...and differences between the different major religions of the eastern and western hemispheres. Regardless of what your belief is in some ways the religions between the east and west will most certainly be similar and different on certain spiritual ideas. Let us look at the different views on life and death in respect to the western religions such as Judaism, Christianity, and Islam compared to the eastern religions Buddhism and Hinduism. The western outlook on life and death is that you only get one chance or one go around compared to the eastern outlook of reincarnation. In western religions the goal of after life is to for the soul to be released from the body and the the self remains the same self through eternity. In the Eastern religions the goal of after life is to be released from ignorance, and ultimately, loss of self and merger with the Divine. So just on the outlook from the respected religions we can see the differences between them. Now we shall look at some of the similarities between the same religions between the eastern and western hemispheres. We can first look at the nature of reality for all of these religions they believe that there is more to reality than the things of this world. The soul is immortal, deathless, and eternal either merging with god, or living forever in god’s presence. For all of these religions salvation is through strict obedience to god’s will. With all of these religions eastern and western with the exception of buddhism they do believe...
Words: 307 - Pages: 2
...Unit 10 Assignment 1-Comparing Eastern & Western Religions HUM3300 Global Multiculturalism & Religions Capella University Professor John Benson Antoinette Leidy September 11, 2013 Metanarrative- Eastern Religions can draw some common threads in both the Myths of Nature and the Myths of Harmony. The Myths of Nature center from those religions coming out of India where as the Myths of Harmony would be more China based. The idea is that our souls come from a home or a place of paradise in which we are content. Our souls are immortal and happy. Something then occurs that changes and removes our souls from this state. Our souls begin to want something they can only get from a material world and a physical body. So we are now put into bodies and forced to make our own choices between good and evil. These decisions will force our souls to deal with their own karma. It is believed that if our souls follow the Dharma, which is a structure of good and bad, they can learn to improve their state for rebirth and will enjoy that in lives to come. The goal of each journey is moksha which will bring Nirvana. Western Religions are tied together because the share a Myth of Liberation with the story of Exodus. The story is told in both the Old Testament of the Bible as well as in the Hebrew Bible and Qur’an. This story depicts the people of Israel, who were descendants of Abraham, being held in slavery by the Egyptians. It is described in the story that God helped...
Words: 922 - Pages: 4
... | | |HUM/130 Version 6 | | |Religions of the World | Copyright © 2009, 2007, 2006 by University of Phoenix. All rights reserved. Course Description This course studies the major religions of the world. Topical areas include Buddhism, Christianity, Confucianism, Hinduism, Indigenous Cultures, Islam, Judaism, and Taoism. Students will be objectively studying the origins and major figures and comparing and contrasting each of the major religions. During this course each student will visit a religious site and interview a person of an unfamiliar faith. Policies Faculty and students/learners will be held responsible for understanding and adhering to all policies contained within the following two documents: University policies: You must be logged into the student website to view...
Words: 2195 - Pages: 9
...Maldonado REL/ 133 July 23, 2012 Astrid Fiano Elements of Religious Traditions Religion is the most volatile and controversial word in the world. When people say the word [religion] they are invoking a strong batch of feelings, beliefs, and traditions that people are so connected to it that they are willing to die for it. Religion is a complicated system of beliefs, ideas, doctrines, ethics all proselytized by a complex system of structures and organizations. However, complicated religion may be, there are strong structural similarities between the majority of religions and some that are universal. These similar structures within religions around the world indicate that religion has the same purpose for all those who follow it, regardless of the form of religion that they follow. To show the purpose of religion, this paper will compare and contrast the Catholic Church and Eastern Orthodox Church in particular what their religious tradition says, what their religious tradition practices and how their particular church is organized. A person may be tempted to consider various forms of monotheism to find similar structures within them but Christianity alone has many different forms of practice within it. However many forms of practices in Christianity the ultimate purpose of any religion is to provide an explanation for the unknown like death, space, and the ultimate unknown our origin. Religion tries to provide explanations to these unknowns by establishing religious traditions...
