Culture
There is no doubt that the life of a believer is different from the life of an atheist. The influence of religion on human life is obvious. However, You may not be aware of some of the things that have resulted from your faith in God. Moreover, this can be something positive or negative.
So, faith in God....
1. Helps you stay away from junk food
Truly religious people eat healthier foods than atheists. In January 2012, the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology published the results of a study in which scientists asked volunteers to take tests and play games somehow related to religion. Scientists have come to many interesting conclusions, in particular, they found that faith in God helps young people keep themselves from eating unhealthy food.
2. ... and yet contributes to excess weight
According to a study presented at the American Heart Association conference in March 2011, young people who frequently attend religious events are 50 percent more likely to become overweight as they age than those who do not attend church. Perhaps this is due to religious holidays, during which large amounts of delicious food are eaten. However, the scientists note that these results should not be taken as a statement that believers have poor health. It has been proven that believers live longer than atheists, if only because they drink less and do not smoke.
3. Makes you happier
Believers are more likely to feel happy than atheists. According to a study published in December 2010 in the American Sociological Review, the secret to happiness among religious people is that they feel part of a community and regularly interact with people who share the same interests as them. In church and at various religious events, people find friends and do not feel lonely.
4. Saves you from depression
Believers, like everyone else, suffer from depression, but it is easier for them to get rid of this condition. According to a 1998 study published in the American Journal of Psychiatry, elderly patients hospitalized for physical illness and also suffering from depression were more likely to recover from depression when faith in God was an integral part of their lives. A recent study published in the Journal of Clinical Psychology in 2010 found that belief in God leads to more successful treatment for depression.
5. Encourages you to check your health more often
In a 1998 study published in the journal Health Education & Behavior, researchers from the University of California, Los Angeles, found that people who regularly attended church were more likely to seek medical attention for preventative purposes, including mammography. About 75 percent of the 1,517 women who attended church had regular mammograms (breast examinations), while only 60 percent of the 510 women who did not go to church had regular mammograms.
6. Lowers your blood pressure
People who regularly attend church have lower blood pressure than those who don't, according to a 2011 study in Norway. It has been shown that people who attend church at least three times a month have lower blood pressure compared to less religious people. Similar results were noted in a study conducted in the United States. Moreover, a certain relationship was noticed: the more often a person attends church, the lower his blood pressure. People who go to church rarely have the same pressure as those who don't go to church.
Introduction
IN modern Russia There is a revival of the phenomenon of spontaneous, non-traditional, non-canonical religiosity. The majority of the population is unfamiliar, or even simply alien, to traditional forms of religious life. The return to religion occurs not as a result of church preaching, but as a result of the self-development of secular culture and ideology. The media and cultural figures representing certain political and national interests play almost a greater role in the process of religious renewal than the clergy.
Modern religiosity is distinguished by the ease of accepting new religious experience, new religious concepts, but at the same time the difficulty of a complete break with the Russian-Soviet cultural tradition and, therefore, the predetermination of various forms of interaction with Orthodoxy. And the practice of a religious organization and the activities of its leaders often gives rise to fair criticism.
These reasons encourage a person to search for the meaning of life, a value system in the sphere of anti-spirituality, which leads him away from the realization of objective interests, and in critical situations, putting his mental health and life itself at risk. The spiritual anemia of society, generated by crisis phenomena in the economy, politics and social sphere, undermines the cultural soil and deprives a person of the ability to adapt to life circumstances and turns of individual fate.
Only the desire for goodness, truth and justice can resist such destruction of the foundations of social and individual life. In this spiritual impulse, a person encounters many obstacles, experiences the pain of loss and humiliation, and the heavy oppression of fear and despair. Therefore, he needs consolation, support, and help. He expects love and forgiveness from other people, seeks them in religion, and he has the right to count on this from the social policy of the state.
Therefore, in my essay, I will try to find out how the Orthodox religion influences society in a moral sense and what role it plays in performing a number of functions in society.
Social functions of religion
Religion performs a number of functions and plays a certain role in society. The concepts of “function” and “role” are related, but not identical. Function - these are the ways in which religion operates in society, its role is the overall result, the consequences of its functions.
Several functions of religion are distinguished: worldview, compensatory, communicative, regulatory, integrating-disintegrating, culturally transmitting, legitimizing-delegitimating.
Worldview function religion realizes due to the presence in it of a certain type of views on man, society, and nature. There is no branch of knowledge that would completely answer all the questions of human existence; Every science, even the most broad one, has its own research framework. In a religion, even an archaic one, a system of answers to all questions is built. The problem is not how true these answers are, but that, unlike science, they are.
