Religious Syncretism - Paper

Religion 120 has taught me something more than just the meaning of religion. I would argue that I will be taking away more knowledge from this class than any other class I have taken so far in my college career. The learning path Professor Robert takes has benefited me throughout the semester. The learning path I took persuaded me to open my mind and absorb and understand the ideas of other individuals. After I opened my mind up and read all of the content we were assigned in class, along with listened to my classmates and professor Robert’s take on religion, I was able to picture religion as something other than just the physical place of worship and discussions taken place there. When most individuals think of religion they think about going to church and not much else. Religion is so much more than just the physical place and the individuals leading the practice. Religion has the potential to help guide you in life, along with giving you a sense of meaning in this big world. Religion has the power to help you connect with individuals like yourself,

There are many religious beliefs that have confused people throughout the years. For example, Hinduism, Buddhism, and Christians are the most commonly religions that confuse people. A religious belief is basically a belief in God or gods. Hinduism is a religion where people do witch craft in what they believe that will help and protect them.

They were able to convert Keopuolani, Ka’ahumanu (the Kuhina Nui), and even converts Kalanimoku from Catholicism into

Christianity and other religions were introduced to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people following European settlement.

1. In a minimum of 100 words, describe the basic teachings of Zoroastrianism. What a fascinating religion, Zoroastrianism is! I never knew this religion existed. The first time I heard the word “Zoroastrianisam” it was a few months back when someone on Facebook was talking about Gal Gadot, the actress that plays wonder woman and saying that she is Zoroastrian, like it was a bad thing. Then, I found a chapter in my text book pertaining to Zoroastrianisam and I was excited to read the chapter, just to see what they are talking about. I asked myself, why would this be a bad thing if someone is Zoroastrian? I learned that this is probably the oldest monotheistic religion on the world and most importantly, the base for 3 major religions. Judaism,

The colonization also established Catholicism as the mandatory religion of the newly acquired Spanish territory. The Spanish Inquisitions’ aggressive action against what they considered to be “heathen” beliefs, effectively eradicated the indigenous religions. Today, Catholicism

Journal of Psychology and Christianity, “Use of Prayer and Scripture in Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy” by Siang-Yang Tan discusses how prayer and scripture can be incorporated into the practice of cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT). Expanded CBT described a historical process of behavior therapy that was divided into three generational movements and consisted of a gradual transition from traditional behavior therapy known as; Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT), Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), and (DBT) Dialectical Behavior Therapy (Tan, 2007, p. 101).

According to Elizabeth Martinez in her article Latino Catholicism and Indigenous Heritage as a Subfield of Latino Studies: A Critical Evaluation of New Approaches affirms that, “Stages of sacrifice, seeking cosmic harmony, and other rituals, adopt a

Culture is defined as the arts and other manifestations of human intellectual achievement regarded collectively. Throughout time, many different cultures have come into existence worldwide. They are often forgotten, preserved, or spread depending on those who carry it with them. It is vital that people conserve the different cultures because they are essential in remembering our past as the human race. One very important aspect of culture is that of religion. Religion has shaped the course of history from as early as 50,000 years ago. When given the opportunity to experience one of these unique religions first hand, I immediately chose Catholicism due to the fact that I have always been curious of their traditions and rituals. During my visit to Christ King Mission Church, I learned that the Catholic sanctuary actually looks similar to that of many Baptist churches, has a very formal liturgy, and shows more respect to other biblical characters than most other churches.

Being of Greek and Bulgarian descent, Orthodox Christianity has played a tremendous and positive role in my life. We, as Greeks, are a proud and religious people; and are firm believers in God, the Son of God, and the Virgin Mary and the Orthodox Saints. Through my theological education, knowledge of history and personal experience, I have learned to conceptualize that Orthodox Christians promote peace, harmony and unity among all mankind, condemning violence.

I have chosen Greek Orthodox Church for my cultural observation because I assume that observing the people in there will help me to understand the differences in our cultures and find similarities. Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox Cathedral is 150 years old; it is the first Greek Church in North and South America, therefore, I hope to get a unique experience and learn about traditions and rituals of this community.

In order to formulate an appropriate definition and understanding of Christian Spirituality, one must first understand the concept of Spirituality. The term Spirituality is not one that is conventional and unanimously accepted. David B. Perrin, in his book, Studying Christian Spirituality (2007) he describes what “authentic spirituality” is not: the “spiritual life” and “body life” are not detached, and it encompasses all of life’s aspects, for example, the psychological, social and intellectual dimensions, he goes on to say that these dimensions are crucial in understanding spirituality. Perrin also states that some would say that they are “spiritual, but not religious”, therefore it can be said that spirituality is not always associated with

Over 2.4 billion people around the world believe in the Christian religion. For some it is a river of faith, but there are many branches to Christianity. Jesus Christ in Judea (present day Israel) started Christianity about 2000 years ago. Jesus was initially Jewish and he lived in an area that was under Roman rule. This Roman rules posed a big problem for the Jews due to the polytheistic cultural beliefs the Romans had. This is when Jesus Christ played a major role in the development of Christianity. Jesus traveled from village to village, teaching in the various synagogues and healing those who were suffering. This teaching was revolutionary, he challenged the already established Roman religious authorities to repent from their self-righteousness and hypocrisy and realize

Kerman addresses this divide, and the fusion of both, on pages 81-82 of Listen. When Christian missionaries went to the New World with the intention to convert the Incan and Mayan civilizations, they were met with a major challenge because they already had very complex religious institutions. Therefore, they had to work to incorporate elements of Christianity into these New World cultures. An example of this is that “the missionaries encouraged native song and dance in Christian festivals.” One of the results of these efforts was the song “Hanaq pachap kusikuynin,” which was in the native Andean language Quechua, but which praised the Western religious figure Virgin Mary. This example of the compromise between two styles of worship exemplifies how we should be engaging in the same way with all

were able to transform traditional rites and rituals and merge it with Christianity, to ultimately