POSITIVE & NEGATIVE

EFFECTS OF RELIGION

Intro to World Religion: Lesson 3

Religion has played a pivotal role in shaping civilizations and cultures,
serving as the foundation of ancient societies and contributing to social
stability and unity. However, over time, religion has also become a
source of conflicts, both between different societies and within the
same society. While it has fostered solidarity, it has also been a
catalyst for historical wars.

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 The Sumerians in ancient Mesopotamia
placed great importance on religion. They
structured their communities around
temples and practiced worship of various
gods and goddesses, making religion a
core part of their everyday lives. They
believed that the land they farmed was
owned by these deities, so they gave a
portion of their harvest to their priest-
leader, who served as a link between the
people and higher powers. Their moral
values were based on the idea that doing
right pleased the gods, while wrongdoing
might result in punishment. To keep the
gods happy and gain their favor, the
Sumerians performed essential rituals.
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A ziggurat, pyramidal stepped temple tower that is an architectural and religious structure
characteristic of the major cities of Mesopotamia (now mainly in Iraq) from approximately 2200 until
500 BCE.

The ziggurat at Choghā Zanbīl, near Susa, Iran.

POSITIVE EFFECTS
OF RELIGION
 POSITIVE EFFECTS OF RELIGION

Religion Religion
Promotes Social Provides Moral
Harmony Values

Religion Religion
Provides Social Reduces Fear of
Change the Unknown

Religion Gives Religion Gives

Positive Goals People a Sense
in Life of Belonging
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 1. RELIGION PROMOTES SOCIAL HARMONY
• Religion promotes social harmony through
belief in supernatural beings, rituals, and
religious leaders.
• Beief in supernatural beings provides a
sense of support and unity among
believers.
• Religious leaders, like priests and shamans,
mediate between deities and people,
maintaining cultural and spiritual practices.
• Common rituals and practices create
emotional bonds and a sense of
togetherness within religious communities.
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 1. RELIGION PROMOTES SOCIAL HARMONY
• Filial piety in Confucianism
emphasizes obedience and care
for parents and elder family
members, contributing to social
harmony by preventing conflicts.

• Jainism promotes ahimsa, or non-

violence, in all aspects of life,
including treatment of animals
and respect for others,
contributing to social solidarity
and ethical living.
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 2. RELIGION PROVIDES MORAL VALUES.
• Religion promotes moral values, helping people distinguish between right and
wrong, and good and evil.
• It provides a system of reward and punishment, standardizing behavior in society.
• In ancient societies, morality was based on pleasing or displeasing gods and
goddesses through rituals.
• For example, farmers would perform rituals led by spiritual leaders to seek
blessings for a good harvest, interpreting calamities as signs of displeasure and
performing rituals to appease the deities.
• Gratitude for a successful harvest was expressed through rituals, believing that the
deities were responsible for their good fortune.

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 3. RELIGION PROVIDES SOCIAL CHANGE.
• Religion is a source of moral values and can
drive social change by using its moral
teachings to advocate for specific social
issues.
• Examples include the Church in the US
supporting civil liberties and the anti-slavery
movement, the Catholic Church's role in the
People Power Revolution in the Philippines
in 1986, and Gandhi's satyagraha promoting
nonviolence and India's independence from
British rule.

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 3. RELIGION PROVIDES SOCIAL CHANGE.
• Satyagraha emphasizes nonviolent
resistance to assert truth and has been
a model for other protest actions
worldwide.
• Religion has the potential to drive
social change, particularly in
addressing issues like poverty,
reproductive health, gender equality,
and religious discrimination.

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 4. RELIGION REDUCES FEAR OF THE UNKNOWN
• Religion addresses humanity's need to
understand its origins and what
happens after death.
• It offers explanations for phenomena
and questions that science and reason
cannot fully explain.
• Many religions teach about the
afterlife, reducing fear of death.
• Belief in the afterlife influences daily
conduct, like Hindus following their
dharma to achieve moksha.

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 4. RELIGION REDUCES FEAR OF THE UNKNOWN
• In Christianity, obeying the Ten Commandments
leads to eternal life in heaven, while going against
them results in eternal damnation in hell.
• Among Muslims, specific actions like jihad or
performing hajj can secure a place in heaven.
• Early Filipino animists believed in an afterlife as a
continuation of earthly life, evidenced by
practices like burying chiefs in ships with valuable
belongings for the journey.
• Overall, religion provides answers to life's
mysteries, reducing fears and uncertainties, and
making death seem more acceptable to some.
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 5. RELIGION GIVES POSITIVE GOALS IN LIFE.
• Stories of prophets like Moses, Siddharta Gautama, and Muhammad inspire
people by showing how ordinary individuals are chosen for important missions.
• Moses led the Hebrews to freedom from Egyptian slavery and to the promised
land.
• Muhammad challenged ruling class supremacy by preaching equality and founding
Islam.
• Siddharta Gautama renounced wealth and power to seek solutions to human
suffering.
• These narratives, preserved through religion, provide a sense of meaning in life,
emphasizing that everyone has a purpose and a mission to discover and fulfill.

