...For the longest time, religion has played a big role in society. Religion’s main role today is to guide the followers through life influencing their world views, but there is some problems when it comes to religion and politics. The problem has carried on through the ages. Should they coexist or should they each stand individually in society today. When defining religion, people think of traditions and rituals that had impressed beyond them by their family and their older generations. Politics isn’t something that an individual is taught or learned, its experience that they have got through either having hands on issues or through experiences they have encountered. People tend to lean towards the form of government that best suites them or benefits their life style in which they are living or want to live. If an individual lived a life of poverty, that individual may lean more towards a society of equality and shared wealth where class lines are more consolidated to the people in need. A staggering 82 percent of the American population identifies with one religion or another. A religious sentiment is so ingrained in society that its effects cannot help but be seen in the political arena. A religious belief is either worn as a proud demarcation of their personal moral standing and virtuous character. Due to the American party system of election, certain polarities of religious and moral tendencies between democrats and republicans have risen out of the people’s...
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...It is not only unrealistic to believe that religion and politics can or should be separate but it has proven to be exactly what the majority population desires. Ülker, Ö, (2013), stated, “Some global level developments –such as the secularization experience of the USA, the Iranian Revolution, the effective role of religion in the experience of democratization in the Latin America, the rise of religious nationalisms opposed to secular nationalisms, the rise of Christian Right- has revealed that religion has no intention of leaving the public sphere, on the contrary its intention is to take an effective role in the construction of the public space.” As time has progressed through the many ages of mankind there has been one constant, religious influence. The origin of religion is equated to the origin of civilization. The conflict of interest that has been ethically lingering throughout history is the issue of religion’s influence in Politics. In “Religion and the US Presidency: Politics, the Media, and Religious Identity,” Michelle A. Gonzales writes about how John F. Kennedy was worried about his faith and the Roman Catholic background because he feared the population would worry that the Vatican would have an influence in American politics. He then realized that a candidate’s religious background has a large impact on the credibility and support he or she will receive from the population. This has shown many leaders that people will support a political candidate who shares a...
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...Indian Politics and Politicians Indian Politics refers to the activities of the political parties associated with the governance of India as a country. A Politician is person who is professionally involved in politics. It is to be said politics is the art and technique of government. Every idea contains an intention, similarly political idea also contains intention for implementation, but recently people observe negative sense. Introduction to Indian Politics Mahatma Gandhi stated regarding the place of ethics in politics. He told that politics without ethics and principles were not desirable. The principles are the moral principles. According to his philosophy political, life should be governed by truth, morality and self-purification. Gandhiji’s politics were bound up with truth and non-violence. He also prescribed that country should concern with the morals of her leaders. Devotion to truth was drawn by him to half corruption. He had no intention to indulge the religious matter. He interpreted that religious matter is a death-trap because it kills the soul. He also expressed that “For me there is no politics without religion, not the religion of the superstitions or the blind religion that hates and fights, but the universal religion of toleration”. Roles and responsibilities of Politicians The role of the Politicians is to deal with national issues and are driving the country in full gear. It is the duty of the Politicians to check Corruption, nepotism, crisis in...
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...another course (and will not be) either in whole or substantial part. TYPE NAME AND DATE HERE: Power is defined as; a person, group, or nation having great influence or control over others; the might of a nation, political organization, or similar group and; forcefulness; effectiveness (Inc., 2011) . A humanist is defined as one who is concerned with the interests and welfare of humans (Inc., 2011). Niccolo’ Machiavelli sought after the power of politics because; he was constantly explaining to individual how to get power and how to hold on to it. He thought,” humanists suppose to believe that individual only grows to maturity, both intellectually and morally through participation in life of the state’ (Machiavelli, 1531, revised 1975, 1981, 1995, 1999). Everyone has their own opinions about him, and his way of life; depending on whom you speak with. His life has some examples and lessons he learn in his life. Through my paper, I intend to examine his ideas on power in politics, morality, and religion based on his political writings and life experiences. Niccolo’ Machiavelli was born on May 3, 1469 to a Bernardo and Bartolomea. They had two other daughters and a son. He was taught grammar, and Latin. Machiavelli was trained young; by a Latin teacher named...
