Introduction
Religion is a diverse subject and sensitive in the world today. The awareness of the roles religion play in the lives of humans is not a new thing but has been exemplified even by American founding fathers. Academic approach to religions is an important and completely different from the instructional classes one receives from theological institutions and from ones’ religious classes.
Our world view is shaped by our cultural and religious perceptions and as a result, it becomes difficult for us to see how our inherent religiousness, which seems to find a comfortable fit when we look into our own respective faiths, may have evolved into something completely different and strange in someone else’s religion.
Studying other people’s religions therefore is not a simple task and requires a lot of tolerance for these religions meaning that one has to see the possibility of the other person’s religion to be as true as his/ her religion. This is an important factor if we are to live in this world of diverse religions peaceably. The purpose of this paper is to explore the subject of religious tolerance and its usefulness in the academic approach to the religious phenomenon.
Hinduism
The cultural practices of the Hindus sate back to 1500 BCE but the use of the word Hindu came into use much later. The history of Hinduism dates back to 3000 BCE following a cultural encounter of two groups of people who were among the first to settle in the Indus River Valley. The religious practices synthesized by this group became what today is known as Hinduism.
In addition, the contemporary Hinduism though it has its roots in Vedas has evolved into a completely different system. This system does not only incorporate Hinduism but also other religions such as Islam and Christianity, which have found their way into the Indian society. According to Huston, India has turned into a home of many exiles whereby most of them are Tibetan Buddhists (1991, p. 150). Dalai Lama is the exiles’ leader.
The history of Buddhism date back millennia ago. Buddhist teaching give little or no explanation for the creation. It starts with the a priori position that everything in this world is transient and without permanence, which goes against the Moksha goal of the Upanishads, which places its faith in the reality of permanent self or Atman that transcends death, and its ultimate identity with the supreme Self Brahman.
Buddhist approach therefore pays more attention on the process of how to attain spiritual freedom, or Nirvana through voluntary human effort. In explaining how one can attain Nirvana Buddhism provides Four Noble Truths and the Eightfold Path (Huston,1991, p. 158). The four noble truths include: 1) all life is suffering, 2) All suffering, according to the Buddha arises from Tanha (desire or craving in Pali): Humans, prompted by their insatiable desire, long for ever-newer experiences to satiate their senses. Unaware of the ever-changing nature of the world, people inevitably suffer disappointment when their wishes fail, 3) that suffering should cease if desiring ends and lastly that It is possible to stop desiring by following the eightfold path prescribed by Buddha.
It gives a path intended to end human suffering. This path entails right livelihood, view, speech, concentration and conduct among other key aspects for ending suffering. This path seems like a behavioral model designed to transform oneself into a better person intellectually, morally, and emotionally.
Chinese Religious Traditions
It is important to note that geography seem to have nurtured the development of human cultures through ages and across the globe. In Chinese history, there are two rivers that have played significant roles are the Yellow (Huang Ho) River in the North, and the Yangtze River in the south. Archeological evidence suggests that the Yellow River was the lifeline nurturing the ancient human settlements in East Asia (Huston, 1991, p.89).
Traditional Chinese history tells us that another ruling family called the Xia preceded the Shang rulers. Furthermore, the two prominent political cultures of ancient China that succeeded the Shang, namely the Zhou, and the Han, may have looked back at the Shang, to model their own political systems. Historians locate the emergence of Confucianism and Taoism as organized systems of thought in the later part of the Zhou rule. It is important to note that these two systems pay considerable attention to improving human behavior.
The Chinese Concept of Kingship has a paramount relationship with religious authority. The concept combines three factors, ancestral worship, and long periods of rule by a particular dynasty, and the recognition of the family as the primary social unit that can teach us how to behave (Huston, 1991, p.120).
This explains why the reigning monarch would be considered the rightful worshipper not only for his family, but also for society. In this case, government would be an extension of a large family, where the king as the head of the household, as well as the head of the kingdom would be the undisputed authority over his subjects.
In many ways, the Taoist worldview complements the Confucian perspective. Whereas Confucianism mainly focuses on promoting ethical order and harmony within human society, Taoism sets its views on the way of Cosmos, and Nature, and therefore emphasizes individual spirituality (Huston, 1991,p.126).
