Reflective Essay On Religion

The religion my group is covering is Christianity. Christianity is one of the biggest and widest spread religions in the world. It was founded by Jesus Christ and his 12 Apostles. Jesus taught his Apostles the word of God and spread the belief that he was the messiah by performing miracles such as healing the sick, feeding thousands with only enough food for one person, and expelling demons from the souls of people he encountered. After Jesus had many followers, people started to worry about the change in the community and the Romans didn’t want to think about what might happen if people started changing their ways so they sentenced Jesus to death. Jesus told his Apostles that he would come back after his death and

-Christianity asks followers never to lie, never to go against his/her word, never to reject attention to anyone friend or foe, never to be involved in adultery acts, and so on. If any of these acts are committed by an individual,

In a world where information can be found at our finger tips, there is still a large deficit in understanding when it comes to literacy. Although possessing the ability to read and write is valuable, it is simply not enough. The truth of the matter is that having the ability to read and write is worth nothing if one does not understand what he or she is reading and writing. As a result of my childhood experiences, religious literacy is possessing a basic understanding of one’s individual religion, and having the capacity to internalize what certain teachings and beliefs means to them. In a narrative of my literary experiences, these moments regarding religion shaped my capacity to read, write, and comprehend. I simply want to share my Catholic faith. Not to convince you or to convert you, but simply to share what the Catholic traditions and beliefs mean to me.

The grandparents of both sides of my family based their faith in fundamentalist Christianity. The dominant religious beliefs are Congregationalism or modern day Church of Christ on the maternal line primarily due to the influence of my maternal step-grandmother Georgia. My grandfather (Uhlan) was influenced by her in

Throughout History, many religeons have shown similarities and differences in the way they worship, act and think of their god or gods. From various forms of worship multiple times a day, to a simple prayer of thanks each night, religeons express their worship in various ways. Many religeons throw festivals or parties to thank their gods, while other religeons worship in silence, as their ancestors have. Although religeons show many differences, they have also shown many similarites aswell. Two religeons with very similar moral codes and ways of worship are Christianity and Islam. Christianity, Judaism and Islam are very similar becuase of the 10 commandments and the 5 pillars of Islam.

Growing up in a Conservative Christian family, I don’t remember labeling my parents as strict, legalistic, or severely pious. Like any other Western child, I played at parks, went swimming, went to ballet school, took piano lessons, and tried theatre. In other words, I didn’t feel cut off from the world as a Christian. As long as we were not Mormon, Amish, or one of those homeschool kids who wore skirts to their ankles, we were the average American family. At least this homeschool family wore jeans.

The 16th century was a time of culmination. A time during which the fundamental forces of civilization that shaped the world thus far, came together and accelerated their pace. Religious, cultural, intellectual, and economic transformations took place. New civilizations arose, only to be destroyed by imperialistic invaders. Old cultures converged and conflicts arose. New and old, east and west were unified, if only fleetingly and superficially. The religious beliefs of any society during the 1500s were taken very seriously and were tremendously important. At the time, entire empires were built on the simple principle of religion. It was the central unifier, the Europeans under Christianity, the Ottoman Empire under Sunni Islam, and the

During the seventeenth century, many philosophers formulated new ideas that would consequently change the beliefs of the common man. The "thinkers" of the Renaissance Period have the way 17th Century man to the current world. In short, the world viewed religion, philosophy, and science in a very different way by the end of the seventeenth century because of these great philosophers.

Christianity is the religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. Most followers of Christianity, called Christians, are members of one of three major groups--Roman Catholic, Protestant, or Eastern Orthodox. These groups have different beliefs about Jesus and His teachings. But all consider Jesus central to their religion. Most Christians believe God sent Jesus into the world as the Savior. Christianity teaches that humanity can achieve salvation through Jesus.

We all have some experience with religion. Whether our parents are religious, our own religious views, or others who try and convert you to a religion, we have all come in contact with a religion. But what do sociology and religion have to do with each other? The answer to this question is that religion meets sociology in the affects that it has on an individual or society (Schaefer, Richard T, 2009, pg 323).

     According to the American College Dictionary, religion is a noun defined as the quest for the values of the ideal life. This definition is vast and general, allowing for a variety of interpretations by people from all cultures. There is no single path to follow in order to lead an ideal life, only personal beliefs and experiences. Religion is non-finite so there is no way of determining a boundary (Smart, 5). In my quest for a true understanding of what religion is I explored my own traditions and religious beliefs as well as life experiences. Slowly, with the added insight from the text and videos, my own definition of religion has begun to take shape.

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.

What religion am I? In my life, I have been told many things about my religion. My mother is a Roman Catholic, while my father is Jewish. I have learned about both religions, and I have tried to practice both as best I could, but I am now faced with the decision; which one am I?

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.

For my father this has been rather difficult to accept because to him, I have violated my family's beliefs by turning my back on religion and wanting no part of it in my personal life. It is simply something he can not comprehend, to him it means turning my back on my family and everything I have known. Years ago when I was a teenager, I confided in him that I wanted nothing to do with the church anymore and he chalked it up to teenage youth. Nowadays, my interpersonal relationship with my father has been strained because he has finally understood that I had actually been serious all along. In fact, when it was brought up again when I was an adult and when I had given him the same answer