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The relation between religion and ethics
How religion affects everyday life
The relationship between religion and ethics
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Describe the main characteristics of a religious response to the human search for meaning.
Since the beginning of time human beings have continuously searched for evidence and an explanation to answer the great questions of human experience, Is there a supreme being? Who am I? Why is there evil pain and suffering? And is there life after death? Discovering the meaning of life and a way in which to live it has always been important to human being and religion does this through its characteristics, beliefs and believers, sacred texts and writings, ethics and rituals and ceremonies.
Is there something else out there? Is there a Supreme Being? In order to find out where we are going the human race must establish where they came from and who is the ultimate creator. Religion uses sacred texts and stories to tell the tales of creation of which span quite diverse. This element of religion also relies heavily on the belief of the believers as the only evidence is on texts that have few credible witnesses and this is why belief is such an important characteristic of religion.
Who am I? And why am I here? The search for the purpose of existence. Religion gives meaning to life as it demonstrates human nature and the way in which life should be lived. Ethics is a common characteristic of religion that is used to distinguish boundaries and establish morals to determine what should be accepted and which acts should be looked down upon, punished and not accepted. The Ethics characteristic of religion is the base of the modern worlds entire social system with direct reliance of the characteristic of Rituals and ceremonies, which also plays an important part of putting these ethics to practice. E.g. in Catholicism confession is undertaken as the wrongs committed by an individual are reconciled and made up for.
If there is a supreme all controlling being why does he allow pain and suffering of his people? Religion often answers this question by suggesting that everything happens for a reason. Belief is the key to this element as the believer must have faith that there is a reason and that greater forces will make thins better if they rely on faith. Sacred texts support this with the bibles constant references to God testing people in order to amend them later. Buddhists refer to this suffering as Dukkha and if this pain and despair is overcome then it will end and a far more pleasurable path will open for the person this relies on belief and the following of ethics.
The over-representation of Aboriginal children in the Canadian Child Welfare system is a growing and multifaceted issue rooted in a pervasive history of racism and colonization in Canada. Residential schools were established with the intent to force assimilation of Aboriginal people in Canada into European-Canadian society (Reimer, 2010, p. 22). Many Aboriginal children’s lives have been changed adversely by the development of residential schools, even for those who did not attend them. It is estimated that Aboriginal children “are 6-8 times more likely to be placed in foster care than non-Aboriginal children (Saskatchewan Child Welfare Review Panel, 2010, p. 2).” Reports have also indicated that First Nations registered Indian children make up the largest proportion of Aboriginal children entering child welfare care across Canada (Saskatchewan Child Welfare Review Panel, p. 2). Consequently, this has negatively impacted Aboriginal communities experience of and relationship with child welfare services across the country. It is visible that the over-representation of Aboriginal children in the child welfare system in Canada lies in the impact of the Canadian policy for Indian residential schools, which will be described throughout this paper.
Aboriginal spirituality originally derives from the stories of the dreaming. The dreaming is the knowledge and a sense of belonging that the Aboriginals had of the beginning of life and the relationship to the land and sea (Australian Museum, 2011). The dreaming stories are passed on from one generation to the next orally. These stories teach the following generations how to behave towards the land and other people. The dreaming stories give them a sense of duty to protect the land and appreciate it because the dreamtime stories indicate that the spirits have not died but are still alive in different forms as animals or humans, therefore the ancestor’s power is still felt through the landforms (Clark, 1963), (Australian Governement, 2008)
Australian indigenous culture is the world’s oldest surviving culture, dating back sixty-thousand years. Aboriginals and Torres Strait Islanders have been represented in a myriad of ways through various channels such as poetry, articles, and images, in both fiction and non-fiction. Over the years, they have been portrayed as inferior, oppressed, isolated, principled and admirable. Three such texts that portray them in these ways are poems Circles and Squares and Grade One Primary by Ali Cobby Eckermann, James Packer slams booing; joins three cheers for footballer and the accompanying visual text and Heywire article Family is the most important thing to an islander by Richard Barba. Even though the texts are different as ….. is/are …., while
The issue of aboriginal people in Canada is not new. For a long time, it has been heatedly debated by academic scholars and by the general public as well. By no means does this issue have a straightforward solution to it. RCAP (Royal Commission on Aboriginal Peoples) is one of the institutions largely responsible for the aboriginal issue. Unfortunately, the problems RCAP faces are too intractable to settle in a relatively short time, due to which there are some unresolved problems intimately related with the life of aboriginal people awaiting to be dealt with soon in an effective and politically sound way. The complexity of the issue calls for more intellectual discussion beyond the scope of the immediate present aboriginal reality.
