Posts Tagged ‘religion’

Custom essays on Decline of the Importance of Religion in Western European Countries

// September 5th, 2012 // No Comments » // Free essays

Due to the strong Christian tradition in Europe a lot of citizens of European countries consider them to be Christians but, in fact, they do not follow any rituals. “Though many Europeans say they consider themselves Christians, far fewer actually attend services. One need only see the overwhelming number of gray-haired heads in church pews to know attendance will keep falling if something doesn’t change dramatically” (Harvey, 1995, p. 204). Church as a social institution has lost its power and influence. Those people who follow dogmatic norms do not always go to church. They explain it by the fact that God is in their souls and church is only a secondary element.
The United Kingdom is not an expectation in the list of countries in which the importance of religion has dramatically declined. The role of religion has significantly decreased in the United Kingdom during the last decades.
Originally, there are more than 170 distinct religions in this country. Religious profile of the country is complex and diverse, but the role of religion declines with the flow of time. “About half of the British believe in God, yet about 72% told the 2001 census that they were Christian, and 66% of the population have no actual connection to any religion or church, despite what they tend to write down on official forms” (National Center for Social Research, 2007). People do not only lose their faith in God, but also stop attending church. Half of British Christian population, who visited Church in the beginning of the 1980s stopped this practice (Church Times, 2006). About 18% of the population of the UK confess that they practically never attend church. The decline of religion started in Britain in the beginning of 1950s and this tendency continues at the present moment. At present day the British society goes through the process of secularization. “In the twenty years between 1980 and 2000 the Church of England suffered a 27 per cent decline in church membership. The Roman Catholic Church suffered a similar decline in the same period in mass attendance. Methodists, Baptists and others suffered decline too, though in all the churches, it must be said, there have been significant successes in certain churches and particular enterprises” (Furlong, 2000, p. 216). (more…)

Buy an essay on Decline of the Importance of Religion in Western European Countries

// September 5th, 2012 // No Comments » // Free essays

Religion was a moving force in the Middle Ages in Western European countries but today in the 21st century, the era of globalization and democracy, the importance of religion, especially traditional one, has greatly declined. “Every major religion except Islam is declining in Western Europe, according to the Center for the Study on Global Christianity at the Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary in South Hamilton, Mass. The drop is most evident in France, Sweden and the Netherlands, where church attendance is less than 10% in some areas” (Bruce, 1996, p. 167). This phenomenon can be explained by the global tendency to create a democratic society. Democracy presumes freedom of thought, conscience and religion. Freedom of choice is regarded as one of key factors of moral behaviour. There is no sense to talk about moral behavior if there is no choice between the good and the evil. Freedom is one of main characteristics, peculiar to human. Freedom is one of the main components of the democratic society. This issue makes the basis of human nature and distinguishes us from other beings and objects. Three main monotheistic religions of the world also believe freedom of choice to be the main characteristic of humans, but the very notion of God presented in these religions contradicts the idea of human freedom. Judaism, Christianity, Islam describe God as benevolent and omniscient. Predomination of any religion in the country is the sign of its dogmatic, monarchic ruling. (more…)

Customized essays on A Basis in Philosophical and Religion Worldviews

// August 10th, 2012 // No Comments » // Free essays

If to address the history of western civilization, here we can also find the features of servant leadership, supported by Christianity. Jesus Christ taught his disciples that those who want to be above others should first of all be servants of others. In the Bible we can find many allusions to the mission of the Disciples of Christ and of Christ himself to serve people. Christ has come to the earth as a servant of people and he showed his readiness to serve others, having sacrificed his life for the sake of the humanity (The Holy Bible, Mark 10:43).
In fact, the whole doctrine of the Christianity is based on altruism and on serving others. Robert Greenleaf and his followers distinguish eleven characteristics of servant leaders, which should be either inborn or developed during life. The major feature of leaders should be the desire to serve others, to help other people, even at the sake of their own gain. It is obvious that for servant leaders it should be natural to aspire to help others, otherwise this position will be a burden for them. This trait of character is impossible to develop, therefore it should be inborn. Helping others servant leaders should be good listeners. People should always know that their leader will listen to all their offers, complaints, problems and either will take them into account or will try to solve them. Thus, good servant listeners are good listeners. Besides, they should have an ability to create such an atmosphere of confidence, when people are ready to share their problems and can find support, especially from the leader. In other words, servant leaders should be ready to give moral support to people and moreover, to anticipate when they need it. When people understand that their leader is the one who always understands them, who might have had the same problems and, what is important, might give a useful piece of advice, they appreciate it much and the atmosphere in the team favors fruitful work (Kumuyi 2007). (more…)

