Factors That Influence Religious Belief - Essay Example

Factors That Influence Religious Belief If one takes a close look at the social environment, one will be able to point out a considerable number of differences between it as well as any other group with is formed by the living creatures. It is true that such abilities as to generate verbal interaction are characteristic to our kind, one would make no mistake suggesting to highly developed spiritual dimension of our personality is what allows us to stand out. This paper will examine a number of factors that are known to influence the development of religious belief of a person or have a negative affect on it. To begin with, it would be important to model a situation which contributed to a formation of the religious belief from the early childhood. For example, the Christian children are baptized after they are born. It is quite natural that this ritual will have a considerable influence on the rest of their lives and such children have a higher chance to be involved in active religious practice in the future (Turner 128). This means that if the religion touches a person from the very childhood, the formation of certain belief is quite probable. All this leads to another factor which is connected to the previously mentioned one: the religion of the parents. Indeed, one would make no mistake pointing out that Christian parents are likely to raise a Christian child. In addition to that, the latter will always be influenced by the religious choice of his or her parents which is likely to be reflected in one’s own choice of religion. Finally, there is one more factor which is closely associated with the childhood of a person, namely being involved in the active religious practice. It is obvious that a considerable number of parents bring their children to service. All this results in the fact that the children perceive these services as some kind of a part of social life and gradually adopt this as a part of their life too, including these principles in their belief system. For example, a person who has attended a Sunday school for many years is more inclined to be guided by the principles of Christian morals than a person who has not. The next factor the influence of which can not be diminished focuses on the extraordinary events in the life of a person which made one reevaluate his or her position on religion. For example, it is a common practice that under dangerous conditions people try to utilize any kind of sources to ensure their survival. Thus, a person might pray in the moment of great risk and if one survives the situation, there is no doubt that a person will attribute it to the power of prayer and the deity. However, the situation does not have to be dangerous, it should provoke strong positive emotions. Thus, a person who won a lottery, having asked God for a change in one’s life prior to it, is likely to become a believer as he or she will have a proof of the fact that God is listening to the prayers of the people. Finally, there are also numerous situations when people decided to reevaluate their beliefs and became rather religious after they have had a supernatural encounter. For example, some people might claim that they have seen a ghost, others might have had a near death experience; in any case they will have a first hand experience that a different reality exists which might become the foundation of their belief in the future. Another aspect that should be discussed in great detail when it comes to examining the factors that influence the religious belief is age. As it was previously noted, the younger a person becomes involved in the religious practice, the more chances there are for one becoming a true Christian in the future. Some suggest that the reasonable threshold of accepting faith in the higher power is situated around nineteen (Mittelberg and Strobel 13). In other words, if a child or a teenager misses the period of socialization in the Church environment, the probability that this is likely to happen in the next several decades is quite small. However, there might be situations when age itself might be the driving force that increases religious belief in a person. For example, as older people become closer to death, they understand that they might benefit from a strong religious basis that will guide them for the last years of their life. Thus, there a peculiar phenomenon: there are congregations, especially in the East Orthodox Christian Church, a considerable part of the population of which is formed by the elderly people. In addition to that, there is one more period on life of a person when one is likely to develop a set of strong religious beliefs. It would not be a mistake to point out that the majority of people face middle life crisis. While some might be devastated by it, others tend to utilize different ways to cope with it as it was said: “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest” (Matthew 11:28). As a result, there is a significant number of people who find the peace for their soul in faith. This means that certain individuals may see adopting active religious practice as an effective way to deal with the middle life crisis. The next factor which is known to have a considerable impact on the spiritual life of a person is the ethnic environment that one belongs to. Scholars have already noticed that in many cases the notion of the religious group may be closely connected to the idea of the ethnic group a well (Horrell 161). Moreover, this might be seen on different stages of the development of the religioun, but is more explicit closer to the period when it is mature. Keeping this in mind, one should point out that there are may be two outcomes of this. On the one hand, such religions as Judaism or Hinduism are closely connected to the particular ethnicity. In other words, a person is considered to be an adept of the above mentioned religious practices by default, being born in a certain cultural environment. This means that if a person chooses to practice a different religion this will be