April 8, 2013

Chapter 3 - Summary, Conclusions, Recommendations


Chapter 3
SUMMARY, CONCLUSIONS
AND RECOMMENDATIONS

SUMMARY

This research attempted to identify the ways that religion can be used to control or manipulate people.
The researcher used the descriptive method in this study wherein various compiled data and articles found over the internet are presented to answer the research question posed. Also, the researcher filtered all the information in order to avoid digressing from the topic. The research findings are the following:

1.       Religion is a necessity to the society.
2.      Morals and conducts stems out from religious beliefs and it set the standards between right and wrong.
3.      Religions gives man a positive perspective on life and sometimes their belief changes them to become a better person.
4.      An influential person can use religion for his own benefit by causing them to act according to his own ideals,beliefs, opinion and values.
5.      Religion is abused by people who use it to make money from the followers or the congregation.
6.      There also some cases where certain systems of beliefs of a religion force the followers to act according to it, even if it is not intended to manipulate people.
7.      Religion divides people because of the differences of beliefs and traditions.
8.      Being too religious can be bad for an individual because some people might take advantage of them.







CONCLUSIONS

Based on the findings of this study, the following conclusions are drawn:

1.       Religion plays an important role in our society. It reminds us of the values and morals we have to apply daily in our life. To some people, religion gives hope, comfort and strength especially at times when faced with life’s adversities. It also gives a reason and a purpose to live; and a desire to make the world a better place. Lastly, religion gives people a better view of life that make them change into a better person.
2.      Because religion can affect an individual’s way of thinking, it is a great tool to manipulate and control a person’s belief, opinion, and decision-making. There are influential people who appeal to people through religion, and there are also those who use religion to gain benefits for their self-interests. On the other hand, systems of beliefs can also be used to control people because rules force them to act willingly. If one refuses to do so, that person might be banished from the group.

RECOMMENDATION

After drawing the conclusions, the researchers hereby makes the following suggestions or recommendations:

1.                 Be a filter rather than a sponge. Do not always absorb everything a religion says. They are just guides that will help you learn more about God. You have the freedom to study and understand for yourself the teachings in the Bible. In fact, it is the same book where all the messages of the pastors and priest comes from.  

2.                People who use religion to take advantage of others do exist. In order to avoid being taken advantage of, the researcher highly encourages the people  to choose carefully who to follow.

3.                Future researchers may use other methods to expand this study. Also, they may research more on how religion can be a means of social control.


REFERENCES

Electronic Media

ABS-CBN News. (2012, February 22). RH bill tests Church's political influence: Miriam. Retrieved April 8, 2013 from http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/nation/02/22/11/rh-bill-tests-churchs-political-influence-miriam

Anonymous (n.d.). Why Society Needs Religion. Retrieved March 30, 2013 from http://www.credong.org/why-society-needs-religion.php

Anonymous. (2005, January 2) The Purpose of Life According to Buddhism.  Retrieved April 7, 2013 from http://www.religionfacts.com/buddhism/beliefs/purpose.htm

Barer, B. (n.d.). A Review - Beyond the Clash of Religions: The Emergence of a New Paradigm. Retrieved January 20, 2013 from http://www.adishakti.org/_/beyond_the_clash_of_religions.htm

Bhatt, A. (n.d.). What is the importance of religion?. Retrieved March 24, 2013 from
http://www.preservearticles.com/201101183516/importance-of-religion.html

Brooks, T. (n.d.). 7 Characteristics of False Teachers. Retrieved January 31, 2013 from http://www.mountainretreatorg.net/eschatology/7char.html
Cabacungan, G. C. (2012, May 1). No politics, just bloc vote, says INC member. Retrieved March 20, 2013  from http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/196993/no-politics-just-bloc-vote-says-inc-member
Cascio, K. (n.d.). Mind Control: Six Tell-Tale Signs Of Abusive Church Leaders. Retrieved January 27, 2013 from http://www.wickedshepherds.com/MindControl.html

