Religions effect in the modern world is harmful
Uttar Tandon glanced up from his corn field outside Sr nagar to gaze at the midday sun. It was a hot day, and Tandon could hear the sound of gunfire in the hills to the north. For the last week or so the Pakistani geurillas had been harassing Indian positions near the city. Although the media was making the recent conflict out to be of major international importance, Tandon saw the fighting as practically a routine event. The corn farmer had been living outside Sr nagar for all his life, and for the last fifty years he had witnessed various conflicts between India and Pakistan occurring on a fairly regular basis. He had lost friends to these wars and had even just lost his son during the most recent round of fighting. Tandon's loss was great, but he knew that the sacrifice was necessary for India to reclaim that was rightfully theirs: Kashmir. For all his life Uttar Tandon had disliked the Muslims of Pakistan, and he felt confident that when India had built their first nuclear weapon that Pakistan would give back what they had stolen. He now knew that the religious fanatics of Pakistan would concede nothing and that the only solution would be war. Tandon, however, had learned to accept war as a necessary evil - as had s
Richard Bourdeaux, "Thought Police," The Toronto Star 21 Apr. 1998. Elizabeth Hallam, Chronicles of The Crusades (New York: Weidenfeld and Nicolson, 1989) Billings, Malcolm, The Cross and the Crescent. (New York: Sterling Publishing Co. Inc., 1987) 232. o many people in similar situations. As the farmer continued to gaze at the sky, he thought he saw a bright streak of fire. Unfortunately, Tandon didn't have much time to think about it. In that instant Uttar Tandon's retinas were burned to blindness by the unnaturally bright light being emitted by a nuclear explosion. Moments later the fire caught up with the light and all that was left of Uttar Tandon was a shadow burned into the ground behind him. Modern religious conflict has taken its toll on people around the world. During the last few weeks, at least one hundred seventy people died in the fighting taking place in Israel. The fighting taking place, while not directly a fight over religion, would not be taking place were it not for religion. After World War II the Jews who fled Germany had no place to go, which led to the winners of the war deciding to make a country for them in the Middle East. This country became Israel. If the Jews weren't Jewish, and if the Muslims in the Middle East weren't Muslim, then there never would have been a problem with one group of people taking another group's land: they would've both been part of the same group. However, due to their religions, the two groups are different, which leads to their dislike for each other and to their current situation which is nearing all-out war. Religion is amazingly successful in creating prejudice between religions. Whether one looks at Catholic vs. Protestant, Judaism vs. Islam, Christianity vs. The World, Muslim vs. Hindu, or at any combination between any religions, they will find tension. This tension frequently results in violence and war. Religion also has adverse effects on global economies. Too many people spend valuable time praying, fasting, traveling on pilgrimages, and celebrating. Were it not for religion, this time could be spent working. Muslims must pray five times a day. This can be very time consuming. Taking Sunday off can hurt the economy of any country. To make an example, take a look at one of the blue laws of the United States: it is illegal to sell cars on Sunday. Imagine if it were illegal to buy anything on Sunday. This would decrease the personal consumption expenditures of the United States drastically. In fiscal year 1999, U.S. citizens spent $75 billion. Take away one seventh of that quantity, and U.S. citizens would only have spent $64 billion. To put that in perspective, that costs about the same as either two aircraft carriers, four stealth bombers, or ninety thousand Porsche 911s. In addition to the increasing problems with the drawbacks of religion, the benefits are becoming fewer. Religion is no longer needed to answer frightening questions: modern science answers most of these questions now, and when it doesn't it is at least able to prove that there aren't greater (and more evil) forces at work. When religion was needed in the past to pray for health, in modern times we have, well, um, modern medicine to cure the diseases with or without divine assistance. And where religion was needed in the past to quell fears of disaster, we now know that there is nothing to be done about natural disaster except for taking cover or moving
Some common words found in the essay are:
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Approximate Word count = 2326
Approximate Pages = 9 (250 words per page double spaced)
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