Religion fulfills compensatory function making up for the limitations, dependence, and powerlessness of people - both in terms of consciousness and in terms of changing the conditions of existence. Real oppression is overcome by freedom in spirit; social inequality turns into equality in sins, in suffering; disunity and isolation are replaced by brotherhood in the community; the impersonal and indifferent communication of individuals is replaced by communication with the deity and other believers. The psychological consequence of such compensation is the relief of stress, experienced as consolation, purification, pleasure, even if this occurs in an illusory way.
Religion, by providing real communication, fulfills communicative function. Communication takes place both in religious and non-religious activities. In the process of exchanging information and interaction, a believer gets the opportunity to contact people according to established rules that facilitate the process of communication and entering a certain environment. The requirements for communication between believers, accepted in almost all existing religions, help fill the atmosphere of interaction with humanistic content, a spirit of friendliness and respect.
Regulatory function religion is carried out with the help of certain ideas, values, attitudes, stereotypes, opinions, traditions, customs, institutions that govern the activities, consciousness and behavior of individuals, groups, communities. The system of religious morality and law is especially important. The most striking examples of the impact of religious law can be found in societies characterized by national and religious homogeneity. Each religion has its own system of monitoring the implementation of moral commandments. In Christianity, this is confession, to which the believer must come with a certain regularity. Based on the results of confession, as well as actions that were committed explicitly, a measure of punishment or reward is assigned. Moreover, such “retribution” can be valid or deferred for an indefinite period.
Integrating-disintegrating function religion is manifested in the fact that religion, in one respect, unites and unites religious groups, and in another, separates them. Integration is carried out within the limits to which more or less a single religion is recognized. If in society there are different, and also opposing, confessions, then religion performs a disintegrating function. Sometimes this can happen even against the wishes of current religious leaders, since previous experience of confrontation between religious denominations can always be used for the purposes of current politics.
Religion, being integral part culture, performs cultural-translating function. Especially in the early stages of the development of human society, accompanied by destructive wars, religion contributed to the development and preservation of certain layers of culture - writing, printing, painting, music, architecture. But at the same time, religious organizations accumulated, protected and developed only those values that were related to religious culture. The facts of the destruction by clergy of books and works of art that reflected views contrary to those officially proclaimed by religion are well known.
Legitimating-delegitimating function means the legitimation of certain social orders, institutions (state, political, legal, etc.), relations, norms, models as proper or, conversely, the assertion of the illegality of some of them. For a long time, the consecration by the church of the accession to the throne of a particular sovereign was considered an indispensable attribute of the legitimacy of state power. Until now, when taking office, the presidents of some countries take an oath on a sacred book revered by the leading religion for that country. The custom of taking an oath confirming the truthfulness of words at a court hearing, also on a sacred book, is also preserved. Religion can both deprive power of its legitimacy and push society to overthrow this power in one way or another.
The role of religious ideas about the world in society
The result, the consequences of religion performing its functions, the significance of its actions, that is, its role, have been and are different. There are some principles that help to analyze the role of religion objectively, specifically historically, under certain characteristics of place and time.
IN modern conditionsthe role of religion cannot be considered initial and determining, although religion has a great influence on economic relations and other spheres of society. The religious factor influences the economy, politics, interethnic relations, family, culture through the activities of religious individuals, groups, organizations, sanctioning certain views. But both the views and activities of believers in all areas public life are subject to the reverse influence of objective factors of economic, political, and cultural development. There is an “overlay” of religious relations on other social relations.
Religion influences society according to its specific features,reflected in creed, cult, organization, ethics, rules of attitude towards the world. It also represents a systemic education, including a number of elements and connections: consciousness with its own traits and levels, non-cult and cult relations and activities, institutions for orientation in religious and non-religious areas.
Currently, there is a widespread belief that universal human and religious ideals and moral norms coincide. This opinion does not take into account a number of factors.
Firstly, religion reflects relationships that are universal for all societies, regardless of their type; secondly, religion reflects the relationships characteristic of a given type of society (here identity already disappears); thirdly, religion reflects the relationships that develop in syncretic societies; fourthly, religion reflects the conditions of existence of different estates, groups, classes, represents various cultures. There are even three world religions, not to mention the many national, regional, and tribal ones.
