Many see their religion/spiritual beliefs as central to their identities. Often times, religious or spiritual beliefs influence their political decisions as well. If your livelihood is directly linked to the resources around you, that connection will ultimately impact your beliefs and values.
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But even if you don't believe in Christ or a God, religion can still be a powerful force. Research shows that even nonreligious people may hold unconscious beliefs linked to religion that can affect their psychology.Culture and the environment shape the child's religious perspective as well as contributing to other developmental aspects, and influence the awakening and development of religious belief. All observations agree that the influence of relatives is the most obvious factor in the formation of religious attitude.
According to Johnson et al. (2001), due to youth commitment to his/her religious beliefs, that “religiosity reduces delinquency partly because religious involvement increases his or disapproval for delinquent acts” (p. 38) as well as reduces the connection of youth to delinquent peer contacts.
Religion might serve as a powerful influence on an individual identity assuming that the person involved is deeply religious or significantly committed to his/her religion. The influence of religion on identity formation may also work through parental influence.
Religion provided an answer by introducing beliefs about all-knowing, all-powerful gods who punish moral transgressions. As human societies grew larger, so did the occurrence of such beliefs. And in the absence of efficient secular institutions, the fear of God was crucial for establishing and maintaining social order.
According to Kierkegaardian theology, fearful religion is sinful religion. These two brief examples suggest that the Christian tradition has the resources not only to recognise the dangerous consequences of fear, but to scrutinise them closely and provide a spiritual response to them.
So, religion helps us to become disciplined and also gain the unconditional love and support of God (at least we feel so in our hearts). Contemplating the religious principles and teachings from the holy Bible, Quran or the Bhagavadgita also helps us gain wisdom, the third major aspect of life.
Personalities are characterized in terms of traits, which are relatively enduring characteristics that influence our behaviour across many situations. Personality traits such as introversion, friendliness, conscientiousness, honesty, and helpfulness are important because they help explain consistencies in behaviour.
Values can come from the surroundings of us for example, our families, peers, education and religions influence us to create the values each individual creates. Culture is a way of life for entire community or society. This could include dress, language or religion.
Beliefs influence personal and social identity as the values and religious beliefs make up part of an individual's identity. For example if a value such as healthy relationships is taught in a family but the parents divorce that may lead to a negative part of their identity and those values changed.
strong belief - an unshakable belief in something without need for proof or evidence. conviction, article of faith. belief - any cognitive content held as true.
Beliefs are basically assumptions that we make about the world and our values stem from those beliefs. Our values are things that we deem important and can include concepts like '“ equality, honesty, education, effort, perseverance, loyalty, faithfulness, conservation of the environment and many, many other concepts.
Your beliefs influence your behavior.
One of the most basic ways that beliefs can shape reality is through their influence on behavior—no quantum physics needed. Without awareness of the reality of the risks they face, people may lack the motivation to make healthy decisions.Beliefs are the assumptions we hold to be true. They stem from real life experiences. As human beings, our values and beliefs affect the quality of our life, our work, and our relationships. Since what we believe is what we experience, we tend to think that our beliefs are founded on reality.
Core Values About Life
A belief, or lack thereof, in God or an affiliation with a religious/spiritual institution. A belief in being a good steward of resources and in exercising frugality. A belief that family is of fundamental importance. A belief that honesty is always the best policy and that trust has to be earned.For many years, the theistic moral paradigm, derived from the Judeo-Christian tradition in particular, has been dominant in the canon of the West. Classically, morality is decreed by a supreme deity — that is, it exists as a law in the same sense as the laws of physics.
Religion and decision making
Religious follows decisions are influenced by the moral code of there chosen religion. In other terms people will make decisions based on their religious beliefs, and weather they think they are following their religions creed and code.Religion and morality are not synonymous. Morality does not necessarily depend upon religion, though for some, this is "an almost automatic assumption." According to The Westminster Dictionary of Christian Ethics, religion and morality "are to be defined differently and have no definitional connections with each other.
The practice of religion is good for individuals, families, states, and the nation. It improves health, learning, economic well-being, self-control, self-esteem, and empathy.
Secular humanism
It posits that human beings are capable of being ethical and moral without religion or God, it neither assumes humans to be inherently evil or innately good, nor presents humans as "above nature" or superior to it.From the very beginning of the society religion has played very important part in upholding of the morality. It is the group behavior and therefore it has remarkable influence on the society to behave morally. The pillars on which the LAW is founded are natural justice and positive morality.
Babies show us how we're hardwired
But a growing number of researchers now believe differently. They believe babies are in fact born with an innate sense of morality, and while parents and society can help develop a belief system in babies, they don't create one.Morality can be a body of standards or principles derived from a code of conduct from a particular philosophy, religion or culture, or it can derive from a standard that a person believes should be universal. Morality may also be specifically synonymous with "goodness" or "rightness".
Religion is based in some measure on the idea that God (or some deity) reveals insights about life and its true meaning. These insights are collected in texts (the Bible, the Torah, the Koran, etc.) From this perspective, ethical principles need not derive their authority from religious doctrine.
Personality is defined as the characteristic sets of behaviors, cognitions, and emotional patterns that evolve from biological and environmental factors. The study of the psychology of personality, called personality psychology, attempts to explain the tendencies that underlie differences in behavior.
Data analysis also implies that basic religious beliefs have positive correlations with agreeableness (good-natured, soft–hearted, selfless, sympathetic, forgiving characteristics) extraversion (sociable, fun-loving, affectionate, talkative, and Joiner characteristics).
Spiritual and religious beliefs may help comfort children. People who have a strong religious faith are often comforted by the idea that a higher power is present in their lives. This faith can help them cope with their loss and suffering. If people believe in life after death, death may be seen as a new beginning.
Religious belief and practice contribute substantially to the formation of personal moral criteria and sound moral judgment. The regular practice of religion also encourages such beneficial effects on mental health as less depression (a modern epidemic), more self-esteem, and greater family and marital happiness.
Its points include:
- Belief in God the Father, Jesus Christ as the Son of God, and the Holy Spirit.
- The death, descent into hell, resurrection and ascension of Christ.
- The holiness of the Church and the communion of saints.
- Christ's second coming, the Day of Judgement and salvation of the faithful.
We find that, for a given level of religious participation, increases in core religious beliefs — notably belief in hell, heaven, and an afterlife — tend to increase economic growth. In contrast, for given religious beliefs, increases in church attendance tend to reduce economic growth.
