Atheists, I need your help?

Question

I have an idea of what I want to do, but I need help constructing a sociological question.

The basic idea:

I want to talk about how religion subtly shows its presence on society, and how we are made aware that it exists. For example, when people sneeze, you’d hear ‘God bless you’. Or when people discuss their views on abortion, someone will surely bring religion into it. Can you please help me construct a quesition.

I have one idea of a question so far:
How does religion subtly show its presence in a society where “knowledge is power” (Bacon)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Knowledge_is_Power

Thanks Eri that sounds great, other suggestions are welcome.

Lol Raymond at 'Thank God I'm an atheist'.

If you feel that way, then ignorare the term 'subtle' and if you can think of a question I'd appreaciate. it.

Answer 1

Sorry, but religion is anything but subtle.

Answer 2

There is no society where knowledge doesn't bestow power -- you even see it on Big Brother when someone comes in to the house from the outside -- so that last bit is redundant.

How about something more like:
The overt expressions of religion are generally recognized as influencing society on issues like the abortion debate, same-sex marriage and capital punishment. How do the more covert expressions, the ones that are such a part of daily life that we take them for granted, influence our behaviours and interactions as well?

"God bless you" isn't your best example of covert. You'll have a far stronger paper if you talk about things like holiday schedules (I have no choice but to have Christmas and Good Friday off and have to use personal leave for Rosh Hashanah, Yom Kippur, and Pesach). Also, the way that many Christians will just talk over other people, assuming that they are necessarily right and we are necessarily ignorant.

Answer 3

I think that is a very good idea for a question.

It seems to me religion subverts a society where knowledge is power by restricting knowledge. Religion tells you what to think, and why to think it, and most importantly to follow without question. That is not knowledge, or learning. That is following like herd animal. Is it any coincidence that priests are 'sheperds' leading a 'flock'?

The best examples I can think of aren't subtle... For example the intelligent design vs. evolution debate in Alabama, Mississipi etc... They wanted to out-law the teaching of evolution, a scientifically proven and valid fact. In other terms, they were suppressing the growth of knowledge.

The best subtle example I can think of is the religious ideals of G.W. Bush. I was watching an interview with Zbigniew Brzezinski (a former advisor to 3 presidents) in which he made an interesting point. Because G.W. is such a firm believer in God, he feels that whatever he does is morally justified. As a result he is so sure of his morals, he can do immoral deeds 'because God is with him'. The committing of immoral acts for moral goals. It is a perfect example of 'The ends justify the means'... The other phrase that springs to mind is 'the road to hell is paved with good intentions'.

Or if you wanted, that last phrase is a perfect example of the point you are making. I'm non-religious, but I just used a phrase with hell in it...

Answer 4

I'd say formulate something along the lines of the sublety of the philosophy of religion underlying every aspect of Western thinking... philosophy, medicine, science, education, etc. to the point that most people don't even know that dualism (which is a by-product of Catholic tampering in the early days) drives MOST of what they do. It's only a Western perspective bred by that same "tampering" and control and as it was spread by the sword through the world. Eastern ways of thinking isolated from, or protected by their own cultures never got this stuck.

_()_

Answer 5

The questions presupposes three facts:

1. that religion shows it's presence on society (better worded "influence on society")
2. that it does so in a subtle manner
3. that knowledge is power

I think that these presuppositions, and the Bacon quote, cloud the issue. In an academic question, you would want to ask something specific so that people stay on topic and don't pick it apart to argue irrelevancies. I would suggest something like "How are religious beliefs reflected in our society's social customs?"

Answer 6

Since it looks like you want to focus specifically on areas that are not themselves directly related to religion, I would go with something like the following:

What effects of religion can be seen in secular culture and practices?

If you're looking to focus on subtleties like God bless you rather than direct discussion of God like the case with abortion, maybe something like this if you wanted to go with the expressions theme:

How has religion influenced modern, colloquial English?

Answer 7

Well, those are good examples, and someone into etymology could come up with more.

Other examples could include common aphorisms, like "cast the first stone" or "If God Himself told me" -- plus frequently literary allusion to the Bible...

Answer 8

How about, 'The Hidden Influence of Religion' or 'Unconscious Religion'.

Answer 9

What does religion mean to you, and how does it influence your life?

Thank God I'm an atheist so I don't get these life puzzlements!

Answer 10

Soulful is right, religion is always in your face