Ernie Enriquez
3/17/14
CTH 244
Religion
Introduction
As old as the earth is one question has plagued many academics, philosophers, theologians, priest, rabbis and imam. That question which has existed ever since man has been in existence is, “what is the Absolute?” Throughout the centuries philosophers such as George Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel, Immanuel Kant, and many more since Socrates have answered these questions in a wide plethora of perspectives. However as great of an account all philosophers had to describe what the absolute is, religion has also attempted to answer or to provide an account of such ultimate question.
With this question posed of what absolute truth is, the Abrahamic religions such as Judaism, Christianity, and Islam all answer the same question. Their answer is that there is a divine entity above our natural world in the supernatural in which man cannot access this supernatural to understand the form of the divine. However the view and practice of the form of God in each of these Abrahamic religions differs. With the differing practices that all three faiths have in what the supernatural is and how one should praise that supernatural, can create problems due to the misunderstanding of each other’s practices beliefs. With a disconnect from each religion stemming on the idea of the absolute truth this falsely and problematically creates an “urgent” need to defend ones faith in order continue the existence of their religion for future generations. With this sense of urgency, fundamentalist practices and sects are born out of this sense of urgency.
However as a fundamentalist sect is created, in order to defend and fight those of mainstream religion in order to see the continuance of their “true” religion, the ve...
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..., this paper will talk about the forms and structure of fundamentalism specifically in Christianity and Islam. To begin the inquiry of what fundamentalism is it’s pertinent to understand how it is structured, how it responds to mainstream religions and why it exists. To define fundamentalism, fundamentalism is a reaction, whether it be religious or political, against current societal mainstream dogma or ideology. With this reaction against any set of mainstream ideology politically and religiously, what makes a group fundamentalist are define through these characteristics as Richard T. Antoun of State University of New York at Binghamton. These Antoun defines fundamentalism as, “Fundamentalist movements are defined ideologically, by their opposition to and reaction against the ideology that suits the permissive secular society, the ideology of modernism” (Antoun, 3)
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
Fundamentalism and American Culture by George Marsden provoked new insights and challenged existing assumptions of fundamentalism within America. Through Marsden’s critical analysis of fundamentalist roots which assess the contextual religious, social, and intellectual developments within early American culture, one can see a complex movement that has deeply ingrained itself within the overall American fiber. Due the movement’s perspicacious leadership which challenged American social norms through a variety of avenues and in highlighting particular branches of the fundamentalist movement, Marsden provides a deepened insight which helps preclude previous caricature assumptions one my have on fundamentalism within America.
Over the course of the last century, the Islamic Republic of Iran (formerly known as Persia) has seen colonialism, the end of a dynasty, the installation of a government by a foreign power, and just over three decades ago, the popular uprising and a cleric-led revolution. These events preceded what could be considered the world’s first Islamic state, as politics and fundamentalist religion are inextricably linked in contemporary Iran. Looking at Iran from the mid 1940’s until the present day, one can trace the path that led to the rise of fundamental Islam in Iran in three distinct periods. The first is that which began with the rise of secular nationalism and the decline of Islam. In the second, the secular, western-friendly government eventually gave way to the Islamic revival in the form of a government takeover by hard-line clerics and disillusioned, fundamentalist youth; both motivated and led by Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini. Rule of Iran by these fundamentalist clerics then led to the formation of the fundamentalist Islamic theocracy that governs present-day Iran. The current government has some democratic appearances, but all real power is in the hands of the supreme leader, an Ayatollah who is chosen by the Assembly of Experts, a group of clerics chosen by the Guardian Council. With the Iranian Revolution, political Islam was born, with the fundamentalists holding the reins of power in Iran to the present day.
Islam, a religion of people submitting to one God, seeking peace and a way of life without sin, is always misunderstood throughout the world. What some consider act of bigotry, others believe it to be the lack of education and wrong portrayal of events in media; however, one cannot not justify the so little knowledge that America and Americans have about Islam and Muslims. Historically there are have been myths, many attacks on Islam and much confusion between Islam as a religion and Middle Easter culture that is always associated with it. This paper is meant to dispel, or rather educate about the big issues that plague people’s minds with false ideas and this will only be touching the surface.
Throughout history it is evident that many religions have been tried, tested, and, for some, radically changed. Many religions have gone through periods of time in which the way they were run or enforced underwent changes in practice and leadership. In many cases disagreements and differing outlooks among members of certain religions were to blame for these changes. Christianity and Islam are two examples of religions that have experienced changes over the course of their existence. While these religions seem to have little in common at first glance, both have strikingly similar pasts that consist of radical splits due to disagreements among members of the Christian and Islamic churches, resulting in new branches within each religion.
Smart, Ninian. "Blackboard, Religion 100." 6 March 2014. Seven Dimensions of Religion. Electronic Document. 6 March 2014.
