From time immemorial, religion has been the pillar on which society bases its principles. In many societies, religion has been used as a guiding principle in determining the correct code of conduct, besides giving rules on what is considered as acceptable behavior in society. It should however be noted that religion has lost much of its control in society over the years.
Anciently, religion used to dictate virtually every activity in society. Nowadays, that control has diminished and it is not peculiar to have some issues in modern day society which are completely secular. Nonetheless, religion still has influence over many issues, politics being one of them. However, the way religion is expressed differs depending on among other factors, gender and social class.
Religion has influence over modern day politics though to varying extent, depending on the structure of a country and the government for that matter. It is paramount to note that both religion and politics share the aim to regulate social behavior among other ideas.
As a result, separating the two is mission impossible given that many people belong to one religion or the other. Notably, there are some states in the world which are totally based on religion. Iran and Saudi Arabia are examples of states where religion plays a center stage in every step taken.
However, modern day governments have taken religion as an issue that can be manipulated. As a result, even in religious states, it is not odd for laws that are against religion to be implemented. Nevertheless, religion influences many political issues in society, for example, abortion, prostitution and gay marriage in America. In addition, many charity organizations in modern day society are controlled by religious groups. Similarly, religion has great influence in elections of various countries.
On the other hand, some people find it difficult to change their beliefs with the changing rules of religion. As a result, they turn to what is commonly referred to as religious fundamentalism. Religious fundamentalism is a behavior where people tend to observe a set of laid down values which dictate what can and cannot be done. People who adhere to religious fundamentalism take religious ways of doing things as final and static over time. Therefore, to them aspects of religion cannot change whatever the circumstances.
Religious fundamentalism is characterized by various issues which mostly contradict with modernity. Fundamentalists believe they have to protect the beliefs of religion because religion is fast being eroded. On the same note, fundamentalism chooses some issues from modernity and tradition on which they believe.
Fundamentalists believe that truth is not negotiable, therefore, everybody who does not believe in what they do should be separated from them. Additionally, fundamentalists believe that law and order is a requirement from God and that people must live in society. Therefore, they acknowledge the importance of government in society.
Arguably, social class has great influence on how people express their religious believes. It should be noted that educated and economically advanced people are highly susceptible to change. They therefore accept change more quickly and embrace modern issues incorporated into religion. However, these middle class people do not deeply believe in religion and are therefore skeptical about associating themselves with religion.
On the other hand, working class people are known to highly respect religion. Majority of them follow all the ideas of religion even in religiously democratic nations. They do not fear to openly declare their stand on certain issues while stating clearly that religion is the reason for their option. On the contrary, class distinction in Hinduism is propelled by religion and only the upper class can influence decisions in the society.
Similarly, there are instances where gender has been depicted as an issue that highly influences religious expression. In the west, there are many women than men who are ready to publicly associate themselves with religion. However, religion describes roles of people according to their gender. Consequently, in ancient times people used to involve themselves in religious matters only to the extent allowed by religious beliefs.
On the other hand, in purely Islamic societies women are not supposed to publicly express their religious views. On the contrary, men are given an upper hand as far as religious affairs are concerned. In this regard, religion is depicted as a way of oppressing people, especially for women. However, in modern society religion has highly changed and it now allows gender equality, though this has not been met in some religions.
Religion is a very influential aspect in human life. Not only does religion impart social behavior, but it also sets out what is expected from each person. It is important to note that though the influence of religion is fading away with the emergence of modernity, it still plays an important role in various societal issues. Most types of religion accept government as part of the societal institutions. However, there are countries where religion is absolutely insignificant as far as governance of national affairs is concerned.