DGP Chapter 15

We live in a world that is so diverse in culture and beliefs, that it is sometimes hard to keep up with everything around us. Religion is one of those things. DGP chapter fifteen discusses "Religious Fundamentalism in the Modern World: Faith, Identity, and Contemporary Politics." This chapter discusses the various ideas about religion, that each help to make our world a diverse one. Within the background discussion, religion is described to have four important social benefits, with the four being: 1) gives people a sense of identity, a way to define a group and give it unity, 2) offers its believers an interpretive framework for understanding the world's past, present, and future, 3) contains rules and standards that are supposed to guide the thoughts and actions of believers, and 4) provides the methods for passing its beliefs, rules, and institutions from one generation to the next.

Ultimately, writing from a somewhat non-religious background, I find that there are many things I agree and disagree with, within this chapter. Personally, I am not against religion, it is just a hard practice for me to follow. I find that the four important social benefits that I outlined earlier, is truly important, but isn't the only way information can be passed. If we think about our modern day, there are many wars and issues against others, with religion being a part of the trouble. If religion is beneficial because it provides us a sense of identity, or offers us a pathway of our past, can't we say that this is true for many other ways of teaching or beliefs? Maybe I am just sounding naive because I am not truly dedicated to one religion, but I think that there are many traditions or beliefs that could be beneficial to us. Or maybe it is just our world today that is making me think like this. Regardless, I am not putting religion down or anything, just simply questioning why we think it is so important, when many people (or just teens) do not live by the "holy" way, day to day.