Religious Traditions Essays (Examples)

This puts the fate of each individual Hindu is his or her own hands.

The significance of this is that Hindus are proactive when it comes to seeking spiritual release. They do not wait for salvation, and understand that it will not come to them. They must seek it out, or be stuck in samsara forever. hile the journey is understood to take several lifetimes, the acquisition of good karma must take place consistently throughout the soul's journey through samsara before moksha can be attained.

Moksha is the liberation from samsara. Because Hindus believe samsara to be essentially painful, moksha is one of the key goals that a Hindu strives to achieve over his/her lifetimes. It involves the freedom from the laws of karma and union with the Supreme Being. Moksha often implies the eradication of the soul's false sense of identity. The soul is not seen as a complete…

eligious Traditions of Native American eligion

Native American religious traditions are, like other religions of the world, anchored on specific components that help link humanity with the sacred. These components include the teachings or doctrines of the religion, the rituals and traditions performed, and the manner in which these teachings and rituals are delivered. Each component reflects the kind of community and culture that prevailed or prevails within a religion, and ultimately, what are the values held important by that specific group of worshipers / religious practitioners.

Take as an example the Native Americans, which also have numerous religions depending on the group or sub-culture one belongs to. It is interesting to note that in the Native American religious tradition; most of the teachings/doctrines of the religion are passed orally from generation to generation. Oral delivery or narration of religious teachings functions as a social event wherein the younger generation…

eligious Traditions

eligion is a basic set of beliefs that concerns the nature, origin and function of the universe as well as commitment and ritual celebrations. eligion also governs the moral behavior of humans. Since the world began, man has had faith and worshiped a supreme being by carrying out certain rituals to appease it. eligion can be classified into three different categories: monotheism, polytheism and pantheism. (All About eligion, 2012).

Elements of eligious traditions

Monotheism can be described as the belief in one God/supreme deity. Some well-known examples of these are Christianity, Islam, Judaism which all draw their origins from a man known as Abraham in 2000 B.C. Judaism believes there is one God who is not made up of parts. Judaism clearly lays emphasis on the use of the "Torah" as a basis for serving God. The torahs origin can be traced back to the Talmud and Midraship…

Their existence predates that of the founding of the United States, even though most Baptists are concentrated in the United States. Baptists have existed since 1644. The name "Baptist" refers to what often strikes non-Baptists as an unusual feature of the sect, namely that Baptists "maintain that baptism should be administered to none but believers and that full immersion "is the only mode of administering baptism" truly authorized in the Christian Testament. The doctrine and practices of the Baptists thus broke with the Catholic forms of Christianity as well as with the Protestant Lutheran Church, but Baptists see this practice as a return to the true practices of Christ, and embodying the sect's definition of religion as a willed, conscious chosen method of rebirth for the believer. ("Baptists," the Columbia Encyclopedia, 2000, the History Channel ebsite)

orks Cited

Baptists." The Columbia Encyclopedia. 2000. The History Channel ebsite. http://www.thehistorychannel.co.uk/site/search/search.php?searchtext=1905&enc=6328?[24 Mar 2005]

eligious Traditions:

Even though religion means different things to different people, religious persons have a transcendent aspect to life i.e. The existence of supernatural power above human beings. The religious perspective of an individual is dependent on how the person is persuaded by people who raised him/her. The descriptions or definitions of religion tend to be inadequate since they contain two major problems i.e. they are either too narrow or too vague. These definitions are too narrow since they exclude most of the belief systems that make up religions whereas they are too vague and uncertain through suggesting that everything is a religion. However, the best explanation of the nature of religion is rooted in identifying the basic attributes that are common to the various religions. This is largely because there are several elements of religious traditions that are used to understand studies on religion.

Important Issues in the Study…

eligious Traditions

eligion has played an essential role in the history of mankind. Throughout history many religious traditions have emerged -- some of them have disappeared -- and there are myriad of differences among religious traditions today. While people profess many religions, each religion then has a great deal of diversity within itself, and within each sect or religious movement (be they within Christianity, Islam, Judaism, Buddhism, or any other religion), individuals approach these traditions according to their personal understandings, experiences, and sometimes interests. And yet there are certain commonalities that most religions share, albeit often in different forms. In this paper, I am going to look at some basic traditions most religions have historically contained. In particular, I will look at the concept of the divine and an individual relationship with it, the concept of sacred and its relation to time and space, and some key issues critical for…

eligious Traditions

Global religions have blended practices with traditional or indigenous practices. Mainstream religious practices have elements of spiritual, religious, and cultural beliefs and practices adopted from native religious practices. For example, as Buddhism spread it adopted the customs and practices of local deities (Warren, 2012). This implies that to understand the different forms of religions requires the consideration of religious elements, which are manifested as seven dimensions of religious traditions. These include mythic, experiential, ethical, ritual, social, and doctrinal (Brodd, 2009). These are often identified as worship, ritual pilgrimage, leadership, stories, texts, teachings, myths, and doctrines.

eligious traditions have adopted different aspects of traditional myths, stories, and doctrines to create their identities. Often religions doctrinal belief is composed of the creeds, teachings, stories, and doctrines originating from their traditional experience. Brodd (2009) finds that most religious doctrines have a firm foundation in traditional myths, by making rational sense of…

Doing work without seeking personal benefits out of it is considered to be considered higher than the formal worship (Hindu Traditions, 2005).

