Examining from a Christian perspective, this blog entry will explore briefly why theology is a subject that influences society so greatly even if one is religious or not. If one has the view that an aspect of theology is doctrines interacting with the world then a paradox occurs where religious belief can be seen as essential whilst unnecessary in regards to theology influencing our society. Theology affects so many areas of life; politics, economics, morality, education and therefore its importance has a huge influence on our society.
Theology can be essential whilst religious belief unnecessary, because it can be regarded that in Britain today, theological doctrines like faith, creation, salvation, the church, morality and so on are so entrenched within our British culture that even for secularists, theology has a huge influence. For example, it would be frowned upon if a youth didn’t give up their seat for an elderly person on a bus. The question is, does one behave this way because of a subconscious Christian morality eg following Jesus’ teaching to “love your neighbor as yourself”1 or just because of the norms and values of British society. Are these norms and values just based on common courtesy or Christian values? Therefore, it can be argued that you can not be religious yet still live by religious values. This affects society because theology has an influence without people realising or perhaps wanting it to.
For those who have religious belief, it is easy to see how it affects their life and society. Ford argues 2“religious involvement often affects…what they believe and think, how they feel and behave, who they marry, and all sorts of other things important to their identity” Therefore, with a religious belief being the cornerstone of ones life it is understandable that one would feel so strongly about their faith that it should affect “who they marry” or even a case of life and death. Thus, Christians lives and behavior can affect society regardless of societies norms and values, yet either way it is clear that theology has a huge influence on society.
1 Luke 10:27
2 David Ford ‘Theology A very short introduction’
Excellent post. Shows a very good understanding of the key issues. This is what it is all about. You've also made excellent comments in class - I hope you are enjoying it as much as this suggests.
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