Dbq Essay On Religion

There are roughly 4,200 religions in the world. A religion is sometimes used to adjust someone's faith or beliefs, and overall their life. Some of the ways as to how religion affects the lives of its followers are socially and politcally. Socially, it affects how people treat others, how people act toward themselves and how people live. Politically, it affects leadership, law and the wealthiness of the government.

Religion affects the lives of its followers socially. Religion impacts the way people treat others. For example, The Ten Commandments are 10 beneficial laws that were created by God to help us live a better life. These 10 laws were apart of Christianity and Judaism. One of the commandments is, “You shall not covet” (Document 1).

For instance, in Confucianism they follow The Five Relationships. In a few of The Five Relationships, there is a similarity. The second relationship is “Father and Son” (Document 5), the third is “Older Son and Younger Son” (Document 5), and the fifth is “Older Friend and Younger Friend” (Document 5). Through these relationships, Confucius expressed that elders are more important and valued. Along with the importance of the elders, The Five Relationships also showed that men were valued than women. Since Confucianism was patriarchal, the fourth relationship is “Husband and Wife” (Document 5). Law is another way religion affects the lives of its followers. Each religion has their own regulations they would like their followers to adapt to. In Christianity, they expect all Christians to respect and follow The Ten Commandments. Some commandments such as “You shall not kill” and “You shall not steal” are considered to be laws. Lastly, religions affects the lives of its followers politcally because it sets how wealthy the government is. As seen in Islam, each Muslim must follow The Five Pillars of Faith. One of the pillars is Zakaat. Zakaat requires all Muslims to give alms, which is to donate to charity and the poor. This impacts how much the government gains because to donate and give alms, Muslims must pay a religious tax called Zagat. This religious tax must be paid and given to the government. From there, the government distributes it to the