Religion and Society Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words - 1

Religion and Society - Essay Example There are many individuals who feel that in order to embrace the principles of science and its fundamental ability to offer great insights into life one has to abandon faith as well as its implications which come in the form of religious indoctrination. Many individuals such as the author and prominent zoologist, Richard Dawkins, Madalyn Murray O’Hare, a woman who considered her most prominent accomplishment to be the fact that she has become known to many as an atheist, Victor J. Stenger, a particle physicist and Isaac Asimov embody the belief that the only proof of the existence of a phenomena or an entity is that can be ascertained through empirical means. Conversely, there are individual psychologists who view the role of religion as a vital one in the lives of many individuals and explain how religion can be utilized as a guiding force in the decision-making processes. These individuals include William James, Sigmund Freud, Carl Jung, Gordon Allport, Abraham Maslow, Alfre d Adler and Erik Erikson. An investigation of these individuals as well as the self-proclaimed atheists will prove to be quite beneficial in arriving at the underlying determinants of one’s religious beliefs and practices. ... Instrumentation The only instrumentation for this study is an interview protocol which was devised and modeled after the interviews conducted between Richard Dawkins and Sheena McDonald, an interview of Madalyn Murray O'Hair by The Freedom Writer and an interview of Isaac Asimov which discussed the correlation between science and the Bible. These interviews were utilized as a basis for the creation for this instrument. Procedure Through a guided case-study, I will examine my religious beliefs and frame them within a psychological framework. In so doing, the self-created tool will establish an indelible link between my religious beliefs and the pertinent psychological theories/concepts. The primary method of attaining this information will be through the utility of open-ended questions followed by a clarification when needed. Methodological Assumptions The only methodological assumption utilized for this case study was the notion that such a study would yield accurate results with regards to the underlying psychological determinants of religious beliefs and practices. It is felt that much of religion serves as a means of quelling irrational concerns with regards to questions that will remain unanswered as no clear scientific explanations can be offered in support of or in refutation of the origins of man as individuals who are capable of deciding whether we should operate solely based on faith or whether we should always resort to science for our explanation of phenomenon which, on the surface, seem unexplainable. Limitations The limitations of the survey methodology are (1) The study is very subjective as it is a case study based on one's own religious convictions, and (2) The