Date of Award

2008

Document Type

Research Paper

Department

Whittier Scholars Program

First Advisor

Paul Kjellberg

Abstract

There are many questions within the world that we as human beings have not yet found the answer to. These types of issues are often not discussed within mainstream society and have created tremendous debates that produce inconclusive evidence and ideas that cannot be used to create a distinct conclusion. Religious discussions and debates amongst various religious communities undoubtedly exhibit signs of being one of these inconclusive issues. With this in mind, in order to understand how religion was developed, we much first discover the responses of each religion to the unexplainable questions. Death is essentially the ultimate unknown as we have no evidential knowledge of life existing after death. Meaning, any concepts we have created about life after death are based upon faith. Therefore, by forming an explanation for death it might be possible to then explain religion. Once we understand why religion is in the world, we can then try to discover why there are so many different belief systems. When world religions are looked at together, the topic of discussion usually revolves around the difference in beliefs and practices. Each is viewed as a separate idea that is distinct and uniquely individual from its counterparts. However, by focusing on religious similarities rather than differences, it seems possible to gain a much better understanding of the way people view religion and the world in which it was created. The goals of this discussion are to understand how religion was created, what it means to be religious, and how world religions can affect the way in which we view others. By gaining cultural and religious perspectives much different than our own, we will finally have the knowledge necessary to create a much more caring and sustainable society.

Comments

WSP Major: Human Development in an Ethical and Cultural Context

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