Why should religion matter? Here are seven reasons I think religion matters:
1. Hope: Why not be hopeful? In the absence of final and irrefutable evidence to rule out religion, why not be hopeful that there is something beyond this life? Most people would like to be hopeful; but they don’t want to be misled or deluded. Hope still matters.
2. Morality: Religion can act like a moral compass and gives us spiritual guidance through life. People like Gandhi, Mother Teresa, and Martin Luther King Jr. have been inspirations to many. Religion can offer us important ideas about what is right and wrong; thus having a very personal impact.
3. Politics: Religion makes a political impact. The 9/11 terror attacks showed religion’s political impact in the worst way. The Civil Rights Movement showed religion’s impact in a positive way. Either way, religion can and does have an important political impact.
4. Humanity: Whether religion may be “capital T” True or not, what do religious beliefs say about us? By studying religious belief, we may learn very important things about human nature. To reflect back on the moral reason, we may learn the difference of being humane, and simply inhuman.
5. Cosmic: Einstein once famously commented that he wanted to “know God’s thoughts” and figure out the universe. In our lives, we also demand explanations for why we are here – what made Earth, and the cosmos? Did it evolve? Or was it created? This is the cosmic reason.
6. Comic: Whether religion is true or not, a lot of people have made fun of it! The jokes may be revealing about the errors of religion, or some may feel they are insulting. George Carlin, Bill Mahar, Lewis Black, Steve Carrel in “Evan Almighty”, Ricky Gervais in “the Invention of Lying”, and of course Monty Python all poke fun at religion. Are their jokes funny, or did they go too far?
7. Imagination: Religion seems to work better with imagination. We imagine in order to fill in parts of life that are mysterious, or very hard to understand. Imagination helps us give life and meaning to the world we live in and may work well with a hopeful mind. Of course, we should not let our imagination run away recklessly, but I wouldn't exclude it entirely either.
Those are 7 Reasons Why Religion matters. No doubt there are many others, but I hope that give you a brief explanation of why the Meaning of Religion certainly matters.
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