Religious Studies Essay, Research Paper
Religious Studies (Essay)
Should the study of religion be left to religious people? Write an essay of not more than 1200 words.
Assuming that ?religion? here has the same meaning as one of the definitions referred to in O U Block 4 Unit 14 (and in particular is an activity caught by Ninian Smart?s The Nature of Religion, A5 Resource Book 3) we still need to know what is meant by ?religious people? before we can properly answer the question posed for this essay. By ?religious people?, presumably the question is not referring to theologians but ordinary people who follow a particular religion. If that is the case then it is felt that the study of religion should be left to religious people. However, this is not without its problems.
One of the problems in leaving the study of religion to religious people is in determining whether they will be objective. Will a Christian when studying, say, Islamic Fundamentalism, be prejudiced in favour of his own faith or will he treat the Islamic religion impartially? Until the Enlightenment in the eighteenth century, Christians referred to, for instance, Judaism as being ?false or devilish?. It was only after the Enlightenment that Europeans gave names to religions other than those found on the continent and although these were European inventions they were not always right. For example, according to Bill Heilbronn (an authority on Hinduism) , Hinduism was wrongly named and should have correctly been referred to as the Vedic religion.
It could be argued that non religious scholars are better placed to study religion. They are usually analytical, dispassionate and, because they have no affinity to one particular, or indeed any religion, can study religion without fear of being accused of prejudice or bias. But what happens when they come up against so called ?miracles? ? will they remain dispassionate? Take the case of the woman who became pregnant and gave birth after having received a liver transplant (apparently believed to be only the third woman in the world to have had a baby after such a transplant). Her obstetrician is reported as saying ?? doctors are supposed to be cool and professional. But when we come into contact with miracles we find ourselves asking questions about the mystery of life.? : see The Times, 11th June 1998, p 1.
Will non religious people have a ?feel? for a religion? Whilst they will be able to study a specific religion?s beliefs, ceremonies, artefacts, dogma etc. will they be aware of the nuances or idiosyncrasies of that religion ? or have sympathy with it? Take David R. Kinsley writing about Hinduism (or should one now say ?the Vedic Religion??!) in Introduction: Benares. Here, Kinsley can be said to be non religious in that clearly he is not a Hindu. His witting testimony is there for us to read: for instance his description of ?the great number? of ascetics to be found in the city of Benares and of their activities. His unwitting testimony, however, is more interesting. He unwittingly shows himself to be a non Hindu, an outsider if you like, by phrases such as ??transience of the worldly life they [ the ascetics] have renounced ? or ?their only possessions are a pot and a staff ?. A Hindu writing about his own religion would feel no need to comment on these matters raised by Kinsley ? the Hindu (the religious person in this context) would be only too well aware of their significance; in other words be well aware of the nuances of his religion and can therefore bring about a better understanding of it.
According to the prospectus from Cambridge University for its Theological and Religious Studies Tripos
religion is ?still a crucial factor for many nations and communities, as well as for individuals searching for meaning, or confronting fundamental issues of war and peace, freedom and bondage, good and evil.? With so much at stake, can the study of religion safely be left to anybody but a religious person? Can such study be left to a person (i.e. a non religious person) who has no faith in anybody or anything but himself? I think not. This line of thought is following the argument that because religion can be said to be a ?totally distinct and unique category of human experience? it is ?beyond the comprehension of those who have not felt this experience directly?. This is put most succinctly by Otto when he says:-
The reader is invited to direct his mind to a moment of deeply-felt religious experience, as little as possible qualified by other forms of consciousness. Whoever cannot do this, whoever knows no such moments in his experience, is requested to read no further; [my italics] for it is not easy to discuss questions of religious psychology with one who cannot recollect the emotions of his adolescence, the discomforts of indigestion, or, say, social feelings, but cannot recall any intrinsically religious feelings
Otto. R. (1970, 2nd edn) The Idea of the Holy, Oxford University Press
Of course, there are those people (according to Gwilym Beckerlegge writing in Section 6 of Units 14/15) who, ?regardless of whether they are religious or not, strive for an impartial approach not shaped by their own beliefs?. But this takes us into the realms of ?Religious Studies? ? something which, it could be said, is not within the parameters of the question which has been set here.
Most religious people are devout, serious, honest and trustworthy. If they carry these attributes into their study of religion then surely their work on religion will be all the more worthwhile and respected. With faith in their own religion in particular, and understanding of religious concepts in general, not only can they better study and appreciate their own religion but will bring to the study of other religions an insight and perception that might not be the case with a non religious person studying religion.
Другие работы по теме:
Short Paper On Jane Eyre Essay Research
Paper In Jane Eyre Charlotte Bronte intertwines various religious ideas in her mid-nineteenth century English setting. Throughout the novel, Jane Eyre blends various religious insights which she has learned from different sources. While Jane was young, she had only a Biblical textbook outlook on life combined with the miserable emotional conditions of her surroundings.
