If you have studied in AEP before, you will already know that Hartmann and Blass start every chapter with an opening page that contains an image and a few discussion questions to get us thinking about the topic. This is the case for chapter 1, "Cultural Anthropology" (2007, p. 3). The first two discussion questions are fairly straight forward, but the last one is a bit more interesting; since it invites more varied responses, we will use it as the prompt for our first response writing exercise.
Hartmann and Blass's question is:
- Why is religion important to many people?
And a couple of related questions that suggested themselves are:
- Is religion important in your life? Why or why not?
- How important is religion to people and cultures?
- Do religions differ much from culture to culture?
- What is religion? What isn't it? (I think this is a very difficult question.)
Think about these questions for 1 minute, then start writing your response in the comment box below, and continue writing for 10 minutes; do not stop, just write one sentence, then another sentence, then another for the next 10 minutes.
Hartmann, P. & Blass, L. (2007).
Quest 3 Reading and Writing, (2nd. ed.). New York: McGraw-Hill.
Religion is obviously important to many people: people go to war for religion, they kill themselves for religion, they torture and murder people who don't believe in their religion, they think governments should make up laws to enforce religious beliefs, and so on. But why is religion so important?
ReplyDeleteI think one reason is that religion helps to form individuals into groups, and groups are stronger for survival. Individual people can easily be beaten by others, but a strongly connected and supporting group is a much more powerful force, and can beat others, whether individuals or groups.
Other reasons are fear of the unknown. We don't like to say "I don't know", and religion provides easy answers to very difficult questions, even if those answers are all wrong and often immoral.
Religion important for people because religion tell us about how to live, how to act to ourselves and the others. Many people think religion can help when they got some problem, especially about mind. Many people use some quote in religion books to solve their problem.
ReplyDeleteFor me, I use guidelines from my religion to act and do in everyday life. Because I think, when I do on the way which is a good way that my religion tells, the good things will happen to me in the future.
Religion is a part of human life and cultures. Religion guides everyone to act and do in the best way you must do for make the best society. Every religion teach us to be a good human. If everyone follow the religion, the whole society will happy.
In my opinion, religion is not important in my life much because I'm the one who can live normaally without it; besides, I don't go to temple or do things like others do because I don't think that donate my money or my facilities to temple or monk will help me to have a great life. Moreover,the subsidization to help poor people or handicap people it will be better. On the other hand, in reality religion can unite people together so it should be exist in our world.
ReplyDeletehow about you what is the benefit of religion in your mind?
I think religion is the believe which makes people know that it is the good think to do, and because the religion is the way which leads people to do something and group people to be an union, the religion is important in our life.
ReplyDeleteIn my opinion, religion is not important, but moral do important. I'm Buddhist and I think that Thais are believe in Buddhism principle. We concern that what we do are not sin. on the other hand other religions also teach people to behave good. Consequently, on matter what religion you are you can made the world peace.
ReplyDeleteIn my point of view, religion is important to me. As I am a Buddishm, my religion teach me about life. Everything have reason.
ReplyDeleteSince the origin of humanity, religion has been a very important part of our lives. More than 50.000 years ago, cromagnon believed in the spirits of the animals and in an omnipresent power that drove their lives. At that time the religion was very focus in the nature. Nowadays the religion has evolutioned in many different believes in the world. Religion drives the behavior of millions of people in our actual world, till the point that it conditions part of the culture, customs...
ReplyDeleteQ1. Religions give them the principle to lead their lives. Also, it provide a solution for resolve bad feeling people suffer from everyday life.
ReplyDeleteQ2. For me, religion is what we refer to when I talk to people about morality.
Q3. Religions are very important here in Thailand. Almost all of the traditional practices originate from the principles of Buddism.
Q4. Yes, even Thailand and old China believe in Buddism, our belief is different according to different cultures.
Religion is important for people because religion helps people to release their stress. Sometimes, when they face a difficult situation and can not find the way out. Most of them go to temple or church to relax. Personally, Religion is not a significant factor in my life. I believe that if i do good think to other, they will be good to me.
ReplyDeleteReligion is very important for me and my society. I am a Buddhism follow my parents. And when i was young i did not know about that much, and i just followed and do as my parents told me. However, nowadays , I consider that is important for me to learn and understand my recent life. And it might because am facing problems.
ReplyDeleteReligion is the most important in area that it's in developing country. Because I think some of people who dont have much more knowledge need something to rely on. The religion has more meaning for that society such as centre of activity, place of knowlendge- school , related to behavior and daily life.
