Belief in a God is necessary for a moral societyReligion in the world has always been considered a rather important aspect of society.
Although this is true, there are still people that question the existence of God. A survey done among 1000 people showed that 65 percent of Americans believe that religion is losing its influence on American life (Sheler, 8). Even so, Belief in a God is necessary for a moral society because since the beginning of history man has always made up some sort of role model to explain events and situations that seem inexplicable, God gives people a sense of comfort and hope to know they aren’t alone, and when a society believes in a God, there is a religion behind it that gives ethics and values that they must comply to. Historically, the world has always used a higher being for a reason for the events that occur in their lives. They would look upon the bible to find answers from God or they would just use prayer to find them. The bible has always been used for the purpose of spreading the word of God.
However, it is looked at in many different ways. Technically it is said to be the actual word of God to be taken literally, word for word. Historically, the bible was a book written by the existing disciples of Jesus Christ, the son of God who is said to be the Savior (Sheler, 8). For the most part the bible isn’t interpreted that way anymore. People consider the bible to be a book that is full of the inspired of word of God, but something not to be taken literally (Sheler, 8). But in any case, the bible has had much to do with the moral society we live in today.
Either way the bible is read, people should get the same thing out of it, that they should be a good, law-abiding group of individuals and without the belief in God there wouldn’t be this book and without this book the world wouldn’t have this order today. The U. S. News took a survey asking 1000 people questions about their belief in God, or how God played a role in their lives. As a result, 93 percent of people said that they believed in God or a universal spirit (Sheler, 8). Also, when asked to describe their beliefs about God, 76 percent said that they consider God to be a heavenly father who can be reached by prayer (Sheler, 8).
That is a remarkable amount of people to belief that they have such a connection with something that they have no actual insurance of existing. Now, obviously America is considered a moral society, so wouldn’t all this faith play a key role in that observation? America has always lived a legitimately peaceful lifestyle even though it is considered one of the most religiously diverse countries in the world (Sheler, 5). The word religiously is the key word in that sentence. To have a religion or to believe in a religion is to have a set of rules that have been laid down by that religion to follow. With having these values, it makes it harder and less likely to live an unethical life creating a moral society.
In the bible, there are the Ten Commandments. These Ten Commandments are the rules in which the majority religion, Christianity, follow. The Ten Commandments state the obvious things a person shouldn’t do, such as not envying others, listening to your parents, doing no harm to others, and not stealing. When followed, those alone create a basis for a moral society. The ones that believe in God in America often apply their beliefs to the political office and the running of political candidates. When voting for the president, 78 percent of people say that the president should be a moral and spiritual role model for the country (Sheler, 5).
Therefore a presidential candidate is more likely to win office if he/she has a religion that they believe in and that they use in the running of the office. Even president Clinton himself agrees that faith and religion are very important for the growth of a moral society. He states “I do not believe I could do my job as president, much less continue to grow as a person, in the absence of my faith in God (Sheler, 5)” The opposing arguments towards the belief in God and it having anything to do with moral society usually state that the religiousness of our country doesn’t have much to do with the actual religion part (Bender, Bruno, 27). The counter argument says that religion is being used more as sociability or a way of belonging, rather than the actual believing in a God and wanting to spread his holy word.
Other facts they may use are that people are able to have a conscience and are able to make decisions without having a holy book to tell them the difference between right and wrong. They usually express the fact that all people have the ability to tell between right and wrong due to instincts. The separation of church and state has been pushed upon people for a very long time. Today, it is very, very unlikely to find a school where you can discuss religion. Although it seems that the majority believes that both state and church should be separated, there are more people that feel religion should be allowed in schools.
If religion were allowed in schools, the children of America would have a better understanding of religion and of God. Also, the future of religion in America would be more secure. While there are laws against religion, there are also laws for religion. One is that the state has required that the teaching of the Christian religion is required in state colleges, universities, and in prisons (Bender, Bruno, 35). The majority of Americans have some sort of belief in God that helps them to live healthy and moralistic lives. The belief in God has and always will be necessary for a moral society.
Just as the Pledge of Allegiance states, “One nation, under God (Sheler, 2).”
