Western Contemporary Issues Essay Example

Western Contemporary Issues Essay Example Western Contemporary Issues Essay Western Contemporary Issues Essay Western contemporary issues plague religious traditions. As new issues arise, religious leaders have to scramble to give congregations advise on how to address these issues. Judaism, Islam, and Christianity have all had to struggle with contemporary issues, especially in the Western secular world. Issues such as abortion create many problems for religious leaders, especially those in Western societies, and this can create animosity and hate amongst societies that are tolerant with different practices. Religious freedom is a gift. It is one that we were most generously given by our forefathers. From this freedom to practice religions freely has come secularism in a good portion of westernized societies. Secularism is when no one religion influences the practices and beliefs of the government (Websters, 2010). Secularism has given a gift of freedom of religion, or freedom of no religion, but with that comes many issues that take a secular side. Therefore, there is a disconnect between religions and government. Abortion is a well-debated issue. The question is when does life begin? Some people believe that it begins after birth, or when the fetus can survive outside the womb by itself. And some believe that it is when conception happens. This is where the abortion debate begins. Christians believe that life begins at conception; therefore, they do not believe in the act of abortion (Catechism, 2010). This is an issue that the United States government allows because the government believes in a woman’s right to choose if she would like to keep her child. This western contemporary issue is one that is debated. This issue has gone all the way to the Supreme Court. In the United States right now, abortion is legal. Societies that are religious based, especially those in the Middle East, try to fight the influence of the western contemporary societies. For example, abortions are not legal in these societies; however, there are extreme punishments for women who are accused or committed premarital relations. She may be punished for even being raped because she is not longer pure (Molloy, 2010). Muslims who live in western societies have challenges as well. While they are free to practice their faith in Western societies, they also have the â€Å"temptations† of those freedoms, like abortion. Sometimes, freedom to partake in practices like abortion, create hatred for other societies. We see this in extremists from all sorts of religions. For example, Anti-Semitic believers do not believe that Jews have the right to practice and live their Jewish faith. This Anti-Semitic view was very prevalent during World War II, when hate that Hitler created killed millions of Jews (Molloy, 2010). We still see hatred today. On September 11, 2001, Muslim extremists attacked the United States. These extremists do not believe in religious freedom and they do not like the freedom that Western societies give to their citizens. This hatred for change and love for their religion can reap havoc and cause mass wars. There is a fine balance that must be achieved to protect the sacred elements of religion and to create a free society that can practice whatever faith they believe in. We are continuously trying to marry these differences to promote peace. Peace is a reoccurring theme in most religions, but peace seems to be disrupted by hate and war (Molloy, 2010). Government and religious leaders will have to continue to find the line where peace may occur. References Catholic Church (2007). Catechism of the Catholic Church (4th ed. ). Vatican: Liberia Editrice Vaticana. Molloy, M. (2010). Experiencing the world’s religions: Tradition, challenge, and change (5th ed. ). New York, NY: McGraw-Hill. Webster’s Dictionary (2010). Webster’s Dictionary (11th ed. ). New York, NY: McGraw-Hill.