Comparisons of Religion observation and reflection (Reflection of class included at bottom of page)
Crystal McCann
World Religions Wed
Final Paper
11/22/12
Each religion has its own story to behind it, and each story is equally sacred.
My Thesis In this paper I will compare and contrast the history, beliefs and faiths surrounding several religions we learned about in class including, Hinduism, Buddhism, Sikhism and Christianity; Their physical space within each place of worship, their rituals and how I was emotionally connected to each of them.
When religion is mentioned, many people have an initial reaction, whether favorable or otherwise. It has always been my goal to learn about as many cultures and religions as possible. The reason for this is to gain a broader idea in regards to each culture, which includes Religion. We live in a world full of culture, religions, daily rituals, and what is important to someone on one side of the world may not be of any concern to someone on the other side of the world. In this class we learn some of the major important religious differences between people all over the world.
Religion grows within the heart of each of these people and stems outward. We all coexist on this earth however with differences in ideas regarding how this world we live in came to be, who if anyone created it and where we came from, where we will go after our death. Such personal intense topics cannot be agreed upon by 100% of those of us in the world. Many religions contain such similarity, yet many differences in details create for world disagreement, hatred, confusion, segregation, war and even death.
Hinduism was an interesting religion because not only is it “The oldest religion in the history if human civilization” – According to Buddhism-tourism.com, but they have many gods, as complex as it was to wrap my mind around it, once you get the just, it unfolds ideas that no one ever thinks about. Assuming we can put aside our instinctual-scientific belief for “All things and ideas must always provide-physical evidence” we have an open window for a vast propensity of knowledge. For example, The idea and story behind Ganesh; The Elephant headed deity, whose father didn’t realize Ganesh was his son and though he was there to harm his wife, when he cut Ganesh’s head off and once he realized Ganesh was his son, he then cut off the head of an elephant for Ganesh instead.
We don’t see people walking around with Elephant heads, however if we consider that, according to scienceviews.com, Dinosaurs existed for 165 million years before human existence. It doesn’t make the idea of a human with an elephants head sound too perverse. Whether the Hindu gods with Elephant heads or 4 armed depictions are to be taken literally or not there is a sense of honesty that illustrates many elements that even in current life can be agreed upon.
For example the idea of gods, Brahma, the creator of everything; This isn’t the only time the idea of an energy that reflects creation of all things. Though not completely an ideological match, Greek Philosopher, Plato, born in 427 BC had the “Theory of the soul” which in part consisted of the Greek word “Aidos” the essence of his theory was that all things had an Aidos (the originator of all things) and from the original thing sprouts infinite other things, however the main “Aidos/thing” i.e; nothing created goes without a creator.
Hindus idea of many gods doesn’t seem too unbelievable when you consider Plato’s theory of the soul. Furthermore, Hindus belief in regards to reincarnation is quite intriguing as well, according to Buddhist-tourism.com, “Hinduism believes that everyone is a part of an impersonal world and therefore, one's soul reincarnates into another body of any being, based on the deeds of the present life“ This is interesting because if we accept this as truth and utilized Hindu beliefs as a Universal law, how different human reaction and interaction would be if everyone was conscious of their current actions interactions.
When we went to The Puja at the Hindu temple, Sri Ganesha in South Jordan as a class, it was very interesting to see some of their Deities and the structure of their temple and rituals. I was especially intrigued by, the blessing of the fruit, and to be able to communicate with the Hindu priest, Pandit Santish Kumar regarding the process of becoming a priest and how long it takes to study the Vedas. The priest mentioned that he spent 16 years covering just one of the 4 Vedas. He said it would take someone 64 years to cover all 4 Vedas. It was very interesting to learn how Hindus feel in regards to the Cow and their relationship with animals, as quoted on nhsf.org.uk, “We respect, honour and adore the cow. By honouring this gentle animal, who gives more than she takes, we honour all creatures”
Overall I felt very comfortable when visiting the Hindu temple; the people were all very hospitable and happy to answer any questions I had. The structure of the temple was very beautiful, the removal of our shoes though it was different actually made me feel more at home. It smelled of incense and had a warm and welcoming atmosphere and the people seemed very pure of intent. It was unfathomably apparent they believed so much in what they were doing. The chant of “Aum” was so profoundly intense. They seemed to have unlimited energy they put out together, as one focusing on the past, present and future, for the benefit for of everyone. You could tell the Hindus were of very selfless and sincere intent.
