Chua, Kirsteen

Cifra, Mikhail
IS220-Murray
RESEARCH OUTLINE:

Thesis Statement: Religion can provide social cohesion, morals and answers for existential
questions, but it can also destroy bonds and cause misunderstandings. A society can function
without religion as long as they observe humanity’s needs.

i. Islam
ii. Christianity
iii. Judaism
iv. Hinduism is considered as the world’s oldest religion, it doesn’t have a hierarchy
arrangement in terms of their priests/ religious representatives. They have a caste system that
arranges their followers. They believe in the concept of Truth, Dharma and Karma. They
perceive souls as both indestructible and conceivable, but they believe in the concept of
Reincarnation.
v. Although Buddhism compared with Hinduism, Buddhism doesn’t believe in the concept
of the caste system nor in a supreme being. They adhere to the four noble truths namely, Dukha,
Trishna, Nirvana and The eight fold path. Some would say that Buddhism can be considered as
an atheism. The followers of Buddhism aims to achieve enlightenment that would terminate their
suffering in life.

Conclusion:
Introduction:

The only thing constant in our world is change. Weather, day-to-day changes, rulers and
presidents and seasons all change. The only thing besides from change that is constant is the idea
of religion. Our ancestors ever since believed in deities or celestial beings, whom they worship
for agriculture, wars and a fulfilling afterlife. Religion for the most part has been a pillar in our
society, it shaped our way of thinking and our everyday lives. Religion is one reason as to how
our society is formed and still functioning harmoniously. It provides us social cohesion, a
standard for our morals and partially answers our questions about our existence. It has been
observed throughout history that religion is very significant in our civilization, its functions
includes: religion as an integrative force, creating morals of a certain community, social control,
provides rites of passage, provide emotional support, serves as a means to provide answers to
ultimate questions, serves as a source of identity, as psychotherapy, as an agent of social change
and lastly, controls sexuality(Mondal). Religion provides social cohesion that can be observed
through some teachings of the church (e.g. Respecting parents and women, love, service ,and
discipline.) those are some of the teachings in the church that can lead to the perpetuation of
society. Religion teaches us morals, through their doctrines/ preaches in religious sites, they
teach the young to value and respect their parents as well as the elderly, religion teaches children
the concept of right and wrong that leads to the construction of morals of an individual. Religion
gives us a sense of rational thinking about death, reincarnation and the idea of heaven,
purgatory ,and hell. Religion has been a big part in our society, through religion we help people
cope with their personal problems in the form of the doctrines, preaches, religious group studies
and many more. Through religion, we reach out to people who are having trouble in their life in
financial, spiritual and personal aspects. Although religion is highly qualified to bring people
together and set moral rules, it can also aid in clashing people. As we know there are numerous
kinds of religion. In this paper 5 main religions will be mentioned, namely, Islam, Christianity,
Judaism, Hinduism and lastly, Buddhism. Even though all of those are classified as religions,
they have different values and different outlook in life. Those differences are sometimes the root
of misunderstandings among men that could lead to moral conflicts and consequently some form
of religious warcrafts. Some philosophers (e.g Karl Marx, Sumner, Gilin and Gilin) argue that
religion is the opium of men, it is used to pacify less powerful people in the society, meaning that
it can serve as a symbol of oppression. In some cases Religion can provide social cohesion,
morals and answers for existential questions, but it can also destroy bonds and cause
misunderstandings.

Islam:

Christianity:

Judaism:
Hinduism:

Hinduism according to scholars is the world’s oldest religion. (History.com Editors,

2019).Some people who believe in a different religion might think that Hinduism is a religion
that’s complex. In all honestly, Hinduism doesn’t follow anything that is comparable to the Ten
Commandments. They don’t have a specific systematic approach in teaching their values, but
they believe in a Supreme Being and adhere to certain concepts such as Truth, Dharma, and
Karma, they also believe in the authority of the Vedas(The Rig Veda, The Samaveda, Yajurveda,
and Atharvaveda), which serves as their sacred scripture.(Srinivasan, 2011). This religion was
originated in India, and unlike Christianity, Islam, Judaism and Buddhism, Hinduism has no
founder nor founding date. Hinduism also doesn’t have a hierarchy of priest and no
organizational structure, they only have a caste system for their believers. There are also no
standard sacraments or rites. Hindus also doesn’t aim on converting people to their religion, they
believe that other religions are as valid as theirs. It is a compilation of numerous traditions and
philosophies. They believe that truth is eternal, only some people express it in different ways.
Dharma is the concept of righteousness, moral law and duty, that every Hindi should strive for,
while karma is the actions that were done in the previous life, which could determine where the
atman would reside in after transmigration( transfer of soul to another body). Hindus believe
that souls are not created nor destroyed, they believe that souls are immortal and each soul’s goal
is to achieve Moshka which is liberation, it is the soul’s release from the cycle of life and death
and joins with Brahman.

Buddhism:

Buddhism and Hinduism are the two religions that are highly similar to each other, they only
differ in the idea of believing in the caste system, which Buddhism rejects. Buddhism was
founded by Siddhartha Gautama (Buddha/ Enlightened one) more than 2500 years ago in India.
It has been prominent in both Easth and Southeast Asia. (History.com Editors, 2019). The basic
doctrines of early Buddhism includes the four noble truths namely dukkha, trishna, nirvana ,and
lastly the eight fold path. Dukhka implies that existing is suffering. Trishna is the cause of
suffering, Nirvana( enlightenment) is the cessation of suffering. Lastly, the eight fold path (right
understanding, right thought, right speech, right action, right livelihood, right effort, right
mindfulness and right concentration) is the path to the cessation of suffering. (The Columbia
Electronic Encyclopedia , 2012). In Buddhism, followers of this religion doesn’t acknowledge a
supreme being or deity, but it does not necessarily imply that they are atheist. They focus on
obtaining enlightenment, which is a state of inner peace and wisdom. The path towards
enlightenment is through utilizing morality, meditation and wisdom. Scholars often don’t count
Buddhism as a religion, rather it is seen as a way or life or a spiritual tradition. There are three
types of Buddhism namely, Theravada, Mahayana and Tibetan. Their only difference is their
locations. Although it has some similarities with Hinduism, in Buddhism, everything is
perceived as impermanent. (Buddhist views of human nature, 2016).
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