...Traditions II REL 134 Roger Baumann April 13, 2014 Religious Traditions and Religious Studies Religious beliefs and customs have been ongoing since the dawn of time yet there are those who always believe different than others or try to say their religion is the only true religion. I look at religion differently than others and for so long there was an agnostic quality to my beliefs yet I have since found religion and having that said this paper will focus on the relationship with the divine, the relationship of sacred time, the relationship with the natural world or that sacred place, and finally the relationship with each other. Why is it that we have one true thing in common amongst the topics it is a relationship status that starts with a belief or custom. Having a relationship is to partner or relate too something or someone. Is that all religion is, a relationship with similar people over a similar belief or custom. What is divine and how would someone have a relationship with the divine? Divine is simply put as pertaining to God or a supreme being or devoted to a god (www.Dictionary.com). So an individual may have a relationship with divine on a daily, weekly, monthly, or annual basis. I myself have relationship with my lord and savior Jesus Christ in the form of Christianity while others may have different god or Supreme Being they follow. Religious customs and beliefs differ in so many ways just in general and with different sects preaching what’s right or wrong is only...
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...should people do with their old cultural ways when they become Christians, and how should the church respond to African traditional beliefs and practices? Mainly the gospel is preached to people who already have a system of beliefs and practices that make sense to them, about the worldview and about ultimate realities. The Adventist Church must discourage this practice and help church members to follow the biblical principles. The Adventist members are wrestling with the conflict between African traditional beliefs and Adventist biblical beliefs. Since the church has not adequately addressed these problems, the danger of syncretism can easily undermine true Christian living....
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...100-word response to each question: Group 1: Asian Americans 1) Describe your assumptions, beliefs, and perceptions about members of this group. I often assume that Asian Americans are very intelligent and successful. I often belief that they are very peaceful and logical. If someone asked me what religion I thought they may be, I would probably say Buddhism. I have always believed in many of Buddha’s quotes, and admire the respect, meditation, and peacefulness of the culture. I never assume what country or area of Asia they are from, because I am unaware of the differences. 2) When you think about working professionally with members of this group, are there traits, characteristics, or other issues about the group that you would be curious about, concerned about, or intimidated by? Why would understanding diversity issues be important to you as a human services worker? Their own therapeutic beliefs can affect the agencies therapeutic response. The differences in beliefs can challenge the organization to find the proper resources and assistance for the clients. However, just because their race is Asian American, does not mean they would not have customs of an American citizen. It is important not to assume or create stereotypes when dealing with our diverse society. It is important not to “overrate” or “underrate” any individual, and their beliefs and values. Being able to understand a client that is of Asian descent...
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...Hume, Enquiry Concerning Human Understanding SECTION V: Skeptical Solution of these Doubts Skeptical Philosophy Philosophical Therapy Hellenistic schools of philosophy sought tranquility They engaged in philosophy not so much in the pursuit of truth or meaning or justification, but in pursuit of relief from various types of anxiety Stoics for example, sought tranquility through removing dissatisfaction (a state in which the world does not fit with one’s desires), and they did philosophy to show that the way to do this is not by trying to change the world to fit our desires but by trying to change our minds/desires to fit the world. Epicureans sought tranquility through the stability of a moderately pleasurable life that avoids extremes of pleasure and pain, and they used philosophy to undermine sources of anxiety and motivation for seeking extremes--e.g., the fear of death and the desire to please the gods. Philosophical ‘Rationalizations’ Hume observes that most philosophy (and religion) are subject to a certain ‘inconvenience.’ This inconvenience is that while they promote the perfection of our manners and the cultivation of wisdom they really serve to foster certain ‘predominant inclinations.’ I think this is essentially making the point that philosophies are frequently used to ‘rationalize’ our preconceptions, biases, prejudices, etc. Academic Philosophy The one philosophy that is not subject to this inconvenience is that of academic skepticism, since...
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...The traditional economy Drawbacks | Benefits | Division of labourPeaceful society Customs and traditionsLand is shared by all the tribeSimple | Poor – no surplusNo technologySurvivalNo changeDisappear Exists in some parts of Asia, South America and Africa | Traditional economy is a type of economy wherein customs and even beliefs of the people in every generation is highly emphasized. This is an economic system wherein all the resources are effectively and completely allocated based on its inheritance. This greatly differs from the modern economy that is currently experienced today be the people. This is an economic system is a very constant and comprehensive and greatly manifest highly developed economy that is rich in culture, beliefs, and traditions. This traditional economy has its own advantages and disadvantages that people in order for the people to know its big difference from other types of economic systems all over the world. ADVANTAGES: Production of goods for people’s survival Traditional economy is more of producing goods along with essential services that would greatly help for the survival of the people. This economic system supplies sufficient amount of foods to the people. Therefore, surplus or any wastage of these resources is not evident in this type of economy. Knowing people’s role In this particular economy, people can already recognize what their role in the society or community is. They need not to exert effort on a role which is not suitable...
