LeliaThomas.Com

Religion in the Modern World

Religion. Some people attribute their fortunes to their faith in personal religion, while others blame it for the cause of thousands of worldwide wars. Of course, whether we like it or not, answers and truths are never that cut and dry. Truth usually lies somewhere in the grey spots of life and depends on more factors than man will ever see or understand. In terms of the world today, though, how does religion appear to stand up? How similar/dissimilar are religions on the surface? Where and how does religion play a part, and, statistically, does a population’s overall lack or support of faith directly affect a nation?

The Basic Religions

Adherents.com is a website that offers a statistical view of world religions. Overwhelmingly, the three largest religious/nonreligious groups in the world are Christianity with 2.1 billion adherents, Islam with 1.3 billion adherents and the secular/agnostic/atheist group with 1.1 billion people involved in it. Keep in mind that there are sects and different views within each of these groups (e.g., a conservative Baptist minister believes very differently from a Jehovah’s Witness, yet they both fall under Christianity technically).

To see the top 22 world religions ranked by number of adherents, visit this page or click on the pie chart.

One should also take note of the largest religious bodies. The top three are the Catholic Church with 1 billion adherents, Sunni Islam with 1 billion adherents and the Eastern Orthodox Church to a much smaller degree with 225 million adherents. Even when breaking down the major religious bodies of the world, however, you will find differences between, say, a Catholic Church in America and one in Mexico.

Can we possibly live together?

I, like many, often wonder if it is even possible for people of such varying beliefs to live together. I can certainly do it; I know of others who do it. However, the majority of humanity is not very understanding, no matter faith or lack thereof. One need only try to drive on a highway with a group of people to learn how dog-eat-dog the world can be.

This is sad to me, as I see where faith, as a whole, has a place in society. To date, there are too many things that science cannot explain definitively, so as to make billions of people, worldwide, suddenly drop their beliefs and/or superstitions. In contrast, there are too many things that religion cannot explain, as to make millions of atheists convert. So here we are–a world filled with people of diverse faiths and of people who believe this life is all there is.

Are we similar enough to find common ground? Outside of the obvious facts–such as we all eat, breathe, and need love and companionship–what is there to tie us together, especially spiritually? To see if I could find an answer to that, I used the wonder that is Google and searched major religions, looking over their basic missions in an attempt to find common goals.

Faith on a Mission: Christianity

At the time of my writing this, the top four search results for Christian on Google are as follows:

• Crosswalk.com
• Gospelcom.net
• The Christian Science Monitor
• Christian Answers Network

I used the top three most-relevant results, Crosswalk.com, Gospelcom.net and the Christian Answers Network to summarize the main Christian effort (at least online). I chose not to include The Christian Science Monitor, because its focus is not as relevant to my topic.

From Crosswalk.com…
Vision: “We are…dedicated to building up the Church, which is the Body of Christ.”

Mission: “As a Christ-centered, for-profit corporation, we will create value for our customers, employees and shareholders by: Bringing glory to God in all that we do; Equipping people to grow in their faith and the practical application of it in their lives; Enhancing fellowship, communication and relationship-building within the Christian community; and Encouraging and enabling personal involvement in the care of those who are spiritually, emotionally, physically or financially poor.”

Statement of Faith: “We believe that there is one God, eternally existing in three persons: the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.

We believe that the Bible is God’s written revelation to man and that it is verbally inspired, authoritative, and without error in the original manuscripts.

We believe in the deity of Jesus Christ, His virgin birth, sinless life, miracles, death on the cross to provide for our redemption, bodily resurrection and ascension into heaven, present ministry of intercession for us, and His return to earth in power and glory.

We believe in the personality and deity of the Holy Spirit, that He performs the miracle of the new birth in an unbeliever and indwells believers, enabling them to live a godly life.

We believe that man was created in the image of God, but because of sin, was alienated from God. That alienation can be removed only by accepting through faith God’s gift of salvation which was made possible by Christ’s death.”

