WORLD RELIGIONS Paper

Kelsey Strohoefer
World Religions
Reflection Paper
November 24, 2014

Throughout this semester I have learned a great deal about different kinds of religions around the world. Within the variety of religions we have learned about this semester, there were so many different concepts and beliefs that came from each and every one of them. Although one might be extremely similar to the next, not one religion was exactly the same as the other; there was always something that would differentiate them from each other. Even though I did enjoy learning about each different religion, my favorite religions had to be Hinduism, Buddhism and Judaism. These were my favorite religions we learned about this semester because in each of these three religions there was either some sort of concept or belief that I could relate to and apply to my own life. But if I, personally, did not or could not due to my own religious beliefs, I could understand why these other people would choose to practice the concept of their belief.

I find Hinduism to be absolutely appealing on so many different levels. It starts with the longevity factor; Hinduism is over 4,000 years old, with over 900 million followers. So now we know that is a major religion with a serious amount of followers around the world. Now, what makes it really interesting is the fact that it is not based on any single founder, teacher or scripture. This is what makes it very interesting to me, it is not based on idols, god like figures and stories that were told so many times that their true origin constantly comes into question. Hindu’s believe in a universal eternal soul, cosmic energy called Brahman, which is present in everything. All living things have an Atman, which is the individual self/spirit that is immortal. In Hinduism, existence is a cycle of birth, death, and rebirth, which is governed by karma. Karma is the law of cause and effect. What makes Hinduism meaningful to me is the fact that it is almost based on a common sense approach. Personally, I have always believed in karma. And how I see it is if you do something good, something good is bound to happen to you. Likewise, if you do something bad, you can definitely count on something bad coming your way. Hinduism, unlike most major religions is not based on a mythical God who performs all these miracles that are, quite honestly, hard to believe. Then when you do some research and find out that the recordings of these events weren’t even written until 40-80 years after the event. You then begin to question how accurate these stories were in the first place.

The second religion I chose was Buddhism, because I like the fact that it is based on simple concepts; be happy. According to Buddhism the purpose of life is to just simply be happy. From the moment of birth, every human being wants happiness, and does not want suffering. Happiness and suffering are divided into two categories: mental and physical. Surprisingly, out of the two it is the mind that exerts the most influence on us. Our physical condition plays a secondary role in life, unless of course we have a serious illness that is truly debilitating. But it still comes back to the fact that the more we care for the happiness of others, the greater our own sense of well-being becomes. You can most certainly say that is all comes down to our need to love and be loved. Take a moment to reflect on world peace through the eyes of Buddhism. The world as we know it certainly begins to look a lot different and differently a lot better. One of the main appeals of Buddhism to me is the fact we, as a culture, or even as humanity need to take a human approach to world peace. I am simply speaking as a human being when I say that universal humanitarianism is essential to solving global problems. We have already proven time and time again that the current combative personalities do not get us anywhere. Compassion truly needs to be the pillar of world peace. Most world religions are already for world peace in this manner, as are all humanitarian, no matter their ideology. Each individual has universal responsibility to shape institutions to serve human needs. So many of the world’s problems today are the result of misunderstandings that could have easily been avoided through the Buddhist approach. Personally, I am all about the world peace and a strong believer of being able to solve conflicts without going to war, this is why Buddhism seems to fascinate me the most.

What you really must respect about Judaism is their fierce loyalty and refusal to be beaten. Whether you talk about how the Babylonians invaded their land around 580B.C., destroyed their temple and carried off most of the citizens. After the exile, the Jews returned and rebuilt the temple. Or in the 1800’s in Eastern Europe when the Zionism movement advocated the return of the Jews to Palestine. Again, they reunite. Then the worst of all was the Holocaust, during the 1930’s and 1940’s European Jews faced persecution by the Nazi’s, 6 million Jews were killed in concentration camps alone. Indeed, the Nazi’s were out to eradicate the Jewish population. But again, the survived and became all the more stronger from it. Another fascinating aspect of Judaism is the way they have the Torrah, which is the written law, believed to be handed down to Moses on Mt. Sinai. The torah contains 613 laws to be followed. The scrolls are sacred, and as such, cannot be touched by human hands. But unlike most other religions, they also have the Talmud, or, the oral law. This is the explanations and comments by the Rabbi’s about Jewish law, ethics, custom, and history. I am fascinated by the fact that as sacred as they hold the Torah, they allow it to virtually be updated or reinterpreted on a constant basis through the Talmud. I just think that this shows how special this religion really is. I also am deeply moved by the significance of the menorah, which is essentially the candelabra, with seven branches to hold seven candles. The purpose of this is to signify the seven days of creation. I just applaud them for taking their stance and acknowledging their beliefs on a regular basis. This is something I can relate to because I pray every night before I go to bed, to talk and thank my personal God.

This semester learning all the different types of religions around the world, really opened my eyes from thinking that it was just Christianity that existed. Although, I must say I do struggle with separating each religion because of the close similarities to one another. Overall I am truly happy I took this course it taught me more about diversity than I think I have ever learned. After learning about all these different religions I now often wish that I can take pieces of each religion and create my own.