Religion Effect On Politics
The belief systems of the modern world have
helped determine the policies and
politics of nations around the world. For
centuries before, and almost
definitely for decades after now, there will be
disputed between people and
countries on account of their faith. Religions
have started wars, ended them,
impacted, and persuaded people. Needless to
say, beliefs are very influential on
the world today. People of different
faiths don’t only fight over their basic
beliefs and land but they end
conflicts. Making amends between religious groups
greatly helps relieve the
constant strain of division that we are all too aware
of these days. The
Lutheran religion began 482 years ago when monk, Martin
Luther, attacked
the practices of the Catholic Church. These who followed his
ideas eventually
into what we call Lutherans today. For those 482 years,
Lutherans and
Catholics have stayed divided on uneasy terms. Now the leaders of
the modern
Lutheran and Catholic churches both signed a document that laid to
rest those
many years of differences under the explanation that it was all
a
misunderstanding. Sometimes different faiths just don’t seem like they want
to
even try to compromise on a conflict. The Jordanian Muslims and the
Israeli Jews
fighting over which side of the Jordan River Jesus was baptized
on is a perfect
example of this. The Muslims have invested over one million
dollars t fix up the
site. The site will bring in expectantly millions of
tourists and with them
billions of dollars that will be spent locally to
boost the economy. Looking
past the irony of the Jews and Muslims disputing
over a Christian site, the
focal point of the quarreling is that such a site
will bring. The Pope and
Prince Charles have already scheduled a visit,
but as of now, no resolve has
come about. These days it’s not always
conflicts between two specific regions,
but between regions occupied by
faiths who disagree on certain topics. The two
groups being the Israelis and
the Palestinians, and the compromise on the rift
in the settler movement
conflict arising in those countries. To the Jews the
West Bank is part of
the greater Land of Israel, given by God to the Jews. To
cement their control
over the land, the Jews built forty-two hilltop encampments
on the West Bank.
They did this to prevent it from becoming a Palestinian state.
The
Palestinian government claimed that some of the outposts didn’t have
the
necessary building papers and twelve of those sites were dismantled.
This
disagreement is, for the time being, settled peacefully despite the
denounced
accord from the Palestinians. In the future more outposts are
likely to be taken
down. Whatever the rhyme or reason, religions and belief
systems have tremendous
effects on the way things work in this world.
Hopefully nations are learning
from their past mistakes what not to do if
such an occasion arise again. Whether
the Lutherans and Catholics are putting
years of disagreement behind them, the
Jews and Muslims are settling
their dispute, or Jewish outposts are being taken
down, we are moving forward
into a new and brighter future, and gaining
information as we go along. Maybe
in the future, more of the religious spats
will be settled as the
Lutheran/Catholic dispute
was...peacefully.