Buddhism however evolved around 563BCE in India quite a while after Hinduism, when prince, Siddhartha Gautama began his search for spiritual enlightenment. A few of the primary beliefs of Buddhism are; Self Control, Meditation, Path to Enlightenment deviation from craving and desires and Dharma. When we visited The Buddhist Temple, though it was at a location I have been to before, prior to it being a Buddhist Temple it was quite welcoming, simple, yet welcoming. There were pictures of the Dali lama, and an abundance of different depictions of The Buddha, little cushions everyone sat on in circular style. The monk, Gary Lovejoy and the other monks were very kind and welcoming. They demonstrated many rituals; Meditation, Chanting, breathing, songs, prayers, holding the beads, throwing rice they also had candles and incense. The rice, I found especially intriguing; to let go of negative thoughts and to bring back positive karma when it landed. I felt very at home here, and since have considered going back, I believe I will go back and visit the Buddhist temple during the Holiday break. I have since considered becoming a Buddhist
Christianity was quite different and proved quite interesting; they are much different than the other two religions. They are Monotheistic, however they believe in the father (God) the Son (Jesus) and (The Holy Spirit) they believe in a heaven and a hell. They prey to their deity. They believe the son, Jesus Christ was resurrected and will incarnate again someday. There are over 34,000 Christian religions. They believe in sin and that based on your deeds in life, your commitment to God, and following the Bible (Greek for, The Book of life) – per Wikepedia, you will either go to heaven or hell.
They have crucifixes around as a depiction and remembrance of how Jesus died for everyone’s sins. The Cathedral of The Madeline, we visited had many, many crucifixes within the church, as well as many depictions of Jesus Christ, even bone fragments of Mary Magdalene and paintings depicting in a slide-show depiction of events that led up to the death of Jesus, from the Last supper forward.
There was a Priest and Dieken who primarily spoke, there were many songs and a lot of sitting down and standing up, as well as the holding of each other’s hands and saying to their neighbor, “Peace be with you” There was also the partaking of the sacrament, wine to be injected in remembrance of Jesus’s blood and partaking the yukorist remembrance of the body of Jesus. My reflection of Christianity reflects the cannibalistic ritual of consuming Christ, very cult-like, not as much closeness within the community, and self-interested intent; However, at the same time, very kind-hearted.
Buddhism and Hindu-These religions have their similarities to each other, however also its many differences. One of the similarities is the idea of reincarnation, according to Buddhist-Tourism.com, “Buddhism believes in the process of reincarnation based on deeds of the present life”
Buddhism believes in enlightenment, reaching Nirvana, as did Siddhartha Gautama. Hinduism believes in Brahman who created the “Atman” sample of Brahman, this being contains every being manifested into one god. However, they believe in no founder, no prophet, no teacher and no way to authenticate the teachings. Both of these Religions are welcoming of anyone within their places of worship, they believe in Kharma (right action), Dharma (our duties) the goal of Hindus is to stop accumulating Kharma, they say Kharma, is physically attached to the soul. Whereas Buddhists, Believe that Karma is psychological, intentional action of any kind leave seeds in the mind after the action until acted on or until it is changed it will follow you into other lives. The Buddhist idea of Karma is to either resolve to never do (negative thing) again or it will eradicate negative Karmic seeds. The same would go for positive actions, thus resolve will be implicated.
Buddhists don’t believe in chance or luck, more that consequences reflect our actions. Hindus, however believe that Dharma = Reincarnation = accumulation of Karma through obtaining a state of consciousness also known as (Samadhi) which results in (Moksha) which in simple terms is defined as, Liberation.
