The Sociology of Religion (Coursework Sample)

Sociology of Religion
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Introduction
Religion is a common denominator for all believers who comprise of the entire human race. All human beings are believers of various religious views; hence, they belong to a given religion. Religion is, however, very diverse and shares views and beliefs that can sometimes be contradicting. It is in avoidance of such contradictions that most people opt to belong only to certain religious denomination. There are pros and cons of being bent on a specific religious denomination, commonly referred to as a church. The associated disadvantages and advantages of the same are discussed below.
Spiritual Stand
One notable advantage of belonging to a specified church is the ability to establish a stand in spiritualism conveniently. As stated earlier, different religions harbor differing views on religious issues that in most cases are contradicting, but could be healthy if assimilated wisely. Belonging to one church, therefore, exposes an individual to similar views and teachings aiding in establishing a stand. Individuals who associate themselves with only one church have a solid idea of what religion mean to them, their responsibilities as believers and what they expect from religions. On the other hand, being a committed member of the only church might make one to be inflexible in spiritual matters CITATION Chr13 \l 1033 (Christianpf, 2013). Knowing the beliefs and teaching of other churches promotes appreciation of fellow human beings promoting harmony and co-existence between members of differing religious denominations. It is this co-existence that promotes bonding between these members facilitating chances of them learning from each other. Learning from each other helps a great deal in spiritual nourishment as one can weigh the teaching from their church with those of other churches as well as borrow some concepts.
Accountability
Spiritual growth is facilitated by regular and frequent spiritual nourishment. Human beings are subjected to happenings that increase their chances of falling into temptations as well challenges that may lead them to backsliding from the faith they had in religion. Therefore, it is crucial that individuals attend churches regularly for them to be reminded of the teachings and requirements of believers. Belonging to a specific church increase the chances of a believer being accountable or rather, responsible in their church attendance habits CITATION Rob11 \l 1033 (Roberts & Yamane, 2011). The accountability is increased by the fact that people belonging to a certain church develop a rapport, and it becomes easier to note the member who fails to attend several sessions and action to find out the reason behind the absence is taken. On the other hand, the accountability might pass the safe boundaries and turn into a form of slavery. In such cases, a believer might be forced to procrastinate crucial events for the sake of attending church meeting which they would do without but dare not to for the fear of being questioned by the fellow believers CITATION Cro14 \l 1033 ( Crossman, 2014).
Personal Development
Human beings are bound to undergo revolutions that in most cases are influenced by their immediate environment. Belonging to a particular worship group promotes strong faith in members. As faith is a core in developing oneself, such people experience series of self-growth and development which is positive. However, being a member of a certain church might be counterproductive to a believer. In some churches, some preachers lack