Words: 947 - Pages: 4
...Book Review Summary of Ancient Near Eastern Thought and the Old Testament by John H. Walton Chapter 1 Chapter 1 is Walton’s introduction to the discussion concerning the congruence of the Old Testament with the world surrounding it. This chapter discusses the history, methodology, and reasoning behind comparative Old Testament studies. It then concludes with the principles and goals each student should possess as he or she studies the Old Testament. His synopsis of comparative Old Testament studies begins with the resurgence of Egyptian and Mesopotamian archaeological studies during the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries.[1] He then moves on to discuss the impact of Friedrich Delitzsch’s lectures concerning how the writers of the Old Testament borrowed from extrabiblical sources set the stage for many secular ideologies removing the special revelation aspect from the Bible. This allowed two things to take place. First, it brought out the comparative study of the Bible into a critical realm; and second, it made Assyriology, Egyptology, and Hittitology serious academic disciplines which have greatly enhanced modern man’s understanding of these ancient cultures. While Walton discusses several forms of Old Testament study, his opinion favors comparative studies. He starts with explaining the reasoning for sound methodological comparative study and moves on to answer the “why” it should be performed over other studies. In his view, it expands...
Words: 4252 - Pages: 18
...Systemic functional grammar offers a systematic way of describing and analyzing the links between grammatical choice and socio-cultural context. Critical discourse analysis (CDA) is the approach which has significance in the rhetorical prospective of any texts to manipulate societal beliefs, values and expectations. Moreover, it is concerned with the ways in which texts may influence public opinion in relation to politics, economy, religion and the environment. This essay will analyze and contrast two news texts which speak about the same theme (protesters death in Turkey), but from two different perspectives (western and Eastern), by investigating patterns in the types of processes. Interpretation:...
Words: 833 - Pages: 4
...Pearlie Byrd-Lain HUMA1205A-07 UNIT 1IP Abstract This is a summary that compares and contrast the different elements or features of early Greek and Roman cultures. This summary will also have some examples of various features. The reason for the study of the Greek and Roman culture is according to (Sayre (2013) has influenced the western cultures in the in state and history. The Laws, art, commerce, and politics of the western system writing can be traced back to the two civilizations. | Greek Civilization | Roman Civilization | Geography: | Located in Eastern Mediterranean Sea | Develops from the Italian peninsula and continues throughout the Mediterranean Sea and much of Europe and the Middle East | Religion: | (Greek Pantheon)Polytheistic | Later ChristianPolytheistic (Roman Pantheon | Economics/Trade: | Depends on International trade Uses one system of currencyHave a slave society | Depends of International tradeHave slave societyMany types of CurrencyMany roads | Government: | Many different types of government throughout time1). Athens (First Democracy)2). (Sparta) Monarchy3). (Corinth, Athens, Sicyon) Tyranny | Had two forms of Government1). The Republic2). The Roman Empire | Architecture: | Temple Architecture Ionic Corinthian, Doric | Arches, Concrete & Domes | Educations | Private teachersFormal and Informal | Only the rich families went to schoolPoor still learned to read and write but not in schools | Gender issues | Men only...
Words: 262 - Pages: 2
...centered around the sexualization of everything, from cars to burgers. In contrast, research shows that one percent of the U.S population is actually celibate, meaning that quite a number of people are abstaining from marriage and other sexual relations. You might think that one percent might not be a very significant percentage, but compared to the 320 million people currently populating the United States, one percent is actually a little more than 3 million people. We decided to look at celibacy and do a cross cultural comparison within different regions around the world. We looked at nine different cultures in different parts of the world. In Southern Europe, we studied the Basques, in South Eastern Europe, we studied the Greeks, in Southern South America, we studied the Onas, in Eastern South America, we studied the Guarani and the Bahia Brazilians, in Southern Africa, we studied the Zulu, in Western Africa, we studied the Akan, in Southern Asia, we studied the Vietnamese, and lastly we briefly looked at the Monguors in Eastern Asia. In some of these cultures, celibacy seems like a very odd and unusual concept to the people, whereas in other cultures, celibacy is a cultural norm, and is practiced among the people. We will be comparing these cultures in order to determine what characteristics they share that lead to the practice of celibacy, what are the differences in their practices, and we will also compare them to cultures that disapprove the practice of celibacy. The Basques...