Between both Hindu and Buddhist religions the visits were very liberating, especially being agnostic, I felt like the ideas discussed above made a lot more sense than that of Christianity. The people at the Puja we attended as a class was very a spiritual experience, as well as that of the Buddhist Temple, it felt nice to meditate and to simply observe how the both of these religions worship. Since these are both, Before Christ religions, I find them more authentic than those of Christian, Judaism or Muslim religions. However, I will explain more about this further in later comparisons.
The connection between the physical, emotional/Spiritual was apparent, at the Buddhist temple there was a woman who was emerged in meditation and chanting, so deeply an earthquake probably wouldn’t have disrupted her. However, when visiting the Hindu temple, I noticed so many people meditating and were so immersed and focused on what they were doing, there was a sense of honesty the by pure observance, which brought me to places I’ve never been before, both spiritually and emotionally. The art of meditation and staying focused on breathing, the empathy and resolve of human suffering was very evident, not only at the Buddhist temple, but also the Hindu Temple. They at the Hindu temple performed more rituals, however it I was apparent that even without the belief in heaven and hell, both Hindus and Buddhists were unfathomable honest about why there were worshiping, which was simply to be better people.
Christianity and Buddhism in my observation were quite different; however had similarities in terms of their aim, and end result. Those Buddhists do not believe in in God, as Christians do, both religions involve being a better person, whether a Christian or a Buddhist, both believe in Spirituality, and even though Buddhists do not have the 10 Commandments, they do believe in Karma, Dharma, Reincarnation, and reaching enlightenment. Buddhists believe that Karma determines reincarnation. Whereas Christians believe in heaven and hell, they prey to their deity. They believe that if you worship god, follow the 10 commandment and follow the Bible you will go to heaven. In relation to reaching Nirvana verses getting to heaven, both religions strive to be good moral people with a goal of reaching something or somewhere better, whether that is Enlightenment and reincarnation, or to be closer to god and getting into heaven after they die, resurrection, and incarnation. However, Christians must be truly sorry for their sins. In comparison to Buddhism, Christians pray to God and Buddhists chant, meditate, both religions sing. The thing I found to be an apparent similarity, was that all religions we observed in class, all religions are working toward a similar goal, to be a more pure, more moral person, which I mentioned briefly earlier.
In observance of the Christian, Catholic Church, though I didn’t feel as comfortable at the Catholic church, I did recognize and respect their sense of community and there was a time during prayer that brought tears to my eyes. It was an innocent sense of beauty that shook me, in relation to all religions observed, that everyone at all places I visited, I noticed such a profound sense of innocence and hope, and faith that even though these religions are segregated in their beliefs are all brought together Universally in such a beautiful way that we as human being could not live without all religions as they are all connected in respect to Morality, to spirituality and based on purity, hope and human connection with each other. Without it, we would reflect that of Peter Pan and the lost boys, neglected without any hope, or intent to be better people. When I visited the Catholic church, I felt everyone took what they were doing very seriously, raising their hands up to god, all of the depictions of Jesus, the beautiful Choir, the way the hierarchy were dressed, reminded me a lot of the way many of the other Hierarchies were dressed usually differently than that of the rest of the congregation. The music at the end of the Catholic Church reminded me of something out of a scary movie, I didn’t feel as comfortable as I did at any other the other religious places I visited, and however I respected them all the same. They had some holy water near the door to put on their forehead, and the partaking of the yukorist and wine, which reminded me of and felt similar to the visit to the Buddhist temple when they threw the rice in the air, to get rid of negative and provide an open door for positive to come into their lives.
In conclusion, the overall realization as an agnostic has changed my life and outlook on life, death religion, humankind, the past, the future and the present. It has provided me with limitless knowledge that we as people no matter how many wars, or deaths or hatred, or confusion or judgment toward other religions and the lack of understanding and stubbornness we have toward others, that we are all ONE unit, all one person, united by our differences, united by our segregation and disagreement, we are brought together whether it be by God, or reaching Nirvana, or Reincarnation heave, or Hell, we are all equal and all have intent to be better, moral people, which in my observation, and with unlimited respect for all religions have come to the conclusion that no matter what we are all one, one energy, one god, one, one people. Without each other and our differences we would know nothing. I hope that one day, we can all reflect on exactly this, and agree to disagree, if to agree on at least one thing, let it be that we are all searching for something and all no matter what we believe are ONE.
