The world in which we live is globalized and interconnected as it has ever been, this is also a threatened and endangered world like never before. Dangers and threats stem from violence that human beings are committing both against other human and the environment. Religious groups knowing this dangers have engaged in different activities to try and solve this issue. For example, the need to be interreligious neighbors of others, be interreligious peacemakers with others, and be interreligious pilgrims with to others.
We must be interreligious neighbors of others.
There have always been different religions in the world. Religious diversity is nothing new. But in the past, these different religions remained in "their own neighborhood,"
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If during the second half of the last century there was much talk about a "secular society" where religion was no longer a factor of consideration, scholars today speak of a "post-secular society", in which the reality of Religion, in many different ways, is not only a cultural but also a geopolitical force that must be considered. Today, the community of nations and individual nations are increasingly becoming multi-religious civil …show more content…
We are asked to work with others, be friends with others, as people who find the meaning of life in very different ways, based on very different religious books, following very different religious leaders, who present images very different from what Is the Ultimate in life. We are called to form a civil society, a functional neighborhood, from different religious communities. If we want to be "good neighbors" of others, if we expect to be "good neighbors" of others, we must succeed in being interreligious. And here comes the difficult part, the real challenge. Being good multi-religious neighbors requires more than tolerance. Please understand that I am not degrading tolerance. God knows we need more of her among the religious communities of our world. Tolerance means that we live religiously and let others live religiously, that we and others are religious in the way we want to be. But tolerance implies that we do it reluctantly. Whatever we let happen, we wish we would not live, at least not in the house next
Religion is a part of society that is so closely bound to the rest of one’s life it becomes hard to distinguish what part of religion is actually being portrayed through themselves, or what is being portrayed through their culture and the rest of their society. In Holy Terrors, Bruce Lincoln states that religion is used as a justifiable mean of supporting violence and war throughout time (Lincoln 2). This becomes truly visible in times such as the practice of Jihad, the Reformation, and 9/11. The purpose of this essay is to show that as long as religion is bound to a political and cultural aspect of a community, religious war and destruction will always occur throughout the world. A historical methodology will be deployed in order to gain
America is full and rich with diverse people, religions and values; they make America great. Just look at Riverside, California, there are over fifty churches of different denominations of Christianity, three synagogues, two temples, and one mosque; all coinciding peacefully in the city (Yellow Pages). Because Riverside is so diverse, religious pluralism and religious tolerance are two steps in making Riverside more connected. The first step is tolerance, a reflex that acknowledges a person will come across people of a different faith. The second step is pluralism, which is a better understanding of a person’s religion as well as the other religions around them. Many believe pluralism is the better of the two, because of the interaction involved and the creation of harmony, but pluralism’s faults are greater than the benefits. Currently religious pluralism is quality America should strive for, but America is not ready for pluralism yet, so religious tolerance is best for the diverse population of America today.
The United States is commonly thought to be on an inevitable march towards secularization. Scientific thought and the failure of the enlightenment to reconcile the concept of god within a scientific framework are commonly thought to have created the antithesis of religious practice in the rise of the scientific method. However, the rise of doubt and the perception that secularization is increasing over time has in actuality caused an increase in religious practice in the United States through episodic revivals. Moreover, practice of unbelief has developed into a movement based in the positive assertion in the supplantation of God by the foundations of science, or even in the outright disbelief in God. The perception of increasing secularism in the United States spurs religious revivalism which underscores the ebb and flow of religious practice in the United States and the foundation of alternative movements which combines to form the reality that the United States is not marching towards secularism but instead religious diversity.
It is common knowledge that in the past religion and myths were just ways for societies to explain events and occurrences that citizens of ancient societies did not have enough advanced knowledge to understand. It was also used as a way to oppress others, as seen in the explanation of class order and royalty as God placing a person where they were meant to be and that there was nothing one could do about it, because who can go against God himself? Religion played an even bigger part than that though, being a large part of every person’s identity and something for a country and its people to unit over. But as society slowly aged, and governments were reorganized and re-structured, one can see a reduction in religion being a part of someone’s identity. It is hard to imagine being without an identity so it came as no surprise when, as the void left by religion was opened, people began to create an identity that had to do with different ideas and ideologies. More specifically, new political movements, ideas of nationalism, and change of social norms brought on by many writers and theorists such as Karl Marx, John Mill, and many others. The spread of such ideas was also helped by the spread of public education and rising literacy rates in western society.