From Gospelcom.net…
About: “Ten years after its launch, Gospelcom.net has grown to become the most popular Christian website in the world. From its 1995 inception with 10 alliance ministries, Gospelcom.net has mushroomed to now include over 300 individual online ministries working to use technology and the Internet to reach the world with the message of Jesus Christ.”

Statement of Faith: “(1) We believe the Bible to be the inspired, the only infallible authoritative Word of God.

(2) We believe that there is one God, eternally existent in three persons: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

(3) We believe in the Deity of our Lord Jesus Christ, in His virgin birth, in His sinless life, in His miracles, in His vicarious and atoning death through His shed blood, in His bodily resurrection, in His ascension to the right hand of the Father, and in His personal return in power and glory.

(4) We believe that regeneration by the Holy Spirit is absolutely essential for the salvation of lost and sinful men.

(5) We believe in the present ministry of the Holy Spirit, by Whose indwelling the Christian is enabled to live the Godly life.

(6) We believe in the resurrection of both the saved and the lost - those who are saved to the resurrection of life, and those who are lost to the resurrection of condemnation.

(7) We believe in the spiritual unity of believers in Christ, and the evidence of that unity being shown by how we love one another.”

From the Christian Answers Network…
Mission and Statement of Faith: “Christian Answers is a worldwide evangelism, education and discipleship ministry of Films for Christ (also known as Eden Communications). Our primary goal is to provide accurate, biblical answers on a wide variety of questions asked by Christians and non-Christians. Questions can be submitted on-line. We also provide a great deal of other valuable information and resources related to Christianity, Christian education, discipleship, media, and more (see our resource directory).

… All our information and services are provided freely in service to our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ to help souls grow in knowledge and wisdom, and find eternal salvation.”

Faith on a Mission: Islam

At the time of my writing this, the top three search results for Islam on Google are as follows:

• Islamworld.net
• Islam 101
• Islam and Islamic Study Resources

Islamworld.net, Islam 101, and Islam and Islamic Study Resources were used to summarize the main Islamic efforts.

From Islamworld.net…
Opening Statement: “THE SOLUTION TO ANY PROBLEM? THERE IS NO DEITY WORTHY OF WORSHIP EXCEPT ALLAH, AND MUHAMMAD IS HIS MESSENGER.” (Capitalization is theirs.)

From Islam 101…
Followed Theology: “Islam is the way of life for those who believe in God and want to live a life in worship and obedience to none but God. The reward is forgiveness from God and an everlasting life in the Heaven.

Belief in one God, Allah in Arabic, constitutes the very foundation of Islam. There is no deity except Allah. He is indivisible and absolutely transcendent. God is the Almighty, the Creator and the Sustainer of the universe, Who is similar to nothing and nothing is comparable to Him. Worship and obedience belongs to Allah and Allah alone. Joining other gods with God is an unforgivable sin. Any one who joins other gods with God has strayed far, far away from the Truth.”

From Islamic Study Resources…
Opening Statement: “The Arabic word Islam literally means surrender, implying surrender to God. And a Muslim, literally, is one who is surrendering; more specifically, one who is surrendering to God. Muslims believe both that Islam is the quintessence of the spiritual impulse present in the earliest humans and that, as “Islam,” it is the name of the religious form revealed by God to Muhammad beginning in the year 610 CE. Those who follow this particular religion are called Muslims.”

Disbelief on a Mission: Atheism

Unfortunately, disbelief carries just as many diverse thinkers as the above religions, and I personally do not view atheism (disbelief with little regarded skepticism; surety in beliefs) the same as agnosticism (disbelief with skepticism). However, for my research, I used the search term atheist.

At the time of my writing this, the top four search results for atheist on Google are as follows:

• American Atheists
• Celebrity Atheist List
• Atheist Foundation of Australia, Inc.
• The Raving Atheist

I chose to use American Atheists, Atheist Foundation of Australia and The Raving Atheist to summarize the main atheist efforts of today. I chose not to use search result #2, since it is slightly off topic.