Grace, S. (2013, January 23). Stories of Former Mars Hill Members. Retrieved April 1, 2013 from http://marshillrefuge.blogspot.com/2013/01/stories-of-former-mars-hill-members.html

Graham, R. (2012, February 12). A Shunning in Seattle. Retrieved April 1, 2013 from http://www.slate.com/articles/life/faithbased/2012/02/mars_hill_pastor_mark_driscoll_faces_backlash_over_church_discipline_case_.single.html

linewave (2011, November 25). In the dark: Why we Filipinos love religion. Retrieved March 19, 2013 from http://getrealphilippines.com/blog/2011/11/in-the-dark-why-we-filipinos-love-religion/

Maxwell, J. C. (n.d.). Leadership Is Influence: Nothing More, Nothing Less. Retrieved March 31, 2013 from http://www.buildingchurchleaders.com/articles/2005/090905.html

millief (2011, July). The Role of Religion in Society. Retrieved March 29, 2013 from http://www.studymode.com/essays/The-Role-Of-Religion-In-Society-739629.html

rampmetal (2012, April). The Role of Religion in Shaping Civilization. Retrieved March 29, 2013 from http://www.studymode.com/essays/The-Role-Of-Religion-In-Shaping-984648.html

Ross, R (2002, November 6). The Rise and Fall of Jim Jones. Retrieved March 31, 2013 from http://www.rickross.com/reference/jonestown/jonestown4.html

Vujicic, N. (n.d.). About Nick: His Story. Retrieved March 31, 2013 from http://www.attitudeisaltitude.com/about-nick-his-story


Chapter 2 - Discussion


DISCUSSION

In what ways can religion be used to control or manipulate people?

Purpose of Religion in the Society

Most of us doesn’t notice that, perhaps, religion is an important part of our lives. At one point of our life, everyone has probably been introduced in a religion, which usually happens at an early age. As a kid, it is possible that our parents brought us to church to learn values and be disciplined. Not only parents but also the  government use religion as a means of discipline

An article, 'Short essay on the Informal Means of social control’, by  a user named ‘millief’ at www.studymode.com agrees that religion plays a large part in our government as well.

The author states:

“Religion is a secondary agent of socialization, it plays a major part in many people’s lives, even though we may not be as religious as we used to be, religion still features strongly in our word as many of our laws and moral codes… “ (millief, July 2011)

Perhaps, even those who are not that religious cannot disagree that religion is important to our society. The following are the reasons why the researcher believes that religion is important to the society.

A. Teach Morals and Conducts
           
Apart from family and education institutions, religion is one of the areas in our society that teaches morals and conducts. It is responsible to shape the civilization while keeping harmony and peace.

When there was no religion, when humans were not civilized yet, people do whatever they thought right. They don’t have a clear boundary between right and wrong. Thus, they do whatever they want and get whatever they want. Probably, they fought one another for territory, food, partner and, maybe, the right and the authority to lead. This has changed when humans decided to worship gods – pagan worship. They probably noticed that they needed a proper and an organized society, so people created a belief system that can possibly standardize their methods of electing a leader and claiming a territory. Also, this system sets rules that make them more civilized.

According to another user, ‘rampmetal’ from www.studymode.com, the early human race, the homo sapiens, does not know what is right from wrong.  He stated that this human race is living in a disorganized society or community.

“From the beginning of (the) human race or Homo sapiens, they were run by curiosity. Human were started to live together but didn’t know what was right or wrong, used to do things whatever wanted like killing each other, mass adultery with inter and intra species, eating whatever wanted…. After 10,000 BC by the invention of agriculture human race started to live together and social structure started to form but there was the need of some rules and regulation and some form belief system which will be abide by all people. That’s where religion becomes the principles and the only carrier of righteousness a total system of living system socially.” (rampmetal, April 2012)

Religion offers people different purpose and meanings to life. Thus, religion can also be a factor for people in choosing a career path or a goal in life. Nevertheless, religion makes people strive each day to pursue their purpose.

