Religious Studies Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Religious Studies - Essay Example Religious Definition by Steve Bruce: In his book â€Å"God is Dead: Secularization in the West†, 2002, Steve Bruce defines religion as â€Å" beliefs, actions and institutions predicated on the existence of entities with power of agency (that is gods) or impersonal powers or processes possessed of moral purpose (the Hindu notion of Karma), which can set the conditions of, or intervene in human affairs†. Comparison of the Definitions: My definition starts with the element of sharing, whereas in the definition of Steve Bruce there is no element of sharing. From the perspective of individuality and extreme secularization the element of sharing in my definition is a weakness. It makes it necessary that religion is not individualistic, but a shared activity of a group. From my perspective I do not find this a weakness. Social living is an essential part of human existence. Social interaction and society developed from sharing of common factors that bound a group of humans together, which included religion. With time, in more advanced societies tolerance of members with belief in other religions became a norm and so no longer was it necessary that all members of a society or community shared the same religion. Still religion is shared and is not an individualistic belief and action, as even Steve Bruce makes institutions a necessary part of religion. In my definition religion needs to answer the purpose of existence and having served this purpose to the satisfaction of the almighty, what happens after death.

Substance abuse Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Substance abuse - Essay Example Immanuel Kant’s categorical imperative can be used to resolve the dilemma developed by substance abuse. Deontology describes an act done as morally right if the person performing the act had genuine intentions. The theory has a downside that may justify wrong doing done by someone who is ignorant of the possible outcome and for this reason we integrate the theory of the categorical imperative. Categorical imperative states that when choosing, which act to pursue one, should consider if the principle behind the act can be applied at universal levels (Paton, 1947). The people involved in substance abuse, like marijuana for recreational purposes have the ability to alter their moods, relax and attain certain levels of euphoria. These people are doing substance abuse with genuine intention hence they pass the first theory of deontology. The principle behind the act is illegal as they obtained the drugs illegally. Using comparative imperative one would analyze the possible results if the principle got used in a universal basis. What would happen if people in the world practiced illegal attaining of items? Since obtaining and abusing substance is wrong, one would conclude that this acts in not moral. This dilemma can also be solved using the utilitarian rule. According to this rule, an act is said to be moral if it maximizes utility and minimizes pain of others and oneself. In the person acts to abuse the substance they will be breaking the law acting against the society set rules. This means that this action results to suffering for some people. This act would be described as egoism where one is only considering self-interests and ignoring others (Hills, 2012). Someone practicing utilitarian rule would prefer not to abuse substance and look for other alternative that will produce results with a net gain (Ferrell & Fraedrich, 2011). Marijuana