Major Non-Christian World Religions - Essay Example

When reading the almanac page about Buddhism, we read that its sacred texts provide “rules of monastic life” and that it practices meditation (“Major Non-Christian World Religions”). Just by reading this, we will form our ideas of what mediation and monasticism are from our limited knowledge and understanding of Buddhism. We have to read and learn about the history of Buddha, the meanings and context of his teachings, and how they have been influenced throughout its history. Also, just by reading a small paragraph that their belief consists of a cycle of rebirth and death, we can’t grasp the full understanding of this belief and what it is trying to say (“Major Non-Christian World Religions”). With such basic and little knowledge, we would be unable to even try to compare it to other religions.

When we just read these simple summaries, it makes us believe that religions are boiled down to the few listed practices and beliefs. We make the wrong conclusions and tend to misunderstand the true meaning and their teachings. For example, when reading the summary on Islam, it seems like a list of rigid tasks of fasting, giving charity, and strict rules of conduct (“Major Non-Christian World Religions”). These few words fail to do justice to the vast and rich history of the religion, its founder, practices, and cultural context. We don’t get an idea of how and why it came to be, what influences it had on the people, and how it changed and developed history.

Also, when we read the basic concepts and practices of any religion we start making assumptions that its followers worldwide do these same few practices that we have read on a page. For example, when one reads that in Judaism, people observe certain dietary restrictions, celebrate specific holidays like Rosh Hashana, and adhere to a “period of fasting and penitence”, we automatically assume that every single Jewish person does the same thing no matter where (“Major Non-Christian World Religions”). We can’t fully grasp the influences that history and culture have had on a particular religion. Judaism is a rich and deeply rooted religion with people and their ideologies being as diverse and intertwined as the history and context that continues to shape it.

Reading a page from an almanac about world religions only offers a small glimpse into their various practices and beliefs. Religions can’t be simply divided into regions and sects and broken down into simple categories to perfectly organize on a page. This creates wrong assumptions and misunderstandings and doesn’t help us at all to gather the full extent of religion and be able to compare it to another. It has taken centuries of scholars and researchers to study these and many other religions and still we continue to learn new things every day. So how can a one-page summary possibly be enough to give us an adequate understanding of these diverse religions? They have all been shaped and constantly developed throughout human history. We can’t merely treat them as another page to be flipped in an old almanac. Read More