...Religion and Culture Final Exam Hinduism, Islam (mainstream and Sufism) and Sikhism are complex and fascinating with its diverse culture and rich history. Although all have individual beliefs and practices, the way they all engage with their community hold some similarities. These faiths all have some type of worship and have some form of hospitality that they carry through their community and is dictated by their beliefs. From an outsider’s point of view, Hindus are seen as those in India who worship many gods in the form of idols and wear colorful clothing. After visiting a Hindu temple, I view them as an open and welcoming community who value the Hindu traditions and practices, and the act of charity and hospitality. To Hindus, their temples are open to anyone who wants to visit. They hold many things, acts, and behaviors sacred as they perform devotional rituals in the temple. Hindus often participate in worship and charity-giving to engage those within and outside the Hindu community. The most common worship ritual is puja. In puja, the devotees and the priest gather to give their offerings to the deities. Within puja, there is a series of devotional practices and behaviors when one engages in it. Darsan is the act of seeing and being seen by the deities. This is done with the use of murti, a material in which a deity is embodied in (Rodrigues, 227). To see and be seen by the sacred is to be in their presence of the divine and receive their blessings. This practice also...
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...Culture and language are, in many cases, synonymous. Often times, culture breeds language. Throughout my youth, I have had the enriching opportunity of growing up in a cultural environment. This is an experience that has given me many valuable tools and skills. There are two cultural artifacts linked to this page. These artifacts illustrate the effect that culture has on language. The cultural foundation in my childhood, and the language associated with it, instilled me with strength, moral correctness, and just principles. My first artifact is a sound clip of me playing two Djembe (jim-bay) drums, a Dun Dun (doon-doon) drum, and a Kenken bell. This sound clip was produced years ago – I was recorded in layers to give the illusion that there were four musicians. The “cultural community,” as its members often refer to it, consists of blacks who are in touch with their traditional African roots (specifically west-African). Fourteen years ago, west-African percussion was in its prime; I was lucky enough to grow up around the major players. Yet, this community and form of music had an exclusive language. Conversations with Djembe players were often nonsensical to anyone outside of the community. The English used by members of the cultural community was a Creole of traditional concepts, words from west-African languages, and Djembe music terms. This situation was intensified by the fact that west-African music is polyrhythmic and incapable of being written. For example, a Djembe...
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...Religion, Culture, and Death The five religions discussed during this week’s seminar have many similarities, and just as many differences, in relation to their specific views on death, dying, bereavement and grieving. Judaism, Christianity, Islam, Hinduism and Buddhism all contain their own system of beliefs and traditions that members use in order to deal with impending death. Judaism is the oldest of the three monotheistic religions that stems from the Middle East and follows the teachings of Abraham and Moses. Judaism believes that death was a direct consequence of Adam and Eve eating from the forbidden “Tree of Conscience” (Leming, 2011). There are several branches of Judaism throughout the world: Orthodox Judaism, Hasidism, Neo-Orthodox Judaism, Reform Judaism, Conservative Judaism, and Reconstructionist (Wilkinson, 2008). All of these sects of Judaism can have very different traditions in regard to the treatment of the deceased’s body. Under the old Jewish tradition, the body of the deceased must be buried as soon as possible after death, within twenty-four hours if possible, although the burial cannot happen on the Sabbath. Before burial, the body is washed, anointed with oils and spices, and dressed in a white linen sheet after which it is buried in Jewish consecrated ground. More contemporary Jews are more likely to choose cremation over burial. Jews have a multi-tiered morning practice. For the first seven days after the death...
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...It’s obvious that Quebec culture is very different form Canadian culture. Quebec is a unique culture due to its primary language being French and their history of language and religion. In my essay I’m going to explain the impact of language and religion on the Quebec culture. The differences language has made in the Quebec culture is enormous. Language differentiated the Anglophone and American owners to not unionized French workers. In the reading Canadian Studies in the New Millennium, they show an example of the French/English divide in Canada. Two Solitudes, is a novel about contemporary Montreal and Quebec. It shows how the literacy and pop culture of both languages are the parallel, yet rarely expressed as together in film, literature...
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...Role of religion in human culture Anthropologists define religion as a cultural universal that encompasses beliefs and behavior concerned with supernatural beings, powers and forces (Kottak, 2013). Even though it is a human universal, the rules of religion vary from culture to culture. Even within the major religious traditions, there may be a great many variations. Methodist traditions are different from Baptists who are widely different from Catholic tradition. Signs of religion date back as far as sixty to one hundred thousand years. Prior to the Neanderthals there were no signs of religion. Neanderthals were the first to bury their dead, suggesting a belief in an afterlife. Religion serves many different functions in society. First and foremost, it provides an answer to universal questions humans have. These questions are: What am I? Where do I come from and where do I go? What is death? What happens when I die? Why do bad things happen? What is the meaning of life? Religion can provide a sense of comfort and security to people as it provides explanations for events that are outside of people’s control. It also can establish and “maintain social control through a series of moral and ethical beliefs along with real or imagined rewards and punishments. (Kottak, 2013)” For most religious people, their beliefs are the very core of their world views. These believes also are important in defining humans’ ideas of what is right and wrong. If one does the right...
