The relationship of society and religion is and has always been an important and complex issue in the study of religion. Religion has the immense power to influence people to think, feel and act in certain ways. It is inherent within many aspects of society and affects our cultural values, politics and economics. Thus, in this way, religion and society are not separate but are inevitably interrelated and connected. By examining a society’s behavior and attitudes we are led to an awareness and understanding of the religiosity that exists in their subconscious. Through the theories explicated in “The Hour of Death”, by Phillipe Aries, and “Muslim Becoming” by Naveeda Khan, we gain an insight into how society’s behavior and attitudes are influenced
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It is only through the examination of materials over a very long period of time, that we are able to discern important movements and changes in enduring practices that exist in our subconscious. Aries’s theory begs us to ask what would death look like a hundred years or a thousand years from now? Would this information be interesting to consider in the religious context? On the other hand, I also question the validity of his theory on the basis that he uses evidence selectively to support his concept. Death mentalities is a construct of society, and Aries’ demographic of white, (a limited) European and elite society, is hardly representative of the western society. How can we be certain that Aries’s theory is has a universal application when the cultural diversity (secular, postsecular, other races, or homosexuals) in western society is not discussed? Nevertheless for the scholar of religion, Aries’ theory can be used as an approach for further studies in this area or other areas when we examine movements and transformation of religious practices and attitudes over …show more content…
Naveeda Khan, in ‘Muslim Becoming’, examines how religion influences the attitudes and behavior of society in Pakistan. Khan’s book begins with the heated discussion between four Muslim men in a library in Pakistan, which highlights the fundamental differences in their Muslim ideologies and mirrors the quagmire faced by Pakistan society. She proposes for us to consider Pakistan’s challenging relationship with Islam as a demonstration of “its inheritance of Islam with an open future and a tendency towards experimentation”, and is not due to their failure to develop “a clear, consistent relation to Islam” nor “a manifestation of a more deep-seated problem” (Khan 5,7). Drawing on the Bergsonian theory of time-as-becoming, Khan calls this a “process of becoming” (Khan 9). Khan suggests that Pakistan is in a state of continually striving towards the notion of an ‘ideal Islamic state’, without conceptualizing what is ideal, what is Islam or what is state. This makes us ask how we, as scholars of religion, can make a commitment towards a future that is as yet ‘unseen’, without limiting ourselves to a conceptual structure. Pakistan’s ‘becoming’ towards an ideal, inevitably involves skepticism and a necessary process of debates and disputations, contradictions, shortcomings and failure, in seeking “points
It is only through the examination of materials over a very long period of time, that we are able to discern important movements and changes in enduring practices that exist in our subconscious. Aries’s theory begs us to ask what would death look like a hundred years or a thousand years from now? Would this information be interesting to consider in the religious context? On the other hand, I also question the validity of his theory on the basis that he uses evidence selectively to support his concept. Death mentalities is a construct of society, and Aries’ demographic of white, (a limited) European and elite society, is hardly representative of the western society. How can we be certain that Aries’s theory is has a universal application when the cultural diversity (secular, postsecular, other races, or homosexuals) in western society is not discussed? Nevertheless for the scholar of religion, Aries’ theory can be used as an approach for further studies in this area or other areas when we examine movements and transformation of religious practices and attitudes over …show more content…
Naveeda Khan, in ‘Muslim Becoming’, examines how religion influences the attitudes and behavior of society in Pakistan. Khan’s book begins with the heated discussion between four Muslim men in a library in Pakistan, which highlights the fundamental differences in their Muslim ideologies and mirrors the quagmire faced by Pakistan society. She proposes for us to consider Pakistan’s challenging relationship with Islam as a demonstration of “its inheritance of Islam with an open future and a tendency towards experimentation”, and is not due to their failure to develop “a clear, consistent relation to Islam” nor “a manifestation of a more deep-seated problem” (Khan 5,7). Drawing on the Bergsonian theory of time-as-becoming, Khan calls this a “process of becoming” (Khan 9). Khan suggests that Pakistan is in a state of continually striving towards the notion of an ‘ideal Islamic state’, without conceptualizing what is ideal, what is Islam or what is state. This makes us ask how we, as scholars of religion, can make a commitment towards a future that is as yet ‘unseen’, without limiting ourselves to a conceptual structure. Pakistan’s ‘becoming’ towards an ideal, inevitably involves skepticism and a necessary process of debates and disputations, contradictions, shortcomings and failure, in seeking “points