B. Gives Positive Perspective on Life

We are all living in a world full of miseries, problems, and suffering. Despite all this, some people still have a positive view on life. Religion is one of the reasons why some people, especially the Filipinos, are content and happy with their life. Maybe, this is one of the reasons why Filipinos have a higher tolerance of hardship than other people does

One belief, that makes people content in life is that everything works for good. This results in poor people believing that they are poor for a reason and thus, they will always be poor. Because of this, even Filipinos who are going through tough times can make jokes and make fun of their situations.
Another belief is that there is a God who will always come to help in times of need to a person who believes in Him. This gives the believer's comfort, strength and hope to bear his problems. They put their trust in God in hopes of good outcomes.

Also, people believe that God always has a reason for the struggles an individual is going through. Even if they are uncertain of what will happen, they still hold on to this belief. Thus, this gives the believer a peace of mind even in the midst of problems.

Ajay Bhatt explained the importance of religion in his article, ‘What is the Importance of Religion?’. One of the reasons is that religion explains individual suffering.

“Man does not live by knowledge alone. He is an emotional creature. Religion serves to the emotions of man in times of his sufferings and disappointment. On God religion puts faith and entertains the belief that some unseen power moves in mysterious ways to make even his loss meaningful. In this way religion gives release from sorrow and release from fear. It helps man to bear his frustration and integrate his personality.” (Bhatt, n.d.)

By explaining why people experience certain difficulties in life, religion gives a new and positive perspective to people. Though, religion is not limited to giving new insights to people, but sometimes, it also turns a person’s life around. Their beliefs change them for the better. This can be seen in Nick Vujicic’s life.

Nick is one of this many people who was changed for the better. He was born with no arms and a single leg, and because of that he became depressed and tried committing suicide a lot of times during his childhood. But he changed because he decided to look from a higher perspective. He became faithful to God, and from then on, he became an inspiration to a lot of people around the world.

In Nick’s website, his testimony, ‘About Nick: His Story’, tells the many hardship and difficulties he went through and how these things was used by God to inspire people.

My name is Nick Vujicic and I am thankful to have been born 30 years ago with no arms and no legs. I won’t pretend my life is easy, but through the love of my parents, loved ones, and faith in God, I have overcome my adversity and my life is now filled with joy and purpose.” (Vujicic, n.d)
Religion not only changes a person’s view in life through different divine explanations but also can change a person for the better.

Ways Religion can be used to Control or Manipulate People

A. Influence of the Leader

The church leader is the person who teaches and leads the congregation of a religion. They manage the church as well as its members. Followers tend to run to them when they need counselling and advice. Also, leaders have to keep in contact with their members, and in rare cases, be involved in a member’s personal matter. Another thing, a church leader who has the power to persuade people are skilled enough and have a solid reputation to people, will be able to convince others to support their ideas.  

Influential leaders do not only apply to church leaders because even leaders in a classroom can be influential. Dr. Maxwell admitted this in his article, ‘Leadership Is Influence: Nothing More, Nothing Less’.

“Leadership is influence—nothing more, nothing less. When you become a student of leaders, as I am, you recognize people's level of influence in everyday situations all around you.” (Dr. Maxwell, n.d.)

The point is, people who have influence have power over people. In other words, an influential person can cause another person to act according to the influencer’s ideals, values or beliefs. This may be a good thing if used in a good way. But, the bad thing with this is that, if such influential person uses this power to, consciously, make people have the same opinion as him. Opinion on a complicated matter such as the Reproductive Health Bill.

A news article by ABS-CBN news, entitled, “RH bill tests Church's political influence: Miriam”, told the interview with Sen. Miriam Santiago. Miriam challenges other senators about their votes being influenced by the Catholic church.

“Catholic bishops have been known to campaign against politicians who support bills that are against the Catholic Church's teaching.” (ABS-CBN News, 2012)

In this case, we can see that the Catholic church holds an influence in the politics. Probably, some politician will be afraid if the Catholic church would campaign against them. This will lose their chance of winning in the upcoming election because the majority of the Filipinos are Catholics.