Buy an essay A Basis in Philosophical and Religion Worldviews

// August 10th, 2012 // No Comments » // Free essays

It is known that the majority of people can be divided into those who are good leaders and those who are good executors. When people do what they can do the best, they develop their skills and contribute to self-improvement. It is considered that it is difficult to be a leader and to become a leader. However, every person read his/her own thoughts in this notion. For some people, being a leader means to be an authoritative, masterful person, whose orders are fulfilled unquestioningly. For others, a good leader is first of all a good team worker and the person that can organize others. Consequently, leaders can be different and can possess different traits of character. Still, there are some common features that are characteristic of any leader. They are inner maturity, self-confidence and ambition. If leaders do not have these traits of character, they are not able to achieve success and to lead others. As it has already been mentioned all leaders differ as well as their methods. This mostly depends on the worldview of the person and his or her vision of the situation. The worldview conditions people’s behavior because many human principles arise from the possessed world outlook. People set different goals in front of themselves and try to achieve them. However, there are different ways to gain your ends. Some people work their way through, taking no notice of others; they are unscrupulous and use all opportunities to make headway. Others knuckle down to work, devote all their free time to their career and thus attain their objects. Thus, the system of values of every person results in his/her career and becoming a leader. (more…)

Customized essays on Religion as a Mainstream Theme of “The Virgin and the Gypsy”

// June 25th, 2012 // No Comments » // Free essays

It is a well known fact that David Lawrence and his wife were officially harassed in Great Britain after their return from Europe. At the time contemporary to Lawrence, especially after war times, religion was very popular among the English Middle Class. It has become popular since Victorian Times, with a well known “false morality”. That is why it is not surprising that vicar family was represented in such a novel. The author was intended to show that sexual affection is quite typical even for the daughter of a vicar. The main character Yvette did not suit for the image pious vicar daughter. She is lazy, spoilt by the attention of father and male admirers, interested in dancing and spend her time without “old school” church fuss: (more…)

Buy an essay on The Idea of religion in A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man and The Virgin and the Gypsy

// June 21st, 2012 // No Comments » // Free essays

The Virgin and the Gypsy by D. Lawrence and A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man by James Joyce belong to different literary styles. The authors use different means to express their ideas. The theme of religion is depicted from different perspectives in these two works.
A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man is a semi-autobiographical novel by James Joyce. It depicts early years of the protagonist – Stephen Dedalus. Stephen Dedalus partially represents the author himself, and at the same time corresponds to mythological character Dedalus. The novel does not have a well-defined plot. It shows the life of the characters from inner perspective. The author makes an attempt to pass the stream of the consciousness and to help the readers understand the way his characters think and how reality is reflected in human mind. Religion is one of the main themes of the novel.
The Virgin and The Gypsy is a short novel by D. Lawrence. The novel also explores such important themes as maturity, social relations and religion. The novel tells a story of a young woman Yvette and her sister Lucille. The story is set in England and young women try to find sense of life and things to enjoy in conservative little town of their childhood. Their father is an Anglican vicar and he presents strict religious norms and regulations of the contemporary society, while grandmother presents strict social rules.
Joyce sets his novel in the 19th century Ireland and Roman Catholic Church plays an important place in the contemporary society. This significance is reflected in the novel as well. The protagonist of the novel starts reflection about God early. In the first chapter of the novel the author described  (more…)

The Uniqueness of Buddhism in World Religions

// May 27th, 2012 // No Comments » // Free essays

Buddhism is one of the major world religions widely spread nowadays in the entire world. This religion originates from ancient times and is considered to be one of the oldest in the world. Nonetheless, throughout its history, Buddhism constantly remained a really unique religion which was different from all others which gained world popularity and became widely spread. In fact, to a significant extent due to this uniqueness Buddhism was and still remains so popular but the difference and uniqueness of this religion may be found in the origin and history of Buddhism rather than in its current basic principles and norms.