I learned more in this one class, than I have learned in my entire 3 years of College, and maybe in my 31 years of life, and that is to love all people, judgment-free that we are all in this adventure of life together and whatever rituals we perform or who and how we worship, we are all just trying to find our way and though it may sometimes not seem that way, we in this together.
Work Cited
Buddhamind.com
Plato.stanford.edu
Usefulcharts.com
Scienceviews.com
Buddhist-tourism.com
Minoritynurse.com
Nhsf.org.uk
World Religions- 7th ED –Warren Matthews
World Religions Notes from class
My own personal Observation notes
World Religions Wed
Final Paper
11/22/12
Each religion has its own story to behind it, and each story is equally sacred.
My Thesis In this paper I will compare and contrast the history, beliefs and faiths surrounding several religions we learned about in class including, Hinduism, Buddhism, Sikhism and Christianity; Their physical space within each place of worship, their rituals and how I was emotionally connected to each of them.
When religion is mentioned, many people have an initial reaction, whether favorable or otherwise. It has always been my goal to learn about as many cultures and religions as possible. The reason for this is to gain a broader idea in regards to each culture, which includes Religion. We live in a world full of culture, religions, daily rituals, and what is important to someone on one side of the world may not be of any concern to someone on the other side of the world. In this class we learn some of the major important religious differences between people all over the world.
Religion grows within the heart of each of these people and stems outward. We all coexist on this earth however with differences in ideas regarding how this world we live in came to be, who if anyone created it and where we came from, where we will go after our death. Such personal intense topics cannot be agreed upon by 100% of those of us in the world. Many religions contain such similarity, yet many differences in details create for world disagreement, hatred, confusion, segregation, war and even death.
Hinduism was an interesting religion because not only is it “The oldest religion in the history if human civilization” – According to Buddhism-tourism.com, but they have many gods, as complex as it was to wrap my mind around it, once you get the just, it unfolds ideas that no one ever thinks about. Assuming we can put aside our instinctual-scientific belief for “All things and ideas must always provide-physical evidence” we have an open window for a vast propensity of knowledge. For example, The idea and story behind Ganesh; The Elephant headed deity, whose father didn’t realize Ganesh was his son and though he was there to harm his wife, when he cut Ganesh’s head off and once he realized Ganesh was his son, he then cut off the head of an elephant for Ganesh instead.
We don’t see people walking around with Elephant heads, however if we consider that, according to scienceviews.com, Dinosaurs existed for 165 million years before human existence. It doesn’t make the idea of a human with an elephants head sound too perverse. Whether the Hindu gods with Elephant heads or 4 armed depictions are to be taken literally or not there is a sense of honesty that illustrates many elements that even in current life can be agreed upon.
For example the idea of gods, Brahma, the creator of everything; This isn’t the only time the idea of an energy that reflects creation of all things. Though not completely an ideological match, Greek Philosopher, Plato, born in 427 BC had the “Theory of the soul” which in part consisted of the Greek word “Aidos” the essence of his theory was that all things had an Aidos (the originator of all things) and from the original thing sprouts infinite other things, however the main “Aidos/thing” i.e; nothing created goes without a creator.
Hindus idea of many gods doesn’t seem too unbelievable when you consider Plato’s theory of the soul. Furthermore, Hindus belief in regards to reincarnation is quite intriguing as well, according to Buddhist-tourism.com, “Hinduism believes that everyone is a part of an impersonal world and therefore, one's soul reincarnates into another body of any being, based on the deeds of the present life“ This is interesting because if we accept this as truth and utilized Hindu beliefs as a Universal law, how different human reaction and interaction would be if everyone was conscious of their current actions interactions.
