final project religion

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Nellieann Galarza Linares Southern New Hampshire University PHL 230 – Religions of the World Instructor: Christopher Cone January 9, 2024 CHRISTIANITY VS. BUDDHISM Family and Cultural Pressures

Family and Cultural Pressures in Christianity and Buddhism How does Family and Cultural pressures affect a Christian or a Buddhist? People for a long time have experienced pressure from family and friends to reach persuasion into a specific religion. What this means is that a family member or a friend can talk you into practicing the same religion they practice or have the same beliefs. This topic is mostly seen in modern times because it causes a problem when it comes to the individual’s own beliefs, a conflict is created, and the person can begin to doubt their religious beliefs. When an individual is born into a religious family and household that individual is taught specific doctrines and norms based on the teachings of the religion they practice. Both Christianity and Buddhism have a distinctive approach towards traditional choice of religious practice. Historical Background Christianity: Christianity is the most popular religion in the world it originates back to the first century. This religion is known to have a base focus which is the faith tradition on the figure of Jesus Christ. The teachings of Jesus of Nazareth and his ministry is what Christianity is based on. Jesus’s ideas and those that he projected with his teachings were shaped partly by local Jewish religious concepts and customs of that age. Later is when the writings of Paul of Tarsus come together with the teachings of Jesus to then develop Christianity. At the time Christianity was a small and very unorganized sect that promised personal salvation after death. Jesus taught many things however there were several things that Jesus taught, and later Christians embraced. One of those things is to love your neighbor as yourself, also to ask God for the forgiveness of your own sins. Another one of the teachings include that Jesus is the Messiah and was given the authority

to forgive others. One that I personally embrace since I was very young is to forgive others that have done wrong to you or wronged you. Christianity has multiple norms and beliefs that are essential to everyday life and the well- being of the human-being. Buddhism: Buddhism is known to not have any God, what they do have is the “Ideal Enlightened Being” which is the Buddha. This religion originated in the Indian continent around the fifth century, to be exact in the north-eastern region of India. Today this area is known as Nepal. The primary figure in this religion is the Buddha, the Buddha was born in Lumbini which was a very small town that originated in what today is called Nepal. Another name for the Buddha is Siddhartha Gautama, he was a leader, a teacher, a mentor, and much more to the people of the now Nepal. The Buddha was born into a royal family around 563 BCE. At the age of 29 he began to realize that the wealthy lifestyle he lived was not to guarantee happiness. He then sets out in search of the key to happiness by exploring the teachings of other religions and the diversity that exists in the philosophies. It was not until 6 years of study and meditation that he discovered what he called “The Middle Path” which was achieving enlightenment. After this enlightenment is that he decides to spend the rest of his life teaching the principles and origins of Buddhism. Key Beliefs Christianity: Christians believe in only one God, they believed that Jesus was the son of God, another belief is that God sent his son Jesus to earth to save humanity from consequences to their sins. Another very important belief is that Jesus gives his life on the cross (The Crucifixion) and then rises from the dead on the third day (The Resurrection) (Nardo, 2018). Even If Christians believe

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in one God, there are three elements known to this one God, God the Father, God the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Christianity can be practiced anywhere however it is worshiped in churches around the world. Christian Writings usually refer to the Bible, the Holy Book consists of the Old and New Testaments. There are also a few Christian Holidays like Easter and Christmas which are considered important milestones as part of the western secular calendar. Buddhism: The three key beliefs of Buddhism are of course the Buddha, the Dharma which are the teaching of reality, and last but not least the Sangha which is the community of nuns and monks. These beliefs are called the “Three Jewels of Buddhism” and are the beliefs that all Buddhists take refuge in. The main teaching of the Buddha was always to not teach what he had personally learned but that everyone was to learn the same things he learned by themselves. Buddhists focus more on the process of discovery and the methods of existence (MindEdge, 2024). Another very important factor of Buddhism is “The Four Noble Truths” these refer to the truth of suffering, the truth of the cause of suffering, the truth of the end of suffering, and the truth of the path that leads to the end of suffering. Comparison The two religions that I chose are very different from one another, Christianity is a structured religion with writings and rules that an individual must comply to when practicing the religion. Buddhism on the other hand is a religion mostly based on life lessons and the teachings that occur to an individual about life and the origin of life itself. When a person decides to devote themselves into Christianity they are willingly giving in to the beliefs already established, to being guided by writings and withdrawing themselves from any activities considered a sin to

