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PHL230 Religions of the World I think that it is important to study world religions because it can help people to become more tolerant of other’s beliefs and more compassionate to other people’s causes. With so much war and misunderstanding in the world based on religious viewpoints, it is important to take the time to find out where and why people believe the way that they do. While I find that most people in the world follow a religion based on their geographical location, this is not the case in the United States.
Because the US is a country where people from all over the world can come to live it is a place where many different religions are practiced. It is important, especially for people in this country, to study world religions in order to know how to relate to others who live here. Religion has an influence on many aspects of life from politics, education, and the arts. It is important that we study all religions so we get a better understanding of how and why it influences these things. I think the greatest reason to study world religions is for appreciation.
I think that studying these religions I have gained a better understanding of people in other areas of the world. I also find that I see many similarities, as well as some differences, in religious ideas and rituals. I think that how we started our studies in this class, with indigenous religions we learned the basics of beliefs and where they originated. I think that because the essence of animism’s “everything is alive” theory we start to see how people first connected with God and nature.
I think that most religions believe that God, or whatever they call him in that religion, is everywhere, that His hand was in the creation of all living things and that there is a purpose for everything. I also find it interesting that although most indigenous people never came into contact with anyone else, and lived in different regions of the world, many of the beliefs are similar. I understand more now how indigenous people could believe that violent weather can be perceived as a wrath from a god because of mistreatment of nature.
I think that this is something that can be thought of in today’s world because of global warming. We have mistreated the land for so long and it seems to be taking revenge on us with various weather patterns. Even though in today’s world we see this as just an environmental thing, indigenous religions would see it as a god’s wrath because of the poor treatment of the land. I enjoyed learning about Hinduism and the aspects of karma and samsara I found to be the most interesting parts of the Hindu faith. I think because of the Hindu belief in these things they work towards living a more moral and respectful existence.
Karma is the notion of moral consequences that are carried along with every act. (Molloy 87) Samsara is the wheel of life. It is a circle of constant rebirth, suggesting that the world is full of change. (Molloy 87) Because the Hindu believes that the things they do in life have consequences in their reincarnation it makes them try to live better so that their next life may be in a higher position. I find it interesting that in this religion what happens to the person in their next life is up to that individual himself, and it is up to that person to find their own path to their enlightenment.
Hinduism is said to be a religion of one truth and may paths. This is something I also found to be different because in my religion of Christianity what happens to you after death is based only upon your belief in Jesus being your savior. The other religion I feel I became more knowledgeable about because of the studies in this class is Buddhism. I had no previous knowledge about this religion other than it existed. The most important concept I feel that I learned from Buddhism is part of the three marks of reality. These are made up of, change, no permanent identity and suffering.
In no permanent identity each person and each thing is changing and made up of parts that are also constantly changing. It means that people have no permanent soul or no self. (Molloy133). In suffering it is the fact of life that when life is lived conventionally it can never be fully satisfying because of change. (Molloy pg 134) The mark of reality I found the most interesting is change. The concept of change in Buddhism has us look at life as it really is. Things change gradually and we notice the changes over time. We don’t expect change but nothing ever remains the same. Molloy132) When I learned this I looked over my life and have to admit, that much has changed over time. No matter how we try and keep things the same it is impossible. Children grow up, our body ages, our relationships change. Even things in the world things are constantly changing, landscapes change naturally from things like the tide or erosion, and seasons come and go. In Buddhism the belief is that we are responsible for accepting this and not trying to change the outside world but we need to change ourselves and the way we experience the world. Molloy 134) In studying the world religions I learned that there are similarities; they all seem to have a similar moral code. The basic concept of all religions is to treat everyone with kindness. Ahimsa, “do no harm”, is a fundamental practice found in religions like Hinduism, Jainism and Buddhism. This is similar to the “do unto others” concept in Christianity. People should be kind to people as they want people to treat them kindly. I feel that prayer or meditation relate in a way to each other in different religions.
Meditation in religions such as Hinduism and Buddhism are a way people can achieve inner peace and improve themselves as human beings. I find that prayer also can bring peace to a person. Prayer in religions like Christianity and Judaism is the way people speak and become closer to God. So in both prayer and meditation people improve themselves and achieve an inner peace. One difference that I learned in the course would be the concepts of time as they relate to religions. Religions such as animism, Hinduism and Buddhism have a cyclical view of time. This means there is no beginning or end but everything goes in a cycle.
In Hinduism this is seen in the concept of samsara you are born, live, and are reincarnated so time is always going in a circle of life. In a religion like Christianity there is a beginning and an end to time. The belief is that one day Jesus will return and then the end of the world where non believers will be sent to hell and the believers will ascend to heaven will happen. Another difference I learned about is in the amount of gods there are or the lack of any god in some religions. In Christianity, Judaism and Islam there is one God and God alone is worshipped.
In a religion like Hinduism there are several deities that are worshipped. In Hinduism there is the Brahma, god of the universe, creation. Vishnu is the god of preservation in the universe. Shiva is the god associated to destruction. There are also several other gods in Hinduism like Devi, Durga, Kali, Krishna, and Vishnu. A religion like Daoism has no definite god only a belief of the Dao which is nameless and everything is a manifestation of the Dao. (Molloy 221) I would say that by studying world religions I did come away with many things I had not thought of or knew of before.
I think it was beneficial for me because it gave me a better understanding of how people in different regions of the world think. Religion has an effect on many aspects of a person’s thinking. I think because of this, myself being a psychology major, the study of world religions has been very beneficial for me. I will know how to better relate to people of other cultures and schools of thought better because of my study. Works Cited Molloy, Michael. Experiencing the World’s Religions, Tradition, Challenge, and Change 5th Edition. New York, NY: McGraw Hill, 2010.