Moral meaning religious worldview on society
Every worldview system develops its own principles for understanding nature, society and man. The religious system also contains these principles, but if the exact, natural and social sciences offer various methods for describing and solving problems, then religion, with all the versatility of ways to influence a person, has one method - moral impact. At the same time, each religious organization strives for the position of the only public arbiter, assigning to itself the role of the highest judge in moral matters. This occurs on the basis that the moral norms of a secular society are more often amenable to modification in the process of historical development than the “immutable” commandments of religion. From a traditional religious point of view, morality is given to a person from above, its basic norms and concepts are formulated directly by the deity, recorded in the sacred books, and people must strictly follow them. With this understanding, morality cannot appear without and without religion, and true morality does not exist without religion.
In fact, moral relations are rooted in society, have their own source of emergence, development and improvement, grow from the midst of human relationships, and reflect the real practice of human life. At the dawn of humanity, the system of prohibitions was formed by trial and error in a constant struggle for survival. At that time there was no division of spheres of spiritual life; the religious way of thinking dominated. It was possible to consolidate the developed moral norms only in religious form.
The strengths of religious morality include the apparent simplicity of answers to the most complex moral problems, the firm provision of criteria for moral values, ideals and requirements, their unique integrity and orderliness. Ready-made answers that are available in the system of religious morality are capable of causing a certain emotional and psychological peace in the ethical consciousness of people. One of the strengths of religious morality is the formulation of the problem of human responsibility for committed acts.
While religious and non-religious people have different views on the source of moral values in practice, they can lead a similar moral lifestyle, share the same principles, and have the same understanding of what is good and evil. What is dangerous is not a non-religious position, but a position in which there are no solid spiritual and moral foundations, objective values, regardless of whether they are religious or non-religious. A non-religious choice forces a person to think about problems that do not arise for a believer, because a non-religious person does not have to count on God’s help, he can only rely on his own strength. This requires enormous courage, intellectual and volitional resources, spiritual maturity and moral health.
Relationship between religion and society
Religion exists in society not as a foreign body, but as one of the manifestations of the life of a social organism. Religion cannot be isolated from social life, cannot be out of connection with society, but the nature and degree of this connection at different stages of historical development is not the same. With increasing social differentiation, the independence of various spheres of social life increases. Society evolves from a wholeness in which all components are fused together, to a wholeness that represents the unity of diversity.
It is possible to talk about religion as a specific social phenomenon only in relation to fairly late eras of history. And in these eras, along with religion, there already exist other social systems that have their own functions. The activities of religion and other social systems are closely intertwined; it is possible to isolate the special functions of religion in society only with a certain approach. This approach assumes that every social action is a subjectively meaningful action, oriented towards certain values. The question of the relationship between religion and society is the question of the role of religion in motivating social behavior.
Influencing the motivation of human behavior, religion generates certain results of life activity, and itself, in turn, is a product of the life activity of society (i.e., a social phenomenon). Religion can influence society only if its internal organization corresponds to the organization of the entire society (the internal structure of an element of the system must be similar to the structure of the entire system) and is subordinated to the same tasks as social structure generally.
The influence of religious morality on the development of society
The Church is actively trying to influence not only believers, but the entire society, promoting the values it recognizes as basic. It should be noted that when assessing the social development of Russian society Orthodox Church, for example, adheres to humanistic views on problems of ecology, demography, social conflicts, and relationships between various religious organizations. But it is emphasized that it is the Orthodox Church that has always been the guardian best traditions people and their unifier in difficult times.
That is why the church claims to be the main arbiter in moral matters. This situation is also due to the fact that rapid technical and social development is currently not supported by generally accepted and binding moral standards. Moral assessments of what is happening are based on unsteady criteria of momentary benefit, benefit, and individual freedom. Human life loses value. In this regard, the Catholic Church, for example, through the mouth of its Pope John Paul II, condemned all types of murder. These include the death penalty for criminals, abortion and euthanasia. The encyclical mentions really serious arguments: judicial and medical errors and abuses, a person’s refusal to take responsibility for his own and sensitive life. But the main argument is still the thesis that suffering “belongs to the transcendental in man: it is one of those points at which a person goes beyond himself and approaches God.” Depriving a person of suffering, protecting him from unnecessary torment, is thus an obstacle to his union with the multitude, and does not allow him to know real joy in the “other” world. As we see, the church raises really important moral problems that society is not ready to solve unequivocally, but the answers to these complex questions are prepared according to the old recipe.