According to Hindu religious traditions, the spiritual hopeful takes studentship under a personal spiritual teacher called a Guru. The disciple stays with the Guru and follows his instructions in order to attain the ultimate goal of spiritual life. Even though the Guru never asks any money for the guidance he has given, the student may give gifts (as a token of appreciation.

Pilgrimage is not something that is mandatory in Hinduism, as it is in other religions. A large number of holy places exist in India. Varanasi, Kedarnath and ameshwaram are some of the places which are considered to be holy in nature (Hindu Traditions, 2005).

Significance and Meaning

Hinduism has a universal world view and willingness to accept and celebrate diverse philosophies, deities, symbols, and practices. It…

A funeral is often seen as an opportunity to celebrate somebody's life and mark their transition into the after life. Hindus believe that death marks the transition of the soul from one personification to the next. They believe that this is the point at which the spirit begins its journey to Heaven (Hindu Traditions, 2005).

Hindus believe in the idea of reincarnation, so the funeral is seen as much a celebration of the deceased's life as it is a remembrance of it. Hindus cremate their dead with the burning of the dead body being seen as the release of the spirit. They believe that the flames during the cremation are representative of the presence of the god Brahma, who is the creator. As with all religions rituals play an important role in their beliefs. Hindus believe that the ideal way to die is while lying on the floor, so that…

Pilgrimage is another practice which, while not mandatory in Hinduism, is increasingly common. A large number of holy places (Tirtha Sthanas) exist in India, including Varanasi (anares), Kedarnath and Rameshwaram, and Hindus often take pilgrimages there.

The Hindu religious tradition is characterized by many different sacred elements, each of which has tremendous significance and meaning (Fowler, 1997(. These elements include fire, water, and the Hindu trimurti. In addition, the banyan tree is a symbol of the breadth of spirituality, which provides shade to all who gather near it.

Hindus traditionally wear a mark on their forehead and other body parts. Hindu women wear a decorative dot on their forehead, which is called indi, while other Hindus wear holy ash called Vibhuti.

Aum is another sacred symbol which represents the rahman. This can be seen in all mantras and prayers. Yet another noble and auspicious symbol is the Swastika, which stands…

Religion Traditions

Fundamentals of Religious Traditions Human race encompass various dissimilar religions as well as religious way of life all the way through its survival. In spite of the dissimilarities in this (religious) customs as well as ways of life, a number of elements in religious conviction continue being the similar. The research will therefore wrap up how religious traditions depict in addition to promoting the rapport with the divine, the sacred time, the sacred space or the natural world, as well as the relationship with each other. This paper will also review key critical issues in the study of religion and references to specific religious traditions will be made. The journey into understanding religion begins with understanding divinity and what some religions consider to be divine. Divine or as some call it diversity is the authority, mortal, or monarchy acknowledged by devout people to be at the central part…

appealing factors of the religious traditions of India is their broad-mindedness. However, after encountering primary sources like the Bhadavad Gita, the Upanishads, and the Dhammapada, I grew to favor the Buddhist philosophical doctrines over their Hindu counterparts. While I admire Hinduism for its rich pantheon and its ability to incorporate a wide range of seemingly conflicting beliefs, I found Buddhism to be a more practical application of religious sentiment. Although I find Hinduism more palatable than many major world religions, I nevertheless find its texts to be still somewhat removed from this world. However, the moral teachings contained in the Hindu texts do provide a practical foundation to the allegories and allusions to the supernatural contained therein. Compiling all of the texts used in class and reflecting upon them, I also note the threads of commonality that run though the major religious traditions of India. Namely, Hinduism and Buddhism deal…

Religious Field Search

AHMADIS: THE OTHER FACE OF ISLAM

For the purposes of this paper I visited the local Ahmaddiya Muslim Community or as they prefer to called Ahmadis. Ahmadis are a sub-sect of the Islamic Community. What attracted to me to study this community was that unlike the general image we have of the Islamic community, this community is non-violent and is considered heretical by the larger Islamic community for having a prophet in succession to Muhammad, the founder of the Islamic faith. In many Muslim majority countries the Ahmadis are banned and in many others they have been ex-communicated from the Islamic mainstream. Apparently -- as I discovered- one of the other contentious issues between them and the rest Islamic community is the controversy over Jesus Christ's death, which I found interesting given that I considered Jesus an exclusively Christian figure. To my amazement it turns out that…

Conclusions

There is no one standard for what is considered right and wrong in the world of American religion. The American religion that exists today may be described as "Agnostian-Secularian" meaning it is made up of multiple faiths, beliefs and convictions, some more Christian based and some more abstract in nature.

By and large the American 'religion' or modern society is varying accepting of people of many different faiths and idealisms. Though the government of this country is somewhat heavily influenced by Christian fundamentalist ideals such as those that Bush emphasizes, the public by and large particularly in the eyes of the media, is much more open and flexible in nature. There are some beliefs that may be considered more 'universal' in nature than others. There is for example an obvious preference among people living in the modern American world to belief in the basic concepts of right and wrong.…

.. The actual universe, with all its good and evil, exists on the basis of God's will and receives its meaning from His purpose. However, these two conclusions do not stand in simple contradiction, to one another. The one says that evil is bad, harmful, destructive, fearful and to be fought against as a matter of ultimate life and death. But the other does not deny this. It does not say that evil is not fearful and threatening, inimical to all good and to be absolutely resisted. It says that God has ordained a world which contains evil- real evil- as a means to the creation of the infinite good of a Kingdom of Heaven within which His creatures will have come as perfected persons to love and serve Him through a process in which their own free insight and response have been an essential element."

