Religion has been in existence since the beginning of time. Religion acts as some sort of governing body which provides rules and a manual in the way life should be lived; how human beings should behave, what is right and what is wrong, what is moral or what is not? Looking at it from a critical perspective, the morals in society revolve around religious beliefs. For example, the Muslim religion is against consumption of drinks with alcoholic content, whereas Christians drink wine.
Hindus, Buddhists even Atheists have their own morals according to their religious beliefs. Their attitude towards life is clearly modeled by their religious beliefs. A world without religion would truly be chaotic. Therefore, even though it appears that many controversies in the world are sparked up by religion, it is more beneficial for religion to exist rather than its inexistence. This essay supports the argument that religion is more beneficial than detrimental to society.
The first religious benefit is the fact that it is able to provide a “guideline” for morals. Imagine a world without religion; most would be left to act according to their own individual inclination which frequently is attributed to negative behaviors in life such as greed, violence, immorality, malice and all sorts of vices. Most people can attest to the fact that religion in one way or other shapes their attitudes and concepts of what is right or wrong. One might argue that violence takes place despite the existing religious inclination of man.
However, violence is triggered by the difference in religious beliefs. If the entire human race had a similar religion, there would be very few cases of religious indifference since there would be one set of “guidelines” to be followed and this would determine what’s moral or not. For this reason, religion is beneficial as it keeps watch over the morals in life.
Religion also gives confidence and a peace of mind to different individuals and it’s governed by their religious beliefs. One common thing about religion is that all individuals who believe refer to a supernatural being that is in control of everything. Individuals therefore feel secure knowing that there is “someone” who is out there always looking out for them and in control of everything. Individuals regardless of their religion believe that there is punishment in the afterlife for the wrongs done while on earth.
This helps to keep people from wrong as well as giving them reason to justify their actions. In addition, it helps them to be in better mental and psychological health. There is some sort of assurance that what they are doing is in line with their religion, a world without religion would seem to be almost void since there would be many questions about what is wrong and what is right and on what grounds would the wrong and right be formed on anyway?
Religion also gives strength to individuals of different religions. These strengths enable them to handle and struggle with most of the obstacles they stumble upon in life. This is due to their development and growth in spirituality since religion is mostly all about spirituality. Individuals therefore become better people as a result of strength developed out of spiritual growth.
It is this same spiritual growth that encourages people to be selfless and share with those who lack in society while offering encouragement and support to those who feel lonely and are undergoing through a period of grief (Powell 9). Individuals faith is known to have increased in religion especially in times of sorrow and grief. If religion did not exist, then where would people gain assurance and comfort from?
As much as religion is beneficial in that it checks on morality, giving persons a peace of mind and assurance and also contributing to some extent to the general mental and physical strength of a character, it still remains to be a very personal matter. Individuals should not be forced to embrace a certain religion because others of the same religion think it right.
However, the choice as to what religion to embrace should be left out to an individual and this is basically an ingredient to better lives. The right or wrongs of a particular religion should be restricted to that religion and if would follow their religion instead of pointing fingers and judging what is right or wrong for others, the world would become a better place.
Work cited
Powell, Russell. Is Religion Good or Bad for Society? Practical Ethics, 2009. Web.