The calls of the church receive a completely different response when they are accompanied by activities for the real implementation of moral models. The charitable work of clergy and monks in prisons, hospitals, nursing homes and orphanages, in contrast to the activities of numerous charitable foundations that launder money, is filled with real warmth and compassionate attitude towards people. The assistance that members of religious organizations provide to those in need is not specialized - legal, psychological or pedagogical. But its effectiveness is much higher - it is based on the principles of philanthropy. At the same time, the propaganda of religious doctrine is never forgotten, and the ranks of believers are constantly replenished.
Conclusion
The problem of our society is not what worldview system a person prefers, but how he realizes his beliefs in the existing social reality. Both believers and atheists can work together effectively to build a just society.
The reliable functioning and survival of society presupposes the continuity and stability of its life activity, and the socially appropriate behavior of its members. This is achieved by a system of prohibitions, taboos, norms, and values that are capable of giving a perfect form to social processes, “filling” gaps in the social fabric, in the general orientation of people, thereby providing conditions for the utmost intensification of a person’s “inner world: determination, confidence, consistency. In a situation where such mechanisms cannot be constructed from real elements of life, from available, obvious facts and arguments, extremely reliable regulators and values presuppose a correlation with supernatural forces. It is in this case that religion enhances the stability and survival of the social organism. In our society, people feel the need to solve fundamental semantic problems that are eternal. The search goes in different directions, including in the mainstream of religion. Therefore, the future of religion in our society depends on how quickly conditions will be created for solving such problems in a secular way that does not require appeal to the idea of God, to the religious motivation of moral values and norms.
Literature
1. Lobazova O.F. "Religious Studies" 2005
2. http://5ka.com.ua/41/34302/1.html
3. Arch. Augustine. The Church and the Future of Russia 1996. No. 6.
4. Makin S. Savior of Faith and Fatherland 1996. No. 11-12.
Many people believe in God to save their souls, but numerous studies show that participating in religious activities can also be beneficial for the body and mind. Here's how religion can influence your life.
Religion Helps You Resist Junk Food Cravings
Religious people may feel like they have no control over their lives, but their faith can often help them resist cravings for junk food. In a study published in the journal Personality and Social Psychology in January 2012, researchers gave students constant reminders of God in tests and games. Compared to participants who saw mentions of enjoyable but non-religious objects, students who were reminded of God felt they had less control over their future careers but were also willing to resist hobbies that were bad for their health. In other words, the researchers wrote that thinking about God can be both a burden and a benefit in terms of self-control. This will depend on what part of their life the person is trying to control.
...But it can cause excess weight
Thoughts about God may help resist the temptation to eat junk food in experimental settings, but the willpower that study participants showed in the laboratory does not always translate into healthy habits in the laboratory. real life. According to a study presented at the American Heart Association meeting in March 2011, young people who frequently attended religious events were 50 percent more likely to be obese in midlife than those who did not attend church. According to researchers, the culprits behind the recruitment excess weight are probably foods associated with religious ceremonies. However, these results don't prove that being religious can be bad for your body image. As a rule, religious people live longer, probably because they smoke less.
Religion brings a smile to your face
Believers tend to feel happier than atheists. According to a study published in the American Sociological Review in December 2010, this feeling of happiness comes not from any specific beliefs, but from regular participation in religious activities (such as weekly church attendance, for example). . Meeting others in churches, temples, or synagogues allows believers to build social media, stronger connections and ultimately more satisfaction in life.
Increases self-esteem
Depending on where you live, religion can also boost your self-esteem by helping you feel part of a larger culture. Religious people have higher self-esteem and better psychological adaptation compared to atheists, show the results of a study conducted in January 2012. However, this benefit is given only to those believers who live in countries where the religion is widespread. The findings, published in the journal Psychological Science, suggest that a religious person would experience these benefits in Turkey, for example, but would not see them in Sweden.
Religion Helps Calm Anxiety
Thinking about God can help you calm the anxiety associated with mistakes you have made. In other words, believers can rely on fate when it comes to their mistakes, according to a 2010 study. However, this trick doesn't work for atheists. The study also found that non-believers are more stressed when they make mistakes.
Protects against symptoms of depression
Religious people recover better from depression. According to one 1998 study that appeared in the American Journal of Psychiatry, older patients hospitalized for physical health problems but who also suffered from depression coped better with their psychological problems if religion was an integral part of their lives. More recently, scientists reported that belief in a caring God improves response to psychiatric treatment in depressed patients. Interestingly, this improved response was not associated with the patient's sense of hope or any other religious factor. The only thing that mattered to such patients was the belief that someone from above was caring for them.
