Contemporary issues in religion

With the growth of human civilization, the need for consolidating social beliefs became necessary. One of the methods devised by man to unite and strengthen human feelings was by setting up a structured belief system. This belief system slowly manifested itself in the form of religion. Since ancient times' man prayed to the forces of Nature thinking these to be a demonstration of divine love or anger. The Greeks had a pantheon of gods, each being endowed with the power to control a particular force of Nature. For example, Zeus, the king of gods, was also the God of thunder, while Apollo was the sun god, and Athena was the goddess of intelligence. Similarly, there was a pantheon of gods created by the early Hindus where Indra was the supreme God, and like Zeus, he wielded the thunder as his weapon. Thus, whatever was inexplicable to man was considered to be an act of God. However, as man progressed, his thinking styles changed. 

The most significant change in the thinking style of man was reflected in his religious beliefs. As religion itself became more complex, Man saw the birth of great teachers like Gautama Buddha, Jesus Christ, Prophet Mohammed, who gave the modern interpretation of religion. This led to the growth of five main religions based on demographics, and these are Christianity, Buddhism, Islam, and Hinduism. Some of the modern-day issues that these religions have to tackle and which are also tackled by cheap assignment writing service are as follows. These companies provide custom essay writing services and covers the following topics:

Human rights

The right to survive with dignity is a right guaranteed by law. However, through the ages, man has witnessed discrimination based on religion, caste, color, and creed. With the advent of strict religious orders, people began to discriminate against followers of ethnic, religious laws or minority religions. One of the most prominent examples of this is the Holocaust, where millions of Jews were persecuted because they followed the ancient religion of Judaism. Post World War II addressing the idea of human rights, became the central point of argument amongst religious leaders and followers of various faiths. The right to pursue and practice one's religion without the fear of persecution also became a part of theological discussions. Religious tolerance became an integral part of the human rights movement. Human rights are guaranteed by law and hence, cannot be subverted by religion. However, even today, religious minorities and ethnic tribes are persecuted across the world. Nevertheless, these acts are always criticized by individuals, social scientists, and thinkers across the globe. It has thus become essential for religions nowadays to become more tolerant and modern.

Non-advocating violence and helping people to pursue good deeds

Religions primarily teach peace and tolerance. For example, in the Bible, there are many sayings like 'Love thy neighbor' or 'Turn away from evil and do good; seek peace and pursue it' are all indicative of living peacefully. However, followers of most religions advocate violence and consider that establishing religious supremacy is embedded in spiritual teachings. It is a growing issue that most religious leaders have to grapple with nowadays. The establishment of religious power has even led to acts of terrorism and the killing of thousands of innocent men, women, and children. Sometimes the victims of religious violence are unaware as to why they are being persecuted. However, people tend to forget that the cornerstone of all religions is peace, concord, amity, and non-violence. Be it the teachings of Gautama Buddha or Jesus Christ; violence is never advocated. The discussions carried out by most of these religions are about non-violence, helping the poor and underprivileged people, and setting up a peaceful world. The moral center of most religions is about propagating peace and non-advocating violence. However, as beliefs became modernized, people started using these methods of fulfilling their desires. Often religious teachings are bent, broken, and twisted to fulfill the needs of few. Religion is used as a bait to enthuse the youth to do acts of violence. Since youngsters are the most impressionable people with personal agendas often instigate the youth on religious grounds to do acts of violence. This is an issue that most of the modern-day spiritual teachers have to grapple with and provide suitable answers. There is a need to make religions modern, contemporary, but at the same time staying faithful to the quintessential teachings of most religions, i.e., propagation of peace and rejection of violence.

Combining religion with science

Religion has always tried to explain the beginning of life and creation as acts of God. However, science explains creation with the help of the Laws of Nature, Physics, and Biology. Thus, for a long time, Science and Religion have been antagonistic towards each other. However, most religions nowadays are slowly accepting scientific laws and incorporating these in religious teachings. For example, the creation of life on earth has been categorically established as being the act of Nature by science. Life on earth started as single-celled creatures, which evolved into multicellular organisms. Through millions of years of evolution, these multicellular organisms became amphibians, mammals, and finally, man. Paleontological evidence can trace the origin of life and the development of man on earth. Ancient religion tried to maintain its supremacy by rejecting these facts. But modern-day religion has begun incorporating scientific facts within the main body of religious teachings. However, this incorporation of scientific facts into religion needs to be done slowly and steadily. Religious leaders cannot reject scientific facts, nor can they deny the existence of God. Thus, this is one of the significant issues faced by religions nowadays, i.e., the smooth transition from an ancient form of belief to a modern one that makes religion acceptable to the contemporary mindset. 

Thus, present-day religious teachings have undergone significant changes since the time religions were started by their respective spiritual teachers. It has become essential for religions to re-evaluate the instructions so that these become acceptable by the present generations. This alone will ensure that religious beliefs remain faithful to their central teachings of non-violence, tolerance, and charity.