When we went to The Puja at the Hindu temple, Sri Ganesha in South Jordan as a class, it was very interesting to see some of their Deities and the structure of their temple and rituals. I was especially intrigued by, the blessing of the fruit, and to be able to communicate with the Hindu priest, Pandit Santish Kumar regarding the process of becoming a priest and how long it takes to study the Vedas. The priest mentioned that he spent 16 years covering just one of the 4 Vedas. He said it would take someone 64 years to cover all 4 Vedas. It was very interesting to learn how Hindus feel in regards to the Cow and their relationship with animals, as quoted on nhsf.org.uk, “We respect, honour and adore the cow. By honouring this gentle animal, who gives more than she takes, we honour all creatures”
Overall I felt very comfortable when visiting the Hindu temple; the people were all very hospitable and happy to answer any questions I had. The structure of the temple was very beautiful, the removal of our shoes though it was different actually made me feel more at home. It smelled of incense and had a warm and welcoming atmosphere and the people seemed very pure of intent. It was unfathomably apparent they believed so much in what they were doing. The chant of “Aum” was so profoundly intense. They seemed to have unlimited energy they put out together, as one focusing on the past, present and future, for the benefit for of everyone. You could tell the Hindus were of very selfless and sincere intent.
Buddhism however evolved around 563BCE in India quite a while after Hinduism, when prince, Siddhartha Gautama began his search for spiritual enlightenment. A few of the primary beliefs of Buddhism are; Self Control, Meditation, Path to Enlightenment deviation from craving and desires and Dharma. When we visited The Buddhist Temple, though it was at a location I have been to before, prior to it being a Buddhist Temple it was quite welcoming, simple, yet welcoming. There were pictures of the Dali lama, and an abundance of different depictions of The Buddha, little cushions everyone sat on in circular style. The monk, Gary Lovejoy and the other monks were very kind and welcoming. They demonstrated many rituals; Meditation, Chanting, breathing, songs, prayers, holding the beads, throwing rice they also had candles and incense. The rice, I found especially intriguing; to let go of negative thoughts and to bring back positive karma when it landed. I felt very at home here, and since have considered going back, I believe I will go back and visit the Buddhist temple during the Holiday break. I have since considered becoming a Buddhist
Christianity was quite different and proved quite interesting; they are much different than the other two religions. They are Monotheistic, however they believe in the father (God) the Son (Jesus) and (The Holy Spirit) they believe in a heaven and a hell. They prey to their deity. They believe the son, Jesus Christ was resurrected and will incarnate again someday. There are over 34,000 Christian religions. They believe in sin and that based on your deeds in life, your commitment to God, and following the Bible (Greek for, The Book of life) – per Wikepedia, you will either go to heaven or hell.
They have crucifixes around as a depiction and remembrance of how Jesus died for everyone’s sins. The Cathedral of The Madeline, we visited had many, many crucifixes within the church, as well as many depictions of Jesus Christ, even bone fragments of Mary Magdalene and paintings depicting in a slide-show depiction of events that led up to the death of Jesus, from the Last supper forward.
There was a Priest and Dieken who primarily spoke, there were many songs and a lot of sitting down and standing up, as well as the holding of each other’s hands and saying to their neighbor, “Peace be with you” There was also the partaking of the sacrament, wine to be injected in remembrance of Jesus’s blood and partaking the yukorist remembrance of the body of Jesus. My reflection of Christianity reflects the cannibalistic ritual of consuming Christ, very cult-like, not as much closeness within the community, and self-interested intent; However, at the same time, very kind-hearted.
Buddhism and Hindu-These religions have their similarities to each other, however also its many differences. One of the similarities is the idea of reincarnation, according to Buddhist-Tourism.com, “Buddhism believes in the process of reincarnation based on deeds of the present life”
Buddhism believes in enlightenment, reaching Nirvana, as did Siddhartha Gautama. Hinduism believes in Brahman who created the “Atman” sample of Brahman, this being contains every being manifested into one god. However, they believe in no founder, no prophet, no teacher and no way to authenticate the teachings. Both of these Religions are welcoming of anyone within their places of worship, they believe in Kharma (right action), Dharma (our duties) the goal of Hindus is to stop accumulating Kharma, they say Kharma, is physically attached to the soul. Whereas Buddhists, Believe that Karma is psychological, intentional action of any kind leave seeds in the mind after the action until acted on or until it is changed it will follow you into other lives. The Buddhist idea of Karma is to either resolve to never do (negative thing) again or it will eradicate negative Karmic seeds. The same would go for positive actions, thus resolve will be implicated.
