Religion is important in the sense that it promotes discipline and focus among the people. Religion is an important aspect of human life as it gives them a sense of belonging and provides answers to many of the lives questions. By believing that there is a supreme being behind every happening, a person is able to appreciate and accept life. This hence gives people a reason to face another day with the full confidence that all their activities are being accounted. It also instills discipline, which is necessary for interaction and peace in the community. Religion can therefore be considered to be a unifying factor among communities.
Maher has highlighted certain aspects of religion that he finds ironic and unreasonable. In his efforts to shed light on the issues, he has exaggerated points that seem to be making religion a myth that will never be unveiled (Bell, 52). For instance, he interviews religious leaders, not with the intentions of gathering information but rather to highlight some of the weaknesses displayed by the religion. It is also rather unfortunate that he uses the information of people who found religion in existence rather than condemning the real foundations. Even though religion is practiced by people, the very founders are non-existence and are hence not answerable to the challenges displayed by it. Those who practice it are mainly ambassadors who are obliged by their faith and conscience.
Religion is all about faith and conscience this hence defines why people change from one religion to the other. Identifying a false conscious aspect of religion happens when an individual seeks more than just spiritual satisfaction. In many cases, people opt to adapt to a religious belief just because of influence or cohesion. They may also do so because of the material gains they are promised rather than the spiritual satisfaction (Murphy, 94). In such instances, a person will feel the urge if leaving the religion especially when they realize that they are not gaining materially. They may also tend to be attracted to a religion where the followers are having more gains that are material. When it comes to religion, it is more about the spiritual benefit rather than the material. This is the main aspect that distinguishes true followers from false consciousness.
Having global religions posses a great challenge to people who practice different cultures. Religion is meant to be a unifying factor; this implies that Christians across the world are supposed to display similar behaviors and characters. However, this has not been possible especially when you consider the different interpretations of religious books. In the efforts of making religion global, religious manuscripts had to be translated from their original versions to ore acceptable one. In the process, their original meaning was interfered. There was also need to make it more practical which meant that some texts to be diluted and exaggerated. This has therefore made religion to have little meaning to those who practice it.
Religion is all about faith; this is a voluntary decision that needs to be taken by a person who understands what they are doing. Comparing this to a political perspective, we realize that the welfare of the people is an aspect that should be based on facts rather than belief. Moreover, people in the same country are governed by the same law yet practice different religions. This therefore implies that elevating religion may raise questions on which religion is superior. This re could make some people feel marginalized and hence left out of national building. For example, the current terrorist wars that America is fighting are more religious than they are economically. All this could be avoided if religion was completely kept out of politics.
Maher has exaggerated a lot on religious aspects where he identifies weakness and fails to recognize other important roles that are being played by religion (Ruba, 68). It is clear that he was mainly aimed at criticizing religion rather than appreciating it. Despite the fact that some of religion remain to be a myth and beyond human comprehension, there are many aspects of discipline and morality that religion emphasizes on. When strictly followed, the government will not have to spend a lot in instilling law and order. Maher has displayed religion to be unreasonable and unpractical, which is very wrong.
When it comes to capitalism, religion and culture, loyalty, morality and commitment still holds them together. These are the basic principles that are needed for a society to stand. There is need to have a strong focus that is birthed by loyalty to build a strong society. Behind every strong society, there is the aspect of commitment because f the cultural or religious values that they follow. Such aspects define a society and there are consequences for the defaulters (Ebert, 105). This hence motivates a person to stay focused knowing that they are bound by some laws.
It is clear that most of the world conflicts have its roots on religion. However, it is not just religion that is responsible for such trends but rather the rivalry displayed by the believers. The fact that each religion believes to be more superior and original to the other makes them demand more. All this is driven by greed rather than faith. There is no religion that encourages people to fight for material gains; they rather advocate for peace and reconciliation an aspect not being observed by conflicting nations. It is hence not religion that is responsible for the conflicts but the selfish nature of humans who use religion to justify their actions.
Works cited
Bell, Cherie. Brave Soul: A Spiritual Memoi. New York: iUniverse, 2011.
Ebert, Roger. Roger Ebert's Movie Yearbook 2012. California: Andrews McMeel Publishing,
2011.
Murphy, Andrew. The Blackwell Companion to Religion and Violence. London: John Wiley &
Sons, 2011.
Ruba, Rubens. A Reasonable Faith: Can You Be Smart and Believe in the Bible, God, and Faith?
New York: WestBow Press, 2011.