First of all, Buddhism initially appeared in the territory of the contemporaryNepaland the forefather of this religion is considered to be Gautama Buddha. Remarkably, unlike some other religions, including Christianity or Islam for instance, Gautama Buddha was not a divine messiah or a prophet, but he was believed just an outstanding representative of mankind. Moreover, the adepts of Buddhism even underline that he was just one in the row and the latest Buddha who, unlike the rest of mankind, managed to understand the nature of reality surrounding people and conveyed his ideas to other people creating a new and unique teaching. In such a way, Buddhists emphasize human origin of this religion.

Another significant difference of Buddhism from other major religions is the fact that it incorporated traditional local beliefs and lifestyle and to a certain extent, it may be viewed as a kind of local philosophy which later became popular worldwide. It should be pointed out that what really made Buddhism unique and different for new adepts was its closeness to each individual since it is within each individual all the mystery of the universe are hidden. To put it more precisely, Buddhism since its early stages of development emphasized the necessity of self purification and self understanding by means of meditation and not by means of prayers to divine creatures since it is up to the individual to understand the nature of surrounding reality and when this is done all sufferings end and a Buddhist arrives to the state of Nirvana. In such a way, self-discovery is one of the unique features of Buddhism. (more…)

The idea and significance of religion in “The Virgin and the Gipsy” by D.H Lawrence custom term paper

// May 19th, 2012 // No Comments » // Free essays

According to Herbert (2006), “The Virgin and the Gipsy is the fairy tale-like story of Yvette Saywell, a 19-year-old rector’s daughter chafing against the moral “life unbelievers” that make up her family”(“The Virgin and the Gipsy and Other Stories, edited by Herbert, Michael & Jones, Bethan, & Vasey, Lindeth”). The plot of this fascinating and thrilling novel is as unpredictable and gripping as possible. I was reading being at home all alone. I was sitting in my chair; I was absorbed in the story when it suddenly occurred to me that I totally impressed. Trying to ignore my intense fears, I was going on reading. My wish to catch the main idea of this novel began to seem frantic. The characters appeared to be convincing and incredibly original, so I was going through with the heroes of theLawrence’s book. When I finished, words and snatches of conversations echoed around my head, so I could not sleep.

The tale, however, tells about two Anglican vicar’s daughters, Yvette and Lucille, who return from overseas to a drab, lifeless vicarage in the post-warEast Midlands. Their mother run off, clearly, it was not a topic for any conversation among the family. A blind and selfish grandmother along with her mean spirited dominates in a home and, besides, is compared to a toad or even a reptile. Everyone in the family hates her. To be honest, like the toad that snaps its jaws on all the bees exiting the hive and devouring all life around it, she absorbs the entire family’s energy and life force.Lawrence(1992) stated, “They called her The Mater. She was one of those physically vulgar, clever old bodies who had got her own way all her life by buttering the weaknesses of her men-folk. Very quickly, she took her cue. (more…)

Discuss the idea and significance of religion in “The Virgin and the Gipsy” by D.H Lawrence custom essay

// May 19th, 2012 // No Comments » // Free essays

You will never say thatLawrence’s stories are only mundane waste of ink.Lawrence’s stories are always influence on people, they are fascinating and truthfully, sincere and touching. Each of his works shows us pure evil or eternal love: different human’s relationships that are whyLawrence’s stories are famous throughout the years. Time changes and people change with it, but main problems and questions are still the same. It can generally be said that this great author shows many-sided people’s relations and feelings, contradictory or high-minded actions. That is why this person is known by nearly each of us. That is why his works leave some trace in our minds and hearts. Plundering on the breathtaking and shocking feelings in literature, I stumbled upon theLawrence’s story “The Virgin and the Gipsy”. Making my way through long lines of bookshelves in the library this book caught my eye. I realized that his plays are definitely talented.  All points of view about his books are contradictory and varied. Nevertheless, to understand his novels and determine what place do they occur in your life, you should read them. I did. Moreover, I must admit that, they are not just another mundane waste of ink, whatever they can be said to be. They are worth of attention, as I will prove it through this paper. (more…)