B. Abuse of Power

Perhaps, not everyone has heard of a bad influential teacher or leader. They exist and it is a possibility. There are people clever enough who use their power over people, or in some cases, as they get more popular and more influential; they learn how to use it for their own. Slowly, the Good Word that they are supposed to teach become less of importance as they focus more on their self. These people are called ‘false teachers’. False teachers are people who distort the message of the Bible for their own use. Sometimes they twist the message to win people’s heart. This is where abuse of power comes in.

“The Rise and Fall of Jim Jones” is an article written by Rick Ross which tells the story of a false teacher named, Jim Jones. According to Ross, Jones started out as a respected community leader and he was involved in charity works and programs that helps the poor and the elderly. He founded the People’s Temple, a quasi-religious organization. Later on, he became involved with politics wherein he became influential .

Ross stated, “Jones' political machine continues to garner him influence by helping to elect Mayor Moscone, District Attorney Joseph Freitas and Sheriff Richard Hongisto in 1975”. (Ross, 2002)

Then, Jones continued to buy influence through giving out money to institutes and individuals. However, Jones’ fall began when reporter Marshall Kilduff exposed him.

“It detailed Jones' faked healings and extremely coercive fund raising that pushed members to liquidate their assets and hand over the money to the church.”  (Ross, 2002)

Jim Jones’  used his popularity as a tool to make money from his congregation. Sadly, there are also a lot who is like him nowadays. They use religion and the desire of human to believe in something to gain benefits, such as money and political advantage, for their own.

C. By the System of Belief Itself

We may not notice it, but sometimes our actions, decisions and how we present ourselves are based on what our religion says. There are a lot of Do’s and Don’ts that the followers have to abide in. As time goes, these rules become our beliefs and tradition.

An example of this scenario is the Iglesia Ni Cristo (INC) – a religion famous for its system of belief involving the elections. They use bloc voting every election. It is an old tradition of INC in which the whole congregation has to vote as a herd during national elections. For them, it might be just another tradition that they have to follow, but it has great effects on the politics even if it is not intended to.

This is kind of a possible manipulative system exist also abroad. Let us look at Andrew’s experience with Mar’s Hill Church (MHC) in Ruth Graham’s article entitled “A Shunning in Seattle”. The article tells the story of Andrew as he went through the disciplinary procedures given to him by the MHC.

According to Graham, Andrew was a committed member of Mars Hill Church and was engaged to a daughter of a church elder, but he made a mistake. Andrew cheated on his fiancĂ©, and thus, he was sent a disciplinary contract. This contract states that Andrew will not be involved in serving MHC while undergoing the disciplinary acts or procedures. Also, he will not be allowed to date nor pursue any woman inside or outside MHC. As part of the procedure,  the contract requires Andrew that he writes down all his “sexual and emotional attachment history with women”. But instead of agreeing to the contract, Andrew decided to leave the church.Then MHC posted a letter addressed to MHC members from the Pastor of Andrew. The letter states that the members should treat Andrew as an unbeliever because he was not able to complete the disciplinary actions and refuse to sign the contracts.


“The fury over Andrew’s experience—and his decision to publicize the church’s internal disciplinary procedures—has led to accusations by other Christians that one of the most powerful evangelical voices in the country, Mars Hill pastor Mark Driscoll, employs a cultlike leadership style.” (Graham, 2012)

Looking more into the case, the researcher found “Mars Hill Refuge”, a blog where people with the same experience as Andrew’s with MHC, can share their stories too.  There are a lot of people who went through the same experience as Andrew’.  According to them they felt abused, wronged  and judged.

Because of these incidents, questions about the church’s disciplinary practices arise. Mars Hill Church was confronted with questions about whether its disciplinary measures are, as Graham puts it, “misunderstood and biblical, or disturbingly controlling”.