The secularization paradigm Bruce argues ‘is a set of associated explanations rather than a single theory’ (Pg.43). To build on this argument Bruce provides us with a diagram of the secularization paradigm with 22 key contributing factors; some showing the religiosity of societies i.e. the protestant reformation and monotheism, some exploring other factors which have contributed towards secularization such as Industrial Capitalism, Technological Consciousness and Social Differentiation and he provides an explanation of these concepts in order to provide the reader with an analysis of these themes. This can however be problematic in the sense that the terminology of the paradigm may well be understood by individuals studying or in the field of sociology but for individuals who are looking to develop their knowledge on the debate of secularization and religion can make this difficult. Bruce argues that modernization is one of the main causes of secularization. ‘‘Modernization brought with it increased cultural diversity in three different ways. First populations moved and brought their language, religion and social mores with them in a new setting. Secondly, the expansion of the increasingly expansive nation state meant that new groups were brought into the state. But thirdly…modernization created cultural pluralism through the proliferation of classes and class fragmentation with increasingly diverse
―"Religion in “Brave New World“." Religion in Brave New World. N.p., n.d. Web. 07 May 2014.
Using the knowledge I have acquired from Godsey’s perspective in conjunction with my own viewpoint, I plan on sharing the idea of religious pluralism with my community. I believe that religious pluralism is more relevant in today’s society than ever before. Religious differences have been a major source of conflict in the world for thousands of years, ranging from the Christian Crusades to the Holocaust. Today we have the War on Terrorism, directly related to the Islam. People, often blinded by patriotic media, government propaganda, and even biased news outlets, are unable to see the situation happening around them from multiple perspectives, creating segregation, prejudice, and hate.
Adrian Pabst (2012). The secularism of post-secularity: religion, realism, and the revival of grand theory in IR. Review of International Studies, 38, pp 995-1017.
Therefore, our basis as Christians for finding common ground with people from other faith’s and non-Christians lies in our humanity. As Christians, we have to enter the world of the non-believer and see things through their eyes, and that involves seeking to understand cultural views, and getting involved with other’s struggles, needs, hardships, and doubts. Additionally, I believe we also have to establish the fact that, regardless of who we are, we are all fallible and in need of forgiveness. This, I believe, opens the door for sharing the Christian Faith and finding true
Religious Fundamentalism is not a modern phenomenon, although, it has received a rise in the late twentieth century. It occurs differently in different parts of the world but arises in societies that are deeply troubled or going through a crisis (Heywood, 2012, p. 282). The rise in Religious Fundamentalism can be linked to the secularization thesis, which implies that victory of reason over religion follows modernization. Also, the moral protest of faiths such as Islam and Christianity can be linked to the rise of Religious Fundamentalism, as they protest the influence of corruption and pretence that infiltrate their beliefs from the spread of secularization (Heywood, 2012, p. 283). Religious Fundamentalists have followed a traditional political thought process, yet, have embraced a militant style of activity which often can turn violent (Heywood, 2012, p. 291).
Therefore, summary from the above essay would agree that civil religion are always severing in the interest of the nation-state, whether if it is an excuses for its political action or not, it is still serving in the manner of the best alternative outcome for its nations. Taking the third trail of civil religion for example, although some might argue that civil religion helps to justify violent action, nevertheless, it is still serving in the interest of the nation-state to maintain and increase American political
For thousands of years, religion has exerted a great influence over economic and political life. Even today religion is called upon to support rulers, contacts and other legal procedures.
All of these examples are ways that people are divided and separated by their religion. The different events, beliefs, and ways of living are grouped into a certain religion that makes them different from every other religion. Although, each religion has its own creation story, beliefs, rituals, practices, and ways of living, the specific way they do each thing and the acts they take place in causes people to categorize them as different and not like their certain group. Religion divides because of the way the people in each society perceive all of the other groups as something they are not.
It is important as a daughter of God to respect others and their religions and to love and tolerate them no matter what. While there will always be intolerance and opposition between religions, we, as Christians, can help change that by being good examples of Christ. By portraying Christ-like attributes and by obeying God when he said to love one another, we are showing our love for Christ and for those around us. It is said that by small and simple means are great things brought to pass. We may only be a minority in this massive world, but sometimes the smallest and simplest things can bring about the greatest change.
Our world is constantly changing and it requires a society that is well versed in understanding the problems deriving from culture differences and tolerance of one another’s beliefs and perceptions. We are dealing with systemic problems in education, economic, government, religion and culture differences.