Numerous controversies surrounding religion is not uncommon. There have been abundant claims and allegations that those in the hierarchy of some of the most prominent religions abuse their power and take advantage of some of their members. Along with that, there are a variety of violent acts that have been directed towards a specific religion, or acts of violence that have been executed on behalf of religion. Social issues and religion have seemed to always clash as religion preaches one thing, and social justice organizations push what is perceived to be more progressive beliefs.
A few common problems that appear to plague religions are sexual abuse, marriage equality, and religious violence. As Corbett-Hemeyer (2016) says, “Religion can come into conflict with itself when some of its members or leaders violate its own highest standards” (p. 288). These issues can potentially doom some of the American religions because not only do these issues seem to be avoided in being addressed, much less disciplined or prevented, but as more cases arise, it is thrusted into the public eye; thus bringing more awareness to the dark side of what these individuals are doing behind a religious front. It is not uncommon for a person to use their religion as a cover, protect their image and reputation, to try to get away with any wrongdoings.
Sexual abuse is one of the most important issues that contribute to the possible impending doom of American religions. Corbett-Hemeyer (2016) states that, “Issues around sexual expression have been front and center in communities of faith…” (p. 289). Sex and sexual behavior are part of human nature.
For example, in Catholicism, its teachings and beliefs preach that any sexual activity and intercourse should be saved for marriage, premarital sex is a sin, and no one in the clergy/hierarchy is allowed to get married or have sexual relationships. This belief only leads to suppression and repression, which can manifest in illegal, deviant behavior, such as abuse of power, grooming young children and violating them. A very recent scandal tied to Catholicism are the case reports that have been exposed in Pennsylvania.
According to Goodstein and Otterman (2018), “It catalogs horrific instances of abuse: a priest who raped a young girl in the hospital after she had her tonsils out; a victim tied up and whipped with leather straps by a priest; and another priest who was allowed to stay in ministry after impregnating a young girl and arranging for her to have an abortion.” Incidents, like this example, are horrifying and traumatizing, yet preventable. Rather than being complicit in allowing religious leaders to abuse members, it should be addressed and abusers ought to be held accountable. Religious leaders are blinded by their own hypocrisy, but because God is often used as a cover to hide behind, said leaders believe they can get away with atrocious behavior.
Tying into sexual abuse, comes marriage equality. In general, homosexuality is discouraged and preached against in a lot of religions, such as Catholicism and Islam, as the idea of marriage being solely between a man and a woman are ingrained in its members. But Corbett-Hemeyer (2016) argues that, “Catholics are nearly twice as likely to favor same-sex marriage as are Protestants… and more broadly, Catholics and the unaffiliated are more likely than are their Protestant counterparts to believe that people are born gay rather than sexual orientation being the result of upbringing or lifestyle choice” (p. 291).
Modern Catholics appear to be more open to marriage equality than strictly traditional Catholics. While change is not immediate or accepted right away, this is a good step towards religion and human equality finding common, peaceful ground. With that said, other religions, like Islam, may take more time in being open to this progressive idea.
As for LGBT in Islam, as stated on Wikipedia (2019), “Homosexual acts are forbidden in traditional Islamic jurisprudence and are liable to different punishments, including the death penalty, depending on the situation and legal school.” This brutal reality that a person can be punished, sometimes even killed, because of their sexual orientation is a dangerous and unhealthy ideology. We are who we are; this dated belief that someone thinks they have the authority and control over what punishment another person should have, due to their sexual preferences, is a violation of basic human rights. As aforementioned, any kind of repression and suppression in being who we truly are only manifests itself in unpleasant, even hostile, behavior.
Religious violence and hostile behavior is an unfortunate reality in today’s society. In most recent news, Corbett-Hemeyer (2016) indicates that, “A recent study of religion and violence focuses on the three closely related religions that are predominant in the United States: Judaism, Christianity, and Islam” (p. 296). At least one of these three religions seem to be at the center any time an attack on religion occurs. Once one religious group attacks another religious group, some of its members carry out retaliation in order to protect their own; an eye for an eye. This leads to an endless circle of bloodshed as violence begets violence.
After the terrorist attacks on September 11th, Islam and Muslims have been associated with extreme violence. “Islam is a religion of action,” as stated by Corbett-Hemeyer (2016), and with that, “Its use and misuse by politicized extremist elements within Islam to garner support and justify their actions have been encouraged its interpretation as violent holy war among non-Muslims” (p. 300). The persecution towards Christianity, and anti-Semitism have been around for decades, and in cases where Muslim extremists (jihadists) carry out violent and fatal acts towards a non-Muslim group, there is a good chance that the victims are either Christians or Jews. As Corbett-Hemeyer (2016) puts it, “Like many conservative members of other religions, notably Judaism and Christianity, conservative and fundamentalist Muslims believe that the values of the highly secularized Western world are fundamentally at odds with those of the Muslim faith and culture” (p. 301).
Muslims see the Western world and lifestyle as a threat to their traditional Islamic values. Because their religion is a religion of action, the extremists within their religion believe that it is a good idea to attack those who have different views and opinions.
These problems, sexual abuse, marriage inequality, and religious violence, are what I believe would contribute to the potential doom of religions in America. The groups that will be hit the hardest are Christianity, Judaism, and Islam, due to their prominence in the world. Corbett-Hemeyer (2016) wraps it up best as, “The prevalence of both the theme and the occurrence of violence throughout many of humankind’s religions, including Christianity and Judaism as well as Islam, and extending to the Asian religious paths as well, strongly suggests to me that both the reaction “Islam is a bloody and militaristic religion” and the counterreaction “Islam is all about peace” are both far too simple” (p. 302).
There is no easy answer to today’s issues involving religion. Israeli Jews and Palestinian Arabs are at war, there is an ongoing war against Christianity, and this violent perception of Muslims and their extremist acts have yet to be settled, as war and conquering others have been a long part of history since the dawn of humanity. We do not live in a utopian word, so it will take a lot of patience, and open and honest conversations before we can all truly live in peace and co-exist with each other.