Christianity. Buddhists require teachings about life situation and existence to be able to fulfill the teachings they need to reach the “Nirvana” which is when a person reaches a state of peace and freedom and will not allow pain in the individual’s life. Both religions count with large amounts of devoted individuals in various countries but are very different when it comes to the amount of pressure that is established by family and friends. Another comparison I made is that in Buddhism you are in search of enlightenment after suffering, in Christianity you are in search of God and his acceptance. These two behaviors make me think of baptism and can imagine a Buddhist being “baptized” when enlightenment is found, and a Christian being “baptized” when they have found their way to God. Personal Evaluation While conducting my research I came across a lot of valuable information that I was not aware of beforehand. Both religions are of great discipline, and both were developed based on the exploring of other religions. Christianity has many similar teachings as Hebrews and Buddhism has very similar teaching to Hinduism. By this I mean that the religions like Buddhism and Hinduism originated form the same place which is this case is India, and for Christianity the development came upon exploration and learning from other religions. When it comes to family and cultural pressures both religions approach this very differently. Typically for Buddhist families one is born into the religion and must grow with the religion’s doctrines and teachings. In Christianity there is a bit more leverage if an individual decides they will no longer practice the religion even after being brought up with the religion. Personally, I have been more acquainted with Christianity and took the time to look in the Bible where there was versicle that definitely stuck out to me. It is actually a parable of Jesus Christ that resonates to me. “Therefore, whosoever heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth

them, I will liken him unto a wise man, which built his house upon a rock….. and everyone that hearth these sayings of mine, and doeth them not, shall be likened unto a foolish man, which built his house upon the sand…. And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the wind blew…….” (Matthew, 7:24-27). This resonates with me because I strongly believe that life in general should be lived based off of the parable above to the fullest extent. Jesus’s writings can be followed and used as a guide to live upon correct behavior based on the amount of faith one has in the writing and how good of an interpretation you have. Using the bible or Jesus’ writings and the amount of faith you have to guide your own lifestyle and the decisions you make can be very proactive to an individual’s life. Family and cultural pressures can affect a person when they are trying to identify themselves religious or trying to find their faith. It may also cause a person to feel they are incapable of self-conducting themselves in everyday life. Being born into a religion that requires so much commitment makes it harder for a person to evaluate themselves on all aspects of life because they are most of the time focused on the religion’s perspective of their actions. I believe that the best way to go about this is that each individual should not only have our civil right freedom of religion but also have the personal freedom to choose whether or not they will continue to practice the religion they have been compelled to. Speaking outside of religion and into the health aspect of this topic, a person that does not have the mental capacity to make strong but correct decisions in religion will to some extent experience mental instability and then require professional help to understand what is happening and find what they believe in. On other occasions people have also experienced a lack of comprehension of their surroundings in real time because of these family and cultural pressures. As an example, both Buddhist and Christians practice fasting as acts of devotion to their religion.

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Being in normal society they notice not everyone practices fasting as they do. There are two ways the devoted can react. They can either simply ignore the fact that there is a diversity of beliefs present and be firm to beliefs or feel overwhelmed and feel they are in the wrong place with the wrong people. The way I see this is that if the individual had the right amount of confidence in their beliefs, teachings, and doctrines they can remain there with society in general and it would not affect their beliefs or disrespect their religion. A person with an unstable mentality will allow the feeling to affect his socialization and cause the individual to isolate. Conclusion To conclude this research Christianity and Buddhism are both very developed religions even if their development was different. Christianity is mainly based on the right doing of life and the purpose we serve in life after God’s creation. Buddhism is much more knowledge based, your actions are based on your teachings and what dedication and stability you bring into your life when you find you enlightenment. Comparing both religions was the perfect way to comprehend the importance religion can have in a person’s life and how being devoted has its pro and its cons among any religion. And with this verse from the Holy Bible, I leave you. “ Walk in wisdom toward outsiders, making the best use of the time. Let your speech always be gracious, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how you ought to answer each person. ( Colossians 4:5–6 ) ”. Always be mindful of the way you speak to others, never sugarcoat what you want to say but always be careful of the way things are said.

References Nardo, D. (2018). Understanding Christianity . Reference Point Press. Bennett, R. (2017). Buddhism: Practices, Interpretations and Perspectives . Nova Science Publishers, Inc. MindEdge, Inc. (2024). Philosophy 230 - Religions of the World. Buddhism vs. Christianity on the Question of God . (n.d.). Www.youtube.com. Retrieved January 26, 2024, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=loRXNvebvvE\ Coutinho, K. (2014, July 9). Overview of Christianity . Www.equality.admin.cam.ac.uk . https://www.equality.admin.cam.ac.uk/projects/faith-and-belief-practice/overview-christianity . Religious issues . (2018, September 24). The Couch: A Therapy & Mental Wellness Blog. https://blog.zencare.co/religious-issues/ United Religions Initiative. (2019). Christianity: Basic beliefs . Uri.org; United Religions Initiative. https://www.uri.org/kids/world-religions/christian-beliefs

final project religion

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