Consequence Of Religious Tolerance/Intolorance

Consequence of Religious Tolerance/Intolerance

SOC/105 Gina Miller

The purpose of this paper is to satisfy our team's assignment for week three in SOC/105. This paper will first define several words related to the title, expose some consequences of religious intolerance, and finally explain how religion connects with our culture.

Our team discovered while looking at different religions that there were many religions than what we will define here. It is certain that a discussion about religion will at some point bring up the subject matter of there being so many different religions, and do they have any common components. Our group agreed that although that are many differences, there are some similarities, impacting four basic areas, they are: what people believe, what people do, what people think, and what people feel. For many people religion is their way of life. David Barrette in an a weekly column writes, "it is well known that those who think about their own religion often work hard to establish what they believe to be the correct interpretation for the time in which they live." Another thing to take into consideration before moving on to the next definition is behavior. Behaviors of religion according to David Barrette could include rituals, meditation, and prayer, much of this list is learned after joining a particular religion, and again these all in turn become a way of life. In each particular religion, most members live very close to others practicing the same religion for comfort, strength, and in order to keep growing stronger in order to help newer members as they begin their way of life.

The definition of tolerance as it applies to religion may be different depending on who is answering the question. For this paper the definition of tolerance is simply put "freedom" according to www.apologeticsindex.org a religious organization website formed to encourage

Christians to study the Bible in order to defend Christianity while providing resources for the non-believers to compare it to other religious allegations in order to make the right decision concerning what they believe. Christians have an obligation to be sure not to offend anyone including those of other religions or even members of a cult. Author Gary Phillips writes that the object of today's dialogue is "no longer a search for any kind of normative truth, but an exercise in social healing for marginalized groups." His redefinition of tolerance could have a serious effect on Christian witness. He goes on to say, that "it is one thing to restrain religious activities in church-state conflicts, but something else altogether when cultural pressures stifle the practice of religious beliefs."

Webster defines Religious intolerance is as refusing to acknowledge and support the right of individuals to have their own beliefs and related legitimate practices. Also, the unwillingness to have one's own beliefs and related practices critically evaluated. (Apologetics Index, 1996-2003.

In an article titled "Patterns in Comparative Religions" author Michael Pye says, "the most important examples of widespread religions are Buddhism, Christianity, Judaism, and Islam." He also says that "when we look at these religions closely we see that they are divided into many varieties." David Barrett another author, editor of "World Christian Encyclopedia," based on census or public data, said, that "there are nineteen major world religions which are subdivided into a total of 270 large religious groups, and many smaller ones." We surveyed our class, upon feedback from our class, 75% of the class belonged to one of these major religions.

Webster's dictionary definition of religion is the "personal commitment to and serving of God or a god with worship devotion, conduct in accordance with divine commands especially as found in accepted sacred writings or declared by authoritative teachers a way of life recognized as incumbent on true believers, and typically the relating of oneself to an organized body of believers." Britannica Encyclopedia defines religion as "consisting of a person's relationship with God or gods or spirits." Worship is probably the most basic element of religion, but moral conduct, right belief, and participation in religious institutions are generally also consistent elements of the religious life as practiced by believers' and worshipers and as command by religious life sages and scriptures.

Webster defines Muslim as "a believer in the following of Islam. The word

Muslim means on who submits and implies complete submission to the will of god (Allah)." Muslims believe that nature itself is Islamic, since it follows laws placed by god (Allah)." Thus, a Muslim strives to submit to god (Allah). Since it follows natural laws placed by God. Thus, a Muslim strives to surrender to God's commands every step of the way. The holiest book of the Muslims faith is the "Koran". Muslims consider the Arabis Quran as the direct revelations of God; translations do exist to other languages but are not regarded as the literal word of God (Webster).

Buddhism is according to Webster Buddhism (also known as Buddha Dharma), is a way of life, a practical, and arguably a form of psychology. Buddhism focuses on the teachings of Guatama Budda who was born in Kapilavastu in what is now Nepal, with the name Siddhвrtha Gautama (Pвli: Siddhattha Gotama) around the fifth century BCE. Buddhism spread throughout the Indian subcontinent in the five centuries following the Buddha's passing, and propagated into Central, Southeast, and East Asia over the next two millennia.

Encarta Encyclopedia defines Judaism as the religion of the Jews that has its basis in the Bible and the Talmud. Like many other religions Judaism has many different versions, with common similarities.

Christianity defined by Britannia is a religion stemming from the teaching of Jesus in the 1st century A.D. Sacred scripture is the Bible, particularly the New Testament. Its principal tenants are what Jesus is the Son of God (The second person of the Holy Trinity), that God's love for the world is the essential component of his being and that Jesus died to redeem humankind. Christianity was originally a movement of Jews who accepted Jesus as the Messiah, but the movement quickly became predominately Gentile. The early church was shaped by St. Paul and other Christian Missionaries and theologian; it was persecuted under the