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...and/ or ethnocentrism through the use of sociological imagination while exploring the body rituals and customs used by Nacirema (American) Tribes. Introduction Anthropologists strive every day to employ culturally relative methods to their research, and have made great strides in the understanding of foreign cultures and societies. We must also, however, notice that these ethnocentric interpretations are sometimes more accurate than we can imagine. Cultural relativism is crucial to our understanding of unknown people and cultures. Without it, we are subject to misinterpretation and incorrect assumptions, which is exactly what Miner was trying to tell us. Being able to subjectively take a step back from the safety and comfort of our own well placed and overtly understood glass houses, while acknowledging that to know another culture requires a full understanding of that cultures beliefs and motivations. Given our normal every day rituals, we interpret what we do or say as the truth, despite the fact the different people have different cultures binding and guiding them as their norms. Therefore, the diversity can be just as surprising for the outsider, as perhaps it is for us at times. The author (Minor, 1956) details his script while using qualitative research methodology of the Nacierma (American) people and their explicit body rituals and beliefs through humorous observations and cleverly defined language defaults. He thoughtfully defines our ideologies...
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...Hunter Moore 4/2/18 Religion 140-609Field Experience Essay How the Demographics of Messianic Judaism Influence How It’s Practiced A common assertion among Gentiles, non-Jewish people, is that Judaism pertains to primarily Orthodox Judaism. Contrarily, Judaism is not confined to a single form and is manifested in many different ways in present day America. One of these sects is Messianic Judaism. The belief that Jesus is the Messiah differentiates Messianic Judaism from other forms of the religion. An average Messianic Jewish congregation is composed of a large demographic of people that come from both traditional Jewish heritage and non-Jewish backgrounds. This variety in background and demographic produces a discrepancy in how the congregation...
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...Ethics and morality are synonymous terms, both meaning customs in each of their original languages, Greek and Latin. However, the term “ethics” also implies character than its counterpart referring to social customs. Ethics is a characteristic of a group within its social context typically expressed in its attitudes, habits or beliefs. Another definition is to be ethical is “to conform to accepted standards consistent with the agreed principles of correct moral conduct.” Morality is defined as a criteria that determine whether a specific act under defined conditions is right (moral), wrong (immoral). Morals and ethics do not necessarily reflect moral truth, but instead they relate to societies, culture, and even personal conditions. Ethics and morality are two different concepts but relate together lead to the same end. The outcome we want is a society of excellence to live and to leave for future generations. Will discuss how ethics and morals in our society have been deteriorating over time. Ethics are the acts ,which man performs in a conscious and free of expression and being, merely in the simple fact of seeing how these acts are preformed , but seeks to judge a point of view on these and for determining whether an act is ethically right or ethically wrong. The beliefs and moral values and customs that dictates actions and way of life of the people toward good, and it is the set of beliefs that distinguish between good and bad. Humans historically, have done good deeds and...
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...Ethics and morality are synonymous terms, both meaning customs in each of their original languages, Greek and Latin. However, the term “ethics” also implies character than its counterpart referring to social customs. Ethics is a characteristic of a group within its social context typically expressed in its attitudes, habits or beliefs. Another definition is to be ethical is “to conform to accepted standards consistent with the agreed principles of correct moral conduct.” Morality is defined as a criteria that determine whether a specific act under defined conditions is right (moral), wrong (immoral). Morals and ethics do not necessarily reflect moral truth, but instead they relate to societies, culture, and even personal conditions. Ethics and morality are two different concepts but relate together lead to the same end. The outcome we want is a society of excellence to live and to leave for future generations. Will discuss how ethics and morals in our society have been deteriorating over time. Ethics are the acts ,which man performs in a conscious and free of expression and being, merely in the simple fact of seeing how these acts are preformed , but seeks to judge a point of view on these and for determining whether an act is ethically right or ethically wrong. The beliefs and moral values and customs that dictates actions and way of life of the people toward good, and it is the set of beliefs that distinguish between good and bad. Humans historically, have done good deeds and...
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...Culture A complex whole that includes knowledge, beliefs, arts, laws, morals, customs and all capabilities and habits learned by men as a result of group living. Characteristics of Culture Learned Behavior Socially Shared Integrated System Changes Body of Symbols Viewpoints in the study of Culture Ethnocentrism Belief that one’s culture is superior to other cultures Xenocentrism Belief that the cultures of the foreigners are better or superior to one’s culture, and that the products, style of life and ways of living of other people are better than one’s culture Cultural Relativism Belief that different cultures should be understood in their own context and that different cultures have their own functions for the people Functions of Culture It provides guidelines and perceptions of the person’s reality and meaning to the individual existence It tells the person his role in the society and universe It provides people knowledge, values, norms and beliefs to help the society survive and with the ways of dealing with its basic problems Components of Culture Non Material – non-tangible aspects Knowledge – set of absolute or objective info that is shared and learned by people in a society Beliefs – are convictions of the realities of things an d events composed of assumptions, basic orientations and worldview on how to interpret and understand realities Values – define the quality of things whether desirable or not, good or bad, ugly or beautiful Social Norms...
