The Sociology of Religion: Childhood Indoctrination Essay

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Childhood indoctrination is one of the ways how one become religious where people are brought up and grow old while still in a given religion and always believe it. This becomes difficult to overcome because people are born and told that a certain religion is the true one making it difficult for them to question it, fail to accept it or believe it is a lie.

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The parents cannot be blamed because their main intention is to show the truth and they grew up the same way. This becomes like a circle that has no end, which is passed down from one generation to the other until someone reveals that it is not the truth.

Fear makes people become religious and fail to question the religion. When people think about death they are afraid because they do not know what will happen to them after they die. The religious people tell them to believe in a certain religion so that they do not go to hell forever.

When they believe that these people are telling the truth they fear the punishment that would follow if they do not believe. Many people cry and pray for forgiveness when they are very sick due to the fear of death. If there were no fear, people would question what they are told as the truth before they believe it. (Davie 62)

People become religious when they are desperate and in need. They believe in what they are told due to lack of anything else, lack of hope and nothing to hold on. In a situation where one is satisfied completely then religion would not be significant since people would be contented with what they have as well as the way they are. In addition, people accept religion as a tradition that would be accepted for many years.

The great grandparents followed the religion and therefore people follow it too. For example, the people who are born in the United States of America are likely to be Christians while Muslims are from the Middle East.

The people have many questions without answers and therefore become religious to search for answers. There are questions without answers and no one attempts to answer them while religious people leave them unanswered. When people make bad decisions, they feel guilty and fail to forgive themselves and therefore turn to God who forgives them so that they feel better. Their sins haunt them and believe that they may be punished for their deeds (Davie 49)

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Many people believe that it is only in the church that they can get a chance to socialize with others. Their main aim is not to attend the church service but interact with others and have a sense of belonging. They get the comfort they desire as well as assurance, which make them feel safe when they know that everything is all right.

They remain in the religion when they think that they would have chaotic life if they stay without a religion. Many religious people are not responsible and need God so that they can be taking all their problems to him. For example, those who smoke or drink believe that they cannot stop smoking alone and put their faith in God to do everything and help them live a righteous life.

People become religious for spiritual fulfillment in order for their life to have meaning. This makes them turn to religion for the spiritual void to be satisfied and live a comfortable life. People go to church and when they find others being exited, they believe that is what they require and that nothing can worry them (Davie 53)

There are dogmas and beliefs in religion that are accepted and the followers are expected not to question about them. When other beliefs are available there can arise intolerance as well as inflexibility because no one is allowed to compromise the word of God. When the scriptures are allowed to be interpreted and the interpretation is correct, it becomes difficult to solve any conflict that arises when people doubt it.

The only person who is the winner is the one that will have most followers who are motivated through action. The extremists of religion who apply radical measures to fulfill the wishes of God bring about the conflict of escalation. When there is a conflict between what is evil and good, it becomes difficult to compromise by accepting the devil (Davie 27)

Religious conflict can arise when evangelism has different strains. Some people may come together and not allow other religions the right to practice their own faith. They do this in order to minimize their beliefs because they feel that the religion may be dominant. For example, Christianity was suppressed in China where the government thought that it was dangerous and rival of loyalties of the citizens.

The media emphasize on the negative effects of religion, which leads to hostility, as well as fear to the believers. The media do so by confusing people instead of informing them through misunderstanding the goals of different religious groups.

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The difference in religions is a potential source of conflict because people ignore other faiths. The religious group that is less popular is under tension compared to the most popular and privileged.

When it happens that the group that is most popular is the minority it becomes easier to have a conflict with them and understanding becomes difficult. When crisis arise, members involved rely on extremists to provide solution. The identities of the group members can be shaped when compared to others, which makes the faith of one religion threatened by the other.

Religious conflicts arise because the mind of people is unique and has different experiences. These different individuals are located at different places where they associate with others with different experiences concerning their religion. When these characteristics are combined conflicts often arise in the course of their relationships.

Hinduism has been reformed many times since it started due to conflicts when the caste system that was hereditary was rejected. Nanak emphasized that Muslims and Hindu should tolerate one another when he declared that similar God was worshipped. He could not be tolerated by the two religions, which made a new religion to be started.

There serious conflict between the apostles of John and Jesus was about baptism. Those who followed Jesus were supposed to pay a price through baptism to be accepted by those who followed John. Peacemakers have been solving religious conflicts whenever they arise because they are complex. The people should be informed about the wishes of God in different religions so that they can avoid evil and do well (Davie 34)

Works Cited

Davie, G. The Sociology of Religion. California: Sage Publications, 2007. Print.

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IvyPanda. 2018. "The Sociology of Religion: Childhood Indoctrination." December 19, 2018. https://ivypanda.com/essays/social-organization-of-religion-2/.

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