Religion motivates you to visit a doctor
In fact, religiosity is generally associated with better health, perhaps because religious people have more social support, better coping skills and a more positive image than those who do not join faith-based communities. In one 1998 study cited in the journal Health Education & Behavior, researchers at the University of California, Los Angeles found that churchgoers were more likely than nonreligious people to get health screenings from doctors (in this case, mammograms). The study found that about 75 percent of the church's 1,517 members had regular mammograms, compared with 60 percent (in a sample of 510 women) who were not church members and had less regular doctor visits on average.
Reduces blood pressure
According to a 2011 study in Norway, people who attend church often have lower blood pressure than non-churchgoers. These results are especially impressive given that Norway's population is not particularly religious. Researchers believe cultural differences may prevent religious Norwegians from receiving the same benefits as American churchgoers. In fact, study participants who attended church at least three times a month had blood pressure one to two points lower than nonreligious participants. The study results are similar to those observed in the United States. 
These results seem to be explained by the fact that the lives of parishioners are connected with church routine. According to the researchers, religious people are better able to combat stress, which often leads to high blood pressure, through prayer, singing, interaction with clergy, and church rituals that they perform with other parishioners.
Christianity arose in the 1st century AD in Palestine. The history of early Christianity is not very publicized by clergy, although it is logical to assume that over 2 thousand years of various transformations and changes, early Christianity should be very different from the religion that has come down to us at the present time.
A number of authors dealt with the history of Christian teaching. Erich Fromm considered the emergence of Christianity from the perspective of psychology. According to him, the teaching was popular among the lower classes of Jewish society. Thus, it allowed part of the population to unite and try to rebel against oppression by the rich inhabitants of Judea and the power of Rome. While the Romans were fighting Christians, they could consider themselves rebelling against the established system.
Over time, Christianity spread more widely and was no longer the teaching of the protesters everywhere. For the first time this religion became the state religion in Greater Armenia in 301. Somewhat later, Christianity began to become the state religion in the Roman Empire. At this time, there was no longer any need to talk about the protest nature of Christianity; on the contrary, it began to play the role of unification for the peoples of a particular country recognizing it as a state country.
Later, Christianity began to split into various branches - Catholicism, Protestantism. Politics already played a significant role here. The rulers of the states did not want the influence of the Pope or anyone else on state affairs, and some of them were out of the control of the Vatican and other Christian centers.
Every third inhabitant of the planet today considers himself a Christian. Among Christianity, the largest branch is Catholicism.
In the Middle Ages, the power of the church in Europe was great. Perhaps it's time greatest influence Christianity on society. Then everything from ordinary people Before the great scientists, they had to take into account the opinion of the church, risking being burned at the stake in case of disobedience.
The influence of other religions on society
The second most followed religion in the world is. At the very beginning of its appearance, it allowed the Arabs from a number of disparate tribes to become perhaps the most significant force of their time. The Arab state occupied the territory from the Arabian Peninsula to the Iberian Peninsula.
In those countries where Islam is the state religion, it plays a very significant role. In Iran, for example, the priests have more power, the rulers. In Saudi Arabia and the emirate of Sharjah in the UAE, the population lives according to Sharia law. In Egypt, Afghanistan and many other countries, residents are also guided by the Koran in many everyday affairs.
Hinduism, and many other religions also have a significant influence on the life of society in specific regions. In general, all religions present to the world moral standards that are designed to stop people from evil deeds.
Almost 10% of the world's inhabitants consider themselves irreligious, but this does not mean that religion cannot indirectly influence their lives.
Unfortunately, it cannot be avoided that some people in power use incorrect interpretations of religious teachings for their own selfish purposes.
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Tip 2: What is the attractive power of religion for modern people?
The world is very complicated. In the variety of phenomena in the reality surrounding a person, it can be very difficult to find one’s place, to find a foothold and a goal in life. And then some turn to God for support and look for a way out in religion. Why is it attractive? religious faith for a modern person?
In search of life support
Probably every person sooner or later wonders about the meaning of his life. For some, it means devoting more time to their family and caring for loved ones. Others try to find their purpose in serving society, the interests of other people and fulfilling their duty to the state. But there are also those for whom the meaning of life becomes serving God.
The search for God in the world around us and in oneself becomes the goal of life for a person, filling it with value and deep moral meaning.
So that in a rapidly changing world filled with a whirlpool of events, people certainly need clear guidelines. In former times, when communist rule dominated in a number of countries, such a guideline was the idea of building a society based on universal equality. Alas, this idea failed. Deprived of a strong support in life, many people are happy to replace it by turning towards religion.