From American Atheists…
Opening Statement: “Since 1963, AMERICAN ATHEISTS has been the premier organization laboring for the civil liberties of Atheists, and the total, absolute separation of government and religion. It was born out of a court case begun in 1959 by the Murray family which challenged prayer recitation in the public schools. That case – Murray v. Curlett – was a landmark in American jurisprudence on behalf of our First Amendment rights. It began:

‘Your petitioners are Atheists, and they define their lifestyle as follows. An Atheist loves himself and his fellow man instead of a god. An Atheist accepts that heaven is something for which we should work now – here on earth – for all men together to enjoy. An Atheist accepts that he can get no help through prayer, but that he must find in himself the inner conviction and strength to meet life, to grapple with it, to subdue it and to enjoy it. An Atheist accepts that only in a knowledge of himself and a knowledge of his fellow man can he find the understanding that will help to a life of fulfillment.’”

From the Atheist Foundation of Australia…
About: “We can understand why primitive cultures believed that invisible beings controlled what we now call the elements and natural phenomena. With access to factual knowledge, there is now no excuse for believing in gods, fairies or any supernatural concept.

We live in a natural universe with known natural laws. Religion, based on belief in the existence of the supernatural, is dependent on the indoctrination of infants generation after generation, by parents brainwashed in religious cultures.

The confrontations and fighting today provide ample evidence of the unstable nature of societies, which endorse religious beliefs.

Infantile concepts seriously hinder the full potential development of humans in a world with problems that require logical thought.

Atheists find their motive for action in the needs and problems of their fellow citizens and consider that the worship of, or reliance on, imaginary supernatural beings to be a useless waste of time, energy and resources.”

Philosophy: “The Atheist Foundation of Australia recognises scientific method as the only rational means toward understanding reality. To question and critically examine all ideas, testing them in the light of facts, leads to the discovery of truth.

As there is no scientific evidence for supernatural phenomena, atheists reject belief in ‘God’, gods and other supernatural beings. The universe, the world in which we live, and the evolution of life, are entirely natural occurrences.

No personality or mind can exist without the process of living matter to sustain it. We have only one life - here and now. All that remains after a person dies is the memory of their life and deeds in the minds of those who live.

Atheists reject superstition and prejudice along with the irrational fears they cause. We recognise the complexity and interdependence of life on this planet. As rational and ethical beings we accept the challenge of making a creative and responsible contribution to life.”

From The Raving Atheist…
Statements: “First, there is no God. In fact, all definitions of the word “God” are either self-contradictory, incoherent, meaningless or refuted by empirical, scientific evidence. Although the nature of the disproof will necessarily vary with the god under review, I will usually be raving against the modern monotheistic (or triune) Judeo-Christian-Islamic God, having (in various permutations) the characteristics of being, conscious, all-powerful (omnipotent), all-knowing (omniscient), all-good (omnibenevolent), immaterial, transcendent. immutable, immortal, infinite, omnipresent, disembodied and eternal.

Such a god is as much a contradiction in terms as a square circle, and thus logically impossible, for numerous reasons…

Second, Atheism is not merely one possible theological theory among many. Rather, it is the only true, provable theory, and all other religious theories are false and delusional. The mere fact that you believe or have faith that god exists does not make it so, anymore than unicorns, ghosts, leprechauns would exist simply because you believed in them or had faith in them. Nor does the fact that you have a legal right to believe in god prove that god exists. Similarly, the fact that American law purports to be “neutral” as between theism and atheism does not mean that the theories are equally plausible.