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 6. RELIGION GIVES PEOPLE A SENSE OF BELONGING
• Religion provides a sense of belonging and personal identity by uniting people
with similar beliefs, values, and practices.
• Belonging to a religious group offers individuals a feeling of being in the right place
with like-minded individuals, instilling a sense of security and mutual support
during times of crisis.
• Religious communities often engage in acts of service and support, assisting the
sick, underprivileged, and those in need, fostering a deeper connection and sense
of unity.

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 6. RELIGION GIVES PEOPLE A SENSE OF BELONGING
• For example, Sikhs practice
"Seva" or "selfless service,"
which strengthens their sense
of community and moral
upliftment by reaching out to
serve and uplift all of
humanity in devotion to their
god.

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NEGATIVE EFFECTS
OF RELIGION
 NEGATIVE EFFECTS OF RELIGION

Religion Affirms Religion Causes

Social Hierarchy Discrimination

Religion as an
Religion Triggers
Economic Tool for
Coonflicts and
Exploiting the
Fights
Masses

Religion Impedes Religion

Scientific Success Obstructs the Use
and Development of Reason
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 1. RELIGION AFFIRMS SOCIAL HIERARCHY
• Some religions reinforce social hierarchy,
often favoring men and perpetuating class
or gender discrimination and oppression.
• Confucianism emphasizes hierarchical
relations between rulers and subjects,
with rulers holding authority over
subjects.
• The traditional caste system in India
divides people into social classes with
specific roles, linking one's attainment of
moksha to their performance of duties
within their designated class.
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 2. RELIGION CAUSES DISCRIMINATION
• Religion can turn people against
themselves and others when they
refuse to tolerate different religious
ideologies, leading to fanaticism,
hatred, racism, and violence.
• Throughout history, religion has been
used to justify colonizers' forcible
occupation of territories.
• Religion can be a source of
discrimination based on race, religion,
age, or sex.

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 2. RELIGION CAUSES DISCRIMINATION
• In Islam, the practice of wearing the hijab is
criticized by some as a form of suppression
against Muslim women, perpetuating the
idea that women are temptations to be
avoided.
• Some religions claim exclusivity,
discriminating against other faiths by
asserting they are the only path to salvation.
• Certain religions discriminate against lower-
class individuals, considering them sinful
and unclean, similar to India's outcast or
pariah groups.
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 3. RELIGION TRIGGERS CONFLICTS AND FIGHTS
• Religion has been a historical driver of
conflict and war, leading to the loss of many
lives.
• Ongoing religious conflicts exist in various
regions, such as Palestine (Jews vs.
Muslims), Kashmir (Muslims vs. Hindus),
Sudan (Muslims vs. Christians and animists),
Sri Lanka (Sinhalese Buddhists vs. Tamil
Hindus), and Indonesia (Muslims vs.
Timorese Christians).
• These religious conflicts result in the waste
of resources and the loss of millions of lives.
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4. RELIGION AS AN ECONOMIC TOOL FOR EXPLOITING THE MASSES
• Karl Marx viewed religion as "the opium of the
masses," suggesting it serves as a form of social
control.
• Marx believed the bourgeoisie (ruling class) used
religion to keep the proletariat (working class) in check.
• He argued that religion justifies social inequality and
oppression by promoting acceptance of one's suffering
in exchange for rewards in the afterlife.
• According to Marx's conflict theory, abolishing religion
is necessary to free the masses from oppressive
conditions and challenge the status quo maintained by
the ruling class.
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5. RELIGION IMPEDES SCIENTIFIC SUCCESS AND DEVELOPMENT
• Historically, religion has sometimes hindered scientific progress, such as the belief
in a flat Earth and geocentric theories.
• Some religious moral teachings, like opposition to certain family planning
programs, are criticized by secular communities for impeding social development.
• Religion-based mortuary practices, such as Catholic Mass for cholera victims, have
clashed with public health and sanitation during disease outbreaks, potentially
contributing to their spread.
• Similarly, in the case of the Ebola virus in Africa, Muslim practices involving
washing the deceased's body have been seen as contributing to the virus's rapid
transmission.

