Introduction Indian and Mexican cultures are multi-religious in nature. Mexico for instance, is a secular state, which has no official religion. However, the Roman Catholic has majority of members and this makes holidays such as Christmas and Easter are recognized as national holidays. The Roman Catholic and other religions within Mexico have played an instrumental part in defining the way of life of the Mexicans. In India, religions and cultures are diverse and they influence the way people in this state live. In both states, religion has been dominant in influencing societal way of behavior and phenomena such as marriage, the choice of a marriage partner and numerous aspects of sexuality across the existing genders. The main objective of this paper is to look at various religions in India and Mexico and their influence on sexuality and different aspects of marriage. The focus will be on the values that define these religions and the role they play in in shaping sexual notions. The feminist arguments on women and the sexual attitudes used to define the role and limits of a woman in the two societies will be a subject of concern to this paper. How religion and sexuality are different in Mexican and Indian cultures Difference between religion in India and Mexico India has a characteristic of more ethnic and religious groups than most countries in the world. Despite this multiplicity of religions, there exists a broad group of interrelated traditions called Hinduism. Although other religions within the nation such as Islam, Buddhism, and Christianity have occasionally challenged its dominance, Hinduism is the most prevalent religion in the South Asian region. Some of the outstanding differences between Hinduism and other denominatio... ... middle of paper ... ...63, 132-133, 2002. Print Lopez, G. Beyond the Hymen: Women, Virginity and Sex. Pp. 37-40 Gopinath, G. The Transnational Trajectories of Deepa Mehta’s Fire. Local sites/Global context, pp. 149-151. Macías-González, Víctor M, and Anne Rubenstein. Masculinity and Sexuality in Modern Mexico. Albuquerque: University of New Mexico Press, pp. 25-28, 2012. Print. Nesvig, Martin A. Religious Culture in Modern Mexico. Lanham, Md: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, p. 14-17, 2007. Print. O'Brien, Patrick K. Atlas of World History. New York, NY: Oxford University Press, pp. 62-63, 2007. Print. Smith, Bonnie G. The Oxford Encyclopedia of Women in World History. Oxford [England: Oxford University Press, pp. 310-311, 2008. Print. Verma, K and Mahendra, S, V. Construction of Masculinity in India: A gender and Sexual Health Perspective. Vol. 50, Special issue, pp. 71-73, 2004
Upshur, Jiu-Hwa, Janice J. Terry, Jim Holoka, Richard D. Goff, and George H. Cassar. Thomson advantage Books World History. Compact 4th edition ed. Vol. Comprehensive volume. Belmont: Thompson Wadsworth, 2005. 107-109. Print.
The terms gender and sexuality are usually mistaken for one or the other. Gender refers to the social term that is given to a specific sex. Gender is typically considered female or male. The term sexuality refers to people’s sexual interest or desires to other people. Different types of sexuality are heterosexual, homosexual, bisexual, pansexual, and other types. Gender and sexuality are used for people to identify their sexuality, communication with others, and learn how to find a community of people that are alike.
Duiker, William J., and Jackson J. Spielvogel. World History. 3rd ed. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth/Thomsom Learning, 2001. 374-438.
Though Hinduism is labeled as a religion, it’s actually much more than that. It’s a culture, a lifestyle, and a society that has influenced it’s people for more than four thousand years. The Indian culture is made up of several languages and dialects causing much racial diversity amongst the civilization. Although modern Hinduism often conflicts with that of the earlier forms of this religion, it’s most basic foundation is practically the same. Even though it’s teachings are not commonly agreed upon.
Perry, M., Davis, D., Harris, J., Laue, T. V., & Warren, D. J. (1985). A history of the world (Revised Edition ed.). Boston: Houghton Mifflin.
“Religion as defined by the great sages of India…it did not require belief in a set of doctrines, but rather hard, disciplined work, without which, any religious teaching remained opaque and incredible” (Armstrong 51). The profound history of Hinduism contains important fundamental elements that play a major role in the daily life of its followers. Hinduism is famously known as one of the oldest religions in the world, which is widely embraced and composed of three prominent attributes: spiritual, tradition, and the caste system. The combinations of these three attributes in the Hindu belief system add rich tradition and deepen cultural meaningfulness and experience that uniquely defines the Hindu system of beliefs
Hinduism was the first major religion to develop in South Asia. Along with it, came a strict caste system and clear social hierarchy. Hinduism stressed the importance of karma and people purifying their lives over many reincarnations to achieve holy perfection. Later on, Buddhism developed in India and incorporated many of the same cultural and religious practices. One key change was the looseness of the religion in regards to social status, as it did not see a person 's place in the caste system as a factor in achieving the afterlife. In response to a decline in Hinduism, especially among the poorer classes, Hinduism became more accepting of these classes and also developed alternate paths of devotion. In summation, South Asian religion has taken on a trend of
Ellis, Elizabeth Gaynor, and Anthony Esler. World History: The Modern Era. Boston: Pearson Prentice Hall, 2007. Print.
Holt, Sol. Exploring World History. New Jersey: Globe Book Company Inc, 1990. Pg. 204-205, 311.
Fisher, Mary Pat. "HINDUISM." Living Religions. 1991. Reprint. Upper Saddle River: Person Education, 2011. 73-120. Print.
...ld note that all three religions, Buddhism, Hinduism and Jainism, have been the dominant, prevailing religious trends in India for many centuries, and they clearly reflect the culture, history, and spirituality of the country. All three of these religions effectively reflect the views of believers on life, death and honorable conduct. Nonetheless, despite the fact that they are very much related with each other, each has some distinct features distinguishing it from all others, and contributes to the understanding of the religious background in India both at the beginning of the new era of humanity, and in the contemporary period of time.
Howard, V. R. (2013) Rethinking Gandhi's Celibacy: Ascetic Power and Women's Empowerment. Journal of the American Academy of Religion 81.1
India can be considered a masculine society. This is evident visually in the display of success and power, which is best observed in the flaunting of wealth. It is common for one to advertise their success. However as previously mentioned Indian culture is heavily influe...
Hinduism is regarded as the world’s oldest organized religion, but it’s also a way of life for much of India and Nepal. Unlike other religions, Hinduism allows and encourages multiple paths to the divine. There is no single founder and no single scripture, but is rather a conglomerate of diverse beliefs and traditions. They are often understood to be different means to reach a common end. But this acceptance of variety makes it difficult to identify religious tenets that are specifically Hindu. Still, there are some basic principles common to Hinduism that are essential to one's approach to life.
Today, Hinduism stands as India’s primary religion. In fact, India houses 90% of the world’s Hindi population and 79.8% of India’s population follows the Hindu religion, according to the 2011 census. It is thought by some to be the oldest religion in the world and the “eternal law” (Fowler). This culture is truly one as defined by Edward Taylor: “A complex whole which includes knowledge, belief, art, law, morals, customs, and any other capability and habit acquired by man as a member of society.” In order to have somewhat of an understanding about what the Hindu religion entails, one must study the Hindu conception of God, its basic concepts and key beliefs, as well as symbolism.