The Equal Rights Amendment

The Equal Rights Amendment was written in 1921 by Alice Paul, a famous suffragist. This amendment was passed in Congress, but it was not ratified by the number of states it needed- which is thirty-eight. The amendment specifically states that men and women shall have equal rights throughout the United States and every place subject to its jurisdiction. The Equal Rights Amendment did not seem like a religious issue to me at first, but then I did some research and I found at it in fact was. Many religions, such as the Muslim religion, find that women are inferior to men. Some religions prevent women from play full and equal roles compared to men. I have noticed this in my own religion- Catholicism. In my religion on men are allowed to become priest and women are only allowed to become nuns. I think that it is about time that women receive the exact same rights as men because after all we are all the same.

Proposition 8 and religious groups

Proposition 8 states that Only marriage between a man and a woman is valid or recognized in California. Most religious groups are for Proposition 8 in California. They believe that marriage should only be between a man and a woman- also that a homosexual relationship is a sin and against God's will, but I always wondered if homosexuality was against God's will and human were made in God's image then why would there be homosexual people? Several other arguments that these groups have is one that gay marriage will have to be taught in schools- a couples concern for their children is expressed in this video. Even if this was a valid argument, parents can still teach their children in their own homes that gay marriage is wrong. Parents can still teach their children whatever values they want to. Another argument is that adoption agencies are going to have to place children with homosexual couples even if the adoption agency is against same-sex marriage. Another argument is that churches may have their "tax exempt status challenged or revoked if they publicly oppose same- sex marriage". These are just a few arguments that religious groups have for the passing of Proposition 8. Of course as most of the people in California know, Proposition 8 passed- 52.5% for the passing of the Proposition and 47.5% against, which is a really close vote. I hope that one day gay marriage is allowed in California because I think that everyone should have the right to get marriage to whomever they want to.

Stem Cell Research

For years now there has been this ongoing debate over stem cell research. Basically stem cells can be used to create a diversity of new cells that a person may need to repair certain cell that may save a persons life, sounds great, but then the controversy comes in which is that stem cells are most often created by using embryonic tissues- in other words an embryo. Of course both religious groups and anti-abortion groups (which usually consist of religious people) are against stem cell research. Religious groups believe that the life of the embryo starts at the moment of conception and they also believe that "embryos are human beings with the same rights and this entitled to the same protections against abuse as anyone else" (fox). Although this may be true, I think that stem cell research can save thousands of lives and that cures can be found for countless diseases. According to the article, The False Controversy of Stem Cell Research, "fertility clinics destroy far more human embryos than stem-cell research ever would, yet they are not controversial". It seems to be that this is a difficult issue, but I personally believe that stem cell research should be funded because maybe cures can be found and not only current lives can be saved but future lives can be saved as well. Sometimes I think that religious groups need to look at the figure picture, in this case they need to realize the countless amount of lives that could be saved.

The Death Penalty

The death penalty is not as big of a religious/ political issue as gay marriage or abortion may be, but it is still often debated about. The death penalty is a very sensitive subject to talk about, at least for me. I personally do not believe that capital punishment should be enforced because as Gandhi once said an eye for an eye makes the whole world go blind. I just think that there is no use in yet another life, why could not they just let the criminal rot in jail for life which seems like a worser punishment to me.

Religion wise obviously each religion feels differently about the death penalty. Though I am going to focus on the Christians. In the United States a majority of the Protestants support the death penalty and on the opposite side, the Catholics are against the death penalty. These two groups have continuously been fighting each other about this issue of the death penalty. The question at hand is whether or not America will ever get rid of the death penalty and if these religious groups should have a place in making that decision- which they should not.

The Pledge of Allegiance

Everyone remembers having to say the Pledge of Allegiance everyday in elementary school. If you do not it goes like this, "I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America, and to the Republic for which it stands, one Nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all". I remember saying this in school every morning, but I never really thought anything of it. Then later on in high school it came to my attention that people did not like to say the Pledge of Allegiance and I always wondered why- then I found out. They told me that they did not like saying the allegiance because of the phrase "under God". There was even a case in 2002 in Sacramento, where a person named Michael Newdow (who was an atheist) took the Pledge of Allegiance to court because of the phrase "under God". There of those that are of different religions, those that may not necessarily believe in God have to say of the Pledge of Allegiance and this hardly seems fair to me. It does not seem right that everyone has to say this phrase, is it not about time that it is taken out?

The Christian Right

Many of us have heard of the Christian Right, sometimes also known as the Religious Right, the question I have to ask is whether or not they should have a place in politics. Sometimes the attitude of the Christian Right scare me and about ninety-nine percent of the time I do not agree with the opinions of the Christian Right Coalition. For many years now, the Christian Right Group have continuously been trying to get a Republican Christian candidate elected as President. They have successfully done this a few times, their most recognized was Ronald Regan and most recent person was George W. Bush. The Christian Right Coalition is continuously growing in power, but do they even belong in politics? To me personally, I feel like they could do so many more better things to change the United States with their power, instead investing most of it in just politics.

Shia Sunni Conflict

The conflict between the Shiites and Sunnis have been going on for 1,400 years and this conflict is still continuously going on. The Sunnis and Shiites have been killing each other in Iraq, although in many areas they are peaceful to one another. This fight between the two religious group has caused political problems in the country of Iraq and this has also continuously been in the news all over the world. I wonder if the two will ever solve their problems and just accept their differences, hopefully they will. I also think that the United States invading Iraq could have possible made this fight between the two even worse, worsening their problems and causing even more deaths.

Here is a link to a video showing the impact of this conflict.

Recession and Religious groups

Everyone in the United States knows that our economy is not doing very well, obviously their is a recession going on. Also, everyone is being affected and this includes religious groups. Many places of worship have claimed to being going bankrupt and some faith schools are even being closed due to their lack of finances. David Roozen, a faith communities researcher, states "In 2010, I think we're going to see 10 or 15 percent of congregations saying they're in serious financial trouble". It is sad that many congregations and religious schools have to close due to the economic recession. It seems that people need church now more then ever because they need something to believe in, something they can put hope in due to financial trouble.