ReplyDeleteYes. Religion is important in my life. When i was born I am Buddhist automatically because my parent, they are buddist. When i'm in primaly school , my teacher gave to be representative of buddist of school. thay why I familiar with it by naturally. I dont need to read a book. I can say Buddist rule in my blood. I can say logic of buddist is logic of reason. Every thing happen , it comes from somethihng not from heaven or hell.. Things you get is from thing you do.
Religion and culture have deeply link for a long time. I can separate it because they are born together and useful for each others. Religion forms culture, sometime culture reshape religion. People is factor that make and use them.
Religion is important for every society. Every culture has a religion. The believes of a religion gives safe to think after somebody died, that one day he or she can find his or her family and friends. Moreover, the religion give people rule how to live in community.If the people practice their religion in a community, it also a way to be with people who share the same idea. By the way, the most important a religion can give to a person is the spiritual dimension that every one can have in the inner self. Nevertheless, if that spirituality dimension we can find without to practice a religion, it is easier to find it when the person practice in a sincerely way a religion.
ReplyDeleteAround the world, we have many religion which people use it to be main purpose of living life. Bhuddism respect Buddha and take his instruction to apply in their life. For example, we believe in karma and life after death. That is if they do whatever they will get that thing back, such as they kill animal everyday, possibly they will be killed like animal. It's important for people because they will think more and more before they will do something. If that thing is wrong, they may stop doing probably. There is not only Bhuddhist, but there are also Islam, Crist. They are quite different in belief. For example, Muslim doesn't eat pig, but Bhuddist eats pig. Conflict may happen if we don't know how to treat to another religion. Therefore, religion appears on our life everyday. In short, religion is belief of people that when we follow its instruction, our life will be happy.
ReplyDeleteI started life like Ked; I just followed the Catholic version of Christianity that my parents believed in. I didn't really think about it. I liked the singing and ceremony in church every Sunday, although I didn't like waking up very early on cold mornings.
ReplyDeleteToday, I'm more like Pop, and perhaps Nan. Religion is not important in my life. I think the important thing is be a good person and do the right thing, and you don't need religion for that. My mother still goes to church every Sunday, although I'm sure if she goes because she believes or because she likes to see her friends there. I think religion's role as a social bond is important in my mother's life. My father had stopped going to church for many years before he died. And the only time I've been for many years was for my father's funeral: I don't think he would have cared, but it made my mother happy, and that was a good enough reason.
In my opinion, the religion give a sens to life for many people. More one person has problem, more she needs a support and believes can give a good foundation to support the suffering
ReplyDeletenet,
ReplyDeleteI have activity as you , that i dont go to the temple in buddhist ceremony or go to dress in white for mediatation. I agree that you say you dont have religion in ur life but I think your enviroment mixed with religion bbeliefe that forms you to be a good man.
In my opinon, Religion is the effect of human behavior differ in variation of geography and suitable for people in that area.
I partly agree with Net's idea that spend too much money on religion is not a very good idea. Unlike him ,however, as I've visited temple several time, and I saw many monks are very great people to pay respect for. I'm still willing to support them in.
ReplyDelete@Nan November 9, 2010 12:58 PM
ReplyDeleteDo you think that religion and moral are very different? I think that some religions tray to drive the moral of the people, so I thing that religion and morality are very connected. About your last sentence, I would like to think that religion helps to create a peaceful world, I really would, but I can't, because the history shows us that many wars and conflicts in the world are strongly connected with confronted ideas from different religions, I mean from people, regions or countries with different religions.
Orn,
ReplyDeleteI do believe that religion is important to many people but i don't believe that religion can guild you to behave in the good way because
eventually, you will decide what you are going to do by the situation and people rely on religion because they want something support their behavior.Moreover, you've already known that what is the good thing to do by your experience not from only religion.
Almost Thai people be Buddhist because their parents are, but at at a present, world changes.
ReplyDeleteAccording NK's idea (@November 9, 2010 1:01PM), I agree with her idea that religion is important, but I disagree that religion is the most important in area that it is in developing country. In my opinion, the religion is the most important in every societies.
ReplyDeleteAccording to these comment, some of my class mate said religion was important to their life because this help them when they got a problem. On the other hand, there are some people ,Net,who have same attitude as me. Religion is not much important to his life.
ReplyDeleteI think most of us believe religion is important and I agree. I wonder that Nan and Net disagree with that because both of you are Thai and region is quite considered by many people recently.
ReplyDeleteI think that religion is one of the important factor in society. by the way religion control people . I think that we should think what we should believe more than believe it because it is religion.
ReplyDeleteFor David's comment (November 9, 2010 12:58 PM ), I agree.
ReplyDeletePeople were born with fear and questions and want to have something to answer, they make everything in the world to answer. And when the human's brains develop, they learn and develop everything in their life also the religion.