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5. RELIGION IMPEDES SCIENTIFIC SUCCESS AND DEVELOPMENT
• The Catholic Church was once believed to have
taught that the Earth was flat and warned against
exploring distant places, as it was thought that one
could fall off the edge of the Earth. This belief
hindered geographical exploration and scientific
understanding of the Earth's shape.
• The Ptolemaic theory, which placed the Earth at
the center of the solar system, was widely
accepted in medieval Europe due to religious
influences. This geocentric view of the universe
discouraged the acceptance of heliocentrism,
Ptolemaic Theory
which posits that the sun is the center of the solar
system.
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5. RELIGION IMPEDES SCIENTIFIC SUCCESS AND DEVELOPMENT
• In the 19th century, during the
cholera outbreak in the Philippines,
the Catholic practice of bringing
cholera victims' bodies to the church
for a Mass was seen as contributing
to the rapid spread of the disease.
Liberal-minded individuals believed it
would be safer and more hygienic to
immediately bury the deceased
Photo shows firewagon use to disinfect villages.
instead of exposing many people to
the dead bodies as part of religious
rituals.
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5. RELIGION IMPEDES SCIENTIFIC SUCCESS AND DEVELOPMENT
• A similar dilemma arose during the Ebola virus outbreak in Africa. Muslim
traditions involving the washing of the deceased's body by relatives of the same
gender were considered a factor in the rapid spread of the virus, as Ebola can be
transmitted through direct contact with infected individuals.

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 6. RELIGION OBSTRUCTS THE USE OF REASON
• There is widespread questioning of the
applicability of ancient religious
doctrines to the needs of today and the
future, prompting the need for religion
to adapt to an ever-changing world.
• It is argued that religion should evolve
and replace inhumane practices with
more sensible ones, exemplified by the
ancient practice of trepanning, where
holes were bored in the skull for
exorcism, which is now considered
unthinkable in modern times.
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 SELF-IMMOLATION OF A BUDDHIST MONK IN VIETNAM
• In 1963, a Buddhist monk named Thich Quang
Duc self-immolated in Vietnam to protest
religious discrimination by the Roman Catholic
regime of Ngo Dinh Diem. Under Diem's rule,
Catholics received preferential treatment while
Buddhists faced restrictions. Prior to this,
Buddhist monks were killed during protests,
falsely blamed on communists. Thich Quang
Duc's self-immolation became a symbol of
protest, leading to civil disobedience and
ultimately contributing to the downfall of Diem's
government and his subsequent assassination.
This event had a significant impact on the course
of Vietnamese history.
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 WIDOW BURNING AMONG THE HINDUS IN INDIA
• Sati, the practice of a widow self-immolating on her husband's funeral pyre, originated in
India around 700 years ago, initially as a means for rajput women to avoid capture by
conquerors. Over time, it became a symbol of wifely devotion. The British outlawed sati
in 1829, but rare cases have continued to occur, such as one in 2006 when a Hindu
woman named Janakrani voluntarily self-immolated on her husband's funeral pyre in
Madhya Pradesh. This act was not forced upon her and was met with shock and
condemnation from the villagers.

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 THE INQUISITION
• The Inquisition, established by the Roman Catholic
Church around 1184, consisted of two main
phases: the Episcopal Inquisition from 1184 to the
1230s, followed by the Papal Inquisition from the
1230s onward. Its primary purpose was to combat
heresy, particularly in response to heretical
movements that had gained momentum in
Europe. Notably, Catharism, a dualist Christian
movement that posited the existence of both a
good and an evil god, and the Waldensians, a
Protestant Christian group advocating apostolic
poverty as a path to perfection, were prominent
targets of the Inquisition, especially in regions like
southern France and southern Italy.
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 THE GODHRA TRAIN INCIDENT IN 2002
• In February 2002, a tragic incident occurred when a train, the Sabarmati Express, was set
on fire near Godhra railway station in Gujarat, India. The fire resulted in the deaths of 59
people, mostly Hindu pilgrims returning from Ayodhya. A commission investigating the
incident later determined it was caused by a mob of 1000-2000 people, leading to the
conviction of 31 individuals.

• The incident was seen in the context of the Ayodhya dispute, which revolved around
access to a site revered by Hindus as the birthplace of Lord Rama. This dispute traces its
roots to allegations that Muslims had demolished a Hindu temple to build the Babri
mosque, which was destroyed in 1992 by radical Hindu activists during a political rally-
turned-riot.

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 THE GODHRA TRAIN INCIDENT IN 2002
2002 Godhra train burning case.

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GOODBYE CHILDREN!