By turning to religion, a person tries to answer the most pressing questions that relate not only to him, but also to society as a whole. What is good and evil? What is the cause of human suffering? How to get rid of the fear of tomorrow and the uncertainty of existence? Religion is attractive because it provides quite clear answers not only to these, but also to other similar questions.
Religion in the life of modern man
For a modern civilized person it becomes a kind of outlet, a place where he can hide from everyday troubles. Coming to the temple, a believer gains confidence that any one is given to him from above as a test. Communication with God gives us much-needed energy in the fight against adversity and deprivation.
The Christian religion claims that God contains love. To a person who is deprived of Everyday life a kind and attentive attitude towards oneself, it is pleasant to realize that somewhere beyond the boundaries of earthly existence there is someone who loves him and sincerely wishes him well-being.
Belief in unconditional divine love attracts and inspires hope that someday, even in the distant future, a person will be able to find happiness.
Turning to God helps modern man cope with the fear of imminent departure to another world. Religion asserts as an immutable fact that earthly life is only part of the path that the soul takes in its eternal existence. You just need to steadfastly endure the tests given from above, behave righteously, and then your soul will be guaranteed salvation and immortality. This calming and peaceful idea attracts millions of people.
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Morality is often considered synonymous with religiosity, although scientists argue that there is no difference between the moral qualities of believers and atheists. The Conversation reviewed several studies about such stereotypes. “Theories and practices” are the main thing.
Prejudice against atheists occurs among people all over the world. Psychologist Will Gervais came to this conclusion during the study. Residents of all continents assume that immoral acts (including even serial murder) are more often committed by non-believers. According to surveys, Americans trust atheists less than representatives of any other social group. Therefore, for most politicians, going to church is a great way to secure popular support in elections, and declaring that you are an unbeliever can ruin your career. And, of course, it is no coincidence that there is not a single open atheist in the US Congress.
There is no doubt that the major world religions place considerable emphasis on morality. From this many people conclude that religious beliefs are a sign of virtue. Others generally argue that without religion there is no morality. However, both of these statements can be questioned.
Firstly, the ethical beliefs of one movement may be unacceptable from the point of view of another. Thus, in the 19th century, Mormons considered polygamy a moral duty, while for Catholics it was a mortal sin. Moreover, the moral behavior of members of a particular group often includes aggression towards others. For example, in 1543, one of the founders of Protestantism, Martin Luther, published a treatise “On the Jews and Their Lies,” which outlined anti-Semitic ideas that have been popular among representatives of various movements for centuries. These examples also prove that religious morality must change over time. And it is really changing: for example, relatively recently the Anglican Church allowed contraception and the wedding of same-sex couples, and women bishops appeared.
In any case, religiosity is only distantly related to theology. That is, the beliefs and behavior of believers do not always fully comply with official religious doctrine. For example, Buddhism is officially a religion without God, but most of its practitioners treat Buddha as a deity. The Catholic Church actively opposes contraception, but most Catholics still use contraception. And such deviations from doctrine are the norm rather than the exception.
Scientists conducted a study in which participants were asked to evaluate their own character and behavior. The survey results showed that religious respondents consider themselves more selfless, compassionate, honest, and merciful than atheists. This dynamic continued even in the case of twins, one of whom is more religious than the other. But if you look at actual behavior, it turns out that there are no differences.
This is evidenced, for example, by the classic Good Samaritan experiment, in which researchers tracked which passersby would stop to help an injured person on the street. The scientists concluded that religiosity played no role in the participants' behavior. It is interesting that some of them were just going to speak on the topic of this parable, but this also did not affect their actions in any way.
On the other hand, human behavior can be influenced by various traditions and signals associated with religion. For example, studies of American Christians have shown that on Sundays they donate more money to charity and watch less porn. However, on the remaining days of the week they compensate for the situation on both counts, so there is no difference in the average results of religious people and atheists.
In addition, different religions have different effects on those who adhere to them. For example, if people believe that their God gives some moral guidelines and punishes for non-compliance with the rules, then they try to be more fair and are even less likely to cheat when concluding transactions. These are the results of an international study. That is, if a person believes that all his thoughts are known to God, who punishes sinners, then he tries to behave better.
But it should be noted that it is not only religion that can lead to more moral behavior, but also faith in the power of the law, a fair trial and a reliable police force. And, as a rule, if the laws are strictly observed, then religion no longer influences people as much and distrust towards atheists also decreases.