Third, because there is no god, any attempt to premise moral, social or political doctrine upon a belief in god is fruitless and potentially harmful. Laws, judicial decisions or social policies , which promote, accept or accommodate religious beliefs proceed upon false premises and may have harmful and unfair effects…

Fourth, any person asserting a special individual right or attempting to dictate social policy based about a belief in god must first 1) define the god, 2) prove that the god exists and 3) demonstrate how the right or policy follows from the belief in god. Because there is no god, nobody will ever be able to do this.”

Overall, how much does religion influence society?

This is perhaps the foggiest area I have to venture with this article. A lot of it is based on assumption, even with statistics, because there are multiple outlying factors that affect everything. Very few things in life can be taken at face value.

These statistics on atheism and agnosticism helped me to come to the general conclusion that lack of faith or strong faith seems to have very little impact on countries.

Some of the poorest and richest nations have sizable minorities of atheists and agnostics. Some of the poorest and richest nations have sizable minorities or slight majorities of staunch believers.

Countries said to retain the most freedom included those who had large populations of atheists (Britain) and those who did not (United States). For the sake of humor, you might find it interesting that Israel has a sizable minority of atheists (between 15 and 37 percent).

Generally, it appears personal beliefs within a society hardly dictate its success or failure anymore than economic or health issues. Governments and the laws therein, however, can greatly affect a society and how it is perceived from around the world.

Can’t we just all get along?

You be the judge. The question is hardly can we, as a human race, get along. Simply put, we can, but will we? As seen above, the top three religious and nonreligious influences in the world are extremely diverse, and, chances are, none of them is going away anytime soon. They all see themselves as having cornered the market on truth, and once a man or woman believes that, there’s little one can do to sway his or her thinking.

I believe religion and faith has a place in society, though, because a huge majority of the world adheres to some form of a religious belief. Perhaps ignoring that side of ourselves would lessen moral arguments–probably not. However, just as it would be almost impossible to have a large Christian congregation filled only with “born again believers” and no skeptics, it would be equally difficult to raise humankind up in the disbelief of religion without any skeptics.

There is no sure-fire way to convert the world to your worldview. I’m sorry. There just isn’t a way. Get over it. You’ll actually have to live with people who don’t think exactly the same as you do. Believe it, because that is truth.

This is why I believe the understanding of one another is the only way we will survive near-peacefully, and the only way to understanding is through openness of all beliefs, not separation or oppression. Moderation also plays a role in understanding. Fundamentally, you cannot, as a believer or unbeliever, think you are the one with the “actual answers.”

At the end of the day, be you Christian, Muslim, atheist or something else entirely, I would urge you to keep one of the oldest adages of man: the golden rule. No matter what you call it or what you base it in, the world would be a much better place if more people adhered to it.

About Moral Matters Monday

This post is a part of “Moral Matters Monday”, a weekly post on societal or political issues of both national and global proportions. If there’s an issue you would like addressed here, email me at leliathomas@gmail.com, and I will consider writing about it.

Comments ordered from oldest to newest.

Simon

Good article. I personally don’t think atheism can be classed as a group. I am an atheist but have very little in common with Stalin (no matter what my friends might tell you).

Islam and Christianity are branches of the same tree - no wonder they hate each other. They’re like squabbling sibblings.

Lelia

Simon,

Firstly, thanks for stopping by; I’m glad you enjoyed the article. And atheist or no, I doubt you’re much like Stalin. :p If you aspire to be, you’ve got your work cut out for you, I’m thinking. XD

It’s true that Islam has a lot of roots in Judaism and Christianity. Each also has a violent past at certain points, too, but I’ve never been able to truly decide definitively if that is because of the religion itself or the fact that so many are involved within the religions themselves. Naturally, the more people that are involved in something, the greater chance there is for a large group of radicals. Hard to say!

Danny Haszard

Good post,to keep it simple the central core dogma of Jehovah’s Witnesses,the reason they came into existence 110 years ago was to proclaim Jesus second coming in the year 1914.

