Religion has been a topic that I have struggled with all my life. It was always a subject that I never had much interest in learning as it was not stressed to me as a child and because of this I have found myself to be ignorant to the practices of the major religions of the world. Stephen Prothero’s book God is Not One: The Eight Rival Religions That Run the World has helped me to develop a greater understanding of major religions like Islam, Confucianism, and Judaism. He was able to provide the basic ideas and stories of religions in an organized and simple manner that made it easy to understand the foundations of each religion. Prothero also explains the problem, solution, technique and exemplar for each respective religion to further develop that understanding. This was a great way to explain the major principals of these religions and educate those who are unfamiliar with them. Of all the religions Prothero presents us with in the chapters, the one I found to be most interesting was the one on Judaism.
Coming to Saint Joseph’s University and living near the Main Line, I was expecting the dominant religion of the area to be Christianity but I have found this is not entirely true. After having the opportunity to explore the area surrounding SJU it is clear that there is a large Jewish population as there is a number of Jewish Temples in the area and grocery stores with kosher sections that span half the store. This was a bit of a culture shock for me because I had been
Since the beginning, I always remembered being dragged to church. My egotistical six year old self thought that I was too young to be going to church. I was that type of child who would make up any excuse as to why I absolutely, positively could not go to church that day. Whether it was because I had come down with Ebola that day or that I needed to stay home or the cat would run away, my mother always forced me to go. This wasn’t because I didn’t believe in Him, but what kid wants to sit through an hour long presentation that had no visual aid or really any idea on what the pastor was saying? I sure didn’t.
Religion plays a huge role in today’s day and age. In fact, religion has been of huge importance since cavemen were, well, cavemen. Religion is the factor that keeps many people going in life but at the same time, the same reason our world has so many problems and has been torn apart. Through studying the main tenets in call, Judaism, Christianity and Islam were analyzed for weeks. Christianity and Islam take the cake for the two biggest religions in today’s population however, Judaism plays the smallest role. These three religions, although different, are easily able to be compared and contrasted because of all of the history and information we have attained towards these separate beliefs. I think it is crucial that these religions be studied by people all around the world so that we can be understanding towards other religions, not just our own. Through religious beliefs, things we can learn through teachings and comparing and contrasting we can learn more about Judaism, Islam and Christianity.
Judaism (Jewish), Christianity (Christians), and Islam (Muslims) are all world religions and each has a great deal to offer faithful followers, but each one merits serious attention, and full devotion. Religion and identity are highly stressed, and are never casual, indifferent, or meant to be spread out among contending convictions. Like Judaism and Islam, Christianity has beautiful rituals and festivals with unique music, and values and ideals worthy of a great religion.
When asked the question on my definition of religion, I decided to look at it in a way that goes beyond just my religion. Religion goes much deeper than being something that we just believe in, it is a relationship or a part of a person’s culture. My purpose of religion is something for me to try and understand what my goal in life is, as well as building a relationship with a higher being. Religion gives people that higher being that they can look to for guidance and comfort. I feel that you can also express your culture through religion as well as explain some of the reasons for some of the things that you have done in your life.
Religion is one of the most significant aspects in history and during our modern times, giving hope and forgiveness to citizens as they begin their spiritual journey but women’s voices are silenced and kept concealed. In this segment I will research and bring to light the women’s perspective through the hardships and experiences which they’ve encountered and focus on their lifestyle and personal values so we can understand better the role of women and faiths. .
During the course of this class, I have learned a lot about different religions. I still have an unprejudiced view of religion. However, I did not suspend my belief to have an understanding of religion. I have been able to learn of other religious beliefs without feeling threatened of my own. I found there are many different practices in other religions, some I agree with and some I do not agree with. I have come to except others, ways of worship without getting upset. I have become humble in my conclusion now that I have a better understanding of others beliefs. The world seems to jump to conclusions and be judgmental about other religions. Postponing ones judgement on a religion is a difficult thing to do. Being raised and taught a certain religion and set of beliefs is distilled in to one’s mind. I, on the other hand, reserved my personal judgement until I have learned more about it.
This composition will give you information on why I chose the topic Christianity. What is compelling about this issue and why is it important in the study of religion? This assignment and the content within it will explain the significance of Christianity across all religions studied. The information in this composition will show in what ways Christianity is significant for religious beliefs. I will give you, the reader an example of how this religion, have a profound effect on my life, and the area I reside. What impact does Christianity have on the everyday lives of people who practice Christianity in my area?
During this course, I have learned about several different religions and philosophies. Being that I am a practicing Catholic, I have chosen to write what I learned about Christianity and Judaism. Being born and raised Catholic I know quite a bit about Catholicism and Christianity in general however, I never know too much about other Christian denominations. Judaism is the next religion I feel I know a little bit about based on my Catholic upbringing. So, with believing I knew a lot about these two religions I was surprised at what I learned by studying them in class. As I write about these two religions I will include elements that I took from the religions and incorporated them into my “created” religion based on Friends.