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...the practice of any religion has transcended above from era to era there are numerous practices, which occur today. The outside appearances of religions for example structures, artifacts, and rituals will illustrate how each religion contains their own attributes that differs from other forms of religion. Although, in some characteristics of worship, especially in the sense of spiritual occurrences all religions do share similar essentials in their faith that progresses beyond any individual’s everyday learnings, and it is impossible to be illustrated through language. According to Molloy “scholars that individuals ordinarily call religions manifest to some point following the eight elements” (Molloy, 2013). These eight elements are a belief system, community, central myths, ritual, ethics, material expression, and of course sacredness. Each element is practiced and displayed in different ways and times (Molloy, 2013). In Catholicism there are rites that are essential and traditional in order to become a catholic; individuals can start as young as infancy parents will baptize their children to be a child of God, other sacraments include...
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...His In Ian Strachan's "The Power of the Dead: African Beliefs and Rituals in the Bahamas" he declares that Christianity is the primary and most endorsed religion of the state and emphasizes that The Bahamas is a Christian nation. However, he argues that "something else has shaped the Bahamian religious experience, vision of life and death, and how the phases of life should be celebrated, mourned, marked and masked". He illustrates this by using the example of Christmas and New Year's , which are two of the most religious days of the Protestant year-- he goes on to describe how "thousands of Bahamians gather to beat African drums, mask themselves and dance in an event which has nothing to do with Christ: Junkanoo". Consequently, the author asserts that we are more content and easily accepting of our European antecedents of Bahamian cultural practice rather than the African. Despite adopting many African derived practices such as socializing, speaking, healing and cooking, references to Africa elicit embarrassment and condemnation by numerous Bahamians. Subsequently, Strachan unveils the African roots of many Bahamian practices pertaining to death, the dead and the relation to the living. He illustrates this by proving that many Bahamian beliefs about the aforementioned originated from African tradition, have spread across the Diaspora and some are still being practiced today in spite of evolution. Conversely, in the sixth chapter in "Bahamian Society After Emancipation"...
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... tradition and religion. Both countries share a common religion: Islam. Moreso, there are plenty of other religions in Lebanon. Islam is portrayed in more strict and conservative way in Saudi Arabia. In Saudi Arabia, religion plays a huge role in culture, traditions, and even politics. Religion is used as a way of living more than just a belief. For example, religion is tied in with women’s right and politics. No matter what religion they practice, women have to be covered from head to toes even if they were tourists visiting the country. It is the law. According to the editor Tore Kjeilen, “Officially Muslims constitute 100% of the population, but considering the considerable expatriate community, 90% is a better estimate. Even among citizens, there are non-Muslims, the Isma'ilisare classified and generally considered Muslim, but their faith does no longer share the common concepts with Muslims in general, hence LookLex classifies this as an independent religion.” In other words, the Islamic way of life and values are enforced upon the citizens, visitors making it hard to violate the laws in Saudi Arabia. The tradition and customs became a part of the law...
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...cultures not just one single culture. Some cultures similar in ways as well as differ. This can be seen when cultures religions and customs are compared. Values and beliefs are what separate cultures apart from each other and bring them together in a way. What comes to mind first is religion and how different cultures have different religions. Such as someone who comes from a Jewish religion isn’t going to have the same practices as someone who comes from a Christian religion. With that being said, Judaism and Christianity share many aspects, including a common heritage and their look on the Old Testament, there is a fundamental division over Jesus identity and the implies for how Gods working his plan for mankind. I’m sure this all goes back through anthropology and how their cultures diverted from each other. However we see a lot of these culture religious beliefs in our everyday life. I have friends in my group of friends who are Jewish and Christian so I personally have seen culture differences. But it doesn’t make a difference because we are all still friends it just shows how religion has changed through the years and that no matter what socially its acceptable to associate with other people from different religions, no matter the beliefs. Culture is what sets diversity, because it’s what creates humans and groups whether it is religion or beliefs or even race. Human behavior can be misunderstood and indeed predicted if we know a person’s way of living. We Americans have patterns...
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...Foundations Questions Micaela Diaz-Period 5 1. What is the definition of religion and what do we use in our lives to try to understand it? The definition of religion can be an organized collection of beliefs, cultural systems, and worldviews that relate to humanity to understand the supernatural and spirituality. Religion can also be defined as the human notions regarding the sacred, numinous, spiritual and divine. We use many things to try and understand religion such as scriptures, sacred texts, religious traditions or customs and various other practices. 2. When examining scriptural writings, what kinds of forms do they come in, and what were they generally used for? Scriptural writings came in several forms such as texts and books like the Bible or the Quran, scrolls such as the Dead Sea Scrolls or the Torah. They also came in wall writings such as the Egyptian pictographic Hieroglyphs and many other forms of scrolls, books, papers, or pictures. They are generally used for the worship of a deity or deities, to recount or retell the events of a specific religion or religious foundation, or they tell of deity or deities pertaining to that religion. Scriptural writings can also be used for understanding the articles of faith, moralities, and ethics of that religion, or rules that one must abide by and follow. Scriptural writings can also be written in a way where the reader learns lessons through the sacred text, through stories or prophecies or anything of the...
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