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Samantha Olson
John Kubler
English 115
25 September 2014
Religion: Respect, Acceptance, and Understanding
Throughout our human existence, religion, or lack thereof, has always had an enormous
impact on the way that we live our lives. Each religion has its own unique beliefs and morals,
which can lead to many different outlooks and opinions on how we, as humans, coexist. Every
person has their own interpretation of how their specific values work. Ultimately the problem,
then, is that we do not take the time to understand the religions and beliefs that we are not familiar
with. Contrasting religious points of view have the power to start extreme conflict or even war. On
the one hand some people, such as successful singer/songwriter John Lennon, believe that the
world would be better off without religion, seeing as it has been the cause of so much hatred and
loss. Some even accuse people themselves for altering the basic principles of religion into
concepts more sinister. On the other hand others, like Madeleine Albright who was the first
women to serve as U.S. Secretary of State, suggest that religion can be used as a tool to unify and
connect different cultures (Albright 34). Religion is very prominent in our world today and it is
absolutely needed to contribute to our diversity and character; however, in order to avoid extreme
conflict we need to understand and respect other religious points of view while practicing our own.
In John Lennons song Imagine he envisions a world in which there is no religion or
possessions and everyone lives in harmony. Its a wonderful and enlightening idea, but a world
with nothing to live or die for and no religion too is unrealistic because as human beings we will
always have ideals and possessions that we are passionate about (Lennon 1). Without that
sentiment, living would almost be worthless. To add to that, even though it is one of the main

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sources of disagreement, without religion present, we would still be faced with conflict. Issues will
almost always arrive, whether it is because of religion, race, sexuality, or even class. Most of the
people in todays society feel a need to prove themselves to others; it is in our nature as imperfect
people to defend or argue our beliefs. Therefore, no matter how much we try to eliminate religion
or diversity, we will always find a way to cause problems within our world. That being said, the
only way to attempt a more peaceful environment is to be able to compromise with the different
types of people surrounding us.
Religion has the immense powerto influence how people think, feel, and act and each
person interprets that concept in their own way (Albright 36). In order for different communities
and cultures to get along with each other, they need to comprehend values that may clash with
their own. Madeleine Albright, in her essay Faith and Diplomacy talks about how religion and
politics relate. She explains that religion has a much more prominent role in the world today and
we need to be able to distinguish between the different religious principles that lead to conflict and
the other principles that have the power to release tension. Most issues arise when others do not
wish to see things from the opposing side or believe that one mans belief [is] theoretically
irreconcilable with another (Albright 35). The concept that they really need to grasp is that a
person does not have to agree with someone elses point of view, they just simply have to
understand and respect that there are differences between their two beliefs. If the countries
involved in our past wars would have taken this into consideration, there might not have been as
much turmoil in the future.
In her autobiographical book Persepolis, Marjane Satrapi, an Iranian born novelist, depicts
her childhood in which she was exposed to the conflicts between Iraq and Iran and the Islamic
Revolution. She experiences firsthand how different beliefs and views can affect the world around
her. When Mohammad Reza Shah Pahlavi came to power he, like his father, wanted to westernize

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the country. He put a reform policy in action in which he promoted education, womens voting
rights, land reform, and literacy. In doing so, he upset the religious leaders of the country who
believed that the modernization of the state symbolized the disobedience of the religious Islamic
law and preaching (Sharma/Aravind 3). They were worried that this westernization would
overpower the moral values of their nation. Satrapi uses her memory of television broadcasts in
Persepolis to prove that religious leaders were afraid of the morals of the country deteriorating in
later generations. In one of the broadcasts, the person televised strongly states that Everything
needs to be revised to ensure that our children are not led astray from the true path of Islam
(Satrapi 73). This shows that leaders with religious power did not want the future generations to be
influenced by the western culture and modernization. They wanted them to continue to embrace
their Islamic values as they grew to be older and wiser. These fundamentalist leaders were very
strong headed and Satrapi shows how severe the situation was when her mother was nearly raped
because she wasnt wearing her veil in public. When confronted, Ebi, Satrapis mother, was told
women like [her] should be pushed up against a wall andthen thrown in the garbage (Satrapi
74). Religion took hold of the Iranian people so intensely that it was dangerous and risky to
question or go against it. Satrapi even depicts that there were women who had the authority to put
[young ladies] back on the straight and narrow by explaining the duties of Muslim Women and
arrest them for improperly wearing the Islamic attire (Satrapi 133). Religious leaders took their
beliefs to extremes and causes conflict instead of simply trying to see the situation from an
opposing view.
If the religious leaders in power during Satrapis childhood would have only reasoned with
the Shahs views, the years of loss and war might not have been as long and brutal. Albright points
out in her essay that religion is a powerful force, but its impact depends entirely on what it
inspires people to do (Albright 34). Fighting that involves religion can never be completely

