Why should religion have any influence on our lives?

[MusicLovingAtheist]

I made basically this same thread before, and I feel like I could have basically summed up what I wanted to ask in this one sentence. I want to know why in my sociology class I keep hearing that religion plays a role in shaping our lives. Of course it SHOULDN'T HAVE TO, but it's a widely accepted facet of our culture. Is there really any necessity to it? I think it's absolutely unnecessary, and I wish that religion as a whole would be completely abolished.

Sorry if this is a duplicate thread, I just feel like making it would get better results than the last ones I made.

[psychoslice]

Exactly, why ?.

[MusicLovingAtheist]

I'm gonna raise my hand next time the sociology teacher talks about religion's influence on society and say "you talk a lot about how religion influences society, but you never mention that it's completely unnecessary for a functional society". See how many kids get outraged at that.

Edit: or since the teacher is just being politically correct by respecting religion, I could just ask "would you say that religion is entirely unnecessary for society to function as a whole?"

[Michael B]

I think the reality is that when we live as a society, rather than purely as individuals, all the beliefs and values held by people in that society will influence each other. The only way to eliminate the influence of religion would be to eliminate religious people from society, just as the only way to eliminate the influence of any particular political view would be to eliminate those who hold that view.

Personally I am very comfortable in a pluralistic and multi-cultural society. I think pluralism often enriches society, if only because we have to learn to get along with people who are different, and who have different views and beliefs, from ourselves. Generally in the UK we have quite a mature pluralistic and mult-cultural society. Yes, there are tensions at times, but generally I think we've learned to get along pretty well in a society with very mixed ethnic and religious backgrounds. Rather than try to eliminate anything that marks people as 'different' we have learned to accept, and even embrace, those differences, allowing all to have a say in our society.

[rexbeccarox]

Listen, darlin'. Sometimes in order to stand up for your beliefs, you need to keep your damned mouth shut.

Your teacher is right: religion does influence society; you're not gonna get around that. Your teacher is not there to give you options, or opinions; she's there to give you facts. Why should she answer a subjective question? Why should she be subjective at all? Whether religion influences sociology is objective, therefore taught. Think for yourself, become an important person, and teach the masses. Your sociology class is proooobably not the place to do that.

[MusicLovingAtheist]

Listen, darlin'. Sometimes in order to stand up for your beliefs, you need to keep your damned mouth shut.

Your teacher is right: religion does influence society; you're not gonna get around that. Your teacher is not there to give you options, or opinions; she's there to give you facts. Why should she answer a subjective question? Why should she be subjective at all? Whether religion influences sociology is objective, therefore taught. Think for yourself, become an important person, and teach the masses. Your sociology class is proooobably not the place to do that.

Eh, yeah that's a good point. I just wanted to stir up the class. I wouldn't do this kind of thing if I didn't dislike the class already anyways.

[Hunafae!i]

The OP could give the duckology teacher reasons how he thinks religion has been a waste of time at worst, mere comfort at best. I agree with Michael B in a plural society, but I disagree with removal as the only solution. Speak reason as much as you can, point out the illogical always. Some day perhaps, God will occupy less space in the room and we all can get on with our one shot at life, or so it would seem anyway.

[Aoi Magi]

Religion is very much necessary.
Just as you need evil to understand and appreciate good, you need religion to understand and appreciate intelligence and logic.

[rexbeccarox]

Religion is very much necessary.
Just as you need evil to understand and appreciate good, you need religion to understand and appreciate intelligence and logic.

Aaaaah... no.

[Michael B]

I'm gonna raise my hand next time the sociology teacher talks about religion's influence on society and say "you talk a lot about how religion influences society, but you never mention that it's completely unnecessary for a functional society". See how many kids get outraged at that.

I think perhaps all you'd be showing is some misunderstanding on your part of what sociology is. Sociology is the study of societies as they are, and the formation of theories as to why they are as they are. As Rexbeccarox says, it deals with facts, and not with your own personal preferences of how you'd like society to be. Like it or not, society is rarely exactly what any of us would like it to be; but we start by accepting it for what it is, understanding why it is the way it is (that's where sociology helps), and then work to influence it in the direction we want it to go. For many of us our effective sphere of influence is in the way we live our lives, and how we touch the lives of others. So, for example, if you are concerned about the welfare of the poor, doing something to help them will change the world in a small but important way (probably much more than looking for political change, unless you are one of the few especially gifted rhetoricians).