Religion and society
... someone violates the norms and is more likely to happen if a person feels that no one will know and that they can get away with it. However, if they know that God is always watching, and He will punish them, they will be less likely to violate those norms. Next, religion emphasizes the similarities of all humans. For instance, in Christianity at least, it teaches that everyone wants to feel loved and accepted; no one is perfect, and everyone sins. Also, religion helps reconcile people to the hardships of society, and stresses the equality of believers. If someone has low social status they can at least achieve a high moral status; on the other end, someone with a high social status may help the poor because the religion advocates charity and kindness. Then, religion can bind the community together through rituals of worship. Lastly, it offers support when other social organizations change. For instance, after a divorce a man, looking to deal with his problems, may turn to drugs and other things and then eventually find religion (Popenoe). Another interesting benefit of religion is that there is increasing evidence that people who pray are healthier and recover from illness better than those who don’t. Although religion itself seems good for society, there is a highly controversial issue in the Christian religion that needs to be addressed: the role of women. Women have made up the majority of member in almost all religious groups. Women raise money, teach Sunday school, prepare festival meals, direct the choir, etc. They have been the backbone of the church, provided support for it and affirmed its moral role. In the past, women have said that they find strength in religious faith to help them survive extraordinary hardships as well as everyday difficulties. They looked to religion for community and personal identity. However, despite their many contributions to the church, women are rarely allowed to play leading roles. Religious arguments have been used on both sides of most debates about women’s rights, duties, and nature. Religion has been seen as the enemy of women’s rights. For the first century and a half after the founding of the U.S., Americans believed women didn’t need to vote because God placed husbands as the head of the family. However, when women started fighting to vote, they argued that God gave them moral qualities as guardians of the home. Between 1963 and 1965 the Pope convened the Second Vatican Council where bishops from around the world got together to try to bring the Catholic Church up to date and discuss the role of women. The bishops stated that “every type of discrimination, whether social or cultural, whether based on sex, race, color, social condition, language, or religion, is to be overcome and eradicated as contrary to God’s intent” (Braude 124). There was a catholic scholarly woman by the name of Mary Daly who was able to observe the debates on church doctrine and policy at the Vatican II in Rome. Unfortunately, she left Rome with the conviction that women were second class citizens in Catholicism. She eventually gave up on the Catholic Church and concluded that Christianity could not be reformed. Many women have used Bible verses that prove that women can be leaders in the church and should be equal with men. Joel 2:28 says, “I will pour out my Spirit on all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy.” Galatians 3:28 declares, “There is neither…male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.” Therefore women should be equal with men and able to hold any leadership role in the Church. Ho...