Buddhists don’t believe in chance or luck, more that consequences reflect our actions. Hindus, however believe that Dharma = Reincarnation = accumulation of Karma through obtaining a state of consciousness also known as (Samadhi) which results in (Moksha) which in simple terms is defined as, Liberation.
Between both Hindu and Buddhist religions the visits were very liberating, especially being agnostic, I felt like the ideas discussed above made a lot more sense than that of Christianity. The people at the Puja we attended as a class was very a spiritual experience, as well as that of the Buddhist Temple, it felt nice to meditate and to simply observe how the both of these religions worship. Since these are both, Before Christ religions, I find them more authentic than those of Christian, Judaism or Muslim religions. However, I will explain more about this further in later comparisons.
The connection between the physical, emotional/Spiritual was apparent, at the Buddhist temple there was a woman who was emerged in meditation and chanting, so deeply an earthquake probably wouldn’t have disrupted her. However, when visiting the Hindu temple, I noticed so many people meditating and were so immersed and focused on what they were doing, there was a sense of honesty the by pure observance, which brought me to places I’ve never been before, both spiritually and emotionally. The art of meditation and staying focused on breathing, the empathy and resolve of human suffering was very evident, not only at the Buddhist temple, but also the Hindu Temple. They at the Hindu temple performed more rituals, however it I was apparent that even without the belief in heaven and hell, both Hindus and Buddhists were unfathomable honest about why there were worshiping, which was simply to be better people.
Christianity and Buddhism in my observation were quite different; however had similarities in terms of their aim, and end result. Those Buddhists do not believe in in God, as Christians do, both religions involve being a better person, whether a Christian or a Buddhist, both believe in Spirituality, and even though Buddhists do not have the 10 Commandments, they do believe in Karma, Dharma, Reincarnation, and reaching enlightenment. Buddhists believe that Karma determines reincarnation. Whereas Christians believe in heaven and hell, they prey to their deity. They believe that if you worship god, follow the 10 commandment and follow the Bible you will go to heaven. In relation to reaching Nirvana verses getting to heaven, both religions strive to be good moral people with a goal of reaching something or somewhere better, whether that is Enlightenment and reincarnation, or to be closer to god and getting into heaven after they die, resurrection, and incarnation. However, Christians must be truly sorry for their sins. In comparison to Buddhism, Christians pray to God and Buddhists chant, meditate, both religions sing. The thing I found to be an apparent similarity, was that all religions we observed in class, all religions are working toward a similar goal, to be a more pure, more moral person, which I mentioned briefly earlier.
In observance of the Christian, Catholic Church, though I didn’t feel as comfortable at the Catholic church, I did recognize and respect their sense of community and there was a time during prayer that brought tears to my eyes. It was an innocent sense of beauty that shook me, in relation to all religions observed, that everyone at all places I visited, I noticed such a profound sense of innocence and hope, and faith that even though these religions are segregated in their beliefs are all brought together Universally in such a beautiful way that we as human being could not live without all religions as they are all connected in respect to Morality, to spirituality and based on purity, hope and human connection with each other. Without it, we would reflect that of Peter Pan and the lost boys, neglected without any hope, or intent to be better people. When I visited the Catholic church, I felt everyone took what they were doing very seriously, raising their hands up to god, all of the depictions of Jesus, the beautiful Choir, the way the hierarchy were dressed, reminded me a lot of the way many of the other Hierarchies were dressed usually differently than that of the rest of the congregation. The music at the end of the Catholic Church reminded me of something out of a scary movie, I didn’t feel as comfortable as I did at any other the other religious places I visited, and however I respected them all the same. They had some holy water near the door to put on their forehead, and the partaking of the yukorist and wine, which reminded me of and felt similar to the visit to the Buddhist temple when they threw the rice in the air, to get rid of negative and provide an open door for positive to come into their lives.
