How does original sin impact society today?

Answer 1

The tendency to evil supposedly innate in all human beings, held to be inherited from Adam in consequence of the Fall. The concept of original sin was established by the writings of St Augustine.

Answer 2

A:A notion of original sin had received little attention in the Church until Saint Augustine of Hippo (354-430) introduced the concept to the western half of the Christian Church. It was never accepted in the Greek-speaking east and has been largely abandoned by many of the Protestant Churches. Augustine said that original sin resulted directly from the disobedience of Adam and Eve, and believed that it could only be removed by baptism, so without baptism, souls could not go to heaven. On this view, baptised Christians are no longer affected by original sin, but unbaptised persons are and, because of the sin committed by Adam and Eve, will be denied entry into heaven.

Cardinal George Pell recently stated that the story of Adam and Eve is a myth, describing it as a religious story told for religious purposes. Without their existence, it will be hard to sustain the belief that Christians are born with original sin as a consequence of the sin of Adam and Eve. Whether or not original sin really exists needs to be established before we can really say whether original sin has an impact on society or whether it is only the belief in original sin that affects us.