(Hick, 1978)

Arthur Schopenhauer,…

This meant that individuals were 'elected' for salvation by God, and this view of human salvation is called either the 'doctrine of the elect' or the doctrine of living saints' (www.wsu.edu/~dee/REFORM/CALVIN.HTM)."

John the Baptist was a prophet who "preached a message of repentance to the people of Jerusalem. He converted many, and prepared the way for the coming of Jesus. He baptized Christ, after which he stepped away and told his disciples to follow Jesus (www.catholic-forum.com/saints/saintj02.htm)."

Islam

Three terms in Islam that should be explored are Quraysh, Hijra, and Saum. Quraysh is "the ancient Bedouin tribe near Mecca to which Muhammad belonged. At one time camel drivers and caravan guides, they became, after acquiring custody of the Kaaba, one of the most powerful tribes in central Arabia and the chief family of Mecca. They were at first bitter opponents of Muhammad but became his devoted followers when Muhammad retained the…

Therefore, the Pentateuch plays a very important formal role in the Jewish faith.

However, the oral Torah may be as important to the Jewish people. One of the underlying components of Judaism is that the Jews are God's chosen people. As God's chosen people, even the non-religious history of the Jewish people becomes religious. This is because God informs their activities in a way that is not necessarily acknowledged in other religions. For example, a history of Christianity should include the Crusades, because they were driven by religion, but because Christianity is not envisioned as a living religion in the same way as Judaism, the history is not viewed in the same way. In contrast, the history of the Jewish people is not separable from the religious relationship that the Jewish people have with God as his chosen people.

Frankel's viewpoint of the Oral Torah, particularly the Siddur and Mahzor,…

The spread of public education in the 20th century gave rise to even greater tensions about the appropriate role of religion within the public education system. The Supreme Court declared that mandated prayers in public schools were unconstitutional, yet the words 'under God' were inserted into the Pledge of Allegiance (Prayer, 2010, eligious Tolerance). Students can wear religious clothing and jewelry to school, and teachers can teach about religion -- but not preach to their students. Walking the fine line between endorsing certain religious traditions within an officially secular community can be tricky, and the definition of what is secular and what is religious continues to evolve with the passage of time. Today, the debates about religion rage on -- the role of so-called 'creationist' science in biology classes that teach about evolution and the right of religious groups to hold meetings on school grounds are two recent examples of…

(Casanova, n.d., pp. 10 -- 26)

The Secularization by odney Stark

In the article titled Secularization, Stark (1999) is discussing how secularization is having a dramatic impact upon the society. This is because organized religion has not offered any kind of new or creative ideas in over two hundred years (which are leading to its decline). Moreover, many of the more mystical religions are experiencing similar decreases. The combination of these factors are important, in showing how there has been fundamental shift in morals and values. (Stark, 1999, pp. 249 -- 273)

Evidence of this can be seen with observations from Stark who said, "The day will come when religion has been relegated to memory and museums. This will not have been caused by modernization, and the demise of faith will bear no resemblance to the process postulated by the secular doctrine." (Stark, 1999, pg. 269) This is illustrating how…

eligion provides a valuable source of spiritual meaning for those who might feel lost psychologically without a larger purpose to their lives. eligion contributes a comprehensive moral framework for human social interactions that generates a motivation for ethical conduct in the human community.

One of the most profound benefits of religion is the extent to which it allows some people to negotiate emotionally trying circumstances, especially in relation to the loss of loved ones. Irrespective of whether or not religious beliefs about the afterlife and the continuous existence of the human soul after physical death are true, they undoubtedly help countless people cope with emotional loss.

eligious traditions enable the efficient passage of social culture from one generation to the next and serve to connect the current generation to those in the past in a manner that also allows entire communities to maintain a unified social system and a shared…

Religious Studies

The things that Orthodox Judaism and Jewish Renewal have in common appear to originate from the foundations of the Jewish faith. Both make use of the Jewish scriptures such as the Talmud, and both adhere to Jewish traditions in terms of holidays and general practices. Another significant similarity is the importance that both directions have for women. The Orthodoxy is reported to give significance to the feminine style of devotion to God, which includes a more emotional, nurturing relationship with him. The Renewal appears to be an inclusion of more emotional qualities in the style of worship for both women and men.

The differences are more marked, and thus easier to identify. Regarding the role of women, for example, the Jewish Renewal seeks to include women in all aspects of Jewish worship. They are thus not excluded from leadership roles or practices within the synagogue.

The style of…

Religious Views of the Holocaust

Most people realize that during World War II, the Nazi Party of Germany waged a relentless war against people they did not welcome in their country for one reason or another. We all know that over 6 million Jews died during the Holocaust, but many people don't realize that the Nazis targeted others as well, including Gypsies and some Christians who would not cooperate with the Nazi regime or who were caught aiding those who were supposed to be sent to concentration camps.

Given that the Holocaust was a multicultural and multi-religious event, it is interesting to consider how some major religions might view the events. Christianity teaches that all murder is against the law of God. However most Christian religions allow the execution of criminals by state governments. This is why we have individuals who protest executions but rarely hear entire denominations protest such…

Confucianism promotes the "ideal of the scholar, who cultivates virtue in oneself and shares it through service in government, teaching, and daily life," Canda explains on page 1. The pure idea of Confucianism is to benefit all the citizens and those benefits have a ripple effect starting with the individual, through the family, and out to the Korean society and then the world (Canda, p. 1).

