to single out religion as one of the auxiliary tools for effectively solving problems. Belief in moralistic, punitive gods interested in human affairs may have facilitated the spread and development of human societies, according to the study’s authors, published in the latest issue of the journal Nature. In this study, researchers test the hypothesis that belief in God promotes cooperation, trust and justice, thus contributing to the social expansion of the group. However, it cannot be argued that nature is a monopolist in the market for means to maintain a good mood, and faith does not positively affect a person’s emotional state.
Thoughts of God can make believers less frustrated and less stressed in their daily lives, as well as gazing at beautiful landscapes every day, according to a new study by the American Psychological Association, published in the journal Psychological Science. Experimental studies have shown that when people think about religion and God, their brains work differently, allowing them to respond more easily to failure. First, the study participants were asked to write down their reflections on the topic of religion and then – to perform a very difficult test: the level of the tasks was so high that all the subjects, without exception, made mistakes. The results showed that believers who thought about religion and God before completing the assignment had decreased brain activity in the areas of the anterior cingulate cortex, which is responsible, among other things, for behavior and preparedness for unforeseen situations and mistakes.
Atheists reacted differently: if they were previously given tasks related to God and religion, then in the field of ACC, activity increased. Researchers suggest that any life changes can be natural and explainable for believers by faith and religion, so their stressful emotions from failure are much less (Wheeler, 2020). On the contrary, for atheists, thoughts about God can contradict their perception of the world and their ideas of life, which leads to more nervousness and anxiety when they make mistakes. The researchers believe that these results may help to understand other interesting but controversial information about religious people. For example, there is some evidence that believers live longer, and are happier and healthier (Wheeler, 2020). Scientists, however, urge atheists not to despair, believing that such patterns can be associated precisely with a system that helps to understand the structure of life and individuals’ world (Wheeler, 2020). Perhaps atheists would be just as effective in dealing with stressful situations if they had previously thought about their own beliefs and beliefs.
Speaking directly about my own experience, religion has allowed me to cope with three problems that have appeared in front of me over the past eight weeks. Firstly, this is the problem of procrastination, namely the lack of desire to do anything. However, one of the prescriptions of the religious worldview condemns laziness and unemployment, advising us to work harder, harder and in a timely manner to achieve results. Referencing this rule helped me deal with the problem, but a new situation arose. I was faced with a choice when I found my lost wallet on the street. This was a moral choice problem, as it is difficult to make a decision with such temptation. However, it was precise because of the motives of denouncing greed and encouraging honesty that justice triumphed. Finally, with the third problem, I can single out a number of situations in which I felt lost, not knowing what to do. Each time, turning to the spiritual side of life contributed to a successful way out of such a situation, which not only made life easier but also reduced the time wasted.
Influence on Thinking
The closest theory to me for the emergence of religion is the theory that religion was developed as an attempt to explain the incomprehensible, as well as set goals for humanity. This theory is useful for me because it shapes my worldview and thinking, in which the place of faith is in help, support and direction. This was also facilitated by the course I took, which contributed to a deeper understanding of the religious issue. For example, thanks to the explanation of each theory, as well as the identification of the subtleties of the relationship between faith and the thinking of the individual, I understood the benefits and necessity of religion as an element of life. If I give a specific example, then I need faith not in order to feel more confident or calmer but in order to find a way out of a difficult situation. Thus, in my worldview, religion has the position of a vector and a guide that saves me from temptations or fatal mistakes.
References
Dockery, D. S. and Wax, T. (2019). Christian worldview handbook. B&H Publishing Group.
Wheeler, T. (2020). Transformed thinking: A defense of the Christian worldview, King James version. Emerald House Group, Incorporated.