Religion and Society

Religion and Society

In the reading at the end of chapter one From Strangers to These Shores, it discusses the sociological perspectives such as functionalism, conflict, and the interactionist viewpoint. Functionalism is the relationship between the different parts of a society and how the society functions. Conflict is a competition for resources like labor, money, and food, etc. Conflicts may lead to inequalities which could show a major difference between poor and wealthy. Interactionist view is a belief that actions have a symbolic meaning. Its known as basic compound to social interaction which in our society is shaped in everyday situations and interactions.

After I researched the values, beliefs, and the practices of Islam, I found that they were very interesting to me. The five Pillars were included in my research which include fasting during Ramadan, pilgrimage to mecca, ritual prayer, and confession of faith. The five pillars are the five duties that every Muslim must have and follow. They are also listed throughout the Qur’an. The five pillars are: The first is Shahada, this is the most familiar and it states that there is no god, but God, but God and Muhammad who are the prophet of God. Fasting during Ramadan is a big practice that Muslims have. During the month of Ramadan, all Muslims do not eat or drink from dawn to sunset everyday of the month. After this they also have the pilgrimage to mecca, which is where all their values and duties must be carried out. Last they have the ritual prayer known as salat. The prayer is performed five times daily at dawn, midday, afternoon,sunset, and evening.

When looking at the values, practices, and beliefs of Islam, you can see that there's a lot of similarities to christianity, along with other beliefs.