In this kind of belief system, where such disciplinary actions have caused members to be abused, judged and isolated; reputations and relationships are torn down. MHC members surrounding the victims were made to believe that MHC ex-attendees are unbelievers and force them to not associate with the victims.

Dysfunction of Religion

One of the main flaw in religion is that it divides people, just like how different race divides a nation. Having different systems of beliefs that share little in common, would certainly generate conflicts and problems in the society. From these conflicts, oppositions of beliefs emerge, thus resulting in religious discrimination.

Throughout the world’s history, we can see evidence of religious discrimination. Adolf Hitler hates the Jews because he believes that they are inferior to the Germans, so when he had the power, he exterminated, approximately, six million Jews. Another instance, up until now, Christian missionaries are not welcomed into the middle-east. There are news where Christian missionaries are killed or sentenced to death by these Islamic nations.

Thus, we can’t deny how much religion has divided the world and how great the gap it created from one religion against another.

Attitudes of Believers towards their Religion

Every people have their own views on religion. They have the freedom to choose what beliefs they are going to take in and to believe in, but problems arise when people become too religious.

Before anything else, the word religious, as an adjective, can be defined in three ways.

1. Having or showing belief in and reverence for God or a deity.
2. Of, concerned with, or teaching religion: a religious text.
3. Extremely scrupulous or conscientious: religious devotion to duty.
           
The first one is applied to the people who takes the idea of God seriously that they do more efforts and devotion to study this. As for the second one, this definition of ‘religious’ is commonly used in a negative way in the evangelical churches. This refers to the legalism and ritualistic aspects of religion. The third definition, which is also can be used as a verb applies to how a person behaves and treat certain areas of his life. In this part of the research, the second definition is used.

In this current generation, being a Christian and being religious are said to be two different things. Religious people can be a Christian, but not all Christians are religious. By definition, Christians are those whose beliefs are based on Jesus’ teachings and the Bible, while religious people are those who strongly believe in the religion itself and who carefully follow and obey rules and laws, even if  those rules are set by men. In fact, they are addicted to religion to the point that they believe whatever the religious leaders says or any belief that has to do with religion.

Take the Filipinos for example, even before Christianity was introduced, our ancestors already have a religion which is the pagan belief or animism. This only proves that Filipinos are religious. This trait made Filipinos vulnerable, and an easy target when the Spaniards came. They took this opportunity to colonize us by using religion to change our beliefs. Because we know nothing about Christianity, we submit and let the Spaniard teach us, which gave them the opportunity to take advantage, as well as manipulate us.

Another thing about most religious people is that they believe that they have to do good deeds, be a good person, do this, and do that. For them, religion is a legalism of rules and regulations. Most of the time, this results people to think "Unless you accept our point of view, you are not one of us!". Another result is that people become too obedient to the rules and laws that they forget the main core of religion, which is to become Christ-like and follow the word of God. 

Chapter 1 Introduction


Chapter 1
INTRODUCTION


A.    Background of the Study

How can we classify one group as a religion? Is it having a faith or belief that makes one a religion? If it is, then is agnostic belief a faith? Or is atheism a faith? According to Emile Durkheim, religion is defined as ‘unified system of beliefs and practices relative to sacred things’. On the other hand, the Merriam Webster defined religion as ‘a cause, principle, or system of beliefs held to with ardor and faith’. If we base the definition of religion on it then, almost everything that has a system of beliefs that is devoted to a higher being can be classified as religion.

 Around the world, there are 21 major religions. Each of these religions is divided into different categories like Christianity and Islam. Under Christianity, there are Catholicism and Protestantism which also have sub categories. As time passes, the division in religion and their subcategories goes on and on. Most of them share one goal – being Christ-like and following the word of God. Though, they also have their differences in terms of doctrines, rules or laws, Do’s and Don’ts; and beliefs. These differences are the main reason why some religions go against each other. Some religion claims that their ways are the only absolute truth. Thus, it makes one religion intolerant of the other. Evidences of this can be found throughout the history. There were wars started by conflicts between religions, and there are genocides because of religious prejudice. If religion was able to start wars and genocides, then maybe, religion has power over its followers.

