An Analysis of Religions on Earth: Are Earth People Religious?
An Analysis of Religions on Earth: Are Earth People Religious?
Donna FalkenburgREL212 Living Religions
Professor Charles Hall
5/5/13
I was sent to Earth to determine if Earth people are religious. During my time on Earth, I have observed that many of Earth’s people are religious and although there are many different types of religions, they show three different behaviors that are shown in many religions. The criteria I used to see if Earth’s people were religious or not were whether or not the people used religion in their daily lives, what they did to follow their chosen religions and if they passed on their knowledge to others about their religion. I found that there were three different behaviors that the people of Earth followed. They were; if they prayed, if the people used sacrifices and what kind of sacrifices did they use, and what kind of rituals, if any, did they use.
The first religion that I observed was Hinduism. Fisher (2011) states that “common people observe many days of fasting and prayer, corresponding to auspicious points in the lunar and solar cycles or times of danger.” (p.103 -104). For rituals, a Hindu’s life consists of rituals. Hinduism has 16 rites that are used to purify and sanctify a person in their journey through life. As for Hinduism, I did not notice any sacrifices. I did notice that Hindus usually have a shrine with pictures or small statues, or they have a prayer room set aside for worship. For the second religion, I observed Jainism. From my observations of the people of this religion, or as known as “jains”, this religion teaches according to Fisher(2011) that “the humans are imperfect but also hold promise if they maintain complete and careful control of their senses and thoughts, we can attain perfection, freedom, and happiness”(p.121). For praying, jains have temples includes images of Tirthankara, who are the teachers of Jainism. I have noticed that these people are non violent, practice strict
Donna FalkenburgREL212 Living Religions
Professor Charles Hall
5/5/13
I was sent to Earth to determine if Earth people are religious. During my time on Earth, I have observed that many of Earth’s people are religious and although there are many different types of religions, they show three different behaviors that are shown in many religions. The criteria I used to see if Earth’s people were religious or not were whether or not the people used religion in their daily lives, what they did to follow their chosen religions and if they passed on their knowledge to others about their religion. I found that there were three different behaviors that the people of Earth followed. They were; if they prayed, if the people used sacrifices and what kind of sacrifices did they use, and what kind of rituals, if any, did they use.
The first religion that I observed was Hinduism. Fisher (2011) states that “common people observe many days of fasting and prayer, corresponding to auspicious points in the lunar and solar cycles or times of danger.” (p.103 -104). For rituals, a Hindu’s life consists of rituals. Hinduism has 16 rites that are used to purify and sanctify a person in their journey through life. As for Hinduism, I did not notice any sacrifices. I did notice that Hindus usually have a shrine with pictures or small statues, or they have a prayer room set aside for worship. For the second religion, I observed Jainism. From my observations of the people of this religion, or as known as “jains”, this religion teaches according to Fisher(2011) that “the humans are imperfect but also hold promise if they maintain complete and careful control of their senses and thoughts, we can attain perfection, freedom, and happiness”(p.121). For praying, jains have temples includes images of Tirthankara, who are the teachers of Jainism. I have noticed that these people are non violent, practice strict
References: Fisher, M.P. (2011) Living religions (8th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson. National Geographic Society, (1971) Great religions of the world. National Geographic Book Service, Simon and Schuster, (1966) Three ways of Asian wisdom, Hinduism, Buddhism, Zen, and their significance for the West. by Ross, Nancy Wilson. 1901-1986. .