Silas Marner By George Eliot Mary Ann
Evans) (1819 – 1880) Essay, Research Paper Eliot’s Silas Marner is replete with religious overtones, class divisions, and interwoven human emotions. Life-mysteries
Eco 2 Essay Research Paper SURVEYOR NEEDEDSurveyor
Eco 2 Essay, Research Paper SURVEYOR NEEDED Surveyor Job Description The Canadian Government is looking for a surveyor. This could be your lucky day. If you are totally identical to what is bellow then we want you. So don’t miss out on this great opportunity. Fill out your Resume today.
Church And State Essay Research Paper The
Church And State Essay, Research Paper The issue of church and state has become more important in the 20th century. There are many reasons for this, because in this century people are becoming more outspoken then in earlier centuries. People are now willing to stand up for their beliefs and views, as in the past people weren?t brave enough to stand up and speak up on how they felt.
Religion In The Us Essay Research Paper
Osman More Religious? Prove It Ever since colonial times, many Americans seem to think that they are unique and different. Reeves, in his article Are Americans Different? You Bet They Are, is a perfect example of this argument. One of his claims is that Americans are more religious than people of other nationalities.
Anne Hutchinson Essay Research Paper Andrew D
Anne Hutchinson Essay, Research Paper Andrew D. Dugan Anne Hutchinson Although Anne Hutchinson is historically documented to have been banished as a religious dissenter, the real motive for her persecution was that she challenged the traditional subordinate role of women in Puritan society by expressing her own religious convictions.
Child Morality Essay Research Paper The Child
Child Morality Essay, Research Paper The Child as a Moral Philosopher In this Article ? The Child as a Moral Philosopher,? psychologist Lawrence Kolberg gives a clear description of his theory of moral development. Kolberg uses the studies of seventy-five American boys of varying ages. He also uses boys from other cultures for instance Great Britain, Canada, Taiwan, Mexico and Turkey.
Giovanni Boccaccio Essay Research Paper Giovanni BoccaccioBoccaccio
Giovanni Boccaccio Essay, Research Paper Giovanni Boccaccio Boccaccio was born in Paris, in 1313, the illegitimate son of a Florentine merchant and a French noblewoman. Reared in Florence, he was sent to study accounting in Naples around 1323. He abandoned accounting for canon law and gave that up for classical and scientific studies.
Judiasm Essay Research Paper The meaning of
Judiasm Essay, Research Paper The meaning of Judaism as stated in ROW, religion of the people the southern Israelite realm of Judah. The history of Judaism is divided in three periods, the time of beginning, classical Judaism, and modern Judaism. During the time of the beginning the religion centered on the cult and temple of the Yahweh.
Second Coming Essay Research Paper The poem
Second Coming Essay, Research Paper The poem The Second Coming was written by William Butler Yeats in 1919. Yeats was an accomplished Irish poet and was known for the socio-religious ideas he emphasized in his poetry. In The Second Coming, his ideas unfold in three significant metaphors.
Morality Does Need Religion Essay Research Paper
Morality Does Need Religion In his essay, C. Stephen Layman clashes two views of morality: that of the secular point of view and the religious point of view. Layman starts out by defining the two different stances. The secular point of view states that there is no after life and that morality was an emergent phenomenon.
Study On Religion Essay Research Paper Study
Study On Religion Essay, Research Paper Study on Religion Mike Fehl Sociology-4 Mr. Winch January 6, 1997 Scientific Method Isolating the Problem – Does religious involvement have any impact on how people
Passolini Essay Research Paper Passolini
Passolini Essay, Research Paper Passolini’s movie included short tales displaying the irony and humor that take place in Italian religious communities. For example, one tale was about a convent filled with devoted nuns that decided to hire what thought was a poor, deaf, mute man. They hired this man as the gardener for their convent.
William James Essay Research Paper William James
William James Essay, Research Paper William James, in the first lecture of his work the varieties of religious experiences analyzes the origins of religious phenomena. The theory mostly debated among others is that of medical materialism.
Promote Malaysia On A Shoestring Budget Essay
, Research Paper It is not an easy task to promote Malaysia to the foreign countries with only a small budget available. However, there is nothing impossible as long as we have the courage to do it. As we all know, Malaysian government as well as private sectors sponsors students to continue their studies to the foreign countries every year.
African American Studies Essay Research Paper Ryan
African American Studies Essay, Research Paper Ryan Bradley3/1/00 As African Americans become equal citizens in America they need to establish their own aims and ideas as people. African Americans must do
Religious Life Essay Research Paper Religious LifeTo
Religious Life Essay, Research Paper Religious Life To be properly defined as religious a person has to publicly profess the evangelical counsels poverty, chastity, and obedience as a way of life consecrated to God. Certainly all Christians are called to be religious, which is to live out their faith in the way that God tells them to.
