Religions Have Affected History

By: Gracia Shelor

In viking settlements women controlled the money because they were believed to be
magic, women also used to have leadership roles in many cultures before Christianity came
along and stomped it out. We will be talking about how religion has affected to course of history.
Religion has affected history because it has determined how women are treated, the way the
government has functioned, and wars that have been waged.

Religion has affected how women are treated for as long as it has been around. Some
world religions based on scriptural traditions portray women as subordinate and weak. Native
american religions made women have significant power in both the religious and political
aspects of life. Native american religions have depicted that all humans came from their deity
the Sky Woman, making them different in that they have a female depiction of their main deity.
The religious beliefs of women have also shaped their mannerisms and how they think, not only
in general, but of themselves. Their religious beliefs have affected their attitude towards
sexuality, their attitudes towards the body, their understanding of suffering, and what is wrong
and what is right.

Religion has also affected the government in many cultures in history. In England you
used to be required to follow whatever faith the king followed. Governments used to make their
decisions based on whatever faith that they followed. Some governments were even ruled by
their bible, like the U.S. Constitution. Their bible was the rule book, this is called theocracy. If
punishments were to be given most of the time they were given by either their bible or their god.

Many wars in history have been affected by religion, whether it played a key part or
started the war. There was often a spiritual reward for those who took part in the war. Christians
would often storm countries in word that they were retrieving it, even if there were no christians
in that country. People would pray and offer sacrifices to keep their god or gods on their side
during times of war to ensure their victory. There were wars to spread faith to other regions in
order to make their faith the largest followed faith and to get more followers for their deities.
Their god would often have given them the orders to wage the wars and would proceed to give
directions during the war in how to strike victory.

Religion has been a driving force all throughout history. Whether in the treatment of
women, how the government was run, or the wars that have been waged. It doesn’t matter what
religion you follow, or don’t follow, the chances are that it played a key part in history.