While there may be rational and ethical objections to killing a nearly fully developed fetus, there are none that pertain logically to terminating a pregnancy that is only hours old, much less for preventing a pregnancy that has not even occurred. Religious beliefs and values may be perfect justifications for such decisions on a personal level; however, they cannot ever be allowed to impose those values on others who may not share those particular religious beliefs. The United States was founded largely on the concept of religious freedom by those who rejected the notion that the government should be able to dictate personal religious beliefs. The argument that religious freedom is meant only in the narrowest sense as pertains to the actual assignment of religion by the state is weak. If religious freedom meant only that the state could not require a specific religion, that would still allow the state to require some of an earlier period that offend religious freedom. For example, U.S. currency should not have references to any "God" because that violates the religious freedom of atheists. Similarly, there is no reason that atheists should not be able to purchase alcohol on Sunday just because that happens to be the religious Sabbath of Christians any more than Christians should have to be limited in their freedoms on Saturdays just because other religious faiths happen to celebrate their Sabbath on Saturday. Religious freedom should protect the right to practice any religion and to practice no religion and it should never allow any religious beliefs to be imposed in any way on others.
Religion and Society Religion is defined as an organized collection of belief systems, views about the universe, or cultural systems that humans use to relate spiritual and moral values to their lives. Many religions have symbols, traditions, and histories that explain the origin of life, the way the universe works, and the moral, ethical and legal ways to organize human life (De Vries, ed., 2008). While the exact origin of religion
Personal Social Status Social status can be defined as the reference, prestige, or honor ascribed to an individual's personality or position in society. It could be attained by virtue of family or racial background; or through innate ability or life achievements. Some other factors that determine one's social status include gender, occupation, religion, lifestyle, and education. While culture is usually defined as a way of life of a group of people within
This led him to start the second major religion in Germany -Protestantism. This makes it clear that there were views of religion being also something other than pure belief in a path to reach God even in those days. The strength of the Protestants increased in North Baden and northeast Bavaria, and was not at a very high level till Germany was unified under Prussian leadership in 1871. The leaders
Religion as a Social Phenomenon Religion serves both a personal and a political function. As a personal phenomenon, religion can provide psychological and emotional sustenance, mitigate grief, and provide solace in the midst of existential crises. Similarly, religion can help people to resolve complex questions related to the nature of transcendental experiences ranging from love and sexuality to the sublimity of nature. We all have a sense of "wonder" that religion
Religion Qualifications of the divine and the nature of supreme reality are core concepts of any religious tradition. Hinduism and Buddhism conceptualize the divine and the nature of reality in complementary yet distinct ways. Buddhism emerged from Hinduism, in a manner not wholly unlike the way Christianity emerged from Judaism. Therefore, there are several core similarities in the cosmologies and the conceptualizations of divine reality between these two faiths. Moreover, the
Religion In spite of the conflicts between the world's great monotheistic faiths, Zoroastrianism, Judaism, Christianity, and Islam share much in common. Each of these religions was born in the Middle East, and each of these religions values sacred texts as being important ways for human beings to receive the word and knowledge of God. As monotheistic religions, Zoroastrianism, Judaism, Christianity, and Islam eschew idol worship or the worship of Gods that
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