PART I
Question 1
Christianity is the world’s most popular and largest religion with approximately 2 billion followers across the world. Christians follow the footsteps and teachings of Jesus Christ. Most Christians perceive Jesus Christ as the savior of humankind from their sins. The Christian religion is founded on the ecumenical creed from which Christian followers adhere and believe in one faith. Buddhism, on the other hand, has an approximate 370 million followers across the world. Siddhartha Gautama, the Buddha provided the teachings that formed the basis of Buddhism. The religion is believed to have various beliefs, and traditions that go along with the teachings of the Buddha. The name Buddha, according to Buddhist teachings, means the awakened one. Buddhism is known to be the Indian subcontinent indigenous religion. The Buddha is said to have lived between the 6th and 4th century while teaching his beliefs on Buddhism religion (Kennedy 45).
Christianity is also an Abrahamic religion that initially started as a Jewish sect during the 1st century. The religion is renowned to have originated from the Levant region in the Middle East. The religion, eventually, spread to Mesopotamia, Syria, and Egypt over the years. Abrahamic religion, Christianity, had spread over a wide area in the first few centuries after its emergence. As a result of its popularity across the world, Christianity became the official Roman Empire church. At the end of the 4th century, Christianity had replaced other minority religions in the Roman Empire. Christianity is stated to have spread over the European countries in the mid ages of its development and different communities across the world being Christianized. The Middle East was not an exception of Christianization as Christianity had penetrated in the Middle East regions, North Africa, and some parts of India. Buddhism is said to be 2,500 years old with over 150,000 Buddhists in the Great Britain. The religion is started as a result of the Buddha enlightenment at around 6th century. It is believed that Buddhism is not based on the relationship between humankind and God (Herbert 76).
There are two branches of Buddhism renowned in the religion, namely Theravada and Mahayana. Theravada is referred to as the school of elders while Mahayana is known as the great vehicle. The former is, widely, spread in Southeast Asia and Sri Lanka regions such as Thailand, Laos, and Myanmar among others. Mahayana, on the other hand, is found in the East Asia areas like Japan, China, Korea, and Taiwan among many. Buddhism remains to be the most popular religion in India and Asia. By contrast, both Buddhism branches spread across the world. It is estimated that Buddhism religion followers are 350 million, being one of the fastest spreading religions around the globe. Buddhist teachings are embraced in the noble eightfold path and the four noble truths. The Buddhism also believes in karma. This is referred to as a consequence for every cause. Christianity, on the other hand, believes in the apostle creed. The apostle creed remains to be the most common and popular statement that is widely accepted by most Christian denominations. Apart from the creed, Christians put into consideration the Ten Commandments (Gerner 38).
Question 7
According to Christian beliefs, Jesus Christ is perceived as the son of God. Jesus Christ was sent to earth to save mankind from their sins. His teachings are stated in the Holy Book, the bible. The Death of Jesus Christ signifies forgiveness for all mankind and thus strengthens the relationship between humankind. Christian religion believes in the holy trinity, God as the father, Son, and the Holy Spirit. There are practices that are considered holy among Christians. For instance, prayers and rituals such as the Eucharist are portrayed as holy activities among followers. Prayer is the only way through which Christians communicate with God. According to the Old Testament, Jesus Christ taught his disciples how to pray. The holy prayer is, on this date, used by Christians of all denominations across the world.
The church is of great importance to Christians as it signifies a holy place of worship for believers. Another kind of practice includes the Holy Eucharist that signifies the body of Jesus Christ. It is a holy and widely practiced ritual among Christians. Buddhism, on the other hand, believed in the Buddha teachings. According to religious studies, Buddha was not, and did not claim to be a God. By contrast, he taught his beliefs in line with enlightenment. Buddhism followers pay respect to Buddha images as a way of showing compassion and giving gratitude to Buddha’s teachings. The Buddhism followers believe in the sacred mandala. This is a visual object symbolizing the universe. According to Buddhist teachings, the image is used to transform, and enlighten ordinary minds. The sacred mandala is also used as a means of healing among the Buddhism believers (Senker 58).
Part II
Question 1
Indigenous sacred ways refer to religion that was followed by indigenous people known to be the descendants of the land. Indigenous sacred ways suffered the barriers of understanding and acknowledging various scientific and spiritual teachings that came with other foreign religious individuals. Indigenous people are non-resistant to their culture and beliefs. They believed that everything was alive and thus needed to be protected. The Buddhism believed in the teachings of the Buddha as their supreme being. Like Buddhism, indigenous people believe and worshipped a supreme being. Both religions have respective teachings and beliefs that they adhere and follow. Buddhism and indigenous have myriad differences in the way of worship and paying respect culture. For instance, the indigenous believers communicate with the living dead as they perceive humankind is composed of many souls.
Indigenous people performed ritual sand sacrifices with the aim of connecting with the supreme beings. Some of these rituals took place during rites of passage such as the initiation period (Kozak 75).
Question 2
Christianity and other religions differ in some way as a result of a wide range of beliefs and teachings according to their respective religions. For instance, Christians believe that Jesus Christ came to earth to die for humankind's sins. Christians believe that the Jesus Christ will come again for his people. This Christian belief is, clearly, stipulated in the bible in the book of revelation. There are various theories that attest to this belief including the millennialism, Dispensationalist, and Premillenialism. According to Abraham’s story, there are various similarities associated with Christians, Islam, and Judaism. All the aforementioned religions have some kind of objects and holy figures that are of significance to their spective religion. The specific objects are used to pay respect as a sign of acknowledgment and appreciation of their teachings of the religion (Kennedy 23).
Question 3
According to the fundamentalist idea, most religious groups in the current world have remained intact into their religious beliefs and cultures in the aim of protecting their religion. The fundamentalist were American Protestants during the 20th century who was ardent in their beliefs despite criticism. By contrast, there are some issues perceived to be common among different religions. For instance, the issues of abortion, feminism, homosexuality, and science have been common in most religious groups across the world. The Falun Gong is a strong religious cult among the Chinese. The cult was banned by the Chinese government following lots of concerns from the public. Controversy over the religious aspect of Falun Gong had caused a lot of religious differences and diversity among other religious groups. Conflict and differences between religious groups is brought about by diversity in religious beliefs. For instance, practices and beliefs carry out by the Falun Gong are said to be against social ethics of any kind of religion. As a result, religious groups should learn how to acknowledge and appreciate the other religion’s beliefs and cultures in order to ensure free conflict environment (Kozak 56).
Question 4
Religion is an important academic discipline to study for it embraces the teachings and knowledge about various religions and their beliefs. It is important to learn religion in order to understand other religions and their origin. Understanding religious groups help in acknowledging and appreciating various beliefs in line with different religions. The study of religion helps gain knowledge about the similarities and differences between various religious groups. For instance, the study Buddhism can help understand various teachings taught by the Buddha and their implications in the modern world (Gerner 75).
Works Cited
Gerner, Katy . Buddhism. New York: Marshall Cavendish, 2008.
Herbert , Roland Bainton. Christianity. New York: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2000.
Kennedy, Philip . Christianity: An Introduction. New York: I.B.Tauris, 2011.
Kozak, Arnie . The Everything Buddhism Book: A complete introduction to the history, traditions, and beliefs of Buddhism, past and present. Avon: Everything Books, 2003.
Senker, Cath . Christianity: Signs, Symbols, and Stories. New York: The Rosen Publishing Group, 2010.
