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The importance of understanding culture
The importance of understanding culture
The importance of understanding culture
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In Ecology and Religion, John Grim and Mary Evelyn Tucker present a thorough overview of their studies on religious ecology and environment. They devoted themselves in field of religion and ecology, and committed to advocate the importance of including religious worldviews as a component of solving environment crisis that human beings are facing now.
With their rich experiences in academic research and corporation with multiple professionals, they are showing the development of various traditions over time in different geographic contexts, and how it will affect the relationship between human and the nature. Despite the rapid change due to modernization and industrialization, religious traditions still rooted into human’s daily life in various forms, such as Taichi in Daoism and Confucianism. Through
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Religious symbols have no definite definition as they are interpreted and reinterpreted over time and place. Not knowing and understanding religious symbols could be the cause the worse exploitation of nature, “Devaluation of nature has been driven in large measure by an economism that reduce symbolic knowing to the marketplaces of materialism. Thus, nature is seen as primarily for human use and exploitation”(34). A better understanding of how the nature and ecology work allowing human to recognize the symbolic and biological interdependence between the two. For example, each bioculture symbol (air, earth, water, and fire) has unique meaning, such as orienting, grounding, nurturing and transforming respectively. The combination of these four symbols is the foundation of religious ecology, “Ways of orienting and grounding whereby humans, acknowledging the limitations of phenomenal reality and the suffering inherent in life, undertake specific practices of nurturing and transforming self and community in a particular cosmological context that regards nature as inherently valuable”
In the journal of Environmentalism as Religion, Paul H. Rubin discuss about how environmental is similar to religion. Rubin want everyone to know that the environment and religion are somehow similar in a way, which they both have belief system, creation stories and original sin.
When considering the origin of the faiths and philosophies of the world, it is judicious to take into consideration the culture and religious practices of the period. For instance, Daoism developed out of the political climate of the time and the religious beliefs and practices and that existed in China in the preceding centuries. In order to gain a greater comprehension of the creation Daoism, the theory, philosophy, and practices, it necessitates a journey to China in the distant past.
The growth of religious ideas is environed with such intrinsic difficulties that it may never receive a perfectly satisfactory exposition. Religion deals so largely with the imaginative and emotional nature, and consequently with such an certain elements of knowledge, the all primitive religions are grotesque to some extent unintelligible. (1877:5)
In the following pages I will discuss this metaphor, as well as Rudolf Otto and his theories on the creation of religion, Peter L. Berger’s theory of “the sacred canopy,” and finally the intermingling of these two theories in the evolution of religion.
Chinese Philosophy not only is the fruit of thinking of the Chinese nation, but also is the important component part of world culture. In Chinese philosophy, there are three main parts: Confucianism, Buddhism and Taoism. Among them, Chinese Buddhism, which came from India, experienced a course of sinicization under the influence of Chinese traditional culture represented mainly by Confucianism and Taoism , so it keeps the general features of Buddhism ,and also formed its Chinese characteristics. The changes of Chinese Buddhism from "going out of this world " to "being in this world " and "building pure land in this world " fully manifested the humanistic spirit of Chinese culture. Both Chinese Buddhism and Western Christianity are religion, but in the realm of thoughts and culture, they are important symbols of Oriental and Western culture. This paper compares the two schools' philosophy of life, so as to explore the modern meaning and value from the mankind's common culture legacy.
The majority of this piece is dedicated to the author stating his opinion in regards to civilization expanding beyond its sustainable limits. The author makes it clear that he believes that humans have failed the natural environment and are in the process of eliminating all traces of wilderness from the planet. Nash points out facts that strengthen his argument, and quotes famous theologians on their similar views on environmental issues and policies. The combination of these facts and quotes validates the author’s opinion.
In conclusion, it can clearly be seen through all of the examples posed that the belief systems of a nation can both directly and indirectly influence a nation’s people and culture. Whether it be negative, such as Legalism’s harsh rule causing revolts and Confucianism’s filial piety causing economic downfall, or positive, such as Buddhism reuniting the people of China and Daoism’s advancement in sciences, the correlation is clear. This influence has occurred in nearly every nation that existed, and likely every nation to come, as it all revolves around a single idea: all of the actions we take, and the products which sprout from them, are rooted from our beliefs.
Religion is an interesting aspect in the Chinese context because of the part it played in history. Christianity did not spread as successfully in the East as it did in Europe and the isolated thoughts of the Chinese at the time. The fundamentals of Confucianism include and encourage humanities pursuit of knowledge and understanding of their self and...
As technology advances, civilization grows farther from religious beliefs, attempting to become ‘God-like’. Instead of living off what is here, humans build their own habitats. Instead of accepting disease and death, hum...
Chinese people might find naming their religion challenging as it is a mixture of “traditional religion, Buddhism, Confucianism, and Daoism” (Corduan, 2012, p.388). The Chinese Popular Religion continues to evolve and change as the world around it changes and outside influences enter the Chinese culture (Corduan, 2012). Investigation of the Chinese Popular Religion includes its key features, practices, and influences, along with tis role in contemporary China, and how Christians can enhance their interactions.
Though my theology forms a basis for my disagreement with Kaplan, it is not my sole basis in this paper. My theology shapes and influences my worldview. As a chaplain, this should not be a surprise to anyone. To simply argue a topic such as the environment strictly from a scriptural or theological standpoint would quickly lose a wide au...
Rust, Peter. 1992. How Has Life and Its Diversity Been Produced? Perspectives on Science and Christian Faith 44 (2): 80-94.
Religion is an organized collection of beliefs and cultural systems that entail the worship of a supernatural and metaphysical being. “Religion just like other belief systems, when held onto so much, can stop one from making significant progress in life”. Together with religion come traditions that provide the people with ways to tackle life’s complexities. A subscription to the school of thought of great scholars
Religion usually plays a big part in the cultures of the world and is the basis for their beliefs and values. In many countries religion is very important, so important that some cultures use it in every aspect of their lives. China l...
The natural conservancy is an organization that is out to conserve the lands and waters on which life depends on. In this paper, I will argue that the natural conservancy organization mission statement captures the true essence of environmentalism. The mission statement of the Nature Conservancy represents the true essence of environmentalism since it recognizes the intrinsic value of all living beings while prioritizing the importance of protecting nature for future generations.