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...Table of contents Introduction…………………………………………………..3 African Traditional Religion……………………………….5 Christianity, Islam…………………………………………..6 Influences of Religion on African Culture……………….6 Conclusion……………………………………………………13 References…………………………………………………...14 Introduction Africa is a continent of diversity. In this diversity there are hundreds of tribes and communities each practicing its own culture and religion. It would be very difficult to define Africa’s traditional religion as it would be difficult to define its culture. More so, it is extremely difficult to establish the dividing line between African Culture and African Religion. However, as much as there were many African Traditional Religions, their similarities were more dominant than their differences. We take up these similarities and encompass them as one African Traditional Religion. In this report, we explore the important aspects of Africa’s Traditional Religions and cultures that cut across the entire continent. This essay is based on various researches done by prominent scholars, historical background of Africa, news and books relevant to African studies. This report attempts to define religion, culture, and explores the major religions, African Traditional Religion (ATR), Christianity and Islam and their influence and impact on African culture. Africa is one of the World’s six continents. It is the second largest and second most populous...
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...Roughly 76.7% of Americans report themselves as having a religious belief. Religion can sway personal values, create bias against people of a different religion or person that doesn’t have a religious belief and challenges ethical standards. Even though most Americans are religious, religion in the professional lives of social workers and the treatment of their clients should not be permitted or used. Is wanting to help and provided for others instinct or a learned behavior? Some believe the concept of helping others is thought not to be an instinct but something that is taught through the church and having religion. The earliest records we have showing of social welfare concepts is Early Egyptian. Book of the Dead is the holy book of early...
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...In the course of history, beliefs and religion have played a major role in ancient civilizations. Beliefs and rituals have considerably influenced people in many ways and are also shown today with religion becoming a major factor in our daily lives especially in how we might act and think. Significantly, ceremonies and rituals were demonstrated mainly in ancient societies that it can be considered as extreme practices. These customs are all unique and different to each civilization that it depicts a large portion of how people lived, which were mainly based off of their beliefs. To emphasize, the ancient civilizations of the Egyptians, Greeks, and the Aztecs, all have notable rituals in their society that it has a significant portrayal of how we might recognize and resonate their culture with....
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...Religion in the Southern Slaveholding Culture In the 1800’s Frederick Douglass wrote the Narrative of The Life of Frederick Douglass which reveals his point of view on the ironic use of religion in a slavery centered culture. One way he showed this was through his own religious beliefs and those of his owners. He carried this topic over to the appendix when he specifies the difference in how one’s morals can change their point of view on a subject. First, Douglass had a firm foundation in Christ that opened his eyes to those that surrounded him. But he questioned God ,”O God, save me! God, deliver me! Let me be free! Is there any God? Why am I a slave? I will run away. I will not stand it”(Douglass 38). He wondered why God made him a slave, but had faith that he would not be born a slave and die one too. “ I love the pure, peaceable, and impartial Christianity of Christ:...”(Douglass 71). This shows that even in the great trails throughout his life he still stood strong in his beliefs and had faith....
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...Admittedly when I was younger I hadn’t planned on studying media and sociology at university, my dreams went along the lines of stardom with world domination ensue. However in the summer of 2012 I participated on the Challenge which allowed me to work on a project where I created a documentary to keep the community center of Rostwarg from being shut down and running as the heart of its community. The project opened a whole new world to me; I'd always been somewhat aware of the the power of the media but the project allowed me to experience it first hand. It gave me a chance to make a contribution in a way I wouldn’t initially have thought of. The challenge also brought a new sense of leadership and intuitiveness within me. Ultimately the experience helped me make the decision to study media for my A levels, along with sociology and film. I follow the doctrine that learning something in the classroom is good and all but what matters is applying it to everyday life and that’s what I did last summer. Throughout July I became somewhat of an activist as I joined protests, demonstrations and marches in opposition of the injustices involving Palestine- the experience renewed my passion for media and sociology. With media and sociology behind my belt for a levels I began questioning why there was hardly any media coverage of what we were doing? Who were the media protecting by not highlighting the dissatisfaction people felt? Who was befitting from the lack of attention? Certainly...
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...Associate Level Material Appendix D Indigenous Culture Web Site Review Template |Question |Response | |Web site 1 URL: | | | |http://www.nativeplanet.org/indigenous/pech/pechreligion.htm | | | | |Name of Indigenous | | |culture/religion presented in |Pech culture | |Web site | | |Consider the examples of roles| | |and observances held sacred by|None of the roles and observances are being kept alive today. The church has banned them and deemed | |these people. Is this practice|them witchcraft. These people can not follow their old faith without persecution. | |being kept alive? | ...
