From the ancient times, people believed in something—Gods, idols, or the sun. Centuries later, belief systems are still an integral aspect of many modern societies, influencing the countries’ laws, characteristics, and behaviour. It is a set of mutually supportive beliefs, religious, philosophical, or personal, and with an astonishing 4200 different religions in the world,(1) religions and belief systems may be one of the fuels for peril and may have done more harm than good: starting wars, conflicts, and dividing people. It is a fuel that has started 123 wars on the basis of religion alone. (2) Belief systems are a part of the environmental side of the coin, and we accumulate multiple beliefs throughout our lifetimes—starting as innocently as believing in Santa, to having them shape us across all aspects across our lives.
Perspectives on Belief Systems
Belief systems at its worst foster strife and war, setting the believers against infidels, and different religions against each other rather than uniting everyone. Leaders like Martin Luther King or Mao Zedong stood against injustice as they were powered by their beliefs. Giving a voice to the underprivileged from oppressing governments, changing cultural attitudes. (3) On a smaller scale, religion gives individuals comfort and meaning to everyday life; not just that, religion brings people together which allows them to socialize, which has been a glue in holding together human societies, that created the rise of civilizations, and religious cults.
National Perspective
Gloriavale
Whether it is Gods, rules, or their backstories, the obvious cause for the rise of cults—a form of religion, is that these places offer comfort, acceptance or even an avenue of resolution for a better and new life to some people that previously did not fit in with the 21st century. As a small nation of the population only being four million, my country, New Zealand is also the birthplace of several religious cults.. The main one is in Christchurch—Gloriavale. (3) Secluded from society, it is a place without money or technology, (which, might be good for eliminating poverty), and everyone there works for the greater good of Jesus— he or she are even waiting for the world to end so they can ‘meet God’. With a population of over 500, (4) it is a whole other world completely dedicated to the Christian beliefs.
The greatest consequences of these cults is to its individuals and society. Like Gloriavale, another cult is called Jonestown in Guyana. (5) Though in different locations, the horrific reality is still clear: workers are underfed and overworked, socialism exists, and trying to escape lead to punishments. On a larger scale, some cults are so large that, they have extraordinary impact on media, politics, and law, trying to make the modern society ‘their ‘way, just like how they changed the values and beliefs of the members. An interesting point is that men are the leaders of the Gloriavale cult, which also leads to the belief in Sharia Law—where men are leaders, and women workers. The ancient rules the of cults is certainly not good for the 21st century or the members in it, and what it appear as an idyllic paradise, is actually harmful in reality.
From the perspectives of the people that choose to join cults, I can understand why as they expect a haven or a ‘better’ world instead of the ‘worse’ society they have come from, and for them to have a greater sense of belonging to the society. It would require lots of resilience to be a part of a place like this, as the fear of punishment exist if you choose to leave, and the strict rules that you have to abide by. For myself, I know I certainly would not be able to stand to live in a place like this, and not to be able to make my own choices to life. My mother told me that I was always quite rebellious growing up, and, even now, I do not like to be controlled but rather take lead with my fiery personality of a Leo—which is also a part of my own belief system of astrology. With all the information I have learned about cults, in my opinion, they are for the sinister. Your money is now their money, your family is gone, and, somehow everyone outside the cult is now their enemy.
Islamic Law of Pakistan
Global perspective
1.6 billion adherents.(6) 23% of the global population.(7) It is Islam, the second biggest practiced belief in the world. It is a religion that constitutes the total submission of the Muslim God. During this submission, it brings out love, peace and above all, justice—which is a good that belief system does. However, this religion also means that women are regarded as less ‘valuable’ than men.(8) The burden of patriarchy it has is an overriding and unifying force for how women move throughout these countries under the Islamic Law. The severity of it in some Islamic societies caused criticism from people all over the world. This is because we live in a modern world, where people believe in liberties and human rights, and the Islamic Law has lost its place in developed countries because of its ancient rules.
The consequences inside a patriarchal society is severe. Muslim women are forced to cover and hide themselves in public by a hijab to retain their modesty. This forced movement and stricter rules severely limit freedom in public life. Saudi Arabia has only allowed women to drive only in the recent times,(9) or in Pakistan, a woman has been stoned to death by Sharia courts after she reported that she was raped.(10) Other Islamic countries have lots of similarities of how women are treated, and treated badly. This action on the basis of religion alone certainly dictates that belief systems creates more shadow rather than light.
