Verified Document

Comparative Religions Essay

Religion Comparing the Catholic and the Wicca Religion

There are many different religions across the world; some are well established having existed for many centuries, others have emerged more recently although their foundations may have historical links. When comparing different religions it becomes apparent that there are some key commonalities, even if the specific details and the proportional importance of those elements differs. For example, discussing aspects of belief, community, myths, rituals and ethics with followers of two different religions, one Catholic and one Wiccan, shows there are some interesting commonalities in terms of type of content and experience for each follower.

Interviewing a Catholic individual has a strong heartfelt approach towards the monotheistic belief system based in the concept of a Holy Trinity; God the father, God the son and God the Holy Ghost; three aspects of the same deity. The religion is deemed to be a core element in the life, and while not always held up for public scrutiny, as a significant impact on individual. The belief is that there is only one God, and that the only way to God is through Jesus. The foundations of the Catholic Church are based on the Gospels and the teachings of St. Peter and St. Paul with the Pope being Gods representative on earth.

The sense of community is important, supported with the regular attendance of church services once a week, if not more, with children attending a Sunday school. The aspect a community supported by a well established church hierarchy, with the church itself part of a much larger formal church structure. Within the church there are a number of different communities or societies in which individuals participate, depending upon their interests or needs. Community is an inherent aspect of the communal worship, and social interaction that surrounds the religion.

The concept of central myths is dismissed, as the individual interviewed does not believe that the Catholic religion is based on this....

Instead, the stories in the Bible, which is the central religious text for the Catholic Church, is based on a literal record of events which have occurred in the past, although they may be flawed due to man's interpretation and recording of those events. Otherwise, some of the stories in the Bible may be parables or messages which teach stories.
Rituals are extremely important element within the Catholic Church. There are different rituals accompanying different life-cycle stages, from christening which welcomes a child into the church, confirmation which celebrates the movement from childhood to adulthood, marriage and death. More regular rituals also performed as part of worship, including the Holy Communion, in which bread and wine is transmuted into the body and blood of Christ, in a ritual that is performed to remind followers of sacrifice Christ made to save mankind. Another important ritual is regular confession of sins to a priest.

The ethical system within the church is based on the Bible. The ethics of the church are based primarily on the 10 Commandments of the Old Testament and the teachings of Jesus in the New Testament which represented the New Covenant. The ethics include money that would be expected within a modern society, with the New Testament emphasising aspect such as forgiveness and charity.

The concept of religion creates an emotional experience in the way that it impacts on an entire life, and an individual's values, resulting not only in a religious commitment, but an emotional commitment and experience. Individuals within the church, although not the individual interviewed, may also have individual religious experiences in which they may fill the presence of God. There are a number of potential material expressions of the region, these include the presence of a crucifix and statue of the Virgin Mary within the respondents home, the use of rosary beads to aid with prayer and jewellery in the form of a crucifix.

The church property, material representations…

Sources used in this document:
Reference

Molloy, Michael, (2010), Experiencing the World's Religions, (5th Edition), McGraw-Hill
Cite this Document:
Copy Bibliography Citation

Related Documents

Religion Comparison Religions in Ancient
Words: 2389 Length: 7 Document Type: Essay

According to Bass, "Hinduism is the only major religion lacking an adequate explanation as to its origin," as no definitive Hindu text exist that that date before 1000 B.C. Indeed, because Hinduism is one of the religions that views time as cyclical rather than linear, what information is available about Hinduism does not give a very accurate picture of its history (Bass 5). What can be gleaned from this

Comparison Religion
Words: 1064 Length: 3 Document Type: Essay

Judaism, Christianity, and Islam all share the same roots, and their followers are often referred to collectively as the "people of the Book." They are all monotheistic faiths tracing a patriarchal ancestry to the personage of Abraham in the Hebrew bible. In fact, the Hebrew bible is referred to as the Old Testament in the Christian faith and remains a major sacred text in the Christian religion. In spite of

Religion Part Two of Ronald Nash's Book
Words: 1966 Length: 6 Document Type: Article Critique

Religion Part Two of Ronald Nash's book Is Jesus the Only Savior? deals with the topic of religious inclusivism. Inclusivists "insist that all people must have a chance to be saved," regardless of their belief in Christ.[footnoteRef:1] Not quite the opposite of exclusivism, inclusivism does allow for the potential ability of non-believers to be saved, but just emphasizes the unlikeliness of that actually occurring.[footnoteRef:2] Kanno presents inclusivism as a view that

Religion's Role in Recovery Religion
Words: 1045 Length: 3 Document Type: Research Paper

02). Overall, the findings of Shields and colleagues (2007) suggest that religious patients entering a substance abuse treatment program will tend to seek out treatment programs that are more religious. This grouping effect will then have a positive effect on retention rates and commitment to establishing a drug-free lifestyle. The diversity of individual religious practices is one of the main impediments to researchers attempting to define it efficacy in treatment programs (reviewed

Religion the Impossible Dilemma What
Words: 1838 Length: 4 Document Type: Term Paper

In both cases, He "is an impersonal force; an indefinable, all-pervading deity. Hinduism recognizes hundreds, even thousands, of lesser gods." (Evangelical.us) the same is true in Buddhism, "God is an abstract. In essence, Buddhism is an atheistic philosophy." (Evangelical.us) in both Hinduism and Buddhism, there are stories of how the divine interacts with humans, but there is no historical proof. Only Christianity has historical proof. Since I am not

Religion of Ancient Rome
Words: 1132 Length: 3 Document Type: Essay

The Roman people regarded themselves as highly religious. They linked their success as a powerful force in the world to their cordial relations with the gods. The victory by the Romans was essentially a religious occasion in which the generals exhibited their piety and zeal to serve society by dedicating a fraction of their fortunes to the gods. Jupiter was particularly called to attention in such circumstances because he was

Sign Up for Unlimited Study Help

Our semester plans gives you unlimited, unrestricted access to our entire library of resources —writing tools, guides, example essays, tutorials, class notes, and more.

Get Started Now