How do belief systems affect a country's political system and culture?

Belief systems may affect a country's political system and culture because they have managed to grow incredibly. Today's mot powerful religions have made and represent very important changes or movements in countries. For example Osama Bin Laden a muslim terrorist who is deeply guided or inspired by Islam and the Qur'an has caused many political or diplomatic problems being the most important one the attack to the twin towers. We can also see how in the occidental countries religion has had a great impact on culture as we can clearly see it by the way women dress in those areas. The Talibans from Afghanistan have also caused and are causing a lot of tension in Aghanistan by tryng to implement this government with the islamic fundamentalism. 

In Bolivia we can see the power that religion has as we can realize how much importance is given to the cardenal when political or violent events are happening. The good thing about about a religion which is followed by a lot of believers is that the church can calm down people when violence is going to be generated but this is not comparable to the violence that extreme religion beliefs cause in the world.

The local and national believe systems perspectives of my country.

In Bolivia the majority is catholic which is also the official religion of the government. Based on the political constitution there are also religions of the Indian nations from the Andes and the Amazon region, which in many places still exist in it’s original form but generally it became a mixture of the catholic and former religions. By law in Bolivia there is religious freedom. The results of the national institute of statistics in the year 2001 were: Catholics 78%, Protestants 19.5%, none religious 2.5% and others 0.10%. The religions that coexist besides Roman Catholicism are Evangelical Methodists, Mennonites, Mormons, Jehovah’s witnesses, Seventh day Adventists, Jewish, Buddhists, Hinduists, Baha’i, Hare Krishna, and others. The Indian people maintain their cosmic view of the Andes religion which is different from the Catholicism that was brought and imposed by the conquerors. Some tribes in the Amazon lost their identity as well as their lifestyle due to the arrival of the conquerors and evangelization.

People relieve in Christ and Virgin Mary and the Saints in a pantheist way, not adoring them but speaking to them in a reciprocal way. This mixture of religions is called syncretism what means that the name of catholic saints replaced the names of the pre conquest gods. Pachamama, the mother earth is identified as the Virgin Mary. Cults to the earth are held very often with arrangements of colorful wools, sweets, shaped objects as the ones that the believer desires to obtain,  and the llama fetus. Sacrificing animals is a common ritual and spreading its blood on the surface of the earth in order to honor the Pachamama. Alcohol beverages are always used as an ingredient in begging the earth to be fertile and generous. 

Catholic saints are often protectors of the villages and cities and the Virgin Mary of Urkupina is the protector of Bolivia. There are sanctuaries of the Virgin, for example: Virgin Guadalupe in Sucre and Mamita of Cotoca. On certain dates, processions, big religious festivities, festivals and dances are held  to honor this popular people’s protector. Evangelic religion is against these rituals but there are slowly more members of this believe each year.

Most of the population is catholic and the people are tolerant with other beliefs. The population is deeply religious, they baptize their children, marry in a church, and deeply believe in gods help. Claiming in public that one is atheist might be strange or weird as the catholic religion is the official one.

The church is not supposed to be in politics but it often mediates conflicts between the government and the population. The opinion and the words of the high priests are often published in the news and people count on their point of view. The church helps al lot the poor because it has responsibility over many homes for orphans, handicapped, disabled, and old people. Many schools are owned by the church and that’s why the religion is an obliged subject in this type of schools.

The ruling socialist government tried to abolish religious holidays and forbid the obligated religious subject at schools but they didn’t prosper with this idea because most of the population is deeply catholic.

As the opinion of the Catholic Church is very strong, the laws and general behavior as well as people’s beliefs are dominated by the church's point of view. For example, homosexuality and abortion are considered a sin or even crime.