Confucianism has had an influence on many spiritual and physical Asian-based traditions; for example, Confucianism had a big influence on the development of martial arts, acupuncture, and meditation, according to Canda.

Shamanism: There are about 300 shamanistic temples within an hour of the capital of Seoul, according to an article in the New York Times (Sang-Hun, 2007, p. 1). The article points out that shamanism is presently enjoying a renaissance after "centuries of ridicule and persecution"; indeed, shamans were "demonized by Christian missionaries and…

Trees take in carbon dioxide (which includes pollution in the air) and give off oxygen so we can all breathe, and so God's plan can be carried through. The teaching of values, morals, and discipline must be part of the program for a Catholic teacher, and also the involvement of parents brings the school, the Church, the children and the families together in a fellowship of learning and praying.

As was mentioned earlier in this section, involving parents in their children's learning activities is a powerful way to keep our faith strong and growing in the context of education and Christianity. This is particularly poignant because on page 9 of the "Our Catholic Schools" one of the major issues facing Catholic education is the "…inadequate home and parish involvement with schools," and we can mitigate this problem by working closely with children to get them inspired enough so they want…

This ritual takes place on the eighth day after birth and the ceremony itself involves both religious and surgical elements and may be performed by a surgeon of a specially-trained Mohel who has both surgical and religious knowledge. After the circumcision is performed, a festive meal almost always follows as a symbol of thanks to God and to the prophet Abraham.

One of the most complicated religious rituals of Judaism is the ar Mitzvah for boys and less frequently, the at Mitzvah for girls. These words mean "the son or the daughter of the commandment and mark the coming of age of a male or female child" (Harvey, 325) who is then seen as an adult and is responsible for observing the commandments set down by Moses and to fill adult roles in the congregation of the synagogue. This ritual traditionally occurs on the Sabbath following the child's thirteenth birthday…

eligious Group's Statement

William James' passage at the top of Gordon D. Kaufman's essay, "eligious Diversity and eligious Truth"

is both profound and poignant (187). Kaufman quotes James as saying "... The whole notion of the truth is an abstraction from the fact of truths in the plural ... " James also writes that "Truth grafts itself on previous truth, modifying it in the process

In the case of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (LDS), also known as the Mormon Church, their "truth" has most certainly been "grafted" on previous truth, and the various "truths" that they build their religion upon -- plus, the "new truths" they seek to promote all over the globe -- make an interesting study for purposes of this paper.

The thesis of the paper is as follows: the doctrines, beliefs, basis of origin / foundation -- and the social strategies of…

These values might seem obvious to some, but they are actually values which so many religious institutions may preach, but not practice at all in their religious thought. Ultimately, those who view themselves as spiritual but not religious don't feel that faith can be shoved into scientific or empiricitic frameworks, and these same individuals reject the notion that all is real and can be known: rather these individuals believe that love, kindness, generosity, awe and wonder are some of the most important pillars of life and that it's nearly impossible to put these aspects in a box or encompassed in black and white thinking of certain religious dogmas. Many people who ascribe to this belief system truly do believe that there are secular movements in the world today which have similar spiritual foundations, but that many of these religious movements are just out of touch with those foundations (NSP, 2013).…

orshipping is typically performed in synagogues that replaced the historical Temple initially meant to provide Jews with a praying location. Jewish religious rulers are called rabbis and they control the many ceremonies and customs that are very important in Jewish religious tradition.

Synagogues appeared consequent to the destruction of the Second Temple by Titus, son of Emperor Vespasian in 70 A.D. Although this is considered to be the beginning of the Jewish Diaspora, it actually began approximately six centuries earlier, at the time when the Babylonians conquered the kingdom of Judea and destroyed the First Temple. Ever since this moment, Jews scattered around the world and are presently located in a wide range of countries. Most of them have expressed a particular desire to return to their traditional home. hile there are presently approximately 14 million Jews in the world, only about five million live in Israel with the other…

He also observes the poignant problem of racism that arises here, which is also his reason for calling the new cult "white" Buddhism: in spite of the fact that the hite Buddhists may adopt all the traditional Asian customs- from their name to the food they eat or to the rituals as such, they will still be part of the "mainstream of the white culture." (Allitt 1999, 459). That is to say, the racial differences, still linger no matter what, and are emphasized by the American racism, which is the dark side of American culture.

Finally, Eldin Villafane analyzes the way in which the Catholicism of Spain was imposed to the Native Americans in Mexico, emphasizing the great religiosity of the Hispanic people. The author discusses the differences between Christendom and Christianity, the first being the powerful and complete assimilation of all life-matters into the religious frame.

Thus, all these…

Eastern religions, on the other hand, conceive of much broader definitions of God and deemphasize any direct relationship between individuals and God, in addition to allowing for multiple Gods.

Other religious beliefs reject any supposed consciousness of a supreme being, conceiving God as representing nothing more than fundamental elements of the natural universe and objective principles. In that sense, in addition to increasing awareness and specific knowledge of other religions, the study of religion also introduces an entirely foreign concept, at least from the perspective of students socialized in any of the Western religious traditions. Specifically, the broadened understanding of different religious frameworks raises the possibility that the highest form of spirituality possible in human life is the complete acceptance of our absolute aloneness in the world and the relative meaninglessness of human concerns in a universe that may very well be finite in existence as well as entirely godless.…

"

(Einstein, 1954)

The other universal concept shared among so many human religions relates to the fate of the individual (or of the individuals spirit or "soul"). Judeo-Christian religious traditions generally teach that a soul survives physical death and the eternal fate of that soul is substantially determined by the behaviors and choices of the individual in life (agan, 1997). Eastern religious traditions generally reflect a more general belief in the cycles of life and in multiple successive lives sharing a fundamental kernel of identity even if not exactly in the same form of soul as described in Western religions (Armstrong, 1993). Contemporary objective moralists would (again) suggest that any energies or thought in life about perpetual existence in another spiritual form of any afterlife is a waste of time.

ources Consulted

Armstrong K. (1993). A History of God. London: Heinemann.

