Effects of religion on society and individual behavior

Organized Religion

Jared Diamond, in his book Guns, Germs and Steel, notes the flurry of anthropological evidence suggesting that it was until the transition from mere tribes to chiefdoms that brought organized, socially-relevant religion into existence. As evidence Diamond notes that it was at this time that massive tributes, statutes, shrines and temples began to be erected in the name of the varying gods and organized by the society and cheiftan. Of course, personal religion existed beforehand, but it lacked social significance. Thus, it was organized religion that first made the collective and cooperative peaceful existence of large number of people possible (Diamond, 1997).

Although organized religion presented the above-mentioned ancient societies with the ability to coalesce in peaceful tribute, more recent examples show that organized religion has also created the necessary atmosphere for massive societal strife and violence. Religious Wars and the spread of disease are just two of the myriad effects that organized religion has had on society.

Religious wars have been fought from the days of the Roman Empire, and have effected mixed results on society. During the Crusades, Christian soldiers killed their way to the holy lands in the name of the Catholic Church and the fight for eternal salvation. From 1096 to 1270 the Catholic Church ordered eight major crusades and two children's crusades for the purpose of liberating the Holy Land from the Muslims (History World Int., 2007). Throughout the long history of the Crusades, thousands of knights, soldiers, merchants, and peasants died on the march or in battle. The effects of the crusades were two-fold; they created deep-rooted animosity between Christians and Muslims but also increased trade. The Italian cities prospered from the transport of Crusaders. Trade passed through Italian hands to Western Europe at a large profit that created a commercial power, which served as the economic base for the Italian Renaissance (History World Int., 2007).

More recently, organized religion led al-quaeda to fly two passenger jets into the world trade centre, because those involved were promised eternal life after death. Originally, organized religion united society, but the building animosity between religious groups has only accomplished separation, stereotypes, and war amongst peoples.