Aboriginal people represent less than 3% of the total population in BC. Yet, they account for more than 9% of all suicides in BC (Chandler). The numbers of suicides amongst aboriginal youth are even more alarming – nearly one-fourth of all youth suicides in BC are committed by aboriginals and more than half of all aboriginal suicides are committed by youth (Chandler). The fact that indigenous communities in Canada have the highest rate of suicide of any culturally identifiable group in the world implies that these alarming statistics may not solely be a result of aboriginal communities belonging to a minority cultural group. I will attempt to build a speculative hypothesis behind the significantly high suicide rates amongst aboriginal youth in Canada. I will do so by turning to three factors that I think are most important amongst the several factors that may be coming together and playing a role in the high vulnerability to suicide amongst aboriginal youth. I believe this is important because the more accurately we identify causal factors that may be responsible for aboriginal suicide, the more specific suicide prevention programs can be made. This pool of factors must include those that are common to all suicidal behaviour, those that are responsible for suicidal behaviour in marginalized communities and those that might be specific to the history and context of aboriginals in Canada. In this commentary I have chosen one factor from each of these three pools of factors – one, the interpersonal-psychological theory to explain suicide in general; two, loss of self-identity, which could be a leading cause for aboriginal suicide worldwide; and three, the impact of residential schools on the psychological makeup of aboriginals of Ca...
Over the past decades, Aboriginal people (the original people or indigenous occupants of a particular country), have been oppressed by the Canadian society and continue to live under racism resulting in gender/ class oppression. The history of Colonialism, and Capitalism has played a significant role in the construction and impact of how Aborignal people are treated and viewed presently in the Canadian society. The struggles, injustices, prejudice, and discrimination that have plagued Aboriginal peoples for more than three centuries are still grim realities today. The failures of Canada's racist policies toward Aboriginal peoples are reflected in the high levels of unemployment and poor education. Presently, the state shapes the construction and social reproduction of racism, racialization, and sexism as experienced by Aboriginal people in Canada.
The word religion literally means connect again, but it also can have many meanings depending on a persons’ spiritual connection or moral outlook that governs their belief system. In the opinion of many, religion is the connection of a higher power for some, a social class for others, and a way to connection with a group who share the same views of a higher being.
Pre-dating to the early 15th century, when contact with European settlers was originally established, Indigenous peoples have been required to succumb to settler – colonization in an attempt to be integrated into mainstream culture. The initial purpose of colonialism was to be used as a tool to gain access to resources not otherwise available. As colonialism evolved, it has become a method by which foreign populations move into unfamiliar territories, and attempt to remove the colonized group from the currently occupied space.
The Canadian population is composed of people with different cultural background that consist of different communities of immigrants and natives. The Aboriginal community is one of the native community living in Canada holding 4.3% of total population as per National Household Survey 2011 (Statistics Canada, 2011).The Aboriginal people are culturally diverse in Canada having unique historical, linguistic and social contexts. Distinct cultural background of the Aboriginal communities is one of the reason they are experiencing inequities and disparities in health status compared to the non-aboriginal people. In this regard, Canadian nurses are expected to learn about cultural diversity, knowledge, skills and attitudes to provide culturally
• Amnesty International: Australia- governments dismissal of UN criticism undermines hard earned credibility in human rights diplomacy.
The indigenous people of Australia, called the Aborigines, are the oldest culture found on Earth. Studies show that the Aboriginal genome can be traced back seventy-five thousand years to when this community first migrated from Africa to Australia. As the oldest known continuous culture, their traditions and rituals have thrived even though the world around them has changed so drastically. In this paper I’d like to talk about the history of Aboriginal cultures in Australia, their cultural rituals and how their culture has been so heavily influenced and changed over the last few decades.
In Introducing Philosophy of Religion, Chad Meister asserts “there are several components (that) seem to be central to the world religion: a system of beliefs, the breaking in of a transcendent reality, and human attitudes of ultimate concern, meaning and purpose” (Meister 6). Throughout my life, I feel that religion is one of the core social belief systems that people use to maintain what they feel is a good way to live. Giving them a sense of purpose or fulfillment during their earthly life, most hoping whatever beliefs that have will help them after death. Even though there are many different religions or religious value systems, everyone has most likely been exposed to one or more. There is only 15% of the world’s population that do not believe in one type of religion or another (Meister, 7).
Religion plays an enormous role in the history of mankind. Wars have been fought over it, lives have been surrounded by it, and it has directly or indirectly shaped the lives of many individuals. Culture and religion play a large role in developing each other. People’s religion is decided by their culture. The prominence or the lack of religion will develop someone’s religious identity have play a core role in determining what that person believes.
Religion is the one element of life that has connected the races and societies of the world for hundreds of years. It has given meaning to lives that may seem otherwise hopeless. Religion has provided for a universal language and culture among those who believe in a higher power. The spirit or being receiving the worship and praise may not be the same, but the practices are usually similar and serve the same purpose--to give direction, insight, courage, and a divine connection.
Religion provides order within people and gives the individual some clarity to the unknown “life after death”. Religion gives and individual to something to look forward to after death. The common belief in most religions is that life after death depends on how we live life on earth which, greatly contributes to the order in society. Through the participation of religion one is exposed to divine motivation which contribute to the individual’s perspective of social norms as well as how they live life while alive. As per an educational website boundless.com “Many religions have narratives, symbols, traditions, and sacred histories that are intended to give meaning to life or to explain the origin of life or the universe.” This clearly indicates the theory that religion socializes an individual in a manner that contributes to the order of society. Religion has contributed to my socialization greatly. I am a very religious individual and I do have the belief that the way I live life on earth will determine my life after death. My religion keeps me sane and instill obedience in me and affects how I carry myself in