Egner RE and Denonn LE. (1992). The Basic Writings…

Confucius, likewise, although scholars say that Confucianism is not a theistic religion, stresses the will or mandate of heaven having an influence upon the lives of all, but focuses on the obligations of individuals in a society, not upon isolated religious acts of goodness. Buddhism, another cross-national religion also focuses on acts, such as the importance of meditation, rather than individual spiritual perfection, but focuses on such acts in a trans-national focus and stresses 'right understanding' as opposed to social relationships as in Confucianism. Confucianism does not stress the distinction between earth and the dead. It creates a network of continuity between ancestors of the past and one's present shows of respect, through good conduct, towards ones ancestors. Unlike Christianity, which stresses the better place of the Father in heaven, Buddhists do not believe in any type of God, the need for a savior, prayer, or eternal life after death.…

For fundamentalists, law and authority come from God.

This is true not only in formally theocratic societies, like Iran, but can also be seen expressed in the views of fundamentalist U.S. Christians, who have an obsession with having the Ten Commandments displayed outside of secular buildings, advocate school prayer and the need for laws to be justified by Judeo-Christian values.

Female sexuality must be contained; boundaries must be established between men and women.

The female body is an obsession: hence the obsession with women staying home and not working in fundamentalist Christian circles, as well as the extreme control of women by the Taliban in Afghanistan.

Sexual behavior is a major concern of all fundamentalists

Opposing gay marriage, abortion rights, sexual education unite almost all fundamentalist groups.

Fundamentalism and nationalism converge.

"The moral life according to the will of God can only be fully lived in a society of fellow-practitioners…

Tradition and Modernity in "A Madman's Diary"

During Lu Xun's time, China was witnessing a landmark political and economic change. This was the time for the popular May Fourth Movement in 1919 following the announcement of the terms of the Versailles Treaty that concluded WWI. At this time, the Chinese society was oppressive and feudalistic. The elite fed off the labors of those below them thus destroying their souls. Those in leadership took advantage of the led that lived in abject poverty and without a political voice. The author seems to associate cannibalism with such prevalent social conditions. As much as the madman's reasoning is flawed, his lunacy points at the social, economic as well as political reality of the time. First, the story begins with different mode where the narrator introduces the diary. It appears as though this is a preface and the point at which the narrator distances…

religious history of my family as I know it, and its impact on me.

I myself am from Vietnam and am studying in New York. My parents are Vietnamese and living in Hanoi, Vietnam.

We follow a mixture of Buddhism and Confucianism, although I think that somewhere way back, my grandparents or great-grandparents - I know little of either side -- may have been pure Buddhists. Actually, I see similarities in both, in that both focus on peace within oneself, and I think that the popular way of how Americans see Buddhist belief of nirvana as believing that we are feted to suffer is wrong.

Thinking of my family's beliefs and how it has shaped our lives and my life in particular, I think it is more Vietnam's beliefs in general; that has impacted us rather than that of my particular family. The two primary beliefs in Vietnam in general,…

eligious Life of Planet Earth

Criteria Employed to Identify eligious Behavior

Based on what we already know about religion in other parts of the cosmos, we will consider the following criteria to be indicative of religiosity on Earth: (1) itualistic prayer; (2) Symbolic rules that have no apparent utility or function beyond symbolism; (3) Ceremonial sacrifices (Sagan, 2002). Previous experience suggests that most religions are theistic and that the hallmarks of theistic religiosity are rituals used to demonstrate, reinforce, and transmit traditions to successive generations; symbolic rules that have no functional purpose beyond their symbolic value; and sacrifices meant to appease or thank imaginary supreme beings (Armstrong, 2003). While there are other forms of religiosity that involve more complex spirituality than presumed direct relationships between "gods" and living beings or causal relationships between the pleadings of living beings and natural events, for the purpose of a preliminary investigation, the foregoing…

Religious Reflections." Please respond: Identify (3) 1) Judaism, 2) Shinto, 3) Buddha, things discussed fully, explain learned (3) things Identify (3) surprising things learned quarter, explain surprised.

Religious reflections

The phrase 'Judeo-Christian ethic' is often used as a broad-based term to describe the philosophy of most residents of the United States. But this is rapidly changing. It can no longer be assumed that the majority of United States residents grew up in a household where either Judaism or Christianity was the predominant faith. As a member of a workplace where there is a high percentage of Asian and Asian-American employees who were brought up in households with Buddhist, Confucian, and Shinto traditions, I would liked to have learned more about these different faith and philosophical perspectives. However, what I did learn has proven useful in seeking to understand and empathize with my colleagues' worldviews.

