FREE ESSAY ON IS RELIGION A POSITIVE INFLUENCE IN OUR WORLD?

IS RELIGION A POSITIVE INFLUENCE IN OUR WORLD?

Religion is a belief in and reverence for a supernatural power or powers regraded as
creator and governor of the universe. There are many different types of religion and
religious groups in this world and they all believe in different gods and have their own
way of life that was based upon their belief. Such differences in background and
lifestyle has caused many problems and conflicts throughtout history and is still causing
lots of problems. There had been many wars and fights in the past (and still happening)
concerning people from different ethnic groups sharing the same religion. So therefore,
religion is affecting the world in a negative way because it raises tension among
different religious groups. 
A Holy War is a war fought in God's name. In other words, it's saying that they have a
right to fight in order to defend their religion and beliefs. An example of this would be
the Christians and the Muslims in the southern Maluku island of Ambom. This conflict
between these two religious groups began months ago. Dozens of people of both sides were
being killed weekly. As a result, Indonesia is now rife with refugee camps. But why is
there conflict between them? The answer is because of ethnic and religious tensions that
slowly built up from about 30 years ago. Thirty years ago, the island's religious mix
began to change because the Indonesian government started encouraging hundreds of
thousands of Muslims to move to the Moluccas (which was mainly inhabited by Christians).
On top of the ethnic and religious tensions, this war has to do with the urge for
revenge. Last year Christian militias destroyed the Muslim town of Maliput, so that made
the Muslims even angrier. So now more tension grew between these two ethnic groups, who
both claim to gain back their homes and fight this war to defend their own religion. It
is evident that in this case, religion is influencing a nation in a very negative way.
Innocent people are being killed everyday simply because what they believe seems to be
wrong to others or they believe in something that the other side doesn't. As you can see,
religion is playing a very unfair role in this particular situation and this clearly
shows that it's affecting the world in a negative way. 
Another perfect example of a religious conflict would be the one in the Balkans. The
southeast quadrant of Europe has had an exceedingly involved and complex history, owing
in large part to the nature of the land, which is deeply shattered by numerous mountain
ranges. Fertile river valleys being set between these mountains, the Balkans have
provided many opportunities for ethnic groups to develop in isolation from one another,
although nearby in straight line distances. The region has never been completely unified,
the closest approximation to this was during Roman Imperial times. So why is there
conflict in the Balkans? The reason's because of ethnic tensions. The region is mixed
with people with different ethnic background so they have opposing views and ideas, which
is causing conflict. So this conflict also revolves around religion and beliefs. Isn't
religion supposed to promote peace in this world? But no, rather than promoting peace, it
creates conflicts and raises tension. So it's easier to say that religion is definitely
jeopardizing the life of many and increasing problem around the world.
In conclusion, religion is affecting the world in a very negative way. People are killing
and dying because of it. In the Spice Islands dead bodies are pouring out daily and all
they're saying is that they're fighting in the name of God. Does that make any sense?
People are interpreting religious scriptures for their own benefit and killing people who
don't fit in, categorizing and dividing people. Take a look at the Balkans, the conflict
in the Balkans had started ages ago, but it's still not quite solved. There's still
tension in the area and the area's still not unified, just because they have different
values and beliefs. See, these two problems and many other smaller problems around our
world are based on religion. So how can one say that religion is a positive influence to
us? To sum up, religion shouldn't be a reason to cause fights. People should respect and
tolerate other religions and their beliefs, creating a healthy environment for everyone.