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...Religion and Politics and the effect of religion in America For a virtuous instance of how religion affects politics in our current world we need not look very distant but rather look around you. The influence of Catholicism on Latin American politics, and the role religion plays on Middle Eastern politics have had a profound affect in those related societies. After examining the effects of religion into the above mentioned societies it is clear that the introduction of religion into politics has proven to be suppressive and counterproductive to most third world countries, and various subcultures in first world countries. A very well known writer and scholar on the history of Egypt, Budge, E. A. Wallis, "Egyptian Religion and Society: Egyptian Ideas of the Future Life (Library of the Mystic Arts)". Citadel Press. August 1, 1991. Wrote, “Most scholars have concluded that, in later times at least, there was no close personal tie between the individual Egyptian and the gods, that the gods remained aloof, that their relationship to humans was indirect, communicated to him by means of the king”. We must remember that there was no established book or set of teachings, as the Bible or the Qur'an, and few prescribed conditions of behavior or conduct. Humans were guided essentially by human wisdom and trusted in their belief in the goodness of the gods and of their divine son, the king. An important concept in Egyptian life was the idea of justice. Although the Egyptian was entirely...
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...about purpose and nature that show basic institutions of politics. This matter relates back to liberty, which correlates with the desires of religion and government from the puritans. In the 3 documents mentioned earlier, you can see that liberty is prevalent in all of them. The Declaration of Independence shows us this desire of sovereignty in the first sentence by stating “When in the course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another, and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature’s God entitle them” (151). This consistency of these symbols started with the puritans and the Mayflower compact, which sets a standard of laws being for the general good. With God as a witness to this compact, a violation is very serious, and being a symbol of deliberative self governing. “In the presence of God, and one another, covenant and combine ourselves together into a civil body politic” (73) which is showing that this is the start of using their own liberty, and not being commanded by someone else. The Mayflower Compact is the start of this desire to have laws that are best for the general good. They have a concept that the individual does not exist, but the universal good of the colony is what is most important. This allows them to create their own just and equal laws, without the command...
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...CHAPTER ONE 1.1. INTRODUCTION The notion of religion suggests an attempt by man common thread to all the above perspectives, however, is to work out a relationship between humans and a super- that they all link religion to man’s physical and social ordinate or supernatural being. It was borne out of man’s environment. To this extent, it could be argued that, there endeavour to understand the supernatural in the context is largely an interaction between religion and the society of the world he lives in. The need for political stability in Nigeria cannot be overemphasized. Indeed, all segments of the Nigerian society are interested in the political future of the nation. However, this interest is approached from various dimensions. A major interest in the Nigerian polity is the relationship between religion and politics. The Nigerian society is religiously pluralized and this significantly influences political decisions and policies of the nation. On the other hand, there are people who hold the strong opinion that this relationship should not be stressed and that religion and politics should be allowed to operate separately without one interfering with the other. Those who hold this view argued essentially from the position that religion mixed politics is mostly like to imbibe various vices associated with politics. Also that politics may not be properly and dispassionately played if mixed with religion. 1.2. DEFINITION OF TERMS For a better appreciation of the...
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...Religion and Its Persuasion on U.S. Politics Rob Farmer Hodges University, Fort Myers, Florida HUM2030-OL-SU15 Dr. William Cooney August 22, 2015 Religion and Its Persuasion on U.S. Politics Religion in the United States is significant not only due to the high percentage of Americans who identify themselves with a specific religion, but the population’s large number of widely diverse beliefs. Ultimately, the United States is a nation bound on a people of immigrants, many of whom originally fled their home countries for the sake of religious freedom, and as such, laws are carefully engineered to safeguard those freedoms. Consider the formative era of our nation and to America’s culture and thinking at the time the US and the Constitution were formed. The leaders of the various colonies, states and ultimately the Founding Fathers themselves were steeped in biblical thinking. They drew examples from the Bible, and looked for confirmation of their ideas for government in scripture. Biblical absolutes enshrined into law offered a consensus that meant freedom without chaos. As stated in the Declaration of Independence, there exists “unalienable rights” of men. Rights were unalienable because they were provided by God. This was important because in most societies up until that time, and even in some countries today, rights are only conferred by whomever is in power at the time. An important aspect of our system of government is that it is based on the Rule of Law. This concept...