When their ‘prophecy’ {derived from the William Miller movement of 1844} failed,they went on to say that Jesus came “invisibly”.Yes,it’s the ‘emperor’s new clothes’ all over again.
—-
Danny Haszard Jehovah’s Witness X 33 years and 3rd generation

Ren

What I’ve never understood is why Islamic fundies claim that we (Christians) are the infidels when we worship the exact same thing.

God/Jesus
Allah/Muhummed

Jeebus, even the pagans are represented with Mother Earth/Mary.

Argh. Humans CAN get along, but human nature (the need for control, to be right, to own, to rule) will never let it happen.

Great article!

erick

good analysis

Lelia

Danny: Thanks for stopping by! I visited your website and was quite shocked. It’s sometimes unfortunately amazing what goes on beneath the surface of organizations, including religious ones. I wish you well on such a journey. The fewer who are abused as children and young people, the more society will be a good place in the future.

Ren: It is frustrating, but I think it all boils down to Islamic society, not the religion itself. On the surface, few people know that Muhammed was terribly violent and took his prophesies to people by force; very few faiths have a nonviolent past, but Islam’s main figurehead started it out with violence, and the media will never convince me that such a fact has not tragically influenced all the people within Islam.

Islam’s culture also seriously oppresses women. Firstly, I don’t think this was Islam’s initial intention; however, there have apparently been multiple translations of the Quran, and I get the impression that not all have been too favorable to women. I gave a bit of a rundown on it in the past here.

The oppression of women has seriously setback Muslim nations’ development. A country cannot rule by testosterone alone; it needs balance. Look at the three [currently] most talked about Islamic nations and the literacy of women:

Afghanistan: 21% of the female population is literate (1999 est.)
Iran: 73% as of 2003
Iraq: 24.4% as of 2003

People cannot tell me that a culture who has dumbed down its females is going to be all right. I think this is why we see such a disparity between modern Muslims and modern Christians when it comes to violence. Christianity has been around longer, and provided it’s grown in a developed and mostly equal society, it has become very welcoming of women and has turned away from some of its violent past.

I don’t think we’ll see any peaceful love among people anytime soon, though, sadly.

Shawn Anthony

You wrote, “I, like many, often wonder if it is even possible for people of such varying beliefs to live together. I can certainly do it; I know of others who do it.

I honestly hope other can do it. I, in fact, am betting my entire future vocation on it (I’m studying to be a Unitarian Universalist Parish minister - which means I am dedicated to ‘church’ with religious pluralism and acceptance as a center). I think what you write about so eloquently in this post is the key to a humanity’s healthy future.

Great, great post. You are a seriously good writer! I sincerely hope you are one of the people who get into 9rules this time around! We need more people like you. Peace.

Q

On your question “can We All get along?” I agree with you that we can, but some (if not many) can’t.

Sadly instead of looking for the commonalities, sharp arguments flare-up easely among different beliefs, or rather people with erroneous understanding of beliefs.

Because historically one nation (peoples) or religion has invaded other nations for plunder, pillage or land, we find the commonality in these cases is the false use or misuse of faith or religion to impose oneself militarily upon others.

Hence the deep suspicions of some (if not many) of the US foreign policy, which is equally used to portray the negative view of Christianity (Crusaders trying to impose their Worldview), and perhaps more accurately Judaism, because of the USs insistence to strike at or invade any and all except Israel (and little old Britain).

Well no need top invade Britain. Britain became a (willing) colony or state of the US during world war II. And people have long forgotten the war of Indepence, or that Britain at one time thought The US was “its” Colony. This of course at a time when the US was not densely populated, and natives were easily dispossesed.

The same was a little harder to achieve with a handful of redcoats on an Indian subcontinent, densely populated.

However the remnants of the British Empire in India, had a strange effect. Instead of “christianising” India, India “easternised” the Brits. I guess it was just appealing to their ego & vanity, that they were re-incarnated peoples who by design (God’s Will) had been given the right to govern India, and semi-ignorant Brits could lord it over very sophisticated and highly stratified culture or hierarchies even the Rajh.