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solved because there will always be something that is interpreted differently between two separate
cultures or viewpoints.
We will never be able to rid the world of religion because at its best [it can] reinforce the
core values necessary for people from different cultures to live in some degree of harmony and it
can define ones individuality and character (Albright 42). What we can do is educate ourselves on
how other religions live their lives and accept the fact that everyone is going to have various views
that will most likely clash. I honestly believe that the most important concept is to know your
faith at its deepest and richest best, and enough about your neighbors faith to respect it (Albright
41). In other words, make peace with the fact that there will be other people who disagree with
almost everything that you believe in; they have their morals and you have yours.
Although many of us have opposing points of view, we need to make the best of it and
realize why people act the way they do. For example, there was a controversy at Pima High
School in Arizona when after years of saying prayer at graduation, it was banned. The senior class
of only about forty students had already chosen a student to lead them in prayer but the
superintendent called it off due to the possibility of a lawsuit. Even though the entire senior class
voted to have an opening and closing prayer the superintendent did not want to infringe on any of
the students rights (Martinez 1:04). It is understandable that the majority of class members
wanted prayer at the graduation, but they need to be considerate of the students who do not
practice any certain religion. What if a small group of students find it offensive? What if they are
too embarrassed to speak out against prayer, but are uncomfortable about it? Even if most students
support the prayer, the school should respect the views of the minority. In this case, a show of
hands cannot be the deciding factor. As an atheist student puts it, its like they think that they can
just get rid of the first amendment by voting for it (An Atheist Voice 1:05). Each individual
should be educated enough to see that a few of their fellow classmates probably do not agree with

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prayer and have the right to express that. They should not be forced to be a part of something that
they do not believe in and their peers need to accept and respect that.
As we see in many different situations, religion is not something that can be taken lightly.
It has the strength to destroy communities or even countries; yet, it also has the power to unite
with common objectives. As a piece of this world, we need to be able to comprehend one
anothers different beliefs and morals to avoid deeper conflict within. By seeing a cultures
religious motives from their point of view, we may be able to solve the issues that have been
present throughout history. Differing views doesnt mean that you have to hate other religions; it
just means that there are alternate ways of seeing the same world.

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Works Cited
Albright, Madeleine Korbel. "Faith and Diplomacy." The Mighty and the Almighty: Reflections
on America, God, and World Affairs. Washington, DC: Council on Faith & International
Affairs, 2006. 34-42. Print.
Lennon, John. Imagine. Capitol, 1971. CD.
Sharma, Priya R., and Aju Aravind. "Depiction of Islamic Revolution of 1979 in Marjane Satrapi's
Persepolis." IMPACT 2.1 (2014): 1-8. Web. 19 Sept. 2014.
Satrapi, Marjane. Persepolis. New York, NY: Pantheon, 2003. Print.
Martinez, Marc. "School District Says No to Closing Prayer at High School Graduation." School
District Says No to Closing Prayer at High School Graduat. Fox 10 News, 06 May 2014.
Web. 22 Sept. 2014.
The Atheist Voice. Graduation Prayers. Online video clip. Youtube, 17 May. 2014. Web. 21
Sept. 2014.

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