Discussion

According to theorists such as professor of Religion Michael H. Barnes (2003), a tremendously wide range of different religious beliefs and thought on religion (both across contemporaneous cultures as well as among cultures existing at different historical periods) is exceptionally useful for evaluating the literal truth of specific beliefs in any particular society. On the other hand, it may be possible to strip away those differences that are impossible to reconcile to reveal a more general fundamental religious perspective or tendency that exists as a common natural theme throughout humanity, with specific societal differences more akin to harmonics on the same chord rather than to different chords altogether (Barnes, 2003).

That view is sharply contradicted by several renowned authorities in so-called "hard" sciences, including neurobiological theorist Daniel Dennet, the late paleontologist and evolutionary biologist, Stephen J. Gould, and evolutionary biologist Richard Dawkins. According to their view, any similarity among distant societies…...

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Works Cited

Barnes, Michael H. In The Presence Of Mystery: An Introduction to the Story of Human Religiousness. Mystic, CT: Twenty-Third Publications (2003).

Dawkins, Richard. The God Delusion. New York: Houghton Mifflin (2006).

Dennet, Daniel. Kinds of Minds: Toward an Understanding of Consciousness. New York:

Basic Books (1996).

African-American Religious Movements
The African-American religious experience went through a period of "…extraordinary change" in the years between I and II (Fulop, et al., 1997, p. 314). Several "sects" and "cults" worshiped in storefront churches, moving from "mainline churches" into organizations that had political, fraternal and "benevolent" approaches to spirituality. But as to mainline Black churches, between 1926 and 1936, the Black Baptist movement grew from 3.2 million to 3.8 million and hence by 1936 the Black Baptist congregation had become the largest Christian church affiliated with the African-American community; indeed, 67% of "all Black Church members" were connected to the Black Baptist movement (Fulop, 315). This growth within the Back Baptist faith was partly due to the decrease in Black membership of the African Methodist church, the Churches of Christ and the Churches of the Living God (Fulop, 315).

Nation of Islam: allace D. Fard came to the United States in…...

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Works Cited

Fulop, Timothy Earl, and Raboteau, Albert J. (1997). African-American Religion: Interpretive

Essays in History and Culture. Florence, KY: Psychology Press.

Nation of Islam. (2012). National of Islam in America / A Nation of Beauty & Peace. Retrieved December 2, 2012, from  http://www.noi.org/about.shtml .

Public Broadcasting Service. (2006). This Far by Faith. Retrieved December 2, 2012, from  http://www.pbs.org .

Experiencing the Sacred
Compare St. Teresa's experience of the spiritual marriage with both Muhammad's Night Journey and the Buddha's Enlightenment. The focus should clearly identify similarities and differences.

Teresa of Avila, Muhammad, and the Shakyamuni Buddha all had intense spiritual experiences. Their experience can all be classified as numinous and ecstatic, because they each surrendered their physical selves to experience union with a spiritual dimension. They were each subsumed by their spiritual experiences, imparting either fear or joy. Moreover, each of these individuals made a great impact on religious, philosophical, and spiritual teachings.

There are some distinct differences between these three figures, though. The obvious differences are cultural, geographic, and temporal. St. Teresa of Avila is the most modern of the three figures. She lived during the 16th century in Spain, and her upbringing was steeped in Catholicism. Muhammad lived during the 7th century CE, nearly a thousand years prior to St. Teresa.…...

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Works Cited

Kessler, Gary. "Experiencing the Sacred." 2008.

Pojman, Louis. "The Argument from Religious Experience." Chapter 5 in Philosophy of Religion.

