Discuss the Taoist and Confucian Elements on Chinese American society that allowed the Chinese to transcend American racism ?
A culture is divided by elements that you can see as well as others that you cannot see. Among the elements that enabled the Chinese to rise above American racism are four main elements that are deeply rooted in the Chinese people and gave them the ability to transcend racism in America. These are their language, their arts, their clothing as well as their religion. The Chinese language helped them go through the culture of racism in America in a way that it Chinese is not just one language but actually consists of several dialects.
Mandarin Chinese is the most widely used language in China and there are actually more people who speak the Mandarin dialect compared to any other language in the world. Mandarin acquires its characteristic musical sort of quality from the fact that it is a tonal dialect. This refers to the fact that depending on how a word is spoken, it can have more than one meaning. This gave them a sense of belonging that enabled them to relate to a particular culture via dialect. Chinese art is another element of Taoist and Confucian that helped them go above the issue of American racism seeing as it is deeply embedded in them.
The art which is very easily distinguishable from others whether in painting or opera, are characterized by themes, subtle brush strokes as well as superior quality paper. Silk has always been a highly popular and fashionable type of clothing and the Chinese consider it as an element of Taoist and Confucian. They have had a sense of pride in their clothing made from silk which is viewed in high esteem by many from a long time back. Religion has played a vital role in aiding the Chinese overcome racism in America. This is from the fact that it is comprised of four different elements namely Buddhism, Taoism, Confucianism and Chinese folk. Majority of the people of Chinese origin practice a mixture of all four elements.
What elements of Hinduism/Buddhism allow them to assimilate easily into American society?
Among the elements that may be perceived to let Buddhism as well as Hinduism to be easily incorporated into the American society are the four elements considered the “great elements” or the “four elements” which are earth, water, fire and air of which, for the freedom from suffering of an individual or understanding what suffering entails, the earlier Buddhists considered them a foundation for the religion.
Much earlier than that, were explanations about the four primary material elements as being the sensory qualities; solidity, fluidity, temperature and mobility. Rather than concentrate on the reality of material existence, a person instead scrutinized how a material thing was perceived, felt or sensed. Present science views groups of “elementary particles” that do not have sub-structures and “composite particles” that contain sub-structures. This is primarily based on the elements of Hinduism and Buddhism. It also is dated back to pre-Greek teachings and is welcomed by modern scientists in their research methods.
Astrologists in the West utilize, in correlation to the horoscopes as well as the charts that they form, the four classical elements. By dividing the twelve zodiac signs into the four elements, they manage to get the elements of Buddhism and Hinduism assimilated into the American society. When it comes to the use of divinatory tarot which is vastly common in the American society, water, fire, earth and air associate directly with cups, swords, batons or wands and coins or discs respectively.
Among the less pronounced elements of Hinduism and Buddhism is the caste system whereby each caste is represented by a particular section of the body. They believed that each caste came from a different part of their god’s body and is treated differently. This compounded their ability to be assimilated into the American society as they are considered caste in America. Their belief in karma as a way of life may also be considered by some in the American society as a fact that makes it easy for them to be assimilated.
Do you think that the founding fathers in tended for America to be “religion’ less? In what senses?
In the 17th century, people of very deep religious beliefs sailed over the Atlantic Ocean in a bid to practice freely their faith. They settled in several of the colonies of which in 1776 developed into the United States of America. These dedicated religious beliefs of the original settlers wavered and was revived by the in-coming of new immigrants in the 18th century. These immigrants came with their very own religious passions across the Atlantic Ocean causing the states initial key religious beliefs to recover as they had plummeted.
This instilled a renewed passion into religion in the country. A rebellion against Great Britain erupted in 1776, and as much as new governments were being formed by the American statesmen at all levels including national as well as state level, they all shared the same view of their people which was that religion was very important to the upholding of republican establishments.
Hard work of the American nation Founders to establish the part of religious devotion in communal life as well as the extent to which it was able to be held by public representatives of which it was not conflicting with the radical essentials of the fairness as well as the liberty of all the general public were issues addressed. Between the years 1774-1789, the lawmaking organization that ruled the United States of America consisted of a huge number of highly religious men.
At no other time in the history of subsequent Congress has the observation of religion been encouraged so much like at that particular time. This initial law-making body was highly convinced on the issue of “public prosperity” of a community and stated that it relied on the importance of its religion. This therefore implies that the founding fathers never intended for the state to be religion-less.
Is it possible for any society, particularly American society, to practice religious equality? What senses?
An agreement was formulated by the founders of America and it stated that Congress shall not create any decree with respect to an institution of religion nor will it prevent the free exercise thereof. Henceforth, the administration gave their word not to get involved at all with whichever religious inclinations or concerns that may arise from within the people. With the creation of the free nation, came an amendment to the constitution stating that all Americans were able to practice any religion of their choice without any legislative interference.
Since then America has maintained through its history, the fact that one of the most important things that would enable the country operate as a free state, is the freedom as well as the equality of religion. America considers religion as the “ultimate concern”. The implications here are that religion is considered something that people are dedicated to or rather which they get a large amount of pleasure. Religion is viewed as a vital part of life.
Due to the differences that religion has on every individual, each conscience should be taken as equal. This comes from the impacts of religion on society. Americans believe that a religious conscience should be the same as a secular conscience as they are mutually included in the same ideal. Also, among the main reasons of the break-away from Great Britain was the wish to attain religious freedom. The Americans also firmly believe that their government should either offer utter support as well as backup to the various religious groups and their activities or keep off the sector completely. From this, we can safely deduce that it is very possible for the American society to practice religious equality.