It is often said that Buddhism…

Primary Source Analysis: Islamic Text

The Muslim Brotherhood is one of the most notable conservative Pan-Islamic groups -- it is based in Egypt but has a worldwide influence. As is the case with most fundamentalist organizations, the Brotherhood takes an extremely gendered view of women. According to one of its most influential members Hasan al-Banna in his tract "Towards the light:"

"Following are the principal goals of reform grounded on the spirit of genuine Islam...Treatment of the problem of women in a way which combines the progressive and the protective, in accordance with Islamic teaching, so that this problem - one of the most important social problems - will not be abandoned to the biased pens and deviant notions of those who err in the directions of deficiency and excess...a campaign against ostentation in dress and loose behavior; the instruction of women in what is proper, with particular strictness as…

ideals of Religious faith looking at such questions as "What are the grounds of religious faith? What does a faith do for a life?. Examples used are historical data such as Germanic faith, Vedic cultures and faith from Christianity, Judaism and Islam. Bibliography cites four references

Faith; Blind love or stupidity

What are the grounds of religious faith?" This question is as ambiguous, and as difficult to answer as the question "Does a God exist?" There are many ways of understanding the need and grounds for a religious faith, such as psychological, sociological and cultural. It also needs to be recognized many devout followers believe that their God is supreme, for instance followers of the Muslim faith.

However, to answer the question, where are the grounds for faith in religion, we need to look at the evidence and the reason of the existence of faith. The moist common answer may…

I. MY QUESTION

The topic of religious revolution interests me because much of history has been shaped by religious revolution. Consider the history of the West. The rise of Constantine to the seat of the Emperor in the early 4th century allowed Christianity to flourish. The Roman Catholic Church became deeply influential some 400 years later with Charlemagne, who was crowned Holy Roman Emperor by the Pope in 800. Religious revolution broke out in Europe with the Protestants, led by Luther, Zwingli, Knox, Calvin and Henry VIII. Their actions led to a revolution in the West that changed the nature of society. Today’s society has very much been impacted the Protestant Revolution, as strains of Puritanism are still seen in American society, for example, as authors like Hawthorne and Melville have shown.

What I hope to learn from the research is how religious revolution unfolded in Europe and what its…

Hinduism and People

Unlike most religions which ask their practitioners to prescribe to a designated set of behaviors wherein they shall all behave uniformly, Hinduism bears the motto that "People are different." Most religions begin from a dogma which is a written interpretation of what the creators of that religion state their God or Gods want from the followers of that religion. Because of this, the religions are slow to evolve and more or less stagnant. According to J.N. Nanda, "Hinduism is not limited by the view of a single founder, a single holy man or a single holy book" (106). That is to say, those that practice Hinduism understand that there is no one type of person. Individuality, by its very definition states that people will have singular ideas and singular personalities. There is no one type of person living in the world, just as there is no one…

And because of widespread exposure to estern traditions, many people around the world -- especially the youth -- start adopting estern traditions which ipso facto leads to partially quitting local traditions. An imported tradition replaces the existing local one. Therefore, many public figures around the world today act defensively, by banning estern TV channels, publicly condemning globalization, or emphasizing the importance of local traditions because they believe the loss of traditions means the loss of identity (Galeota). Intellectuals start worrying that the loss of traditions will lead to forgetting local histories and having a different future.

Traditions we follow sometimes may not be rooted in local histories. As Giddens explains in his analysis of traditions, "[m]uch of what we think of as traditional, and steeped in the mists of time, is actually a product at most of the last couple of centuries, and is often much more recent than that"…

India
Indian traditions and culture are widely known worldwide for their uniqueness and diversity. However, we rarely stop to think about why Indians do certain interesting things in certain ways. The majority of these customs can be traced back to ancient Indian texts and scriptures that governed the Indian lifestyle for several centuries (Holidify).
Interesting Areas
In my opinion, the four most intriguing Indian customs, beliefs, and values are:
1. The 'Namaste'
The Namaste/Namaskar represents one among the most widely- recognized Indian customs, currently not limited only to India. Translating to 'I bow to you,' it is one among five traditional greetings described in the Vedas, the ancient scriptural text of Hinduism. The folding of the palms before one's chest that accompanies the words implies 'May our minds meet.' Further, the term 'Namaha' may adopt the following meaning: 'na ma,' implying not mine, for signifying a lowering of one's ego when meeting and…

Wicca

There can be no exhaustive or authoritative sources that can trace Wicca back through ancient times. Wicca is mainly a manifestation of ancient systems of nature worship in the 20th century that is based out of northern Europe that has been in existence for thousands of years ago. Wicca is basically a religion that is rooted in the mist of Neolithic history which can be termed as fertility and agrarian society. Wicca is a nature worship religion and subsequent interaction with nature which is dissented from that practice by the Celtic clans that were found in the Western Europe as well as the indigenous people of British Isles. Therefore it is one of the mainstreams of indigenous earth spirituality that is found in European culture.

Wicca has its origins from the Celts and other people that lived in the area which is known as Great Britain. The Wiccans celebrate…

Sexual and Religious Ideologies of uddhism in North India

uddhism is the fourth largest religion in the world, exceeded only by Christianity, Islam and Hinduism (Robinson, 1982). The uddha, Siddhartha Gautama, founded udhiam in Northern India. When uddha was 29, he left his wife, children and community involvements in order to seek truth and Nirvana. At the time, it was acceptable for men to leave their family and seek spiritual enlightenment.

uddha rejecting both extremes of the mortification of the flesh and of hedonism as paths toward the state of Nirvana (Warren, 1963). uddha spread the belief that in order to live a life without pain and suffering, people are required to eliminate any attachments to worldly goods. Only when this is accomplished will they be afforded peace and happiness. uddhists believe that they must rid themselves of greed, hatred, and ignorance.

uddhists strive to cultivate four attitudes into their…

eithian Tradition

challenges face Director-General BBC maintain eithian tradition British public service broadcasting face technological change crises funding content ? Are lessons draw past?