Religious Literacy: What Every American Needs to Know -- And Doesn't," Prothero claims that "Americans are both deeply religious and profoundly ignorant about religion." The professed religiosity of most Americans belies a lack of actual knowledge about religion. As Prothero puts it, "They are Protestants who can't name the four Gospels, Catholics who can't name the seven sacraments, and Jews who can't name the five books of Moses," (p. 30). Most Americans, according to Prothero, are unable to distinguish a Muslim from a Sikh, and cannot even name the five major world religions beyond Christianity, Islam, and Judaism.
Religious ignorance has very real consequences, other than being a simple embarrassment. As Prothero points out, religious ignorance led Americans to target any man wearing a turban after September 11. Religious ignorance is a sign of a broader xenophobia and general ignorance about cultures, people, and history beyond American borders. The consequences…...

Hinduism and People
Unlike most religions which ask their practitioners to prescribe to a designated set of behaviors wherein they shall all behave uniformly, Hinduism bears the motto that "People are different." Most religions begin from a dogma which is a written interpretation of what the creators of that religion state their God or Gods want from the followers of that religion. Because of this, the religions are slow to evolve and more or less stagnant. According to J.N. Nanda, "Hinduism is not limited by the view of a single founder, a single holy man or a single holy book" (106). That is to say, those that practice Hinduism understand that there is no one type of person. Individuality, by its very definition states that people will have singular ideas and singular personalities. There is no one type of person living in the world, just as there is no one type…...

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Works Cited:

Keene, Michael. Religion in Life and Society. Dublin, Ireland: Folens. 2004. Print.

Ketkar, Shridhar. The History of Caste in India: Evidence of the Laws of Manu. Ithaca, NY:

Taylor & Carpenter. 1909. Print.

Lipner, Julius. Hindus: Their Religious Beliefs and Practices. Chatham. 1994. Print.

Religious Service Reflection
My chosen observation was of the Jehovah's Witnesses, a fundamentalist Christian organization. I have never known very much about them other than the fact that they have a community ministry, offering their pamphlets from door to door. They are often ridiculed for their beliefs against traditional celebrations such as Christmas, Halloween and birthdays. I know people who believe that they are a cult; however, I do recall a boy from elementary school who was a Jehovah's Witnesses. He did not salute the flag or participate in holiday parties with the rest of the class. He was nice, stayed to himself a lot and was a very good student. I was always a bit curious about him and thought I'd try to learn more.

As a Christian, I have always been skeptical of the Witnesses because of what I viewed as their extreme and improper beliefs. By chatting with one…...

This ritual takes place on the eighth day after birth and the ceremony itself involves both religious and surgical elements and may be performed by a surgeon of a specially-trained Mohel who has both surgical and religious knowledge. After the circumcision is performed, a festive meal almost always follows as a symbol of thanks to God and to the prophet Abraham.
One of the most complicated religious rituals of Judaism is the ar Mitzvah for boys and less frequently, the at Mitzvah for girls. These words mean "the son or the daughter of the commandment and mark the coming of age of a male or female child" (Harvey, 325) who is then seen as an adult and is responsible for observing the commandments set down by Moses and to fill adult roles in the congregation of the synagogue. This ritual traditionally occurs on the Sabbath following the child's thirteenth birthday…...

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Bibliography

Grissom, Harold J. "Ritual Practice in American Religious Sects." The Journal of Religion. (April 2006): 239-48.

Hall, Manley P. The Psychology of Religious Ritual. Los Angeles: Philosophical

Research Society, 2003.

Harvey, Graham. Ritual and Religious Belief. UK: Equinox Publishing, Ltd., 2005.

Despite the articulation of this as a social function of religion, the relation that an individual has with his or her society cannot be postulated. By so doing, the religious power justifies deprivation and social injustices by rendering non-competitive and scarce goals. This notion further asserts that these goals are unimportant on matters of inequality and exploitation. eligion does this by making conditional policies in providing solutions to social issues, but does a disservice to individuals; hence preventing its role of bring positive change in the society (Hamilton, 2001).
Conclusion

eligion is responsible for spurring cross cultural and social changes in society. It brings every person into fellowship according to his or her own doctrines and emphasized experiences. eligion does integrate the society, by attempting to relativize individual desires, and fears, in addition to subordinating personal preferences to a conception of harmony. However, from the functional approaches of the society, the…...

