The Positive Side of Religion

Running head: THE POSITIVE SIDE OF RELIGION
THE POSITIVE SIDE OF RELIGION
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THE POSITIVE SIDE OF RELIGION
The Positive Side Of Religion
Introduction
Many religions around the world are there that propagate different things however, the
fundamental message remains the same. Religion provides the ground from where people could
shape their lives and do well. Nonetheless, religion has been criticized for creating violence
around the world amongst other negative things. Religion has been targeted, most prominently in
the recent times for instigating violent activities including terrorism and hate crimes across the
world especially the Islam religion.
In this essay however, the main argument is to defend religion and prove that although it
has some bad points, it is generally positive.
Discussion
Religion does not propagate violence it propagates hope and peace. People with ardent
belief in religion believe that religion has the power to change the world for good. According to
these people, faith is what keeps human being alive and religion strengthens faith. The claims
made by them are true because many incidences have happened where faith in one’s religion has
protected the person from negative things. Michael Peligro in an article published in The
Conversation provides examples to prove that God exists and that religion is good. Isaac
Newton, the greatest physician, when asked to explain his theories could only state that it was all
God’s will (Theconversation.com, 2019). Many theorists, scientists and others have struggled to
find an explanation about numerous things that happen in the world. People with strong
affiliation with religion believe that all these are the work of God, which is a positive aspect.

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THE POSITIVE SIDE OF RELIGION
Having the belief, that God is behind every invention, discovery and theory in the world leads to
positivity; it gives people hope.
People with strong religious beliefs stay disciplined and conscious. Religion teaches
people to be disciplined and stay away from any bad habits and activities. Religious scriptures of
almost every religion mention that doing bad to others or to self is a sin and punishable. People
who are true followers of religion believe in the afterlife and the fact that any bad deed in this
life would affect their afterlife. Due to this belief, people restraint themselves from committing
crimes. As Woodward et al. (2014) argue, the different religious scriptures have different laws
and rules regarding the way of life that people are required to lead. The authors state that in
Islam too, the holy Quran has verses that clearly explain the need to defend the dignity of self
and others else face the repercussions. The author is correct in stating this because religion’s
positive aspects could be seen from the verses present in the various religious scriptures. Apart
from that, the various religious festivals that are celebrated across the world also demonstrate
positivity and happiness. Christian festivals of Thanksgiving, Easter and Christmas, Hindu
festivals of Holi, Diwali and many others, Muslim festivals of Eid, Ramadan – all are celebrated
for spreading peace, harmony and happiness. These festivals also require people to maintain
some discipline. Hence, it could easily discerned that religion is a positive thing.
In contrast to the above view, many argue that religion is dangerous because it instigates
people to commit crime. On March 15, 2019, an armed gunman attacked two mosques in New
Zealand and live streamed the video on Facebook. The gunman was identified as a white man in
his late twenties and hailing from Australia (Nbcnews.com, 2019). Around 49 people lost their
lives in the shootings that has been addressed the one of the worst in New Zealand’s history
(Nbcnews.com, 2019).. The motive behind the killings was clear from the video; revenge against