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Legal
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Government And ReligionGovernments And Religions Are RelatedYes, I know some are thinking that governments and religions are not alike or even related but it may depend on how one chooses to view them. One primarily deals with laws and the other primarily deals with faith. However, both rely on laws and rules to exist and both require peoples’ faith that each will perform as advertised and as promised. Government and religion are both highly desired by the majority of people. The type of government or religion varies but both are usually deemed necessary in some form. Government is necessary to prevent chaos, to provide services, to provide some form of justice, and to provide direction for the individual but more so for the group through its laws and rules. Religion is necessary to provide hope, to provide direction, and to control the individual as well as the group through its tenets. Government and religion are often a mirror image of each other and one can to some degree substitute for the other. Government requires laws and rules to enforce its power and to punish people that break those laws and rules. Religion also requires laws and rules, usually called tenets, that control the actions of its followers and provide mental and/or physical punishments for violating those tenets. Much like government, the promised punishment is often deferred. Governments are willing to wage war to prove which is the best and the strongest. Religions also are willing to confront each other on a battlefield or in the hearts and minds of the people. Both are not afraid or against sacrificing a little blood to maintain themselves. Both require growth to survive. Both require money to exist and to expand. Because government and religion often serve the same purpose, it hasn’t been unusual for them to be combined. Governments have been and some still are controlled by religion and in some cases religions have been controlled by the government. In some instances, the government is based on religious tenets and doctrines with the clergy deciding what is right and what is wrong and providing their form of justice. The inspiration for a form of government often springs from the group’s prevailing religious beliefs. Government offers power to the selected or elected few who are responsible for managing and running that government. Religion offers the same power to those who dictate how that religion must be practiced. Government and religion both exist only so long as the people allow them. If a government fails to meet the needs of its subjects, it will fail. If a religion fails to satisfy the spiritual needs of its followers, it too will disappear. Government and religion are related at their cores but both are best when kept separate. Placing the power of government and religious doctrine in one group can easily lead to the corruption of both. Government must be based on laws separate from but respectful of religious beliefs. Religious beliefs must respect governmental laws and rules so long as those laws don’t infringe on religious doctrine. Combining government and religion weakens both and destroys individual freedom. Author: Don Miller
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2005 Articles |
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