According to Quora, there are approximately 4,300 different religions around the globe, which is not much when you consider that the world’s population is 7.2 billion. Nonetheless, no matter what region you believe in, religion plays an important part within your community and has influenced your growth as a human in one way or another. There are many pros and cons to religion and it has a lot of power to affect our daily lives. With that said, the positive effects on one’s self that has a solid foundation within their respective religion shall be briefly explored.

So, are religions a blessing or curse? And where did religion in America go?

Religion does make you stronger

As someone who just underwent military training, trust me when I say that having a strong foundation within a religion makes you strong. For those who do not know, military training is designed to break you from your civilian ways and makes you into a trained military person. The breaking down process comes as a huge shock to you, because you have spent 18+ years of your life as a civilian and now you have to cast that aside to begin your new life. During this process, your mental, emotional and physical states are pushed far beyond their limits to break you down.

I would honestly admit that I have been broken more times than one, but relying on my strong mind, I was able to endure it to the very end.

What was most impressive though were the varied religious individuals within my unit. They were able to endure the whole process and even make it look easy by staying together and praying together. Every night before the lights went out (if we ever made it to our bunks), the Christians (all categories), Muslims, and Hindus would meet within their various circles and pray together.

At first, I thought it was nothing, however, the ones who were ready to give up always came back stronger than ever after their prayer session. It was unbelievable how something as simple as praying can empower someone so much.

Religion brings people together

This may be hard to understand at face value especially since there have been many deaths happening around the world due to the difference of religious beliefs, but from what I’ve seen during my training, religion can actually be the glue that binds us together.

As previously mentioned, the various religious groups used to get together and pray to cope and overcome training. That gave them power, however, often, everyone used to meet together and learn from each other’s religious beliefs.

The Muslims would teach everyone something about their beliefs one day and the Hindus and Christians would follow suit on another. Along with that, instead of arguing which is better or the true religion, they just compared and contrasted their various beliefs.

Religion has affected us both directly and indirectly, regardless of religious standing. For those who are heavily involved in a religion, it can be a powerful tool to help them overcome many a challenge. Through prayer and worship, one can gain the strength needed to push through any trial or tribulation that may come their way.

In addition to the power that religion may bestow on someone, it can also be the bridge that unites others. By comparing religions and focusing on the similarities rather than the differences, brothers and sisters of different religions can unite under the same banner and grow together as one.
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