In the modern world today, we still struggle with religious conflicts and racism. Terrorism has spread everywhere in the world, causing a severe case of Islamophobia. People today have either reached enlightenment or they have dived deeply into the state of religious immaturity, distant from achieving enlightenment. Enlightenment is the independence to think rationally and logically. Immanuel Kant’s answer to the question, “What is Enlightenment?” helps us understand the issue of religious immaturity by describing it as a state where men are unable to think beyond their religious obligations or understand someone else’s beliefs. Issues with the Islamic World, in the current age, show that we are in an age of enlightenment because many people,
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Many religious people follow theology, which is the belief in miracles and a book. These individuals are bound by their religious beliefs because they lack the courage to question as they are scared of being punished. Terrorism and hate crimes have spread all over the world for years because of extremist groups, such as ISIS and the Nazis. These extremist militants are immature because they follow their religious book word-by-word and the sayings of one leader. Extremists never attempt to argue what is written in the book nor what their leader say. Many of the suicide bombers who have participated in the attacks of 9/11 and the recent Paris attacks, are also too dependent on their leader and his demands since they were born into and/or brainwashed at a very young age to believe and follow these leaders, and to never disagree with them. As Kant states, “The public use of reason must always be free, and it alone can bring about enlightenment among mankind; the private use of reason, may, however, often be very narrowly restricted... (Kant 42).” In order to be enlightened, the public use of reason must always be free, but in today’s society, people are restricting this freedom by worrying too much about what other people will think. Members of extremist groups have limited …show more content…
(Kant 45)” Hence, in order to live in an enlightened age, our leaders, political and religious, should give the freedom to their people to think and argue whatever they want, as long as they obey the rules. Problems with the Islamic world can only be resolved once every person stops blaming it on an entire community, but rather unite together to beat the ones limiting everyone’s freedom. Being religious does not mean that a person is incapable of becoming enlightened. Philosophers like Copernicus and Galileo were enlightened by questioning the geocentric model, even though it meant going against the beliefs of their Church and fellow peers. However, they still were quite religious and believed greatly in God. In such a manner, a religious person can become mature by having faith in God but still having the courage to question something he doubts. Kant’s explanations of what enlightenment is quite precise and intelligent because it can clearly be compared with issues of the current age. Through tolerance of religion and freedom of thought, we can live in an enlightened
Many religious people follow theology, which is the belief in miracles and a book. These individuals are bound by their religious beliefs because they lack the courage to question as they are scared of being punished. Terrorism and hate crimes have spread all over the world for years because of extremist groups, such as ISIS and the Nazis. These extremist militants are immature because they follow their religious book word-by-word and the sayings of one leader. Extremists never attempt to argue what is written in the book nor what their leader say. Many of the suicide bombers who have participated in the attacks of 9/11 and the recent Paris attacks, are also too dependent on their leader and his demands since they were born into and/or brainwashed at a very young age to believe and follow these leaders, and to never disagree with them. As Kant states, “The public use of reason must always be free, and it alone can bring about enlightenment among mankind; the private use of reason, may, however, often be very narrowly restricted... (Kant 42).” In order to be enlightened, the public use of reason must always be free, but in today’s society, people are restricting this freedom by worrying too much about what other people will think. Members of extremist groups have limited …show more content…
(Kant 45)” Hence, in order to live in an enlightened age, our leaders, political and religious, should give the freedom to their people to think and argue whatever they want, as long as they obey the rules. Problems with the Islamic world can only be resolved once every person stops blaming it on an entire community, but rather unite together to beat the ones limiting everyone’s freedom. Being religious does not mean that a person is incapable of becoming enlightened. Philosophers like Copernicus and Galileo were enlightened by questioning the geocentric model, even though it meant going against the beliefs of their Church and fellow peers. However, they still were quite religious and believed greatly in God. In such a manner, a religious person can become mature by having faith in God but still having the courage to question something he doubts. Kant’s explanations of what enlightenment is quite precise and intelligent because it can clearly be compared with issues of the current age. Through tolerance of religion and freedom of thought, we can live in an enlightened