English with Rachel

Hi,
The topic for the next class is religion, so please can you write a 150 word essay on the positives and negatives of religion in your opinion.

The writing exercise:

 

What about religion?


Religion is an important and, at the same time, quite a controversial subject. If you don't want to quarrel with your friends, colleagues or acquaintances, you should talk about this topic as little as possible, at least in public. Perhaps, as the song says, we are losing our religion, nowadays...

Since the dawn of time, when human beings became sentient, religion has had an enormous weight in our societies, behaviours and minds. Some organisations or ruling groups have adopted religion as a way to control our lives, dreams, minds and hopes. And why? Because of the fear of death and suffering are actually present in our "mental schemas", as human beings. 

The idea of the permanence of life, beyond the physical world, is one of the most important human hopes and dreams. However, religion also has benefits for us and our societies: it is a form of morality and an attempt to achieve good in our lives. But everything has a dark side, as we have mentioned before; the use of religion as a means of control is this dark, obscure, side of the coin.

In short, I believe that religion should be treated with respect, consideration and relativity. But be aware: this is just my point of view!

And which religion should I choose? The one that I believe is not a religion 'per se', but a good way of living: Zen...