Blog 6 - Student Chosen Topic - A World Without Religion

 Blog 6 - Student Chosen Topic - A World Without Religion

Simon Robson

12/09/2020

Today in another one of my classes we were discussing the fall of Christianity and of religion in general. The ways that religion has become less and less of a factor in the lives of young people in America and Europe. In our lecture it was stated that close to 50% of young people in the U.S. do not identify with any religion. As a Christian this was concerning but also as a person it brought me many questions. The big question particularly being: what happens in a world with no religion?

I don’t think it is any secret that religion as a whole serves many purposes. Within society it serves first as a beacon of hope. It gives life purpose and allows humans something that they can look to in hard times. It gives them a greater sense of purpose and helps them to escape what some might see as a scary reality. It often times also serves as a moral compass. It helps to ensure people act morally in their day to day lives as they attempt to please their God or gods and ensure their place in an afterlife or allow good to come back to them. Religion gives people such large amounts of passion. Such passion that it has started wars and led people to make life threatening decisions. So it is obvious that not all effects of religion are good, but in the end does it make the world a better place?

I would absolutely argue yes. I think that without religion I along with many others in today's society would feel lost and without guidance. For me religion gives me something to look to when everything else feels meaningless. It gives me hope in times of worry and sadness. It allows me the opportunity to communicate with something greater than myself and look for the good in things. It also makes me a much better person as I often try to act as I think that my God would want me to. In many ways I think that religion is a good step toward mental health. The other day I was working on a project for another class looking at music and its cultural effects. I was researching a song called “Lithium” by Nirvana. The song tells a story of a man who suffers from manic depression after the passing of his girlfriend. During these trying times the man turns to religion to help with his depression and talks about how he has found God. While I realize that Kurt Cobain and Nirvana aren’t a very great representation of religious people, I felt that this was still applicable and continued to point to the idea of religion as good for mental health. 

Religion also serves to humble humans as we must realize that there is something greater than us. It allows us to think about things in a different light. The world around us and how it was all wonderfully created specially in the eyes of the creator. Giving us a greater appreciation for the little things. So personally I do not want to live in a world where religion is extinct. If nothing else it makes life worth living and gives us moral obligations. There must be something more to this life and although I am confident in my religion I hope that it will have a resurgence among people today.