Leave Me Alone Essay Example

aren't, many hold a belief in God even if they don't associate that belief with a particular religion.

So when you study religion, you have an insight into the beliefs, patterns, behavior and moral codes of 84% of the world's population. A religious scholar while walking down the street bumps into someone, there is an 84% chance that person is religious, which meaner the scholar will already know something about the behavior of the other person. You may argue that knowing things about random strangers is useless, but you would be wrong. Religious study is first and foremost an interdisciplinary subject, which can baffle and disorient those with poorly developed minds, leading to their designation 'useless'.

So let us enter the business world to explore where religion can have an effect. In 2012, Mcdonald's opened a restaurant in India. The difference? It serves only vegetarian food. Therefore if you want a Big-Mac in India, you best bring your own. The change comes from the two dominant religions in India; Hinduism, with plenty of texts that prohibit the eating of beef, and Islam, whose teachings forbid the eating of pork. The Hindu text Rig Veda says, "The cow gives milk each year, O Man- regarded let not the Y¤thud¤an ever taste it.

If one would glut him with the besting, Again, pierce with thy flame his vitals as he meets thee. " I cite this to show with what power religion can have over someone. Surely a Big Mac is not worth a flame piercing our vitals, though to the American suffering from heart burn, I suppose it is. Religion can transform a consumer market so

much, that any American would not recognize a Mcdonald's if the chain changed its Indian name. To be clear, market research is studying the behavior of strangers. Any attempt at this without knowing the religious motivations of the area, will forever be incomplete.

Keeping with the economic theme, Matthias Hell, produced a nice study that investigates the role that religion plays in international trade. He makes some interesting conclusions. Religions interact differently with each other, and he finds hat religions like Hinduism don't mind trading with different religions. In fact, they may actually prefer it, but because Hindus are divided up into a complex caste system it may be hard for other religions to recognize which Hindus are suitable trading partners. Muslims however prefer trading with their own kind, and place a higher value upon trade in general.

This is because the Koran speaks much of economic activity. Which makes sense due to Mecca's close proximity to an important trade route during Muhammad time. Conversely, the Bible doesn't say much, so Christians don't hold trade with much reverence, seeing it only as a necessity. I encourage you to read the entire study, as I can not hear do it full Justice. Religious study seems to be incredibly important for people/businesses effected by international trade, especially if those businesses are trading with countries who's dominant religion is different from their own.

The National recently presented a segment entitled "Ask Rexes. " In this segment, the political correspondent Rexes Murphy answered questions posited by watchers of the show. One young viewer asked what it took to become a political correspondent, to which he replied that you should

read history, science and mathematics. To be clear, when one studies religion, it doesn't so much change what is learned, as it does change the lens through which you learn it. So, a religion degree doesn't mean an absence of historical, scientific and mathematical knowledge, to the contrary, it meaner that we learn these things from a unique perspective.

In fact, we learn these things from a perspective particularly relevant in a post 9/1 1 world. In the world of journalism, religion certainly has its place, else you may end up like the horrid journalists on Fox News. I don't kid myself by suggesting that Journalism is an easy lied to break into, but someone with a unique degree, certainly has a better chance of breaking in than someone that blends in with the crowd. I argue that religion and Journalism go hand in hand because of religion's prominent position in man's history. I also say they go hand in hand, because religion is intimately related to so many contemporary issues.

This being said, I treat these following paragraphs on contemporary issues as ends in themselves, important because they effect a lot of people, not to prove Journalism and religion's intimate relationship. First, people die because of religion. The Babylonian exile resulted in the persecution and dispersal of Jews into the Jewish Diaspora. The crusades are an embodiment of the constant tension between the Christian and Muslim world. The Spanish inquisition again picked on and persecuted the Jews. To say that's part of a distant past however, could not be further from the truth.

Of course, the image of the World Trade Centers collapsing are

well ingrained into every mind that witnessed the event. The Boston Marathon bombings have been even more recently engraved into our minds. Remember Kong 2012, the video that attempted to disarm the leader of he Lord's Resistance Army? I can't imagine the heartlessness that must reside inside those that suggest religious study is useless when religion can very clearly be related to great violence and death. It is on this point that I shall wave my earlier promise not to claim myself morally superior.

I could go on citing more examples, however I will leave this to the reader,who should start with "god is not Great" by Christopher Hitchers (who was for many years a political correspondent), if you wish to explore religion's violent past in more detail, from genital mutilation to priests becoming a title too friendly. It is known by most that religion and science often wage war, what some people may find surprising however is that these wars can have real world consequences. The teaching of intelligent design in the classroom has been a hotly debated topic since the beginning of the 20th century.

Surprisingly, this issue still finds its way to the courts even within the last 10 years. In 2005 the case of Sterilely v. Dover gained national attention, and inspired books like "The Devil in Dover" by Laura Lobe. The court ruled that science class need explore the strengths and weaknesses of Darning's hero, and to show alternatives such as intelligent design. The court wrote out a notice to students, which would be read by science teachers at the beginning of each semester, explaining these things to the students.