The Western And Western Traditions

Religion is a universal term that is widely used for a human’s belief system. The views on how religions compare to one another can be defined differently. One view explains religions using a united belief system by their common goals. Another view explains that different religions are just a shared essence and have vast differences between their specific traditions and customs. This shared essence, but vastly different theory, is explained by Stephen Prothero, using the term “pretend pluralism”. There are many major and minor religions that have guided people in their morals and beliefs. Religions, such as Christianity, Islam, Judaism, Hinduism, and Buddhism. All five of these current, major religions have vast differences, but may have common goals in their morals, traditions, etc. Two of the most practiced religions, of these five, are Christianity and Islam. These two religions are constantly at battle with one another, but what many people don’t see is that there are just as many similarities between these two religions as there are differences. Through this paper we will discover the underlying similarities and differences between these two religions and, hopefully, conclude that supports either the common goal theory or the “pretend pluralism” theory.

It is clear that cultural tradition delivers set foundations into a person’s lifetime, giving identity and sense of belonging to a person and their social group. It allows individuals to feel part of something and understand their ancestral values and customs. Several people believe that it is very important to preserve cultural traditions because they feel as if tradition is the main enabler to a shared identity and to a construction of social consistency and unity. People also believe that conservancy of cultural traditions forms exclusive bonds within members of the community, holding people with the same background together to pass on cultural values, and excluding those who aren’t part of the culture. They think that the actual preservation of traditions means not to change the customs and traditions, to not grow from our culture, for example not learning another language because you already know your mother tongue. It is a way to group up and tag everyone in a form of an alliance, and to have better organization and awareness of where everyone comes from.

The eastern religions that we have discussed in class are Hinduism, Confucianism, Buddhism, and Taoism. The western religions that we have discussed in class are Christianity, Judaism, and Islam. The Eastern Religions have originated in countries such as China, India, and Japan. The western religions originated in Europe and the Americas. There are few similarities between eastern religions and western religions, but many differences. The biggest difference between the two religions is that eastern religions believe in more than one god, whereas western religions believe in one God.

Differences in culture, history, geography, and collective temperament all make for diverse starting points. . . . But beyond these differences, the same goal beckons” (Prothero 1). This is a great approach because it puts the differences in religions in perspective while still showing they all show a common goal. The second scholarly approach is the ‘4 Step Process’ which is also by Stephen Prothero. First, there must be a problem. Second, there must be a solution to this problem, which also serves as a religious goal. Third, there must be a technique for moving from this problem to this solution. Fourth, there must be an exemplar who chart this path from problem to solution. This is a great approach because it helps to point out the differences across and inside religious traditions. The third scholarly approach is the ‘Question of Ultimate Meaning’. William Portiers approach deals with the deep or great questions about the human condition that we can only answer ourselves. “Why are we here? What becomes of us in the end? What is our final purpose? What is a human being and how ought we to behave toward one another?” (Portier 17). This is a great approach because it makes you personally come up with answers to those questions and to answer those questions, you must look at many different religious traditions. The fourth scholarly approach also written by William Portier deals with ‘The Dialectical

In Kevin Riley’s article “From Tribal to Universal”, him and several other historians argue that religious traditions emerge within and through traditions and beliefs that already exist. These new religions borrow from, adapt, and reject older traditions. Their ideas along with beliefs, can often be traced back and connected to multiple existing systems of belief. The documents collected in “Tribal to Universal Religion” help us understand and analyze the relationships between various religions, some of which did not originate in the same place, and their common ideas. Kevin Riley is surely right about religions borrowing from, adapting, and rejecting older traditions. This idea is clearly seen through the creation of Buddhism and Christianity.

To start off, the researcher would like to give an overview of both eastern and western religions. Eastern religions originated in areas such as China, Japan, and India. The aim of these eastern religions was to live harmoniously and be able to have a healthy balance with the real world and the spiritual world. Supporters tied to eastern religions could be either polytheistic or atheistic. Also, individuals in the eastern culture tend to convey their religious practice any time or any day. For example,

A long time ago, there were two main different religions, eastern and western, even though they are very far apart, there are pretty similar but as much as the similarities, there is differences.

