Comparing Eastern and Western Religions
Comparison of Western and Eastern religions is based on the analysis of similarities and differences of the following core aspect and concepts of religions, namely: meta-narratives; syncretism; definition of supernatural agents (gods, ancestors, spirits, and demons); concept of evil; the sacred (holy places, sacred times and initiates); Eastern and Western mentality and way thinking.
The very first evidence of similarities of all religions can be found in ancient texts. It is known that religious texts emerged from ancient works, namely Myths of Harmony (China), Myths of Liberation (India), and Myths of History (Islam, Christianity and Judaism). Despite of the meta-stories are different and are named differently, they have much in common in the way they were narrated. Thus, the presence of the main hero who lived, suffered and then saved the mankind is the common feature of those narratives (Fisher, 1997; Campbell, 2008).
Supposedly, both Eastern and Western religions have same origin and borrow some ideas from each other (the idea of syncretism). Syncretism can be observed when closely investigating the religions. Thus, there are certain similarities between Christian transmigration and karma concept of Buddhism, some of the Zen Buddhist meditation practices coincide with Judaism practices, Mexican Roman Catholicism contains the elements of pre-Christian religions, ethical stances originated from Roman Catholicism were adopted by American Baptists, and Buddhist bodhisattvas resemble with Divine Beings from early Buddhism (Esposito, Fasching, & Lewis, 2002).
Another common feature of all religions is the presence of supernatural agents who are disembodied. Therefore, both Eastern and Western religions reject materialistic doctrines. However, those heavenly creatures are very much similar to humans and may contact humans through normal means of communication, may experience emotions similar to human, and build up their communication with humans on the principle of fair exchange (Campbell, 2008).
The presence of two antagonistic forces in the meta-narratives makes Eastern and Western religions resemble. An opposition of two forces can be traced in Christianity and Persian Zoroastrianism as the best examples. The difference is that in some religions there is only one god opposing to evil forces, in other religions there are two gods (good and evil).
More resemblance could be found when analyzing a concept of evil. This is one of the central problems which is addressed in many religions. Evil symbolizes something bad and adverse. The main idea of all religions is to behave good to be rewarded while wrongdoers will be unavoidably punished (Fisher, 1997).
One more similarity which unites all religions is division of the world into two parts: mundane and sacred. Mundane part is associated with mortal life and sins while sacred part is perceived as more powerful, mysterious and sometimes even dangerous. Sacred part is represented by persons in religion which could be shamans, priests, prophets and sometimes kings depending on a certain religion. The main task of a clergyman is to minister in the holy places – the function which is inaccessible to mere mortals. Sacred times coincide with religious holidays tied to phases of the moon or certain planets configurations. Such rituals tied to astrology can be traced both in Western religions practices in Europe or North America and in Eastern religions (China, India) (Esposito, Fasching, & Lewis, 2002).
In whole, both Eastern and Western religions can be specified as law of human existence which should be observed and worshiped by humans. Inherently, all religions address the same issues and propagate same basic human incentives. However, every religion has its own unique features that are expressed in the difference in mega-narrative they are based on, ritual practices and basic beliefs.
The most significant difference lies in the way of thinking inherent in people who exercise either Eastern or Western religion. Western culture has embarrassingly intense individualistic nature. It is essential for Western people to be different from other individuals. Often they prefer to emphasize personal achievements and control their behavior. They aim at equality in the personal relationships and believe that a person should not be distinguished because of his or her attachment to the good and the great. Western type of communication differs with linear perception of time, high level of socialization, and informality.
On the contrary to Western people, Asian people and other people who exercise Eastern religions share quite different opinion. They emphasize social relations rather than personal achievements. Also, they tend to develop collectivistic culture rather than individualistic. An individual is seen as a part of a certain group rather than a singular personality (Fisher, 1997).
Also, people who exercise Eastern religions attend to context in a greater degree than people exercising Western religions. Some researchers break down all cultures into high context and low context groups. For example, American Indians, Japanese, and Middle Easterners had been identified as high-context cultures while European and North American belonged to low-context cultures. Easterners rely on their intuition rather than facts and evaluate the reality unconsciously. Interestingly, Eastern religions, such as Buddhism, Hinduism and Jainism, consider spirituality a superior doctrine while Western religions do not reject materialistic component (Hall, 1989; Nisbett, 2003).
Eastern religions, such as Confucianism, Buddhism, Taoism, and Hinduism advocate social and political harmony. They address communities rather than individuals mentioning their leaders in the context of their wisdom. However, Buddhist and Hindu tradition sometimes inclined to exhibit the traditions of Eastern thinking.
On the contrary to Eastern religions, Western religions, especially Christianity, emphasize individual travel and salvation. The concepts of Western religions cannot be applied to groups or communities.
More differences between Eastern and Western religions are represented in rituals which significantly differ from each other. Many Eastern religions practice various forms of meditation and unhurried comprehension of the reality. People who practice Western religions worship gods in specially allocated time. Many of Eastern religions emphasize afterlife paying little attention to the reality. On the opposite of Easterners, Westerners accept material incentives and personal welfare (Fisher, 1997).
Western religions offer more freedom for the individuals while Eastern religions offer a safe shelter for their believers, so called cultural box described by Campbell (2008). Such boxes can be observed in religions of China, Middle East, Africa, South and Central America. Interestingly, culture and religion peculiarities coincide with political regimes characterized with strict submission and obedience to existing rules where security is offered by oppressive rulers.
The main principles prevailing in Eastern and Western cultures are reflected in the religions exercised. Despite of many similarities in meta-narratives, concepts of religion and basic principles, Eastern and Western religions differ from each other with rituals and perception of material and spiritual incentives. Analysis of the world religions may help understand differences between people exercising them in order to broaden the boarders of perception.
References
Campbell, J. (2008). The Hero with a thousand faces. (3d ed.). Novato, CA: New World Library.
Esposito, J.L., Fasching, D.J., & Lewis, T. (2002). World religions today. (3d ed.). New York: Oxford University Press.
Fisher, M. P. (1997). Living Religions. (8th ed.) London, New York: I.B. Tauris Publishers.
Hall, E. T. (1989). Beyond Culture. New York: Anchor Books.
Nisbett, R.E. (2003) The Geography of Thought: How Asians and Westerners Think Differentl and Why. New York: The Free Press.
