Religion In Margaret Atwood's Oryx And Crake

At first glance, Ray Bradbury’s novel Fahrenheit 451 and Matthew Arnold’s poem Dover Beach may not have anything in common however the inclusion of Dover Beach in Fahrenheit 451 begs to differ. Both were written during a period of change. Arnold wrote Dover Beach during the Industrial Revolution and Bradbury wrote Fahrenheit 451 shortly after World War 2. Although Dover Beach was written a century earlier, they both consider the problems within society; the effects of an ever changing world. The two bring forth their similarities through addressing the issues of loss of faith, sadness and loss of humanity.

It is a convenient and comforting respond to unfortunate and even devastating ‘fate’. The pain becomes bearable to those who suffer because it is all part of a bigger plan, it is more than ‘you’. This concept is also built upon an irrational fundamental attitude, “the surrender of self to the ordering power of society.” (54) The problem of theodicy does not end at that. The use of God as a shield works on believers, but not on nonbelievers. The question “why bad things happening to good people” still cannot be answered for the nonbelievers, a common critique of religion itself. Regardless of the problem of theodicy, however, religion has worked really well to create and maintain the reality. Berger explains that it is because religion legitimates effectively. “Religion has been the historically most widespread and effective instrumentality of legitimation…. it relates the precarious reality constructions of empirical societies with ultimate reality.”

Religion–it is something that has been in existence since the beginning of time. It brings meaning to life and death. It creates a sense of belonging in the world. On the other hand, religion, or lack thereof, has also been, in many instances, the cause of oppression, warfare, and even terrorism. Sometimes religion is used to the advantage of one’s self. This can lead to extremism, which some might label as false piety or religious fanaticism. Looking at how these ideas might come into play can help us to better understand where Tartuffe and Orgon stood throughout the story, and to decipher what Molière was truly trying to project in this story of hypocrisy.

“Just as a candle cannot burn without fire, men cannot live without a spiritual life” (Buddha). Throughout different time periods religion has impacted the society in which people live. Religion has and continues to dictate the rules citizens have to follow in all areas, especially social, educational, and political. Religion influences morals, values, and people’s identities. Many people turn to religion for not just spiritual answers, but for guidance and help in everyday life. Religion also affects the inner workings of a society. However, religion has evolved with time. In earlier societies, only one religion was usually allowed and accepted. In Salem Massachusetts during the Witch Trials, every citizen had to be seen as a good Christian. In this case, religion determined whether or not a person was good and trustworthy. Currently, all religions are accepted and many do not judge others based upon it. For

Religion often times is depicted as a specific institution that follows the teaching of the Bible, Torah, or the Quran. People fail to realize that religion can stand as anything for any particular person depending on their values. These values bring about sacred symbols, object, or systems to

Religion was created as the understanding of the totem changed. Durkheim states, “religious force is none other than the collective and anonymous force of the clan, the totemic emblem is so to speak the visible body of the god”. The overwhelming spiritual feeling surrounding the totem that is now understood as some form of religion. It becomes more complex over time and creates a hierarchy and order which results in knowledge, a way to organize and understand the world much like the sciences. Both science and religion are a way of knowing, but religion has a stronger emotional pull due to being created through the collective effervescent. “There is no gulf between the logic of religious thought and the logic of scientific thought, both are made up of the same essential elements”. Ultimately, religion gave the people a way to create a division from what is considered sacred and profane in

Christians today are perceived much differently now than they were in past generations. In his book UnChristian, David Kinnaman reveals what the current standings of young outsiders, or those that do not identify with Christianity, are about Christians in comparison to past generations (referred to in the book as “Mosaics” or “Busters” depending on the year of their birth). Though unfortunate, this faith is seen more as club or a social circle of the elite rather than a group of people faithful to their beliefs.

Throughout the development of European history, empires rose and fell due to pressures surrounding power and prestige. Empires widened their boundaries for the benefit of gaining more religious follows, money, or political influence. Those three aspects of territorial expansion led to the diffusion of information, techniques, and power. Also, they all led to the globalization of European views and political practices. The spread of European ideals through globalization caused for other countries to reproduce European religion, politics, and societal practices.

“Religion is the sigh of the oppressed creature, the heart of a heartless world, and the soul of soulless conditions. It is the opium of the people.” Karl Marx

Religions have a hand in completely blinding communities. In fact, some communities have completely changed their morals, to better accommodate to that of their chosen religious belief. As such, these communities have trouble in differentiating between being reasonable, and of, being unreasonable. Bringing this farther into confrontation is that of Arthur Miller’s The Crucible. Through that of his characters, Miller expresses ignorance, and of how, it can make a group go against rational thinking, thus, eventually causing the death, and or pain, of others as a result. And, in turn, ruining the group’s good image, in the eyes of others.

Preliminary Thesis Statement: Religion is an essential constituent of any civilization with a unique spiritual pathway.

Religion is a constant element shaping our political, economic and social lives. It pinpoints the set of beliefs, dogmas and practices defining the relation between human beings and the so called “divinity”. The notion of religion has always been a very important element of the world’s history. It began as an element forming the ancient societies, it was indistinguishable from what is known as 'mythology ' in the present day and consisted of regular rituals based on a belief in higher supernatural entities who created and continued to maintain the world and surrounding cosmos. To this very day people are confronted with many philosophical questions regarding this belief and practice. It is a confrontation between the ones who believe and the ones who do not. As rational animals, humans are seeking meaning beings and always question everything. This process of seeking is what enables us to discover numerous scientific facts, laws, and theories as well as religions. As citizens of a mostly democratic era, people are allowed to have their own personal beliefs, believe in their individual god or gods, in some religions. Furthermore this demonstrates the constant opposition of science and religion where once lived a harmony. Most scientific and technical innovations were achieved by societies organized

Written in the 1970s, Jennifer Traig reveals in her humorous memoir how she changed and overcame the mental and social challenges that life threw at her from childhood into adulthood. Life certainly threw her tough challenges in the forms of OCD (obsessive compulsion disorder), scrupulosity, and anorexia. . To say the least, she looked for the devil in every detail believing if she didn’t do something perfect someone would get hurt. Traig begins her book by recounting a memory where scrupulosity took over. Being a form of OCD, scrupulosity makes its “victims” have an obsession with religion, in Jenny’s case her obsession was Judaism. Although her mother is Christian and her father Jewish she found herself drawn to the rules of the Torah and its Anorexia applied to every little aspect in her life, which is where it differs from anorexics who are only worried about food. She found herself counting every calorie that came near her body and digging through encyclopedias for every element in her food. Her new coming skinniness didn’t come from her sister’s nickname of “Sister Infinity Fats” that even her parents joined in on, it merely formed on something Jenny considered a hobby. But her “hobby” became more than that after a while, thinking she would be “condemned to hell” for taking up so much room and felt guilty for eating. As Jenny neared college she desperately filled her schedule with every activity she could fit into her schedule from French club to drama club. With her schedule filled with activities and keeping up with her grades she had no time to live the “real high school experience” or as she tells it, that was her excuse. Her life had always been consumed by mental illnesses and obsessions that she had never made close friends or developed socially beside her classmates. Always feeling drawn towards France and its culture, Jenny and

Gill, S. (1994). The Academic Study of Religion. Journal of the American Academy of Religion, 62(4), 965-975. Retrieved from http://www.jstor.org.ucc.idm.oclc.org/stable/1465226

As noted by Parvati Raghuram "For many, religion relates primarily to belief systems with a commitment to some normative values and some social order" (Skeleton & Allen, 1999) . Religion offers a structure that facilitates honourable thinking and encourages individuals to act sincerely in a formidable