Religion is one of the many ways to impose power and control over a group of people.  It is the department in the society that is assigned to teach people of morals and values.  They shape the characters and views in life of a person to become a better man for the society. This also means that they can mold the way a person think and make decisions.  Some people who are clever enough abuse this knowledge. They are called as false teacher or false prophets.

False Teachers or False Prophets are those people who use religion to gain benefits for their selfish reasons.  The article “Mind Control:  Six Tell-Tale Signs Of Abusive Church Leaders” written by Ken Ciasco describes what these false teachers are and their motives. According to Ciasco, false teachers teach and preach about God to people in order for them to gain trust and become credible enough for the people to believe him. Some even create their own doctrines which is unbiblical. They twist and distort the truths with their cunning and deceptive lies. These lies are disguised as the truth and that these ‘truths’ are said to be according to the Word of God. (Source: http://www.wickedshepherds.com/MindControl.html)
                                                                  
However, false teachers may not be the only ones who manipulate people or the society. It can be the belief system of a religion and not the faith. An example of this is the bloc voting of Inglesia ni Cristo during elections in the Philippines. Bloc voting is one of their oldest traditions and is also a big issue in the Philippines during election periods.

 A news article, entitled “No politics, just bloc vote, says INC member”, by Gil C. Cabacungan reported about speculations on whether a politician is trying to gain the favor of an INC official  or not. An INC official defended themselves of these.

“Iglesia ni Cristo (INC) votes as a herd in elections, but it never dips its fingers in politics, a member of the religious sect said Sunday” (Cabacunangan, 2012)

““Religious leaders can preach, they can give spiritual guidance, they can comment on moral matters, they should convert sinner politicians and lead them to the path of goodness. But it’s unholy behavior if they use the sacred power of their church or sect to impose their dogmas on how leaders draft, debate, and vote on public policies,” said Kabataan Rep. Raymond Palatino.” (Cabacunangan, 2012)

For them, this tradition is done to abide to their laws or rules, but from an outsiders point of view, this can be interpreted as a way manipulation by intervening in the country’s election.

Religion holds great power. It has always been a need for people. Religion reinforces the beliefs of an individual, gives assurance and provides hope. It also answers and gives solution to question and problems that cannot be explained by plain logic and science. Since most people are already familiar with these pros of the religion to the society, I decided to research about the cons – religion’s power to manipulate people.

This study aims to provide factual examples or evidences of different ways religion affects the decision-making of the society or a group of people. 

B.    Statement of the Problem

This study aims to answer this question

1.    In what ways can religion be use to control or manipulate people?


C.    Significance of the Study

Church Goers
This study aims to inform about the manipulative side of religion. With a better understanding and knowledge of this topic, the researcher hopes to open a new perspective  which can convince these church goers to filter what the church leader says and study for themselves the Word of God.

Religious People
As these are the people who are very much involved in religious activities and who are the most obedient to various religious leaders, they are also the ones who are prone to being controlled or manipulated easily. Information gathered and formed in this study, which will require open-mindedness, hopes to open the eyes of these people to the motives and controlling side of religion.

Readers
Information presented in this research paper may add or contribute to one’s own knowledge about religion. It may also give them new insights on religion.

Future Researchers
This research paper may be a good source of reference for future studies and research papers related to this topic. Since there are still a lot of areas this research paper will not cover, future researchers can use the information and data in this study to further widen this research paper.

D. Scope and Delimitation

The study focuses on the effects of religion to the society and the ways people use it to control or manipulate people. The researcher will also assume that anything that has a system of belief is considered as a religion.            

Due to a limited amount of time, this research paper will not discuss topics such as false religions or debate the existence of God or any higher being; or debate any other social issues mention. Also, this study will focus more on monotheism religions.

E. Methodology

This research will use the descriptive method for the study aims to describe and explain the ways religion can be used to control or manipulate people. It will also discuss the effects of religion to the society and the culture of Filipinos.