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...religion permeates every aspect of life, from common-place daily chores to education and politics.” No part of Indian life exists without the presence and influence of religion. Over ninety percent of the Indian population state that religion plays an extremely important role in their lives. India is the founding place of four major religions; which are Buddhism, Jainism, Sikhism and Hinduism, and the country has remained religious even during and following modernization. The religions practiced may have shifted a bit, nevertheless, the country remains deeply religious. Among all aspects of Indian life, religion also plays an important role in the politics of India. A political party’s support greatly depends upon the religion the group acknowledges. The two main religions practiced in India are Hinduism and Islam and each religion has parties from whom support is given. Often political support rallies can become so animated that the participants have the need to take action against other religious and political groups. The purpose of this paper is to highlight religion and the caste system of India and explain its impact on Indian political structure and lifestyles. Of the two religions, Hinduism is overwhelmingly more popular. Eighty-two percent of the Indian population practices it. (asianinfo.org) The Hindu lifestyle and belief system focus mainly on the concept of karma and reincarnation. Samsara is a continued cycle of ongoing rebirths. One’s ultimate...
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...The modern relationship between politics and religion can be described as “closer than ever”. Pope Francis recently spoke to congress in a joined House and Senate meeting while on his mission trip from the Vatican. This was Pope Francis first trip to The United States as Pope. The Pope spoke of issues that both the Republican political party and the Democratic political party have made their parties’ main issues and causes. However, hot topics of the republican base such as; abortion and same-sex marriage received scant mentions in the Pope's short address (Burke, 2015). Instead Pope Francis focused on immigration, the death penalty, racial injustice, the weapons trade, and poverty all items that the Democratic Party has stated as their cause or issue. With Pope Francis’s speech to lawmakers, he became the first pope to address a joint meeting of Congress which is a milestone in the journey of the Roman Catholic Church in the United States. “Not long ago, the prospect of the head of the Catholic Church addressing Congress would have been unthinkable. Catholics in politics were a source of suspicion and a subject of slander for generations. Today, the pendulum has swung. Nearly one in three members of the Congress that Francis addressed are Catholic” (Baker & Yardly, 2015). Another example of politics and religion that have joined forces is Kim Davis, the clerk of Rowan County, Kentucky. As the website, CNN.com states; “She stands at the crossroads of a controversy between...
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...SOC 105 01: RELIGION AND SOCIETY Spring 2015 / Tuesdays and Thursdays 9:35 A.M. – 11:00 A.M. Room: BROWER HALL 203 Instructor: Konstantinos Ardavanis Email: Konstantinos.ardavanis@hofstra.edu Office Hours: Tuesdays 11:00 A.M. – 12:00 P.M. COURSE DESCRIPTION This course is designed to help you learn about the Sociology of Religion, with special attention paid to contemporary issues in religion and society in the United States. This course will set out to explore the various rituals, values, and customs that a society embraces, and through this, find the hidden meaning behind the cultural knowledge that these values, rituals and customs provide. While people use these values, rituals, and customs to interpret the world around them, it will be our job to discuss the implications and unconscious assumptions that these interpretations provide using a number of qualitative and quantitative research methodologies. TEXTS AND READINGS REQUIRED • Sociology of Religion: Contemporary Developments (2nd edition) by Kevin J. Christiano, William H. Swatos Jr., and Peter Kivisto, ISBN 978-0-7425-6111-3 • Additional readings to be posted to Blackboard SUGGESTED • Durkheim, Emile. 1965. Elementary Forms of the Religious Life. New York: Free Press. • Marx, Karl and Frederich Engels. 1978. "The Communist Manifesto" and “the German Ideology,” in The Marx-Engels Reader. Ed. Robert Tucker. New York: W.W. Norton. • Weber, Max. 1958. The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit...