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...Essay Fitzgerald argues strongly that the study of religion does not improve our understanding of societies, but labels them into the structures we associate with Western Christianity. He also argues that religion is not a distinctive phenomenon and should not have its own analytical category. He raises the question of whether or not there is a systematic way of distinguishing between the secular and the non-secular. He also raises the question of whether or not there is a fixed definition of the term religion, if that term is imbued in Western Christian bias, and the confusions that result in this analytically empty but ideologically loaded term. This term is used in so many different contexts that it has no clear meaning. Fitzgerald says that “the word ‘religion’ is analytically redundant and even misleading” (Fitzgerald 5), because religion refers to a “belief in gods or the supernatural” (Fitzgerald 5), and it was of “traditional European usage” (5). Fitzgerald claims that people have “self-consciously attempted to transform the meaning of religion…and extend it as a cross-cultural category” (Fitzgerald 5). The problem is that people have been incorrectly labeling cross-cultural categories under one term ‘religion,’ that imbues Western Christian views that do not accurately reflect the principles of many cultures. According to Fitzgerald, “working with the blurred and yet ideologically loaded concept of ‘religion’ as a starting point can confuse and impoverish analysis…encourage...
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...Axia College Material Appendix D Indigenous Culture Web Site Review Template Question | Response | Web site 1 URL: | http://www.religioustolerance.org/buddhism.htm | Name of Indigenous culture/religion presented in Web site | This website discussed Buddhism. | Consider the examples of roles and observances held sacred by these people. Is this practice being kept alive? | This religion is very much alive by their cultural traditions. It is the 4th largest religion in the world. The prayers and festivals still occur today as a form of keeping the religion alive. | Has the culture/religion evolved over time? | Yes! It has changed into different sects depending on locality. | If the culture/religion still lives, how has Western culture changed it? | Western culture has changed it, via trying to create one form of Buddhism. | Who authored this site? Do you think the content of the site is authentic? | B.A. Robinson. I do think this site is authentic because it uses historical quotes and citations. | Name one interesting fact you learned from this Web site. | Buddhism does not endorse the existence of the soul. Many and most major world religions, however do believe in the existence of the soul. | Question | Response | Web site 2 URL: | http://www.gnosticmedia.com/ | Name of indigenous culture/religion presented in Web site. | Agnostic | Consider the examples of roles and observances held sacred by these people. Is this practice being kept...
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...Culture & religion for a sustainable future Introduction Culture shapes the way we see the world. It therefore has the capacity to bring about the change of attitudes needed to ensure peace and sustainable development which, we know, form the only possible way forward for life on planet Earth. Today, that goal is still a long way off. A global crisis faces humanity at the dawn of the 21st century, marked by increasing poverty in our asymmetrical world, environmental degradation and short-sightedness in policy-making. Culture is a crucial key to solving this crisis. Source: Preface, World Culture Report, UNESCO Publishing, Paris, 1999. Our cultural values, which often include particular religious beliefs, shape our way of living and acting in the world. Module 11 on Indigenous Knowledge and Sustainability explores the importance of indigenous values and spirituality in providing guidance for sustainable living. Such principles and values encourage a spirit of harmony between people, their natural environments and their spiritual identities. The principles for living sustainably that flow from these and other cultural and religious beliefs vary between groups and countries. They have also changed over time as circumstances demand. Despite this diversity, many principles for living sustainably are shared, not only among indigenous peoples, but also between different religious traditions. This module explores the role of culture and religion in providing guidance on ways...
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...Two Cultures: Bridging the Gap with Etic and Emic Viewpoint Culture is defined as a learned system of beliefs, feelings, and rules for living through which they organize their lives. Culture is a way of life that is passed from one generation to the next, and societies within the culture are guided by their learned system of beliefs, feelings, and rules for living. Within the customs of their culture, people within society are taught that they share some common understandings with one another. Being taught the customs, members of society are expected to follow the traditional customs of the group. Cultural relativism recognizes that different cultures have distinct social trajectories, or chosen paths (Carpo, 2013). In understanding a specific custom within a culture, it is important to view the culture from an outside perspective (etic). This is exactly what I will demonstrate within the first section of this paper while expanding and discovering another culture from an inside perspective (emic) which shows how even though customs are different within various cultures a different viewpoint can illuminate the entire picture and bridge the gap between both cultures – the Aboriginals and African Americans. Part I – Religion and the African American Culture among Other Things Religion and the Black Church in African American society, in regards to the socio-cultural, economic and political issues of the 20th century, has branched the African American experience of mere individual...
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