Of course any religion which claims that you can be reborn or re-incarnated at a higher level, is bound to appeal to those trying to impose their will or empire (militarily) and trying to subdue workers or slaves.

Incidentally is it to people’s ego & vanity that Eastern Religions/philosophy appeal so much in the US. Is it the desire to be (more) enlightened than their (lesser) bretheren.

What is it about Christianity, that people reject. What does Eastern Philosophy offer that is better than Christianity (other than licentiousness and religious licence) - and why do people fail to realise that Christ would have:

(1) been versed in Eastern Philosophy/Religions, and
(2) possibly even wrote (or dictated) Eastern Philosophy.

For after all Christ, like Mohammed never actually wrote anything, but left it for others to recount “his teachings” in their writings.

Lelia

Shawn, thanks for your kind words. :) I cannot imagine studying to be a minister(!), but I appreciate those who do so with their hearts in the right place. We need more people like you, or so I personally believe. I know it’s really hard to convert someone by force, that’s for sure! And love might as well be the emotion used, whether you convert someone or not.

P.S. - I’d really like to get into 9rules. :-B

Q, Having come from a strongly religious family (evangelical Christian, to be exact), I definitely wouldn’t say it’s arrogance that drives people in the US or elsewhere to believe their faith is better than someone else’s. Generally speaking, I think people who actually are faithful–not those who are just in a religion for any power trips it might bring–feel as strongly as they do out of some sort of love. I personally don’t understand it, and I also personally feel it’s rather cruel at times, but that’s one of those situations where I suppose people have good intentions, but that doesn’t change the outcome of their actions. Same goes for rebirth. I think that gives people hope at fixing their current faults in some sort of way.

You bring up an interesting and true point about texts, too. Fact is unless we ourselves are able to read original languages and original documents, we don’t even know what others wrote about a subject, much less what actually, for sure, happened.

Thanks for stopping by. :)

Sage

I think we could all get along better if people following a specific religion followed the spirit rather than the letter of the religion. Christians are told to “judge not” yet, when I think of characteristics of christians as a general group, judgemental is right up there. I think the arguments and wars are all from people missing the point of their religion, the loving kindness and all, and struggling with the nit-picky rules, following some dogmatically, and ignoring others. I’m thinking here, of course, of the crusades against same-sex marriage by people eating shellfish and wearing mixed-fabric clothing. But I should love them fully recognizing it’s up to God to decide their outcome, not me.

Lelia

What an excellent comment, Sage. :) Hopefully there are more people who view these things as you do!

be

thanks for that post.

Wan Zafran

As a Muslim myself, perhaps I could contribute something to this conversation.

You mentioned in one of your comments that Islam oppresses its female adherents. Not so, really; unfortunately, this view is a common one, made even more lasting and serious because it is propagated by mass media, and is taken simply as a fact among those who absorb such “facts” without pondering on its validity.

To put it simply, and this is only a very basic way of explaining it, In Islam, men and women are perceived to be equals, but the both of them have different responsibilities to manage and maintain. Each cannot be the other - there is no concept of total equality. I personally believe this is where Islamic and Western ideals differ.

There are different expectations of men and women in Islam. I’m not meaning to be condescending, and I hope I don’t come across that way by saying this, but it is unfair how many non-Muslims who do not know the faith and its intricate details choose to comment on what they see, instead of what they know.

For example, did you know that in Islam, at least according to theory, a woman has every right to a man’s earned property, but this is not vice versa? (Yes, a man cannot touch his wife’s assets, that which she has strived to earn by her own means.) Also, if we are speaking in pure theoretical terms, a woman’s place is not in the kitchen. It is the husband’s responsibility to feed his wife, children, and take care of the household and other things - to be the breadwinner of the family. The only obligations of a wife are to take care of the children and to be loyal to her husband. It is only because of common cultural tradition that a woman finds herself in the kitchen.