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References

Hamilton, M. (2001). The Sociology of Religion: Theology and Comparative Perspectives. New Jersey: Routledge.

Coleman, J.A. (1970). Religion. Sociology of Religion, Vol 31, Issue 2, pp 67-77.

People can be affected by religion in different ways and The Misfit becomes the perfect character to uncover the grandmother's gullibility. She, in turn, is the perfect person to expose his evil nature. This contrast allows O'Connor uses to reveal the delicate nature of man. Somehow, in the midst of everything, the two people bond, leaving the grandmother with a false sense of hope. She believes, because she knows best, that she has transformed his life. She truly believes she can change him. Parini writes that at the moment he shots her, she realizes "they are connected, and through a horrible act of violence she has received a moment of understanding, if not grace" (Parini 231). The showdown becomes one between The Misfit's powerful convictions and the grandmother's shallow beliefs. O'Connor proves with these individuals the importance of being passionate about the right thing. Being passionate about Jesus is…...

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Works Cited

Denham Robert D. "The World of Guilt and Sorrow: Flannery O'Connor's 'Everything That

Rises Must Converge." The Flannery O'Connor Bulletin 4. 1975. Gale Resource Library.

01 May 2010. Web.

Malin, Irving. "O'Connor and the Grotesque." Flannery O'Connor. Broomall: Chelsea House

Conclusions

There is no one standard for what is considered right and wrong in the world of American religion. The American religion that exists today may be described as "Agnostian-Secularian" meaning it is made up of multiple faiths, beliefs and convictions, some more Christian based and some more abstract in nature.

By and large the American 'religion' or modern society is varying accepting of people of many different faiths and idealisms. Though the government of this country is somewhat heavily influenced by Christian fundamentalist ideals such as those that Bush emphasizes, the public by and large particularly in the eyes of the media, is much more open and flexible in nature. There are some beliefs that may be considered more 'universal' in nature than others. There is for example an obvious preference among people living in the modern American world to belief in the basic concepts of right and wrong.

There is evidence…...

Trees take in carbon dioxide (which includes pollution in the air) and give off oxygen so we can all breathe, and so God's plan can be carried through. The teaching of values, morals, and discipline must be part of the program for a Catholic teacher, and also the involvement of parents brings the school, the Church, the children and the families together in a fellowship of learning and praying.
As was mentioned earlier in this section, involving parents in their children's learning activities is a powerful way to keep our faith strong and growing in the context of education and Christianity. This is particularly poignant because on page 9 of the "Our Catholic Schools" one of the major issues facing Catholic education is the "…inadequate home and parish involvement with schools," and we can mitigate this problem by working closely with children to get them inspired enough so they want…...

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Works Cited

Dall, Mary Doerfler. (2000). Children Discover the Mass. Notre Dame, in: Ave Maria Press.

Ontario Catholic School Graduate Expectations.

Ontario's Catholic Schools. (2007). Our Catholic Schools 2006-2007 / Summary Report.

Teacher Expectations.

Of course, it could say that the invisible world is superstition and unreal. It might not exist, or be part of an old system of belief that is primordial. It would see those old beliefs about an unseen realm or the infinite as absurd. But are they? Have they vanished?
Lecture 14: Religion and the Self.

The levels of self are body, mind, soul, and spirit. One sees a similar emphasis here in modern society. The body and mind are valued. Advertisements sell all kinds of products for the body, and health is a huge industry with gyms, sports, and diets. Mind is stressed through education and the way to succeed is to develop your mind rationally rather than be inclined to emotions or use it to experience through insight and intuition a spiritual value. The question is why the layers of soul and spirit are less important. Yes, there are…...

The strongest argument against the thesis of the experiment relies in the fact that a religious mystical experience is placed on a spiritual rather than medical level and that the spirit is not necessarily determined by the actions of the brain, as a human organ. The spirit includes the way the brain act and the way the heart feels or the behavior of other organs in the body.

