Religion Essays

“Religion is the opiate of the masses” (Karl Marx). Examine this statement and discuss in relation to the role of the Catholic Church in Angela’s Ashes. The McCourt’s lived in an impoverished, class orientated Ireland during the great depression with a wealthy and influential Catholic Church enforcing its authority though …

By the 16th century, the Roman Catholic Church’s corruption was beginning to spread. Simony, or the buying of church offices, was common along with pluralism which was the appointment of multiple bishops in multiple areas. Tithing had become mandatory to support the church’s bloated clergy, yet it was the poorly …

When John Milton decided to write, he knew from the start he wanted his creation to be that of an epic. Paradise Lost is just that. It is Milton’s own take on the biblical story of Satan’s fall from grace as well as man’s fall. Milton was not only armed …

In the play King Lear fate decides where each person will go, how they live and how they die. Each character in the play believes in god or a higher power that is responsible for the good and unfortunate events in their lives. Fate places situations on each of them …

Washington Irving has taken a German story passed down from generation to generation, and brought it to American soil by placing its setting during the late 1700’s in New England. “The devil and Tom Walker” by Washington Irving contains many unrealistic events, stereotypes, and a few lessons and truths about …

The stories “Young Goodman Brown” by Hawthorne and “The Man in the Black Suit” by King are very similar and touch upon many of the same key points in literature, including good versus evil and allegory. However, they do have their differences, which make each story unique and interesting. Both …

Paul, more than any other New Testament writer links the concept of the Spirit indwelt believer, with the day to day living and empowering of the Christian life. As Paige muses, “Christians who were formerly alienated from God have not simply been entered into the heavenly register of the redeemed; …

The spiritual ideas of Buddhism and Hinduism are very interesting but often hard to grasp. In the novel Siddhartha, by Hermann Hesse, these ideas are the basis for many likes and dislikes. It is a story about a young Hindu boy who rejects the beliefs of everyone he knows and …

“Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.” This is what we know as the golden rule. In today’s society, it seems to have been altered just a tad – “Do unto other’s before they do unto you.” Albeit a negative connotation, it can be turned one …

Moksha and Nirvana Both Hindu and Buddhist beliefs of reincarnation end with the ultimate goal of ending that cycle. Moksha is a final resting place that is attained by living a good life through the five caste levels. Moksha is basically the ending of the cycle of birth and rebirth …