There are many other details such as this as well, interesting facts which escape the public. I would like to call myself a moderate Muslim, and if anything perhaps I can enlighten an open mind or two, here and there.

And BTW, nice blog, Lelia - and hello, fellow 9rules member! :)

Ronald

That’s a very thoughtful post. Are you INTP?

Lelia

Wan, thanks for visiting and posting your comment. :) It helps having a different perspective here. I hope you can clear some things up for me, since you actually are part of the faith.

You said, You mentioned in one of your comments that Islam oppresses its female adherents. Not so, really; unfortunately, this view is a common one, made even more lasting and serious because it is propagated by mass media, and is taken simply as a fact among those who absorb such “facts” without pondering on its validity.

To that, I can only point out certain phrases of the Qu’ran itself. There are two verses that I find particularly disturbing:

(From 004.034 ) “Men are the maintainers of women because Allah has made some of them to excel others and because they spend out of their property; the good women are therefore obedient, guarding the unseen as Allah has guarded; and (as to) those on whose part you fear desertion, admonish them, and leave them alone in the sleeping-places and beat them; then if they obey you, do not seek a way against them; surely Allah is High, Great.”

and

(004.003) “If ye fear that ye shall not be able to deal justly with the orphans, Marry women of your choice, Two or three or four; but if ye fear that ye shall not be able to deal justly (with them), then only one, or (a captive) that your right hands possess, that will be more suitable, to prevent you from doing injustice.”

Now, according to scripture here, it appears that if women are “disobedient,” their husbands then have the right to beat them. The second scripture appears to give the man the right to be a polygamist and to also take captives. Is that all accurate or is this a gross mistranslation on the part of the University of Southern California?

We could say that most all religions, especially those having been birthed from the Middle East, including Christianity, have had a history of oppression of women, at least at some point. There are cases still today in all things, the random case, if you will. Yet I see frequently, extremely violent crimes against women in Islam, such as the execution of women who have been raped, as the rapists go free, and I am confused as to whether it is the society or the religion that births the horrid nature of things.

I might assume that it is solely the societal culture. However, it seems to me–perhaps I’m wrong–that Islam condones such laws through its scripture, and therefore that is why society, which mostly prescribes to the Islamic faith, supports them. I found this article interesting the other day, and I would like to hear your comments on it.

I think Islam is as most religions. It has its faults and its beautiful moments, and different cultures handle it in different ways. I guess my worry is on which way is going to win out, just as that is my worry with most religions (*laughs*), the very oppressive way or the tamed and moderate version.

(P.S. - I love the title of your website!)

Ronald, INTP? As in the Myers-Briggs personality assessment? If so, I think last one I took it said I was an ENFP, or maybe it was ENFT. :)

Wan Zafran

Lelia, I’ll try my best to answer your questions to the extent of my knowledge.

First of all, I must mention that the Qur’an, though it is the primary source of reference for all Muslims, must not be construed literally. Since (at least for us Muslims) it is a divine bestowment, the Qur’an is not just for anyone to interpret as he or she so pleases. That is why we have ulamaks, people who, basically, study the religion of Islam and its many intricacies. They endeavour to learn the hadiths (literally, ways of Prophet Muhammad) and to interpret the meanings and rules of the Qur’an by way of debate/discussion/comparison (I think the proces is called ijma’). Hence, any acts of interpretation are founded by a triumvirate of religious sources working together: the Qur’an, the hadiths and the ijma’; this is to ensure that the validity and meaning of a religious ruling is preserved, can still be applied in a modern and societal context, and so that the rules of Islam would not be interpreted only literally.

Concerning your questions, you wrote: Now, according to scripture here, it appears that if women are “disobedient,” their husbands then have the right to beat them. The second scripture appears to give the man the right to be a polygamist and to also take captives. Is that all accurate or is this a gross mistranslation on the part of the University of Southern California?