Words: 3112 - Pages: 13
...every holiday. Growing up it wasn’t that big of a deal to me, it was little more than a thing I did with my mother and grandmother and that was that. As I grew older, I was able to notice that, little by little, what I was taught as a child in Catechism and Church had an effect on everything I did; holidays, interactions with friends and family, views on things taught in school, and my identity in regards to those around me. It seemed like everything always came back, in one way or another, to my religious experiences as a child. I didn’t realize this, though, until I was older (late teens, early twenties) when I consciously made the decision to convert to Eastern Orthodoxy. This changed my view of self and further influenced the effect the culture of the Church had on my life (shifting from a Western view to a more Eastern one). This essay will be about how my experience with Catholic (and later Orthodox) culture can relate to Richard Rodriguez’s experiences in Late Victorians and how they effected my reading of the story. The first name mentioned in...
Words: 1037 - Pages: 5
...Integrating Technology • Assignment prompt One: Discuss the powerful movements that transformed European society during the early modern era. Briefly describe the origin of each, and how it affected society as a whole. • Assignment prompt Two: Trace the development of the slave trade. Under what circumstances did the slave trade begin? How did the Islamic Slave Trade change the existing system? How did it change again during the Atlantic Slave Trade? Finally, what impact did slave trade have on Africa and the Western world? • Assignment prompt Three: Discuss the emergence of Islam. Who was the founder and what was his background? What are the key beliefs of Islam? Compare it to other religions that existed at the time of its development. What...
Words: 1869 - Pages: 8
...lifespan I have been very fortunate to visit many countries such as Greece, Ireland, Turkey, Germany, Belgium, Italy, Amsterdam, and England. The architecture of these countries always intrigued me with the ornate, and matter of detail, unlike what we have seen in this country. Therefore, in this paper I will compare and contrast the Renaissance and Baroque period's architecture for those periods. Task A1: The Renaissance period generally covered 200 years from 1400-1600 and followed the Gothic period. The meaning of the Renaissance was “rebirth”. Two components comprised this time; (1) an interest in humanism and assertion of the individual and (2) the revival of classical forms originally from the ancient Greeks and Romans. (Renaissance Art and Architecture, 2000). Many feel that the Renaissance period started in Italy as it was a great location between Western Europe and the Eastern shores of the Mediterranean. Italian cities became the important trade and commercial centers. The Rhine, Danube and Rhone Riverways were valuable routes to transport goods. Cities grew and prospered during this period and the rulers or government learned how to tax people. Removing religion from politics was also a major change during the early Renaissance Period. The new humanists felt that humans should have control over events. They also supported causes that they believed to be justified and right. (Social and Economic Changes During the Renaissance). Unlike the Gothic period that preceded...
Words: 1183 - Pages: 5
...Using Cultural Differences to Determine Motivational Techniques Delta State University Choosing a motivational style is such an important aspect of the culture of a company. Not fully understanding the culture of a company can limit the potential success of employees substantially. Alternatively, when a manager creates a culture of both individual and collective human excellence, employee performance increases significantly. In negative, low-performing cultures, there is confusion about goals and roles, conflict among members, disempowerment, and not much listening. Examples of positive, high-performing cultures include those that have a common known goal, an open flow of communication, a passion to deliver results, and clear roles for decision making (Anderson & Anderson, 2010, p. 189). The question is: how do managers take the business culture from the negative, low-performing culture to the positive, high-performing culture? The answer is motivation! All managers must discover what motivates their employees. Managers also must consider what pushes employees to maintain higher productivity, have increased job satisfaction, meet organizational goals, and strive to be competitive in the job market today. When a leader can understand what motivates his or her employees, then employees will invest in the improvement of the company (Adler & Gunderson, 2008, p. 184). As the business world becomes more global each and every day, managers must also begin to think more...
