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Does Religion unite or Divide?
Does Religion Unite or Divide?
Religion refers to beliefs about god, rituals, rules on human behaviour and the character
that follows the same. There are so many religions in the world today. Some mainstream
religions have a large following, while others are practised only by a few individuals. Religions
are diverse in their beliefs about Deities. Some, like Christianity and Islam, are monotheistic,
meaning they believe in one god. The majority of them are polytheistic. Meaning there is more
than one god who is revered. (Tanase,2016). Religion can therefore unite because it gives a sense
of moral values transcending race, class and economic status. Religion also divides in the sense
that it often gives the members a sense that they are better than the people who are not of the
same faith as them this can cause hostility.
Religion unites in several ways. Firstly, religion is responsible for spelling out the
morality and ethics that members or believers should abide by. These morality codes often
transcend any divisions that people may have within themselves. For example, Most Christians
believe that the ten commandments were given by godGod, and believers must obey them. The
ten commandments require that every Christian, regardless of age, nationality, ethnicity, or
gender, should have to abide by them. (Tanase,2016). So the existence of the moral code, God
God, the giver of the moral code, unites the Christians for something higher than themselves.
Morality and ethics have the power to divide people who are under the same religion. For
example, the Catholic Church is pro-life. That is, they believe that abortion is a sin. A section of
other Christians is pro-life. The belief that a person can choose what happens to their bodies.
These differences in interpreting moral codes and ethics often divide people within the same
religion. (Tanase,2016).
Secondly, how religion interacts with society can either cause unity or division. In most
religions, people are encouraged to love others and be kind and helpful to them. When believers
actively practice these ideals, it often creates unity among the believers and the non-believers.
Islam, for example, teaches that believers should be instruments of spreading love and kindness
towards other people, fostering unity among believers. However, Islam is also exclusivist. This
means that Islam counsels against befriending non-believers. The Islamic community may
sometimes see themselves as separate and superior to others who do not believe.(An-Nisa’4:138-
139) This is the same case with Christianity. While the bible urges Christians to welcome
strangers, be kind to them and help them materially. It forbids them from befriending or entering
into any contractual agreement with them.(Psalms 1:1, Amos 3;3) This sense of superiority
divides more than it unites. (Tanase,2016).
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References
Tanase, L. (2016). Do modern Religions unite or divide our societies?.;Наукові записки
Інституту політичних і етнонаціональних досліджень ім. ІФ Кураса НАН
України, (3-4), 20-28.
King James Bible. (2017). King James Bible Online.;https://www.kingjamesbibleonline.org/
Mohammed Marmaduke Pickthall. (1975). The holy Quran. Islamabad :Shalimar
Recording Co. Ltd.,