The eithian tradition comes from John eith who was the British Broadcasting Corporation's director general. He created a concept of broadcasting that was centered along educating viewers. He was an autocratic leader which made the approach of educating viewers successful. He built internal checks which helped to control his benevolent style of dictatorship. He was greatly convinced that the strategy of educating viewers would greatly help the organization. He in fact summarized the purpose of the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) in three words which were to educate, to inform and to entertain. These remain to be a part of the mission statement of the organization to this very day. Other broadcasters around the world such as the Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) which is located in the…

Virtual eligious Service

Islam is a religion of great misconceptions and of immense misunderstanding. It was because of this same notion that this religion in particular was of great interest. With all the negative publicity that Islam receives in the media, people only get exposed to the violent extremists that represent a minute minority of this religion. A picture of violence and death is flashed on the television daily, forcing many to create negative misconceptions about Muslims. Their portrayal of how their females are treated is an aspect that has also come under speculation. The media portrays oppressed hopeless females, which induces viewers to think that this is actually true. These are both misconceptions that I had prior to my viewing of the online religious service and research.

Violence and terrorism are shown constantly across the television screen whenever extremist Muslims are depicted. This creates a sense of misconception as…

Religious Traditions in the Axial Age

Aspects of Judaism that made it "axial" during the period from 900 BCE to 300 CE

Judaism spelled an era in the time where there was a worship of many deities, and it brought the idea of worshiping only one deity. Judaism was widespread during this time. It had enough power to influence the people as an umbrella of worship under one deity. The worship of one deity brought about a strengthened responsiveness of human beings and their God. The responsibilities of worshiping one deity were straightened and made to look like capable of transforming whatever was necessary for any true form of worship. The sense of a linear time made people take good responsibility of their deities and everything related to them. The existence of the rival deities was also realized, as people took central of one deity. It was during this time…

The yzantine artists are well-known for the icon of Symeon with the Christ Child. The icon was effectively changed by yzantine artists toward the ending of the iconoclastic controversy in the ninth century. Originally the artistic protocol for the depiction has Symeon submissively approaching Mary who is holding the Christ child in her hands however the changes in the icon are of the nature that show Symeon holding the Christ child in the beginning. The first record of Symeon holding the Christ child is stated to be in the church of the Virgin of the Source in Constantinople during the restoration conducted by Emperor asil I along with Leo and Constantine sometime after 869.

Clouds and sky views often used in yzantine art are rooted in Roman art which changed from "smooth and pliable clouds" into "flattened triangles with horizontal bottoms and scalloped tops. In this odd and stylized form…

So alike yet distinct did these early writers create, that they are now required reading in British schools (Duquette).

In terms of religion, American culture emulated Britain less than many of the early settler were reactionary against British conservatism. Several of the original 13 Colonies were established by English, Irish, and Scottish settlers who were fleeing religious persecution. By 1787, in fact, the United States became one of the first countries to place a freedom of religion code into law, even if it was only at the Federal level (Gaustad).

Thankfully, America has a taste for more exotic foods and cuisine than the British, but if we think of many of the celebrated Holidays, they either derive from or are part of the British tradition. Thanksgiving, for instance, is now a traditional American holiday evolving from the Pilgrim's plight during the first winter of their landing. Christmas, Easter, and Lent…

Two valuable sources of information do exist:

The first one does fall within the conflicting traditions themselves. They are never useful in the solving of the disputes by invoking worldly views. They are indeed a complex set of legal traditions since they do succeed in the reconciliation of otherwise different theoretical views. The second source of information is facts. Multivalence is an important factor in the explanation of the various contemporary issues that affect our complex societies. A society that consists of different groups of people who have multiple legal claims. There are also various legal traditions as well as identities that do overlap in extremely close proximity. There are also several conflicting principles. The conflicting principles do lead to a general weakening of the state legal system. The multivalent though does provide a way of reconciling the various legal traditions, family law, succession and potential status in a way…

Therefore, the concept of a traditional Western marriage can be used as a tool for making those who are different from the norm, such as homosexuals, feel alienated and distant from society. On the other hand, advocates of gay marriage suggest that allowing homosexuals to share in the rites and responsibilities of traditional marriage can be a way of recognizing their personhood, and can lead to unification between seemingly diverse sub-populations among the larger Western culture. As the above example demonstrates, there is no easy answer to the question of whether traditions promote unity; some traditions promote unity, while some promote divisiveness, and even the same tradition can have different meanings in different communities.

Furthermore, though traditions develop from a community's shared experiences, it is important to differentiate between a tradition's appearance and the underlying reality. For example, in American weddings, the bride has traditionally worn white to signify virginity…

(Krukowski, 2001) Civil religion and workplace mysticism each change the institutional locus of religious expression from the church, synagogue, or mosque to another public organization- the state or the company. The existence of these different organizations hoists the main question of individuality and perhaps challenging faithfulness.