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...Europe becomes increasingly open, and its internal makeup begins to change, an important light has been shone on the internal identity politics of a swiftly changing continent. As the EU adapts its policy, borders, and even membership, the internal cleavages become increasingly pronounced. None more so than relations with European Muslims. This paper will examine identity politics as it relates to European civilization formation, looking at how Muslim political aspirations compare with those of other minority groups, as well as the changing face of Muslim political organizations and their role in changing perceptions. In determining the extent of Islamic challenges in Europe, it is important to understand how Muslim desires for identity recognition and respect compare to similar desires by other minority groups, as well as what constitutes equality in the contemporary epoch. Attitudes towards race and identity have developed beyond a mere colour blindness, towards a what has been termed “positive racial explicitness,” that is, taking pride in previously marginalized identities or in creating new identities as “a way of negotiating a position of equality and dignity” in today’s world. This hasn’t been limited to ethnic minorities either, but can be viewed in the identity politics of LGBT and feminist movements, especially in places where class politics have declined in salience. What is it that these movements expect and aim for? Iris Young described the ideal of equality as not simply...
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...The colonial period was the start of a new world. And people met the Native Americans for the first time. Religion influenced literature because the type of people that went to the new world wanted to have their freedom, which continued to be a trend. Also politics had a role in influencing literature . First off, religion had a big influence on literature because religion was such a big part of life. To start, the puritans were a big part the people that first came to America. they went over to try and get away from being prosecuted for their religion. “Puritans believed that it was necessary to be in a covenant relationship with God in order to redeem one from one’s sinful condition, that God had chosen to reveal salvation through preaching, and that the Holy Spirit was the energizing instrument of salvation” (britannica, puritans). The Puritans went to the new world to escape the judgement and persecution they experienced in England. They wanted freedom. Next, Rationalist were the other big group in the new colonies. they were different from the puritans, but were still important. “the view that regards reason as the...
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...What is the role of faith and religion in the liberal political culture of the United States where citizens in theory play a significant role in the formulation of public policies? Some would argue that the United States is a Christian nation, and as such, faith and religion has a central place at the messy table of politics. Moreover, some would argue that the United States is an exceptional nation because of the blessing of having enlightened founders. In addition, American democratic principles are universal, thus religious followers, clergy and institutions ought to be directly involved in political affairs. Others would caution too heavy of a reliance on faith and religion in politics, the manipulation of Christian symbols and beliefs by religious leaders as well as civic leaders for political gain should be a warning to liberals. Moral panics, President Kennedy having to defend his religious faith to potential voters, the symbolic role of “cheap grace” are illustrative of the nightmarish influence of religion on American political culture. Finally, the messianic impulse that often drives American politics has the potential of destroying the fabric of the nation. What do you think? Do people of faith have to leave their religion at the door when entering public life? Everyone knows that it is impolite to argue religion or politics with strangers and dangerous to do so with friends. These topics are treated with such delicacy because they evoke strong passions;...
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...Religious Tendencies Religion, one little word that can spark the largest argument that one has ever heard. But what is religion? Religion is the act of believing in a higher deity or deities that can control the cosmos, or not believing. It is the way society is grouped based on who they suppose controls life. For example in the Christian religion people believe in the holy trinity. Over the decades society has evolved and with the advancement of science and math some aspects of religion have been disproved. Yet though all decades of time religion has survived and is still a predominate part of our society. Religion has been able to survive over generations of scientific and mathematical advancement for many different reasons; its place in our history, politics, human necessity, and belief. First and foremost, Religion has always been predominating in our history. When our Neanderthal ancestors were first beginning to civilize, they needed a way to explain why things happened a certain way. They had no or very little math and science. So in order to explain the sun rising and falling without fail they came up with a god or gods. They used these religious deities to explain the cosmos. Why everything happens and why. This is how the Greeks came to believe in Zeus, Hades, and Athena. As Human being we have a thirst to know why things happen. In the past without the science and technology we have today we had no way of knowing that the Aztec god Tlaloc didn’t bring the rain...
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