Words: 7330 - Pages: 30
...from learning the teachings of other religions. In fact, the Buddha encouraged His followers to learn about other religions and to compare His Teachings with other teachings. The Buddha says that if there are reasonable and rational teachings. The Buddha says that if there are reasonable and rational teachings in other religions, His followers are free to respect such teachings. It seems that certain religionists try to keep their followers in the dark, some of them are not even allowed to touch other religious objects or books. They are instructed not to listen to the preachings of other religions. They are enjoined not to doubt the teachings of their own religion, however unconvincing their teachings may appear to be. The more they keep their followers on a one-track mind, the more easily they can keep them under control. If anyone of them exercises freedom of thought and realizes that he had been in the dark all the time, then it is alleged that the devil has possessed his mind. The poor man is given no opportunity to use his common sense, education, of his intelligence. Those who wish to change their views on religion are taught to believe that they are not perfect enough to be allowed to use free will in judging anything for themselves. Religious Freedom in the Context of Human Rights In a recent article that I have read,it is stated that the Human Rights speaks of "the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion." If we want to understand Buddhist...
Words: 2729 - Pages: 11
...Decline of the Roman/Han/Gupta Empires Diverse Interpretations Assignment COMPARISONS TO FOCUS ON: * The causes for the decline of the Roman, Han and Gupta Empires * Understanding of how and why the collapse of the empire was more severe in Western Europe than it was in the Asian Empires. * Comparison of the role that religions played in the declines * The impact of missionary outreach of the Christians and Buddhists in these empires RESOURCES * Upshur – “The Decline of Empires” * Stearns - Decline of Empires. * Frank Smitha - “Decline and Fall” * Johnson and Johnson – “Why Don’t Empires Last?” * Spodek – “China and Rome: How do they compare?” * Bulliet pages 168-170 and 186-189. ASSIGNMENT 1. Construct a Venn comparing and contrasting the causes for decline of the Roman, Han and Gupta empires. Information will come from the documents and not the lecture…you already wrote the lecture notes once, why write them again? Rome Han similarities Gupta 2. Write 3 comparative analytical mini-paragraphs about the decline of empires. (generalization, facts, analysis…) Remember that analysis answers the question “why?” Example: The AP World History teachers have very different tastes in beverages. Ms. Forswall likes tea while Ms. Patch likes cola. Green tea and Earl Grey are Ms. Forswall’s favorites; they taste nothing like Pepsi or Coke because soft drinks are much sweeter. Ms. Patch usually chooses a diet style of...
Words: 7121 - Pages: 29
...WHAT DO KUME KUNITAKE’S OBSERVATIONS OF THE WEST DURING HIS TRAVELS WITH THE IWAKURA EMBASSY REVEAL ABOUT JAPAN IN THE 1870S? In December 1871 the prominent Japanese minister Iwakura Tomomi led almost half of the new Meiji government (“the government”) on an embassy around the Western world. Travelling with the ‘Iwakura Embassy’ was Kume Kunitake, a Neo-Confucian scholar and historian. Employed as both Iwakura’s personal secretary and the Embassy’s recorder, Kume along with his assistant Sugiura Kozo (later Hatakeyama Yoshinari) were instructed to record what the Embassy witnessed in the West. The record they produced was to form the basis for Kume’s ‘True Account’ (‘Jikki’) of the Embassy’s ‘Journey of Observations’ (‘Kairan’). Clearly set aside from the Jikki’s narrative in indented sections are Kume’s ‘personal views and observations’ (“Kume’s observations”). Yet these are much more than mere observations. Indeed, before Kume could publish his work he required the approval of Iwakura. While this presumably encouraged Kume to toe the government line, it also gave Iwakura considerable influence over Kume. Considering that the Jikki was revised over ten times before it was approved, it seems that Iwakura fully exercised this influence. Indeed, as Kume’s observations often appear to digress from the main narrative it suggests that they were imposed into Jikki at a late stage of compilation, presumably during these revisions. This suggests that these observations were written...
Words: 3486 - Pages: 14
