Introduction
Religion is a cultural system defined by shared beliefs and rituals that creates a sense of reality that is sacred and supernatural (Giddens & Griffiths, 2009). Sociological definition of religion does not include the mention of God. Theism, a belief in one or many supernatural beings is not included in the definition because religions such as Buddhism and Hinduism share a belief in many spiritual forces rather than the existence of a particular God. Religion is a very important institution in society because it is the principal source of values and norms that guide the relationships in society.
There are five major religions practiced in the world today. They include Islam, Christianity, Hinduism, Judaism, and Buddhism. In Islam, Christianity and Judaism, religion is practiced in formal settings such as the mosque, church and synagogues respectively. However for other religions, Hinduism and Buddhism, religion is practiced in natural settings and in the home (Spickard, 1999). Sociology is not concerned with whether religious beliefs are true or not, but rather how the beliefs and practices affect relations in society. Sociology is principally concerned with the religion’s social organization. It is interested in ho the various religious organizations and institutions function. The third sociological view of religion is that it is an important source of solidarity. Religion provides its followers with uniform sets of norms and values.
Religion in the ModerN USA
United States of America is among some of the most religion-adhering, religiously traditional and fundamentalist countries in the world. It is a country where many new religions have arisen than any other country. Research date show that at least 3 out five Americans believe that religion is very important. At any one particular time approximately 40% of them will have attended church within the previous seven days of the week.
A large proportion of Americans are Christian with only a small population belonging to the smaller religious groups. Jews and Muslims constitute the group of non-Christians. Within the Christian group 52% are Protestants while 24% are Catholics. The population of the Catholics has grown over the years principally due to immigrations of people from the predominantly catholic Central and South America majority coming in from Mexico.
Secularization
Religion has generally declined in many western countries except in the USA. However it is still a powerful influence for life in people’s lives even though they do not choose to demonstrate their religiosity through subscription to the traditional church a phenomenon that has been described as “believing without belonging” (Giddens & Griffiths, 2006). Participation in the Christian church has declined in Britain yet among the Jews, Muslims and Hindus participation is constantly vibrant. Fundamentalism has emerged as a treat to modern Christianity in the USA.
The advent of globalization and modernization has given rise to religious fundamentalism. Islamic fundamentalists in Asia and Africa Fundamentalist Christians are strong believers in the divine nature of Christ and the salvation through acceptance and recognition of Christ as personal savior. It is a reaction against secularism and liberal theology. Fundamentalist believe that the holy book is guiding book for politics, family and business.
Atheism
Atheism is the central element in secularism and has a long history. It is the religion of the rational and autonomous humans who believe that reason express the understanding the universe, ranging from the phenomenon of the rising sun to the deepest understanding of the life and destiny of man (Cliteur, 2009). The general perception or definition of atheism is rationalism. Often it is associated with the terms optimism, self confidence and aggression to describe the nature of those who subscribe to atheism. Atheism is underlined by the denial of the existence of god.
Sociologists believe that the number of people willing to openly express their belief in God is constantly diminishing in the western countries. Theists believe in God and, therefore, the lack of adherence to the three theistic religions, Islam, Christianity and Judaism, constitutes atheism (Giddens & Griffiths, 2006). The term theism is sometimes used synonymously with monotheism to refer to the belief in one supreme creator or God. Subscription to the general tenets of theism defines whether one is an atheist or not. The tenets define God as creator of universe, eternal, good, omniscient, holy, transcendent, almighty and personal. According to this definition of theism is different from the general religious belief.
Religious Pluralism
Pluralism is the recognition of the different religions as true and equal alternatives (Spickard 1999). Whereas Islam and Christianity claim to contain the whole spiritual truth, there is an emerging belief in partial truth in any particular religion and is based on the assumption that all religions have some valid truth in them. This modern view of religion has been reinforced by identified similarities in the world’s major religions such as Judaism, Christianity and Islam
References
Cliteur, P. (2009). “The definition of atheism” The Journal of Religion and Society,
11(2009): 1-23
Giddens, A. & Griffiths, S. (2006). “Sociology”. Malden, MA: Polity Press
Spickard, J. V. (1999). “Exploring Religious Pluralism” International Journal on
Multicultural Societies, 1(1): 35-38
