Aahan Sinha
What do the Dalai Lama, Desmond Tutu, Ayatollah Khomeini and Nathuram Godse have in common? Their actions, their lives and their legacies have all been driven by one of the 5 major world religions. But there is a stark contrast in their ideals, the things they have done and the things they are known for. So that begets the question – is religion a force for good or bad?
A religion can most certainly be a force for good, and there can be many positive impacts of having a religion in one’s life. For one, all religions teach good values. These values are either passed on from generations (an example could be Hinduism, where these morals and values are passed on through stories, songs and art pieces) or can be written in books and scriptures (an example of this could be The Bible in Christianity and Judaism, or the Quran in Islam). Regardless of religion, these values are always teaching good deeds, and, while the context in which these values are followed may vary, the encouragement to do good is universal. For example, in the Quran, it is instructed that all financially secure Muslims must pay a certain amount to charity, and Christianity encourages forgiveness and peace in the Bible. This is a force for good because religion can be used to instil values in many generations to come which can ensure peace in the future. Another thing which religion can give to people is hope. In crisis, a lot of religious people will tell you to pray to God and He will handle everything. Even though it may not be true, or may not do much, that feeling of praying to God gives people hope in crisis. Hope then encourages them to stay positive and not give up. Even though it is temporary, religion can be a force for good by giving people a candle of hope to hold in the darkest times. A shred of positivity to cling on to in the deep gorge of negativity. Furthermore, religion can create communities. In many parts of the world, local places of worship form communities which have very close bonds. A common belief system can bring people together and form new relationships that can be have a positive impact on one’s life. For example, in a local church, everyone who goes to that local church will know each other, and whether or not they connect as neighbours, they connect as believers, and this unity and community can make the world a safer, more peaceful place.
But peace can also be disrupted by religion. In places where multiple religions coexist, it can be a source of conflict where people can fight over their different beliefs. An example could be Kashmir in India, where the tensions between Hindus and Muslims since the 1940s has only grown rockier over time. Why, you may ask? One reason could be fight over resources and money for religious events, another thing which religion can impact negatively. Making and/or maintaining places of worship, hosting large events and gatherings, and (in some cases) making extravagant structures to celebrate religious events can become quite the money issue, especially considering these festivals happen more than once every year. An example could be India, where large figures of deities are made and worshipped for a day or more, before being dumped in the river. Due to religious customs, they do not recycle these deities every year and so new ones are made every time, which is an incredibly wasteful practice. Sometimes, the local governments can interfere and provide money, but there are also consequences for politics to interfere in religion. Politicians can use religion as a base to appeal to certain people, but it can also be a tool to supress religious minorities and stay in power indefinitely. There have been many leaders, such as Ayatollah Khomeini, who used religion to stay in power and overthrow democracy. He also used religion to discriminate, which is another drawback of religion. In many religions, there is an unfair divide and the rules and customs can be prejudiced against a certain group of people. Often those who benefit from religious laws in any way will use it as an excuse to further discriminate against those who are not seen fairly in the eyes of the religion. An example could be women, who have had a disadvantage from the start due to many religions encouraging and helping to create a patriarchal society, such as Islam. Conservative Muslims believe that women should always wear something to cover their face, do not have the right to choose their romantic partner, many are disowned or considered pariahs if they exercise their right to an independent life- all because a holy man said that women should not lead their own lives, but have their husbands lead it for them.
In conclusion, a religion can teach many good values, give hope to people and bring people together, but it can also tear them apart, incite violence and conflict, discriminate certain people and can be used to suppress democracy. Religion is like a steak knife, you can use it to make food that extends someone’s life, or you can use it to take it away.
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