From the perspective of a Muslim women, rules are being suppressed upon her applies to her everyday life—not having the right to make her own decisions. In extreme cases, men hold so much power that tolerating domestic violence might just be a part of a Muslim woman’s daily routine. According to a study carried out by the Human Rights Watch, around 20 to 30% of Pakistan women have experienced abuse by husbands.(11) Still, the thought of leaving the husband doesn’t exist, because the women won’t survive as they don’t have the money or the ability to drive. The issue of gender equality is not recognized enough, and we need to shed light on it. From researching this report, I may only have understood the surface struggles. As a female, I know that I will not be able to tolerate this cruel behaviour, but what can you do if you are in their shoes?
Christianity
National Perspective
One third of the world is Christian. (12) Because of its popularity, many atheists often focus on the bad stuff about it, digging up the dirt about Christianity constantly. But it is easy—after all, the 2000 year’s worth of history are just written in a book, lying around ready to be shovelled. However, with these stories aside, Christianity has inspired some of world’s greatest artist, musician, and literature. Furthermore, it teaches us to be admirable or disciplined, and I feel like we as humans have a need for something to look up to. After all, what is a world without religion?
‘Jesus loves all. The churches love all…except for those that are different from us. ‘This was quoted by Stephen Fry on the debate with religion against Christopher Hitchens. (13) Throughout history, Christianity has always taken a tough stance on gay relationships, and even in the smallest situations, different values set by religion still creates heated arguments. A gay couple in New Zealand requested a cake to be made for their wedding, however, as the baker was Christian, she refused to bake it as it was ‘against her beliefs to do so’. Should religion stigmatize a section of society and regard them as immoral? Many people were deeply triggered by the baker’s decision. The same situation happened in America where eventually, that baker decided to do wedding cakes all together, which made him loose up to half of his income.
From the viewpoint of the bakers, I can understand that their beliefs depict gay marriage as wrong and sinful. Nevertheless, if a form of arts that you are passionate about is in cake baking, and you do it as a job, shouldn’t professionalism come before anything else? Of course you can practice your religion, but it should not interfere with your job. It is these tough stances Christianity have on what the modern world is now finally accepting that is hindering our society. Moreover, having a strong faith prevents the equality of all and belief systems can even cause the smallest conflict, which is one reason why it does more harm than good.
Solutions
From an argument to a war, belief systems constantly create conflict and disagreements, and the increased tension between different beliefs and religions often make people jump to conclusion before taking the time to learn about each others beliefs. I believe that if schools taught some parts of religion, it would lead to a more tolerant world. Religion is a choice—you don’t have to be, but understanding how paramount religion is to some people and how big of a role it plays in their daily lives, as well as how it impacts their country is important for toleration. A study of British adults showed that 54% believed that creationism should be taught alongside evolution in science lessons(14), and compared to my country, an increasing number of schools is teaching both creationism and evolution.(15) Educating people on a diverse scale will not only gain you knowledge, but an understanding and empathy to people with backgrounds different to you, creating a more open-minded future generation.
We now need a society where we can express our individuality and not being forced to have specific beliefs. From the beginning of time we were trying to force our beliefs on each other. Moreover, beliefs are not just religion, but beliefs like veganism, or even something ridiculous like the flat earth theory, or even having to have a belief at all. From the way of spreading a message with social media and other circumstances, we need discussing specific issues together calmly. Under-developed countries also needs to hear this, so their government can address specific problems, and teach the younger generation to do the right thing. When we discuss about issues we learn to understand the different beliefs and therefore can accept other people. Even if we can not tolerate, we should at least ignore, and go back to the quote you learnt in primary school—think before you speak.
Although both solutions are credible and feasible, I think the first solution is better. I think that the emphasis on education early of other beliefs is more important because if we can teach future generations about a diverse range of beliefs, they will develop empathy. They will understand how other religions worship and can explore different backgrounds than their own. A world without war, criminality, and insanity is hard to achieve for now. Nevertheless, with the mind sets of so many great people in this world, change to the right path may just be happening faster.
Conclusion
It is undeniable that there are countless problems associated with belief systems in the history of human civilization. From researching this report, I’ve gained a new insight on belief systems, and, for millions of people, beliefs are paramount to their identity. In my opinion, beliefs might start out with good intentions, but through time as it gets manipulated, it may cause more harm than good. The messy entanglement it creates hinders our society, and create constant conflict—big or small. Hopefully, these problems, will only emphasise the importance of the renewal of religion, and those conflicts—will be resolved.