I researched about 1 and 2 Timothy. The theme of Timothy is about God, lifestyle and money, and Paul tells us a lot of these three topics. Paul reminds us that we should pray about the things we are worrying about. We need to share good things with others, don’t be selfish. God wants us to give to those in need through fundraisers, charities, donations. 1 Timothy states that we should take hold of eternal life and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, endurance and gentleness. Money can’t get us far in life. We won’t be successful if we focus on money since our treasures are in heaven not here. Paul reminds us to be thankful for what we have because we are considered privileged. The love of money leads to evil desires and temptations. You will become lost in faith if you only focus on money. Money is not reliable; it isn’t stable. Instead we should rely on God who provides us with everything we need. Love is an important factor to remain united. We were all saved from our sins, but God wants us to come to a knowledge of the truth. We have to refrain falling into Satan’s trap; temptation. There’s hope to turn away from Satan, but you need to remain faithful in God and trust in Him. In 2 Timothy, Paul tells us that God doesn’t want us to be shy, because God gave us power, self-discipline and love. We shouldn’t be ashamed or scared to preach the gospel, for we should not only preach the gospel but to also suffer for God. Paul reassures us by saying that the Holy Spirit
In modern day, religion is shown as a choice, and in some places in the world it is. Religion is something that you choose to follow. In comparison to the past, in which most times religion was a must, depending on where you lived you could be punished for not following the religion of the land you lived in. Because religion is seen as a choice today, some people are confused as to why people would confine themselves to an additional set of rules that would dictate the way they would live. In exploring this, science fiction books are made. Several books in the science fiction category that include religion often use their own, made up religion, to represent a religion that is practiced. By doing this they can either bring out the good side or the bad side of the religion, often it is the latter. In result of this, certain religions can be seen in a bad light once these books and ideas become mainstream.
Introduction to Religious Quest has given me a more solid understanding on the history of religion. It also gave me a vivid explanation on how and why the world operates in a certain manner and how religion cannot be overlooked because it plays an important role in shaping the human life and character in relation to human experience. Initially, in the first few weeks of classes I had the idea that the class will mainly cover the moral characteristics and obligations in respect to religion placing more emphasis on Christianity given the nature of the Institution. But as time went by, other religion and their ideas were introduced. This made me realize that I have been biased about the term “Religion” in general. Because I come from a Christian background I never really considered how and what other religion and their ideas were like. The only idea that came to my mind was Christianity.
sins to a priest and attend mass weekly. Jewish societies will gather their whole families
Throughout my life I have been lost and confused when it comes down to one aspect of life, religion. I felt out of place in scripture class freshman year because I knew close to nothing about Catholicism and about who God is. Up until my time at Brophy, I did not even really consider religion to be a part of my life. I rarely thought about God and the only times I did were times that were selfish and when I thought I needed help. Like before a big game I would ask him to help me get a hit, or crossing my fingers when it was the final play of a game and hoping God would help. Looking back that’s because I did not truly know who God is, and I’m not saying I do now, but I for sure have a greater understanding through my experience and research. In chapter two I explored who God is and was able to find a good connection of who God is through the words of Reverend Doctor William Barry. Barry brings up the idea of how God and is like our parents in a way how they provide us with comfort and are always there when we need them. This I agree with because I believe that the best way that I have encountered God through my time at Brophy has been through the actions with others, not only my parents, but I have been reinforced that God can be found in simple ways. In my first experience with getting my dog Harper I talked about how that was one of the only strong evidences that I have of God working in my life. And this is most likely because I feel that God was acting as a parent to me
First off, even though we have not been in class for very long, I already feel as though my perspective on religion has changed tremendously and I am curious to see what my beliefs will be like at the end of the semester. Although I do believe in Christianity and in God and that he contributed into the creation of the world, I question what I would believe if I was taught differently growing up.
Prior to this class, I viewed religion the way most Anglo-Americans do. From a young age, I was raised around Protestant Christian churches. My family went to church once a week on and off throughout my childhood. At church, I tried to focus for an hour on the sermons based around ancient stories that may or may not have happened. I usually forgot the story within a few hours of exiting the church doors. Like many Americans, this was religion to me. Something you more or less endured in order to say you were religious. This class gave me a totally different perspective on religion. For many Native American tribes, religion is not a separate portion of life. Many tribes have no word for religion. That is because there are religious aspects seen in just about everything they do. While there are cultural differences across various tribes, this idea holds fairly constant through most Native cultures. From the Navajo to the Hopi to the Pueblo and Plains tribes, there is a clear effort made by the Native people to treat everything around them with respect in order to maintain balance in the cosmos.