The Ways of Being Religious

From the essay hand-out Essay IV: Ways of Being Religious and Essay V: Distinctive Traits of Western Religions answer the following discussion questions.

Read pages 4, 5 and 6:

Describe each of the 6 "ways of being religious"

Sacred Rite is the use of rituals and symbols to bring the religious experience to a physical form and to a more personal level.

Right Action deals with the way things are supposed to be. It deals with ultimate reality and the sacred intendedness of life.

Devotion is the forming of a personal relationship with god or ultimate reality.

Shamanic Meditation is the entering into an altered state of consciousness to reach atonement

with ultimate reality

Mystical Quest is where one is on a deliberate path to become free of the obscuring limitations

of ordinary life, and obtain a direct connection with ultimate reality.

Reasoned Inquiry is the study of religious scripture in an attempt to obtain divine wisdom.

Using page 9 - 10:

What are the advantages of studying religion using this method.

Get rid of generalizations that could lessen the ability to view different aspects of the religion.

To help understand different aspects of individual religions.

to help recognize similarities and differences between religions that aren't usually seen.

Help see true differences in religions and rule out misleading and false ones.

Open comparisons between religions that doesn't get rid of the importances of the religions.

Open paths for dialogue and understanding.

Using the "distinctive traits of Western Religions"

Explain what you think are the two greatest differences between the western and eastern traditions.

One of the greatest differences between the eastern religions and the western religions is that the western are monotheistic and the eastern and polytheistic. The western religions all have God being ultimate reality, where the eastern religions are mostly focused on the individual. In the eastern religions there are gods and idols that lead the way to a better life, where in the western religions there are the prophets. Another large difference between the religions is the difference between good and evil. In the Western religions God is the all-knowing judge of god and evil and is the ultimate decider of good and evil. In the Eastern religions good and evil is focused more around morals and karma.