Both civil religion and workplace theology do not show the likely clashes and problems often met by employees who are also religious practitioners. Jews, Christians, or Muslims who are workforce of a company may well have grounds to question the customs of their company on religio-moral basis. Workplace theology in a funded organization does not distinguish these possible clashes. Institutionally conveying workplace theology is obviously not identical with permitting individual employees to convey their beliefs and customs at work. This grave outlook of workplace theology should not be realized, as a censure of persons who want to live out their definite religious or spiritual…

The relationship goes beyond any simple realistic or complex scientific models, because it cannot be explained through the observances of realities around us. Myth and culture can often be on the same temporal level, with one or the other being generated at different times. As such, some of the myths were actually born out of a certain culture, determined by the geographic or demographic realities of the respective culture. In other cases, culture was born out of a myth.

An important element to be analyzed in the differences between religious myths and scientific models is the introduction of variables and the type of variables in each case. The religious myth, especially the creation myths in different cultures, falls into the category of sacred myths. There is always such a distinction between sacred and profane myths or, as Eliade puts it, people "distinguish between sacred myths (cosmogony, creation of the stars,…

American Religious History

Defining fundamentalism and liberalism in Christianity is hardly an exact science, especially because prior to about 1920 there was not even a term for fundamentalism as it exists today. hile present-day fundamentalists often claim descent from the Puritans and Calvinists of the 17th and 18th Centuries, Puritans were not really fundamentalists in the modern sense. They were not in conflict with 20th Century-style liberals and supporters of evolution and Higher Criticism because those did not yet exist. As George McKenna put it "if there were no liberalism there would be no fundamentalism" to react against it (McKenna 231). Today, about one-third of Americans define themselves as evangelical Protestants, and all Republican Party politicians have to make appeals to the Christian Right (Hankins 1). In 1976 there were at least fifty million 'born again' evangelical Protestants in the United States, and today their numbers may be as high…

eauty for Ashes

The Yiddish short story "If Not Higher" by I.L. Peretz was published in Warsaw in 1900, decades before the holocaust. Fifty years later, the short supposedly true story of "The Kozshenitser Rebe" was published in Yiddish by Orenshtayn in a book of memorials to Jewish leaders. oth stories tell of the behavior of a specific (assumably Hassidic) rebe on an important Jewish holiday. However, apart from this basic similarity, these two stories are radically different. This may be partly a function of having different authors and of coming from different historical areas. However, if the differences between style and content with these two works is indicative not of the personal styles of the authors, then one is left with another option: namely that the striking differences between these two works is a result of the holocaust and the slaughter of the Jewry of Eastern European. If these…

Te NPC, importantly, controls bot legislative and judicial functions -- true to te consolidation of power in communism. Wen discussing te Cinese judiciary, one must understand tere are no juries, only judges; and earsay is admissible as evidence, unlike te civil tradition. However, in keeping wit civil tradition, evidence obtained from documents carries more weigt tan oral testimony. Te judge in a Cinese court is not interested in defending laws, teir interest is in defending te interests of te communist state and te socialist system.

Module 2 -- Legal Researc

Primary and secondary sources (2.11) and Keywords (2.1.2). Sources used in legal researc are primary and secondary: primary researc emerges directly from legal opinions, legislations, treaties or case law; secondary sources are commentaries about te decisions from journalists, lawyers, scolarly journals, and textbooks.

Tings to look for in conducting researc include te rigt keywords, witout wic searc engines are not…

" (2009) Oguejiofor states that there is no understanding "exept if there is misunderstanding, a negativity that beomes the originative instane of hermeneutis…" (2009)

Oguejiofor writes that Senghor's onept of negritude is entered on the misunderstanding or misrepresentation of the Afrian and his heritage, a situation that has sine imposed enormous burden on all aspets of his life." (Oguejiofor, 2009) Oguejiofor states that negritude has been desribed "…as a philosophy of soial ation" and states additionally that in the view of Senghor "negritude was 'a weapon of defense and attak and inspiration." (2009) Speifially Senghor sates that negritude is the "sum total of the values of the ivilization of the Afrian world, it is not raialism, it is ulture." (Oguejiofor, 2009)

Oguejiofor writes that negritude as a philosophy "has the advantage of 'reognizing the situatedness of our lived historiity as the proper objet of refletion for Afrian philosophi thought. (Salhi…

Conservatism in America

Intellectually, it is indeed correct that post-orld ar II can be divided into two periods of conservatism: the period which emerged directly after the war (1945-1990) and the period from 1990 onwards. Traditionally as Ball explained, conservatism in America were opposed to rapid development and industrialization in the early 20th century: "From their point-of-view, this new mass society posed the same threat that democracy had always posed -- the threat that the masses would throw society first into chaos and then in despotism. In arguments similar to those of Plato, Aristotle, and more recently Alexis de Tocqueville, traditional conservatives maintained that the common people were too weak and too ignorant to take charge of government" (Ball, 108). Essentially, this meant that conservatism in the twentieth century revolved around the notion of self-restraint and a core belief pervades that only a small majority are suitable to govern, while…

History Resurrection

The History of Resurrection Tradition

According to Merriam-ebster dictionary, the word 'resurrection' stands for "the state of one risen from the dead." Generally, resurrection refers to restoration to life of the person who is clinically dead.

Concept of resurrection has been in existence in one form or the other since the very birth of the first human being in this planet. Over the centuries, different religions and mythological schools of thought have defined and taken the tradition of resurrection in different ways; therefore, it is always hard to find any commonly agreed fact about it.

For further clarification, it will be necessary to point out that resurrection stands apart from the concepts of 'immortality of soul' and 'resuscitation' as it involves the rebirth of both body and soul (Harrington).

It will not be wrong to say that the tradition of resurrection is closely associated with the philosophy of…