Religions of the ancient world were in a state of constant flux. Karl Jaspers states that between the eighth and fourth centuries B.C.E, “great changes took place in all the civilized world” (qtd. in Basham 36), and the great thinkers of these times began thinking independently and individually. Moreover, “after these great thinkers the world was never the same again” (qtd. in Basham 36-37). These times were dubbed the “axial period” (qtd. in Basham 37). The axial religions that emerged during this period were profound and lasting. In fact, the religions discussed in this paper—Judaism, Hinduism, Buddhism, and Christianity—are considered the most practiced religions to do this day. Although these religions have changed over time, their underlying structure remains intact.
The two largest religions in the world, Christianity and Islam, were implemented by two of religions most powerful leaders, Jesus and Muhammad. Without question, both Jesus and Muhammad have affected humanity powerfully. As religious leaders both men laid down the principles upon which Christianity and Islam are founded yet today. However, while Jesus performed miracles and arose from the dead, thus proving to his followers he was God, Muhammad performed no such feats, and made no such claims. In fact, Muhammad’s only claim was that he was the last prophet sent from God.
John Saliba’s approach to new religious movements is secular (despite his position as a Jesuit Priest) and well rounded. He begins by exploring how new religious movements are viewed today, how they have been reacted to in the past and why that may be. He examines the original definition of the word “cult” as well as the modern derivations of it and how it affects these new religious movements. By considering multiple opinions on new religious movements as well as looking at the historical, psychological, sociological, legal and theological context in which these religions came to be and attract new followers, he is able to advocate for a more open approach to these new religions and offer a better way to handle them; to respond to them, rather than react.
There are many similarities and differences between Judaism, Christianity and Islam. There are also many differences that separate the three major religions of the world. This paper will delve into all three of them.
Religious Fundamentalism is not a modern phenomenon, although, there 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). To be a fundamentalist is to wholly believe in the doctrine they are preaching or professing and will go to any lengths possible to have these beliefs implemented by their government , even using force or violence ( Garner, Ferdinand and Lawson, 2007, p. 149). All religions have a fundamentalist element, however, there is more of a significant conflict with Islamic fundamentalists and Christian fundamentalists. It is wrongly thought fundamentalism is exclusively linked to Islamic fundamentalist such as the jihadi group al-Qaeda nonetheless Christianity is the world's largest religion and is bond to have some fundamentalist component such as the Christian New Right in the Unites States of America (Garner, Ferdinand and Lawson, 2007, p. 150).
In both given articles, “The Roots of Muslim Rage” by Bernard Lewis, and “The Roots of Muslim Rage Revisited” by Nicolaas J.E. van der Zee, argue about the enhancement of the Muslim fundamentalism with different perspectives; however, I believe that Lewis’ view may be quiet misleading to the actual perception. Lewis indicates that Muslim fundamentalism is conceived through the Muslim community’s oppression and dissatisfaction with the West’s political involvement, as well as “Islam is a source of aggression” . In defiance of Lewis’ opinion, the word ‘Islam’ comes from the word peace as well as the will of submission to God. The notion of aggression and violence that Lewis conceptualizes to be the headline of Islam does not have any supporting
There are many religions today that people worship and adapt into their daily lives are their creed. Some may have a lot of gods, while some only have one god. But three of these religions are considered as the major religion practiced by most people in the world today. Although different in some senses in terms of history and other teachings, they all have things in common that most of their followers do not seem to realize. The similarities are very important to understand each religion better and be able to determine which parts they vary. In this paper, I like to discuss the similarities found in the three major monotheistic religions of Judaism, Islam and Christianity.
Modern society and its people have the ability to make a vast range of choice when it comes to anything in their lives. People to today have the ability and free will to choose their partners, their careers, their aspirations in life and their own religion. In the opinion of Peter L. Berger, written in his 1979 book ‘The Heretical Imperative’, modern times provide three fundamental options in relation to religion; the first being ‘The deductive option’, which reaffirms a certain religious tradition in spit of counter claims against it (e.g. Islamic fundamentalism); the second is the reductive option, which modernizes a religious tradition in term which make it sensible or understandable in todays most important modes of though. The final option is called the ‘inductive option’, which turns external forms of authority to individual experience (e.g. William James and the varieties of religious experience). By looking at these options deeper and look at opposing views to Berger’s theory and personal religious preference will give the reader a clearer view of Berger’s ‘The Heretical Imperative’.
People all over the world have different religions that believe in there is an almighty being. This means that they believe and worship the almighty being. However, there are people who have questioned whether such a being exists. The question has raised several arguments from different philosophers. Each of them came up with their different views about the controversy surrounding the question. God’s ‘existence’ is one of the widely discussed topics over the years. The question came to place due to some occurrences in society. Similarly, different scientific innovations have contributed to the continued debate on the question. God is believed to be ‘all-powerful’ because there is nothing that he cannot do. This means that he is able to perform anything that is beyond human capability. Such beliefs have raised several questions because they are not in line with science or logic in different ways. God’s existence contradicts with humanity, logic, and science.