Night Essay Research Paper The NightNight by
Night Essay, Research Paper The Night Night by Elie Wiesel is a story of one of the few Holocausts survives. He and the many others are being persecuted for their religious beliefs. In the Jewish community of Sighet everyone was in disbelief for what was in store for them. Then the acts of cruelty to each other in time of need, to hoping to survive one day to the next.
Muslim Essay Research Paper Religious Studies 12311696Both
Muslim Essay, Research Paper Religious Studies 123 11-6-96 Both Peters and Dashti make some drastic theoretical presuppositions and assumptions in their writings. First of all, and most importantly, they assume most of the stories that supposedly took place during Muhammad?s life as true. This seems very important to me.
Indias Religion Essay Research Paper Religion in
India`s Religion Essay, Research Paper Religion in India Religion plays a vital role in the Indian way of life. About 83 percent of the Indian people are Hindus, and about 11 percent are Muslims. The next largest religious groups, in order of size, are Christians, Sikhs, Buddhists, and Jains. Religious laws of the Hindus and Muslim govern the people?s clothing, food, and marriage.
Divine Command Theory Essay Research Paper Divine
Divine Command Theory Essay, Research Paper Divine Command Theory The divine command theory is the view that moral actions are those which conform to God’s will. Charity, for example, is morally proper because God endorses it, and murder is wrong because God condemns it. One way to test to see whether any action is right or wrong is first to determine if it conforms to God’s will, it is morally permissible, if it does not, then it is impermissible.
Women In India Essay Research Paper The
Women In India Essay, Research Paper The Changing Role of Women in India Women in India are beginning to follow the direction that the women of the Western world took more than eighty years ago; demanding treatment as human equals. However, it has become more and more evident as the revolution ages that Indian women may have to adapt the Western feminist method to their very traditional and religious culture.
Religious Edu Essay Research Paper Teacher
Religious Edu Essay, Research Paper Teacher: Raymen E. Grade Level: 6th Date: 08/26/00 Lesson Plan Book One ? Exploring and Discovering. Topic One ? Mapping the world.
School Essay Research Paper School Where
School Essay, Research Paper School! Where did they come up with that name? I guess because it rhymes with lame Now this rhyme you read will be quite corny Please don’t get upset, mad, or horny
Ketchup Essay Research Paper October 30 2000Ms
Ketchup Essay, Research Paper October 30, 2000 Ms. Peggy Charen 5335 W. Lake Dr. Memphis, TN 65804 Dear Ms. Charen I received your letter concerning the new Ketchup labels. I can see where you are coming from, but can assure you that is not what is happening in our classrooms.
Concerns That Caused The Settlement Of British
North America Essay, Research Paper I believe that throughout the Colonial period, economic concerns had more to do with the settling of British North America than did religious reasons. First, according to my textbook, the British originally sponsored trips over to the New World only after other countries were profiting from their collections of goods and new trade ports.
Ancient India 2
Ancient India – Religion Essay, Research Paper India has long been known as a very spiritual, religious heavy area of the world. In India, religion is a way of life. It is an integral part of the entire Indian tradition. For the majority of Indians, religion permeates every aspect of life, from common-place daily chores to education and politics.
If I Can
’t See God, How Do I Know God Exists Essay, Research Paper The mystery of God’s existence has been a crucial element of many religious studies and traditions. Who is God? What is God? Where is God? To effectively discuss the existence of God, it is necessary to illustrate the notion of faith. People of faith believe that God does exist, and that relationship with God gives meaning to their lives.
Business Studies Essay Research Paper Business Studies
Business Studies Essay, Research Paper Business Studies [ Your display is set for the "US-ASCII" character set. ] [ Some characters may be displayed incorrectly. ] ^+What is Business Studies?^+ ^+Business studies is the study of how businesses are set up, financed,organised and controlled, how people are employed, managed and paid, howgoods are developed, produced and sold, how goods and services arepriced and how the local, national and international government help orhinder businesses.^+1 In studying the setting up of a business there are many aspects thatneed to be considered.
Womens Studies Essay Research Paper What is
Womens Studies Essay, Research Paper What is Women s Studies? Women s Studies explores a wide assortment of issues. Since the scope of topics that Women s Studies covers is so broad, it is difficult to come up with a solid definition that fully explains this subject.
New England Colonies Essay Research Paper The
New England Colonies Essay, Research Paper The New England Colonies The New England Colonies were made up of Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut, and New Hampshire. Massachusetts’s founders were John Carver, William Bradford, and John Winthrop and they founded it in 1620. One of the reasons Carver, Bradford, and Winthrop founded Massachusetts was for religious freedom.
Sociology 101 Essay Research Paper Sociology 101By
Sociology 101 Essay, Research Paper Sociology 101 By: Chris Reeh This article is about Spanish rabbi-poet named Judah Halevi. He lived in a society in which Jews were socially powerless. They were also influenced heavily by the dominant Islamic culture. He wrote many poems and books. His poetry brought a deeper sense of the Jewish spirituality to many people.