In conclusion, the overall realization as an agnostic has changed my life and outlook on life, death religion, humankind, the past, the future and the present. It has provided me with limitless knowledge that we as people no matter how many wars, or deaths or hatred, or confusion or judgment toward other religions and the lack of understanding and stubbornness we have toward others, that we are all ONE unit, all one person, united by our differences, united by our segregation and disagreement, we are brought together whether it be by God, or reaching Nirvana, or Reincarnation heave, or Hell, we are all equal and all have intent to be better, moral people, which in my observation, and with unlimited respect for all religions have come to the conclusion that no matter what we are all one, one energy, one god, one, one people. Without each other and our differences we would know nothing. I hope that one day, we can all reflect on exactly this, and agree to disagree, if to agree on at least one thing, let it be that we are all searching for something and all no matter what we believe are ONE.
I learned more in this one class, than I have learned in my entire 3 years of College, and maybe in my 31 years of life, and that is to love all people, judgment-free that we are all in this adventure of life together and whatever rituals we perform or who and how we worship, we are all just trying to find our way and though it may sometimes not seem that way, we in this together.
Work Cited
Buddhamind.com
Plato.stanford.edu
Usefulcharts.com
Scienceviews.com
Buddhist-tourism.com
Minoritynurse.com
Nhsf.org.uk
World Religions- 7th ED –Warren Matthews
World Religions Notes from class
My own personal Observation notes
World Religions Reflection-
This was a very interesting class. I really lie how the professor put together slides and went over information with us as a class. I like how she was able to cultivate each religion and provide us with knowledge on many levels. We watched a few films to gather information which helped us relate, we listened to songs and music videos, i.e.; Judaism, Muslim etc. We were able to emerge ourselves in each religion which helped in understanding how each religion worked and functioned. Visiting each of these Temples, Mosques, Churches, etc. I was able to submerge myself in in each one individually which provided a sense of observation, not only physically, but also emotionally. The way that these people worship are so different from one another, but the same on many levels. I enjoyed learning about them and being able to speak with Priests, Llamas, Monks and Rabbis. They were all more than happy to answer any questions I had. Some religions had food they prepared for after the service, this was interesting to experience because it takes you out of your element and allows you the be submerged into each religions in all way possible, by observation, by participation, senses are engaged by incense and candles at times as well as culturally by their foods, etc. Also, in certain religions, like Hindu, and Buddhism as well as Sikhs and Muslims you take your shoes off which seemed strange at first, but provided a sense of comfort. The Sikh temple and Muslim Mosque we had to wear Hijabs or scarfs over our heads which was a little strange at first, but it felt really nice to go into another culture and place of worship; to take myself out of my comfort zone and emerge myself within that religion and culture.
Overall, this was an excellent experience, looking back it has fulfilled and exceeded exactly what I was looking forward to learning when I registered for the class. Being that I am aiming to attend law School in the long run, i wanted to learn more about each culture so that when I became a Civil Rights attorney I would be able to relate and understand as many cultures as possible in recognition that some things are dependent on cultural background and need to be analyzed in such a way, with complexities beyond what meets the eyes We are able to relate in such a way that is reliant to individual cultures and religions which in the end will bring to light a justice more fulfilling than that of what one would expect at first glance.
Overall, this was an excellent experience, looking back it has fulfilled and exceeded exactly what I was looking forward to learning when I registered for the class. Being that I am aiming to attend law School in the long run, i wanted to learn more about each culture so that when I became a Civil Rights attorney I would be able to relate and understand as many cultures as possible in recognition that some things are dependent on cultural background and need to be analyzed in such a way, with complexities beyond what meets the eyes We are able to relate in such a way that is reliant to individual cultures and religions which in the end will bring to light a justice more fulfilling than that of what one would expect at first glance.