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Nicholas Gunnell

REL107

01/22/18

A Religious World: Growing or Shrinking?

With the world today, great focus has been placed on the world of religion. Where does

religion play on the performance of the world today? Are they more needed then ever or are they

hindering the human mind of today’s word?

From the video Global Religions, Professor Barfoot says that “Religion will always be

with us” and how true that is. Our human instinct and our draw to religion is some of our most

deep-rooted desires. It is true that humans have shed the notion of religion and prove to live a

successful life without it but, overall, the world populace needs something greater than

themselves.

Some of the oldest religions are said to have begun at the dawn of time, claiming the right

to the most true and ancient rites but these most of these ancient religions have faded into

obscurity because of a big issue, most of their beliefs are not written down. This does not only

cause a great riff amidst followers (who is right and who is wrong) but it does not allow people

outside the religion to fully grasp the meaning of doctrine of these religion sects. Some of the

oldest religions mentioned that are prevalent today include Judaism (oldest monotheistic (one

god) religion, 900BCE), Buddhism, and Sikhism. These religions are organized in their texts and

written traditions. Chinese religions, which are ancient in nature, are, what Professor Barfoot

refers to as “folk traditions” or primal traditions. Primal is not be a word used despairingly but it

is a word used to describe the religions organization and how the religion is performed. Leaders

of these groups are generally from the older generation and are considered wise and all-knowing
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(similar to shamans). These primal religions are similar to the Native Americans before America

was colonized because their connection to nature and the great powers in the world was more

prevalent than toward one great god.

The newest religions of our time exist in the form of two (most prevalent) religions today,

Christianity and Islam. Together they make up 54% of the religious population of the world

today. Why do you believe that is? Well, Professor Barfoot lists two reasons as to why these

religions seem to be growing and I could not agree more. The first is that they are seeking

converts from across the world. This means that they are sending out evangelists and

missionaries to represent their religious views to seek out those who will accept the word. This

continues to be a heavily focused area from each of these religions within their sects. This sets

them apart from more ancient and dwindling religions because some of them do not seek

converts, it stays within the family throughout generations and does not go beyond those walls.

The other reason stated by Professor Barfoot is that these religions combine the most ancient

traditions with the most modern. Why would this make a lasting effect? The reason is quite

simple. Using basic religious symbolism mixed with modern society (television, radio, the

internet) these grasp the largest group of individuals who wish to join something larger than

themselves.

The grandness of these two religions are not coincidental. Globalization can most

definitely have played a part in the expansive growth of these two religions around the world.

With most of us hailing from similar ancestry, our primal instincts are to believe in something

that not only gives us hope on a personal level but hope for humanity and the world as a whole.

Christianity sends their missionaries of all sects around the world to spread the words of Christ to

give those hope. People from other countries with different experiences and different looks at life
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teach those who live completely different lives and see with different eyes. Islam does the same

thing, spreading the goodness of God to those who are willing to hear it. The crossing of these

different people who have different religious backgrounds and lives can be viewed as a certain

type of globalization, the globalization of ideas and ideals. This could also be taken a step further

as we look at the more aggressive and barbaric spread of Christianity (predominately

Catholicism) through the form of the Spanish Inquisition, the Holy War and crusades across non-

Christian lands. This is also a form of globalization which saw the spread of these beliefs to

people who did not know anything about the life of Christ.

Now, for the big question, will the new generations of the world slowly begin to

deteriorate their connection to any organized religion or will there be another “Great

Awakening” and religious sects will boom with new members? In all honest, it is difficult to say.

In how the world is looking by today’s standards, it is more likely that the non-religious

population will grow more and more each year as people put off the future and live in the here

and now. It’s not a surprising fact that we live in a time that could be classified as the “Era of

Instant Gratification”, where everything is fast, easy, and enjoyable. Religion does not fit into

that puzzle that generations of today are piecing together. Religion is about self-control, refusing

the bad and taking in the good, embracing a higher power in all things and giving thanks for all

that comes from that power. But the modern world is a world of progression, people are

challenging the concepts of what makes bad and good, they are refuting teaching from religious

texts and deciding that it is easier to rely on oneself than the different teaching they are hearing

from other people. There’s no doubting that today’s generation is self-reliant and their

dependency on religion is slowly decaying until there will be nothing left.

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Religion is one of the most fascinating topics of the modern world. It causes wars,

deception, betrayal, greed, lust, and anger. But it also brings faith, hope, eternal perspectives,

unity, belonging, and love. Although we live in a world where religion takes a backseat to other

details in life, I feel that religion is the backbone of our society and we need it to see who we are

and where we came from.