According to my ustazah (female religious studies teacher), men are given the right to beat their wives, but it’s not the critical bone-breaking way most people imagine it to be :P Men are only allowed to beat their wives when their wives choose to abstain from their duties (the responsibilities expected of them as wives), or if they become disloyal. Even so, a man cannot beat his wife senselessly; the beating is only as a reminder, not a punishment. A gentle slap or spank is permitted, but the arm must not be raised high. If it has become the latter (a punishment), then it is not in accordance with Islam.

Secondly, the polygamy thing. In my country, Malaysia, this is quite an issue too as many men like to use that verse as a reminder of their “rights”. However, this is a gross literal abuse of the Qur’an’s intentions. (At least, that’s what I think.) The verse is actually in support of women - it is not meant to encourage men to gather as many women (limited to 4) as he so pleases, but to help women who are unable to find proper husbands and such. For example, widows of war, or widows whose husbands died a/an natural/unnatural death who still have children to take care of though with few means of doing so, or unmarried women who have gone past their blooming age (20s-30s-40s) and find it difficult to secure a partner, and so on and so forth.

Islam puts immense responsibility on a man who wishes to marry a woman. He must be able to cope with her mental, emotional, physical, and financial needs; all of it. If he fails to be fair and just in a single way, then he has committed a wrong. Now, if one has four wives, you can easily see how much more effort needs to be pumped in :P Unfortunately, a lot of people tend to take this issue lightly, and see polygamy only as a means as to have “legal” sexual relationships with other women. It must also be reminded that polygamy, while it is allowed, is highly discouraged when it is not a sense of duty, but rather, only lust, which propels a man to acquire another wife.

Where I live, women are accorded rights and given the amount of respect any human being should, and Islam certainly has found a place here. It is therefore my humble opinion that countries whose men are oppressive towards women, have such cultures only because of strict traditions. Us Malays say their people “ikut buku” (follow the book) too much, i.e. they go for literal, self-interpreted meanings.

Oh, and BTW, I am quite aware of Ayaan Hirsi Ali and her writings. If labels are valid I opine that she could be branded a liberal Muslim - an agnostic of sorts, I guess. But while I find her past endeavours (her helping immigrant Muslim women) to be very noble, I am not so inclined towards her current views, because I find them to be distortful and exaggerated. She likes to find faults and kinks in the execution of Islam by us humans, and does not try to prove of any faults in Islam itself, which, while already quite disconcerting, is not as disturbing as her public condemnation of Muhammad’s acts.

I am of the strict belief that Muhammad is not a pedophile. Though he might have married a 9-year old, he did so only in accordance with the cultural traditions of his time. We should not measure past traditions with our own modern ones - it is unfair. Though modern historians and orientalists condemn Muhammad, I have not yet read of any past historians (those who lived in Muhammad’s time) who had done the same to Muhammad. And Aishah, that 9-year old he married, would later turn out to be one of the most prominent observers of Prophet Muhammad’s words and ways (many of which became hadiths), and this in many ways has benefitted the Islamic faith and its members as a whole because she became a teacher after Muhammad’s time. Please read this article for more info.

Lastly, Ayaan Hirsi Ali makes the Atheist Manifesto (by Herman Philipse) her guide, which somehow makes me feel that she is unsuited to be a spokeswoman of the Islamic faith. Of course, her opinions are her own and I respect that.

I hope I have tackled all your questions? My most profound apologies if I have offended anyone though.

(P/S: Thanks for the compliment about my site’s name! :P)

chavo doyle

em hi im lookin 4 what does the word religion mean and where does it come from? please reply

Lelia

…Google, I COMMAND THEE to define religion.

Philosophers’ Carnival :: Philosophers’ Carnival XXX :: May :: 2006

[...] Lelia Thomas: http://www.leliathomas.com/2006/05/15/religion-in-the-modern-world/ [...]