Religion and ethics

Religion and ethics have existed from the time of our ancestors. Religion is a set or a collection of beliefs and practices concerning the universe and even creation of human and superhuman activities. An example is Methodist and Baptist religion. Catholic in simple terms means people who belong to the universal Christian church (Roy, 2012). On the other hand, Baptist is a Christian denomination that baptizes followers by immersing them in water and using specific doctrines. Being a Catholic, I will compare and contrast Baptist and Catholic religions.

Baptist is one who believes in the baptism of Jesus followers, while, Catholic means universal. According Roy (2012), Baptist implies that people claim faith in Christ for salvation. They reject infants being baptized, because only adults can be believers. Finally, it is not believed that baptism relieves people of their sins. Additionally, Catholics believe in purgatory while Baptists believe that there is only heaven and hell.

Another outstanding difference is that Catholics use mass as an act of re-sacrificing the blood and body of Jesus, and Baptists believe that mass is blasphemous and that Christ died just once. Similarly, while Catholics make sacrifices to saints and Mary, Baptists think that people should pray God via Christ. Catholics believe in mediation of catholic priests while Baptists insist that Christ is the only mediator (Samuel, 2002). The two religions are similar because they both acknowledge Jesus Christ as the only way to salvation. Additionally, they both encourage baptism as a form of covenant and the beginning of new life in Christ even though they practice it at different stages. To sum up the whole discussion, religion plays a big role in the society.

Religion helps satisfy the need for spiritual fulfillment in humans (Samuel, 2002). Religion makes one a better person in the society (Blackmore, 2009). Additionally, it provides proof for the existence of God and strengthens people’s belief in their God or gods. Non-believers like atheists and naturalists believe that the world would be a better place without religion, but in my opinion, the world needs religion to distinguish between good and bad. Therefore, religion is an important tool in shaping up the society.