James O’Donnell’s Claims about Modern Religion Essay

Exclusively available on IvyPanda Available only on IvyPanda

O’Donnell’s claims about modern religion are very accurate. In fact modern religion is more a source of identity rather than a source of spiritual nourishment. People no longer practice a religion. Instead, people nowadays belong to a religion. Globally, religion has become an indentifying factor.

We will write a custom essay on your topic a custom Essay on James O’Donnell’s Claims about Modern Religion
808 writers online

This can be reflected even in registration procedures where people are always supposed to give out their religious affiliation. This is regardless of whether they practice these religions or not. This was not always the case. In ancient times people used to practice religion in a different manner. Almost everybody who lived in those times practiced a religion that had a god/s and a set of beliefs that one strictly adhered to. However, these beliefs were not part one’s identity.

Modern social theorists list religious identity as one of the contentious bits of social identities. This is because even the people themselves have trouble defining their relationships with religion. For instance, people claim to be Muslims, Presbyterians, Catholics, among others. However, if you ask these people to unravel these assumed identities, they will either be shallow or vague about it.

Previously when people practiced a religion, they took it upon themselves to learn everything that concerned their respective religions. These religious identities have slowly replaced social, family, geographical, and cultural identities. This according to social theorists is because adapting a religious identity is viewed as an important part of today’s culture.

The main claim in this passage is that people nowadays use religion for identification purposes. After religion became a part of people’s identities, a lot other cultural aspects were eroded. For instance in most societies including the European society, religious rituals happen to be part of social events.

Those people who are yet to assume a religious identity are often castigated by the rest of the society. For instance, in Christian dominated societies those who fail to associate themselves with a religion are referred to as atheists. This to some is a derogatory term resulting from the fact that one does not have a religious identity.

Globalization has also fueled the push to adopt religious identities. This is mostly because it facilitates the portability of religions and their identities. With globalization, people no longer have to worry about adapting to new social or cultural identities. This is what the author of this passage terms as a portable identity (O’Donnell 1).

1 hour!
The minimum time our certified writers need to deliver a 100% original paper

That is why even global policies are made in reference to such identities. The Arab world for example is predominantly Muslim. This identity is reflected by most of the policies that govern the Arab nations. The same thing applies to policies that are made in American countries. The United States has for example adopted a Christian identity. This means that legislations that contradict Christianity are often shunned. For example, the gay, lesbian, and abortion related issues and legislations.

One of the issues arising from indentifying with religion is the issue of incongruous religious identities. This is a situation where one religious identity splits into many identities. For example today there are different forms in identities in both Islam and Christianity. This situation often results in conflicts between these identities. For example, the gay priests and evangelists within Christianity have in a way assumed a different identity.

The same can be said of pro-Jihad Muslim identities. Such identities work by carrying on an existing identity and encompassing other minor identities. These identities try to propagate using this same concept of portability of religion. Recently there has been a push by some evangelists to get Christians in Africa and other continents to accept homosexuality in Christianity. The interesting thing is that they are trying to use the same channels that were used by the early 18th century missionaries.

O’Donnell in his book talks of instances when some religious identities vanish to the advantage of others. This is usually through a process of conversion. The process of conversion is one that is not easily understood. This is especially true when it comes to modern times. There are no many documented accounts of conversion. However, one example of such is the process through which Charismatic Catholics assumed a new identity (Neitz 24).

Conversion is always described as the gradual process of gaining a new identity while losing the old one at the same time. The people involved in conversions usually engage in some sort of rationalization of the new identity. During this process the converts test the practicality of the new identity against their day-to-day experiences.

One of the things that are not mentioned in this passage is the issue violence that arises when religious identities clash. Most of this violence occurs as a result of attempts to try and preserve religious identities (Gopin 49). Some people have termed the 9/11 attacks as an example of violence arising from attempts to preserve religious identities. Historically, religious instigated wars have reshaped and redefined civilizations.

In some cases countries have been split in accordance with religious identities. Religious motivated wars are probably one of the most common outcomes of the need to preserve religious identities. In ancient times there were little or no instances of wars being fought solely based on religious conflicts. Most of the times, political and geographical conflicts were the main causes of wars.

Remember! This is just a sample
You can get your custom paper by one of our expert writers

According to this article, the need to practice religion has been overcome by the need to be identified with one. This means that the impact of religion on one’s personality is varied. When people practice a religion it means that it influences a large portion of their personality.

When they indentify with a religion it means they just want an entity that can justify their life choices. This development has in a way degraded the impact religion used to have on people’s morals. In future this might result in abandonment of religious identities. Instead people may start coming up with moral codes that suit their lifestyles. This will translate in a situation where one person will be guided by rules found in different religious identities.

Most of the assertions made by O’Donnell are in reference to how religious identities are changing. Although at the beginning of the century most of these changes were characterized by violent confrontations, people are now adapting a more relaxed approach to religious-based stand offs. The new trend seems to be the exploitation of religious identities. For instance, some politicians have been known to assume religious identities that are likely to help them win more votes.

Conversions that usually lead to new identities have now taken the form of enticements. This is where particular religions are touted to have more practical and solid returns. This scenario puts the element of faith in the background when it comes to conversions. This passage shows that religious identities have taken different forms over time. Globalization is likely to have a major impact on this process over the next few years.

Works Cited

Gopin, Marc. Between Eden and Armageddon, New York, NY: Oxford University Press, 2002. Print.

Neitz, Mary. “Steps Towards a Sociology of Religious Experience.” Sociological Analysis 51.1 (1990): 15–33. Print.

O’Donnell, James. The Ruin of the Roman Empire, New York, NY: HarperCollins, 2008. Print.

Print
Need an custom research paper on James O’Donnell’s Claims about Modern Religion written from scratch by a professional specifically for you?
808 writers online
Cite This paper
Select a referencing style:

Reference

IvyPanda. (2020, April 23). James O’Donnell’s Claims about Modern Religion. https://ivypanda.com/essays/james-odonnells-claims-about-modern-religion/

Work Cited

"James O’Donnell’s Claims about Modern Religion." IvyPanda, 23 Apr. 2020, ivypanda.com/essays/james-odonnells-claims-about-modern-religion/.

References

IvyPanda. (2020) 'James O’Donnell’s Claims about Modern Religion'. 23 April.

References

IvyPanda. 2020. "James O’Donnell’s Claims about Modern Religion." April 23, 2020. https://ivypanda.com/essays/james-odonnells-claims-about-modern-religion/.

1. IvyPanda. "James O’Donnell’s Claims about Modern Religion." April 23, 2020. https://ivypanda.com/essays/james-odonnells-claims-about-modern-religion/.


Bibliography


IvyPanda. "James O’Donnell’s Claims about Modern Religion." April 23, 2020. https://ivypanda.com/essays/james-odonnells-claims-about-modern-religion/.

Powered by CiteTotal, automatic citation creator
If you are the copyright owner of this paper and no longer wish to have your work published on IvyPanda. Request the removal
More related papers
Cite
Print
1 / 1