seen as a conflict with one’s national identity. On the other hand, there are religions as Christianity that encourage people to forget about the boundaries which are imposed by the cultures. This means that the above mentioned religion as a cosmopolitan attitude when it comes to converting people. As a result a new kind of ethnicity is formed which is above the national one. All this results in the fact that a kind of thinking that a person tends to adhere to is likely to determine adoption of the religious practice: for example, if a person is more inclined to feel oneself as a citizen of the world, ideas of unity which are proclaimed by Christianity or Islam might appear to be rather appealing, It may be rather peculiar to point out that media also has a considerable influence on the belief of a person. For example, there might be instances when the media heavily employs a certain part of the religious doctrine in order to impress the audience. As a result, this leads to promoting a certain religion. Thus, the image of angels, as they are seen by the people, varied from little children with curly hair to fearless warriors with glowing swords and wings. It is quite obvious that the latter way to portray a supernatural being is likely to contribute to building a good reputation of the religious system. In addition to that, main characters in different stories might practice their religion quite explicitly. For example, prayer might be referred to as their source of power and their modesty before God is regarded as their greatest achievement while they are shown as skillful warriors. Finally, one should admit that the some religious symbols are known to be quite popular in the media which makes a good impression about the religion in general. For example, the cross is usually viewed as a symbol that the demonic powers are afraid of. As a result, Christianity is viewed as a religion that has universal application. Under these circumstances, one would make no mistake that a person might pay more attention to the religious principles of Christianity and might be involved in the active spiritual practice because of it. As one can easily understand, the significance of the social environment in the process of formation of the system of religious beliefs of a person can not be exaggerated. Indeed, it may happen so that in the society different classes might also belong to different religions. For example, life of the lower class might be generally guided by a religion which heavily relies on the folklore or traditional practices. In addition to that, there may be a situation when the government supports a particular confession. In other words, the chances that a person adopts the active spiritual practice of the Christian Church are quite high if the state religion is Christianity. Indeed, there will be a considerable pressure from other citizens to adopt a particular religion. As a result, in order to ease the pressure from the rest of the social environment a person might be willing to become a believer. Finally, the situation which was described above leads to a different aspect which should be examined in particular: under these circumstances, the process of socialization will be closely connected to becoming and active believer. What is more important is that a considerable amount of social interaction might be carried out during services, so a person who would like to be an active citizen would not want to miss this significant part of social life and is likely to develop a set of religious beliefs that would guide one through the rest of one’s life. It is quite obvious that the factors which were analyzed before had a positive impact on the person. In other words they are responsible for involvement of a person into active religious practice. However, one should also note that there are different factors which might have a completely opposite affect on the people. First of all, one might point out that a person may suffer from a personal trauma and his or her belief in God would not be able to protect one. This raises the question of theodicy. Indeed, the answer to Why does God allow people to suffer? has marked the end of faith of many people (Barber 68). In addition to that, unlike in the example of the lottery which was previously examined, a person might note that things are not going to improve no matter how much a person prays. Obviously, this casts a certain shadow on the faith of a person and might ultimately lead to the outcome when an individual will be willing to reevaluate one’s beliefs. Finally, there might also be a situation when a personal trauma that a person suffers from might be caused by something that is associated with the religion. For example, a child might be molested by a priest or rigorously religious parents would not allow their children enjoy life. It is clear that under such circumstances not only the aggressor will be the source of pain, but also the religion which is associated with one. As a result, the person will not be willing to fill his or her life with religious meaning. The next factor which is also able to have a profound negative influence in the spiritual life of a person is exposure to other doctrines ofrpractices. One would make no mistake that at the present moment with the help of the Internet, the people are able to widen their outlook as much as they want to. In other words, a true believer has freedom to read any book which contains heresy or openly criticizes his or her religion. In these conditions it is extremely important to ask question and not take anything for granted whether it is the new information or the previously learned one (Muck and Adeney 258). Thus, through a detailed research a person might question one’s faith. Another factor which should be taken into account is the cultural life of a person. For example, if one is listening to black metal, it is quite improbable that one will remain a true Christian. In other words, different aesthetic factors, like music, art, and literature might oppose the belief that a person adheres to and