The most important things I am taking away from this class is the key difference of Eastern and Western religions. Eastern religions include Hinduism, Buddhism, Daoism, and Confucianism that mostly focus on right action know as orthopraxy. While Western religions are Judaism, Christianity, and Islam believe in right belief orthodoxy. Western religions tend to use creeds example being in Christianity the Apostles creed. Creeds are statements of fundamental beliefs in a religion.

In chapter sixteen of "Understanding Western Society: A brief History / Volume 2: From the Age of Exploration to the Present", the reader will be presented with reading material based on Absolutism and Constitutionalism in Europe between the sixteenth and eighteenth centuries. In this chapter the question is presented, "What made the seventeenth century an age of crisis?" It is explained that Europe experienced economic hardships due to changes in climate, disagreements in religion, and war. The war which largely contributed to this economic crisis is referred to as the Thirty Years War. The Thirty Years War was a religious war between the Catholics and the Protestants. Tensions between Catholics and Protestants date back several centuries. After tensions had reached an all time high prior to the Thirty Years War, a truce was formed by the Peace of Augsburg in the year 1555, however the truce did not hold up as time went on. In time, Lutheran princes developed the Protestant Union in 1608, which influenced Catholics to develop the Catholic League in 1609. These groups wanted to make sure that the opposing groups made no advancements in religion or territory. The Catholics had the Spanish Habsburgs on

There is Hinduism and Judaism, Hinduism is Eastern religion and Judaism western religion. (In Hinduism they believe in Reincarnation, it is when you’re alive and there is death and where there will be life, everyone thinks what they hear about Reincarnation, the black section is dark that is death and the white part is living, will the present.)(Judaism is where people think about the temple and empire and follow everything said by him. They have elections land, monotheism, monarchy, and temple, messiah they are related to good because they think about him and believe.) They are both the god and think and learning about him believing in the empire since maybe they were little,

There is three huge differences between the religions of the West and religions of the East. The West claim that humans are inherently bad and sinful while the East does not stress this concept. The East, mainly Buddhism, does not emphasize rituals while the West believe firmly that rituals are essential. Finally, the West stress the concepts of Heaven and Hell while the East believe in rebirth and Nirvana.

As different as they may seem, all religions are pretty similar. Even just the small things that are just here and there can connect many religions together. That is not to say that there are also differences between them like their stances on many beliefs, gods, and followers of their religion. However the eastern and western religions are so similar and yet so different that I have decide to label the similarities and differences. That being said, I believe that the western are so similar and yet so different that they must be analyzed. After all they believe in a higher power, pray, and do other such things that are similar but still every reason they are similar is also how they're different. For example, in the religions Hinduism and

On this vast planet religions are becoming more prevalent and are being studied more frequently in recent times. Many individuals want to study and learn about the origins of some religions, on where they were developed and what was the cause of this glorification of a divine. The art of religion is processed by many ideologies, background, beliefs, myths, and rituals. The five major religions of the world include: Christianity, Judaism, Islam, Buddhism, and Hinduism are solely based on these ideologies, and ultimately leads to one goal, to follow the path of god, or to seek a euphoric state of salvation. In spite of all the differences among the world’s five major religions, they have very similar ethical constructs, which should encourage more mutual respect among them.

Around the World there are various differentiating religions. They all have a similar goal which is to see past everyday concerns in quest of a higher moral drive. Western and eastern religions both are very spiritual in various diverse ways. The western religions focus on monotheism, whereas the eastern religions are polytheistic.

A. J. Polyzoides, an honorary senior lecturer at Birmingham University, states: “The western world has adopted and developed their discoveries throughout the centuries.” (Polyzoides 1). As the Hellenistic society shifted away from the Classical ideals of perfectionism and idolization of the elites and gods in sculpture, artists began to be fixated on illustrating imperfection of a variety of individuals faced with the ruthless authenticity of their emotional struggles. Whereas, Classical architecture focused on dedicating massive structures to the gods to emphasize their divinity, but Hellenistic architecture used advanced technology to exemplify Alexander the Great’s magnificence. Thus, differences in the architecture can be seen in the sophisticated town of Alexandria with structures such as the lighthouse that show how Alexander the Great influenced town planning that was centralized on the creation of a superior city, likewise, The Altar at Pergamon expresses the loss of focus on the divine through unique sculptural techniques. Change can also be seen in the sculptures of The Boxer and The Old Market Woman as they are depicted to be imperfectly individualistic and in emotional distress.