Taoist philosophy emphasizes several points, which include achievement of intuitive harmony with the primal nature of the universe is the final goal, that Tao is the name for the overarching cosmic order: It is a fundamental metaphysical category, beyond characterization through language (note difference in meaning from Confucianism) and that Tao is the traditional Chinese expression of mystical thought. It is an intuitive and direct experience of the total and unitary reality, which can never be sufficiently analyzed or described.
Abrahamic Monotheism
History, for Judaism, is neither an illusion, nor a circular process of nature, nor is it coequal to God. Instead, it is the arena of God’s purposeful activity, and is under his absolute command. The Hebrew Bible, unlike the Vedas, Upanishads, the Tripitakas, or the Confucian and Taoist texts, is organized according to a specific chronological order (Goldberg & John,1989,p.327).
The era of the Babylonian exile, and the subsequent return of the exiled population to Jerusalem during 6th through 5th century B.C.E., is an important age in the history of Judaism as it marks the transformation of the tradition from a temple-centered worship of God to a congregational worship under the guidance of a Rabbi in a synagogue.
Christianity developed its separate identity by the end of the first century C.E., and became the imperial religion by the fourth century. The ancient Christian Church, often referred to as the Catholic Church, broke into the Latin and the Greek factions by the eleventh century. Since then it is the Latin Church (called the Roman Catholic Church), centered in Rome, which has played a central role in developing Medieval Europe’s religious and social institutions.
In the sixteenth century, the Roman Catholic Church again faced a crisis, which led to the rise of Protestantism. Christianity, from very early on, had emphasized a commitment of faith in the figure of Jesus as the Savior. Prior to Emperor Constantine’s recognition of the tradition, creedal statements were often used to proclaim one’s commitment to this faith and one’s membership in the believing community.
Christianity used creedal statements, which includes the apostles and the Nicene Creeds. While named the Apostle’s Creed, there exists no evidence, that apostles ever used this particular version. The Nicene Creed, a second version of the creedal statement presented here is from a later era, first formulated at the Council in Nicea in 325 C.E., but ratified in its present form in 381 C.E.
Another aspect of Christian tradition that came to its own during the first few centuries of the Common Era is the tradition of Asceticism. The ascetic tradition preference may be because it focused on spiritual seeking (a life of hardship, and strict discipline) may have appealed to certain members of the Christian community and that some of the early ascetics may have had an apocalyptic aim, trying to prepare them for the impending Kingdom of God (Esposito et al., 2002, p. 417). Other reasons are that during the second and third century of Christian persecution, solitary life in the desert may have become an alternative to martyrdom and that renouncing luxury and wealth may have been a statement of one’s voluntary acceptance of the Christian ideal.
Another important era in Christianity history is the rise of Protestantism. Many history books focus on the theological position of the German monk Martin Luther and his differences with the Catholic Church on the corrupt practice of the sale of indulgences as one of the major reasons behind the rise of Protestantism (Esposito et al, 2002, p. 417).
Some of the causes may include the increased political and economic power of many rulers of northern Europe as their maritime expeditions led to the founding of new colonies outside Europe. Their newly acquired powers prompted them to challenge the political and religious authority of the Pope based in Rome and the immense wealth of the Church and the corrupt behavior of many Church officials may have fueled the public indignation against the institution.
Conclusion
Religion is a basis of human life in a way and can be distinguished to have a universal aspect. This universal aspect of religion is not unique to the Eastern traditions, it can be found in the hymns and writings of all religions, including Christian saints and Jewish mystics as well. This universal aspect of the religious impulse forces us to explore the possibility for a biological basis of religious sentiment. For this reason, it is important for people, who study the academic approach to this phenomenon, to step out of their forms of belief so that they can understand the other people’s beliefs better. This does not necessarily mean the abandoning of one’s faith but giving an opportunity to view religion from another side, an aspect that will give a deeper understanding and thus creating a more peaceable community.
References
Esposito, J., Darrell F., & Todd L. (2002). World Religions Today. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Goldberg, D. J., & John D. R.(1989). The Jewish People: Their History and their Religion. London: Penguin Books.
Huston, S. (1991). The World’s Religions: Our Great Wisdom Traditions, Rev. Edition. UK: Harper.