Religion in Modern Society
...ically, the game is in essence a reflection of our acceptance of these kinds of behaviors as a society. As a child like my brother, I obviously never really thought of these things but as I grow up I realize why my parents had restricted me from watching rated R movies and made me attend church. It was not because I was necessarily easily influenced by others but because it is morally wrong. While some may say "that’s just the way it is", it truly doesn’t have to be like that. In "The Culture of Disbelief", Stephen L. Carter also speaks of the lack of religious beliefs in modern America. His main point was how modern law and politics make religious devotion trivial, especially public devotion. Carter writes: "In our sensible zeal to keep religion presses the religiously faithful to be other than themselves, to act publicly, and sometimes privately as well, as through their faith does not matter to them" (467). This is the exact thing that we need not do. I believe that if people, who are commonly in the eyes of the public, should express their religion as freely as they feel. Freedom of religion is a basic human right and even though no one deliberately constricts us from publicly displaying our religious affiliation, in America, it is proper that we must be socially aware or politically correct not to offend non-believers. "When Hillary Clinton was seen wearing a cross around her neck at some of the public events surrounding her husband's inaugurations, many observers were aghast, and one television commentator asked whether is was appropriate for the First Lady to display so openly a religious symbol" (Carter 467). In Hillary’s case, how can there be any real negative outcomes as a result of this? She is not advertising, she is merely expressing. William J. Bennett’s, “What Really Ails America”, best supports my cause. “My friend had observed that while the world still regards the United States as the leading economic and military power on earth, this same world no longer beholds us with the moral respect it once did, as a “shining city on a hill.” Instead, it sees a society in decline” (Bennett 443). Throughout this essay, after giving numerous examples of our declining society, Bennett uses the phrase “These are not good things to get used to”, which I strongly agree with. He goes on to give examples of people who today are praised for their lack of morals and the “I don’t give a ****” mentality. Bennett’s diagnosis the major problem of America is the lack of spirit. “What’s to blame for this change? The hard fact is that it was not something done to us; it is something we have done to ourselves. Thoughtful people have pointed to materialism, an overly permissive society, or the legacy of the 1960s. There is truth in almost all these accounts. But in my view our real crisis is spiritual, a corruption of the heart” (Bennett 445). He knows that while there are many exterior causes of the declining society, he views the main problem is within us. To be spiritual or to have a sense of one’s spirit, one must have a sense the intangible soul. This is who we really are; the basis of our character, our beliefs and morals, our conscience, the part of us that is uncontaminated by the world in which we live in. It can also be defined in terms of religion. The Holy Spirit is the part of us that goes to the after life when our human bodies no longer work. Our spirit has no material body or worldly form. Bennett agrees with me writing: “Most important, we must return religion to its proper place. Religion provides us with moral bearings, and the solution to our chief problem of spiritual impoverishment depends on the spiritual renewal. The surrendering of strong beliefs, in our private and public lives, has demoralized society” (446). While Bennett stresses religion as the main cure to the ailment of society, I believe it is the only solution to our dilapidated society. Today, money, power, and material things are a much greater concern than religion. Technological advances are also prioritized. While man may create great things, one must keep in mind the motivation for his/her creations and the complications they produce. Most inventions are created in the pursuit of personal financial rather than the advancement for the human race. Do not get me wrong. I do not believe that everyone should believe in a religion. That is a personal freedom we as Americans have. I am merely suggesting the use of values derived from religion to preserve the greatness of human...