ultimately lead to the destruction of the former. Moreover, if a person is involved in some kind of an implicit spiritual practice that belongs to a different religious system, the chances that a person might question one’s faith is rather high. For example, those who are involved in yoga often find themselves having developed a combined worldview which features elements of Christian approach as well as Hinduism approach. Slowly, but surely a person may be losing one’s conviction in the previously believed principles. Another factor which inevitably tests one’s faith is living an independent life. As it has been mentioned before, when a child is involved in the religious practice from a relatively young age, the idea of religion is associated with being dependent on one’s parents. Later, this kind of thinking is projected on to the relationship with God and a person tends to rely on the supernatural power in many situations of life. However, as an individual grows, one becomes less dependent on others which naturally questions the need to rely on a higher power as well . In addition to that which age a person is able to see the real mechanism of things. For example, one understands that in order to succeed it is important to put a considerable amount of efforts into it. All this leads to a certain reevaluation of the way a person perceives the world and is able to leave little space for the religious beliefs. Moreover, the above mentioned factors lead to a rather logical consequence: a person starts relying more and more on oneself and gradually questions the influence of the supernatural power on one’s life. It is quite understandable that a single person is not able to control all aspects of one’s life, but under certain circumstances, especially when one was able to achieve success, it is highly probably that a person will no longer need religious belief. There is one more factor which might lead to a person losing one’s faith or desire to be associated with any religious practice. Sometimes it happens so that an individual witnesses the situation when a person who served as a spiritual leader breaks the rules which one has been preaching. It is true that sometimes preachers are only humans, but the incompatibility of the personal life and public position might have a tremendously negative result on the spiritual life of the congregation. For example, an image of a priest who is not able to successfully oppose the temptations of the world will be a negative factor for formation of religious belief. This might be explained by the idea that under such circumstances a person will know the other side of the things and will not longer be able to believe the image that is being promoted. If one develops the previously noted example of a priest which has a drinking problem, one is likely to witness the following situation: the service which is performed by this priest will no longer be effective as the part of the congregation will be viewing the spiritual leader as some sort of a hypocrite. As the result of the above mentioned, a person will start viewing religion as some kind of a screen which covers the ugly truth of the human nature. It is quite obvious that in these conditions a person will not be able to develop a set of strong religious beliefs as they will not be able to have a solid ground in terms of respect for the religion in general. Finally, there is one more factor which should be discussed which is largely thought to have a negative influence on the process of development of religious beliefs in the system of the worldview of a person which is the gradual increase of power of an individual. As it has been analyzed before, over the course of the years a person gradually accumulates a certain amount of power, especially over oneself. This means that the way a person views the world and appoints a place for the higher power might change. In addition to that, as a person gets older, one is able to accumulate more power towards the environment. For example, the abundance of the financial funds, allows one to choose what one will eat and how one will live. Prior to that similar aspects of life might have been thought to be in the control of the supernatural power. Finally, the inevitable result of the increase of power that a person is able to use is focused on that one is likely to change the attitude towards the necessity to adhere to any kind of the religious beliefs at all. In other words, a fully independent person that is capable of affecting a considerable number of aspects of one’s life might start viewing religion is a trace of the upbringing that should be eliminated. Indeed, it may be seen as a childish way to perceive the world and understand one’s place in it. Having examined all the factors which were mentioned in the paragraphs above, one is able to come to the following conclusion: there are numerous aspects, driving forces, events as well as circumstances that are able to have positive as well as negative influence on one’s spiritual life. Indeed, any kind of advantageous experience is likely to reinforce the belief of a person in the presence of the higher powers. However, if there is a trauma or any other experience that brings negative consequences, the probability that a person will be have a decrease in the necessity to adhere to the religious practices is higher high. Works Cited Barber, Bruce. Theodicy and Eschatology. Adelaide: ATF, 2005. Print. Horrell, David G. Becoming Christian: Essays on 1 Peter and the Making of Christian Identity. London: Bloomsbury, 2013. Print. Mittelberg, Mark, and Lee Strobel. Becoming a Contagious Christian: Participants Guide : Communicating Your Faith in a Style That Fits You. Rev. and Updated ed. Grand Rapids, Mich.: Zondervan Pub. House ;, 2007. Print. Muck, Terry C., and Frances S. Adeney. Christianity Encountering World Religions: The Practice of Mission in the Twenty-first Century. Grand Rapids, Mich.: Baker Academic, 2009. Print. Turner, Paul. When Other Christians Become Catholic. Collegeville, Minn.: Liturgical, 2007. Print. Read More