Most information presented in this study is mainly gathered through online sources.

F. Definition of Terms

Religion – It is a cause, principle, or system of beliefs held to with ardor and faith.

Mind Control – The act of changing a person’s beliefs, conviction and attitudes by the means of concentrated persuasion. 

Manipulate – To skillfully cause a person to behave the way you want

False Teachers or False Prophets – The persons or people who teach about God and distort the Word of God to gain personal benefits such as money and power.

Bloc Voting – It is when a group of individuals to vote as one.

Christianity a monotheistic religion centered on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth as presented in the New Testament.



April 7, 2013

11 - Mars Hill Church and their Disciplinary Acts

Have you thought how manipulative a church can be if they wanted to? I mean, they have the power. Churches, or rather, their belief system can easily make people follow, because from the start, religions is meant to be followed.  They have the power but it is rarely use in an obvious way, more or less in an abusive way.

I started to look for an incident where a religion or a belief system has become manipulative in some way. I didn't expect to find any but I stumbled an article entitled "A Shunning in Seattle" written by Ruth Graham.. Graham told the story of Andrew, a former Mars Hill Church (MHC) member. Andrew did something wrong and against the church's rules and laws. Thus, he went through different disciplinary procedures. It became too much for him, so he decided to leave the church.

First off, the disciplinary procedures was too much demanding. He was asked to sign a contract in which will make him on probation and he wouldn't be involved in church activities. Also, in the contract he was required  to write down all his “sexual and emotional attachment history with women". I think, such methods is unnecessary. It's like they're taking judgement on the church's officials own hands which is supposed to be God's.

Graham wrote:

“The fury over Andrew’s experience—and his decision to publicize the church’s internal disciplinary procedures—has led to accusations by other Christians that one of the most powerful evangelical voices in the country, Mars Hill pastor Mark Driscoll, employs a cultlike leadership style.” 

Because of these incidents, questions about the church’s disciplinary practices arise. Mars Hill Church was confronted with questions about whether its disciplinary measures are, as Graham puts it, “misunderstood and biblical, or disturbingly controlling”.

As a result of these incident, Andrew was labeled as an unbeliever just because he wasn't able to finish the disciplinary procedures. Other MHC members were force, if not persuaded, to avoid any interaction  with Andrew.

This event only proves that the belief system of religion can also be use to control people.

10 - Intervening with Politics

Influence is a powerful tool to affect other people, whether in a good or bad way. Probably, influential leaders are the most effective 'influencer'. These people can be found everywhere in the society or even  in a community. They can also be found in churches.

Church leaders are also influential leaders. They can easily affect their congregation through the weekly masses or service. Here, in the Philippines, where majority of the population are said to be religious, the Catholic Church officials are probably considered as influential person. They speak not only in the masses but, some, also speaks in the national television. Because of this, they also, probably, have an effect on the government and politics.

Looking into this subject, I found an article about one of the latest and the most debated bill in the Philippines. The RH Bill. It is a news article entitled, “RH bill tests Church's political influence: Miriam”, which is, perhaps, written by the ABS-CBN news team.

The article was about an interview with Sen. Miriam Santiago. She challenges the other senators about their votes being influenced by the Catholic church. The senator points out that some senator will probably vote in favor of the Church, because of fear for their reputations, especially with the upcoming elections.

The author states:

“Catholic bishops have been known to campaign against politicians who support bills that are against the Catholic Church's teaching.” (ABS-CBN News, 2012)

In this case, we can see that the Catholic church holds an influence in the politics. Probably, some politician will be afraid if the Catholic church would campaign against them. This will lose their chance of winning in the upcoming election because the majority of the Filipinos are Catholics.

As you can see, even if the Church does not intend to campaign against politicians, there's still the possibility for people to based their election votes from their beliefs, which comes from religion. Simply by going against the church beliefs, the politician is putting his reputation at risk.

By that, I can infer that beliefs taught by religion can really affect an individuals decision-making.