For many scientists, including those that have performed the scientific experiment and including people like Tom Roberts, who in his book "Psychedelic Horizons" talks about the benefic effects of drugs on the brain in terms of exploring new states and experience new functions of the body otherwise hidden to the general audience.

For myself and numerous other individuals, the mystical experience cannot be related solely to the functionality of the brain or to the way the entire body is operating. If it were so,…...

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Bibliography

1. Quantifying a Mystical Experience: Hallucinogenic Research Gets to Grips With Spirituality. July 2006. On the Internet at retrieved on September 26, 2006http://www.scienceagogo.com/news/20060611022408data_trunc_sys.shtmlLast

2. Mystical experiences. On the Internet at retrieved on September 25, 2006http://www.themystica.com/mystica/articles/m/mystical_experiences.html.Last

3. Book Review of "Psychedelic Horizons." On the Internet at   retrieved on September 25, 2006http://www.stopthedrugwar.org/reader_blogs/2006/sep/06/book_review_of_psychedelic_horiz.Last 

Quantifying a Mystical Experience: Hallucinogenic Research Gets to Grips With Spirituality. July 2006. On the Internet at retrieved on September 26, 2006http://www.scienceagogo.com/news/20060611022408data_trunc_sys.shtmlLast

eligion and Education
eligious development in children and adults alike have been research areas that have historically been of interest to those involved in the developmental psychology arenas such as theorists of religious development, religious educators, and designers of religious education curricula in various settings. However, religious development did not receive a great deal of consideration during the early phases of growth in the psychology or the schools of human behavior and development. Even though the work of Sigmund Freud has been extremely influential in education and psychoanalysis, there are many other eminent psychologists who have made greater strides for humankind by trying to understand the planning and teaching aspects of religious education. This paper, therefore, aims to discuss three such prominent individuals: Jean Piaget, Erik Erikson and Jerome Bruner.

Ironically, behaviorism and psychoanalysis entail some aspects of atheistic presuppositions and therefore create many psychologists who are leaning more towards the agnostic…...

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References

Eminent Psychologists of the 20th Century. (2004). 100 Eminent Psychologists. Retrieved on November 8, 2004, from  http://www.coe.uga.edu/echd/counpsy/eminentpsychologists_new.htm#piaget

Today, self-inflicted pain is generally interpreted as a form of psychopathology, but within the mystical context, "pain unmakes the profane world with its corporeal attachments and leads the mystics away from the body to self-transcendence," thus pain and discipline elevates the individual into a world of deeper human community (Post). According to Glucklich, pain is even blotted out via a process in the brain known as gate-control that significantly alters biochemistry and consciousness, therefore "intentionally painful manipulations of the body could lead to states of self-transcendence or effacement" (Post).

Glucklich believes that today's society has lost the capacity to understand why and how pain could be valuable for mystics and members of religious communities, and even for humanity as a whole (Post). Historians of religion have long acknowledged the ubiquitous presence of intentionally painful rituals and practices, and have used this awareness as a key to understanding religious experiences (Post). For…...

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Works Cited

Hansen, Suzy. "Sacred Pain." Retrieved December 12, 2006 at http://archive.salon.com/books/int/2001/11/26/glucklich/index.html?source=rss

Pazola, Ron. "Sacred ground: what Native Americans believe." U.S. Catholic.

February 1, 1994. Retrieved December 12, 2006 from HighBeam Research Library.

Post, Stephen G. "Sacred Pain: Hurting the Body for the Sake of the Soul." First Things:

1. The question of whether belief in God for practical advantage is morally permissible is a complex and divisive issue that has been debated by philosophers for centuries. One of the most famous arguments on this topic is presented by Blaise Pascal, a 17th century French philosopher and mathematician. Pascal argues that it is rational to believe in God, not based on evidence or reason, but because it is in ones best interest to do so. This idea, known as Pascals Wager, has sparked a great deal of discussion and criticism over the years.

2. Blaise Pascals argument, famously known....