Diverse Religion

Religion is One's Way of Life

Religion became a way of life to some groups of people. It even has an extreme impact unto their lives. Religion is their life.

As we were tackling our lessons in Philosophy of Religion, we run into Religious Ethnography as a different approach to the study of religion. Religious Ethnography is the study of religious phenomena within a particular tribe or group in their ritual, conceptual, ethical, social/communal and personal dimension. And images began to flash on my head, remembering a distant blurry learning from the book I read. There is this religious practice in Southern India that widow were burnt alive on her death husband’s pyre. This was adapted from the story of women in Hindu Mythology believing that they could bring back their husband in replace to their own life.

Every tribe has its own unusual practices of their beliefs. It is how they respond to their religious experience. If their practices survived till now, meaning to say, there were really proven effects on the practitioner. It could be something unnatural. It could be a miracle. It could be something to bring on and to be proud of. They put their own life on this beliefs and what goes with, experiences, thoughts, emotions, actions—their Religion basically influenced them.

Religion became part of their lives. well, to understand them is to understand their own religion. and there were so many religions around the world with different beliefs, practices, and rituals. and somehow, sometimes this creates conflict. and sometimes one thinks its superiority to the other that also causes discrimination. it is funny to think that Religion which main goal is to guide people in holiness becomes a reason for conflicts and even wars to exist.

Muslims and Christians had a long history of conflicts already. The Nazi thought that Jews are a poisonous race. In India, Animists, Christians, Hindus, Muslims & Sikhs are also in conflicts. Various conflicts that heat up periodically producing loss of life. Christians are regularly attacked in Orissa province by militant Hindu extremists. In South Africa, Animists murdering believed to be Witches that practicing black magic. And many other discrimination.

I am born as a Catholic and very devoted to my Religion. Primarily my parents taught and disciplined me by the ways of catholicity. I grew up in a Christian perspectives and I am happy with it. My Religion helped me to become what I am now. But what if I was born with different orientation? with different Religion? would I be feel the same way towards God?

There is a point in my life knowing that there were many Religions, with different beliefs, rituals, and practices, that I began to question what I believed in. Why is there so many Religions? Did God revealed not in the same manner of group of people. Is the God of the Christians is the God of the Muslims? Or is it that I was born in the 20th Century and everything is already in structure and my conception of God is just a result of this structured society? 

Then what is it for me to live?

I don't really know what the truth is but one thing I am sure is that my God helped me to become truly happy. The more I have questions that more I desire Him, the more I want to be closer to Him, the more I want Him. The more I love Him. I know that someday somehow I could ask these questions to Him. And as a pilgrim person, I have to prepare myself for that encounter.

        That is why we have to respect each other’s religion. No matter what it is. No matter what our races are. No matter what our ethnic groups are. We are one because we are just one embodying the universe, a creation of God. Though we different interpretations of Him, different sides of knowing God is and with different expressions of love to Him we should take consider that we belong to each other. I know each religion have its conception of what Love is. And sometimes this concept is attributed basically to God. That is why let us make ourselves an instrument of peace. Who are we not to love?

The Joy of the Holy

"A Reflection Paper on the Philosophy of Religion"

What is religion? Is there an exact sentence or word formula that could contain the meaning of religion? I guess we could not and there could be isn’t. What we can only do is to make a working definition of religion from our finiteness. And this could somehow help us in our study about religion.

Religion would not exist if there is no one who had experienced and had encountered with a divine or something not natural or totally, absolutely, radically different from other a person experienced. A HOLY presence may be with that person graced to be part on the creation of religion.

I started believing that there is divine when I started to see the awesomeness presence of the environment; of the nature; of the people around me. Religion already existed the time I was born. I’m a Roman Catholic. Religious practices, beliefs, and teachings of the Church were introduced to me when I was a little child. But I remembered when I was a child, I just do religious activities because I was commanded to or I felt like it was the way it is. But I do not really understand what I am doing. I was like a machine programmed; nothing special, not even had felt the presence of a divine. Maybe I was just too preoccupied of satisfying my material need, never think of something beyond material, and not able to distinguish a holy presence because all were just—normal.

Not until I entered high school. I brought in to a Catholic School nurturing students into Catholic perspectives. Here I gradually moved in to a new experience. And began to understand the feeling which is already present all this time but never been tried to consume it. I never been into a religious club, and to any church ministries that could have an edge on to the development of your relationship with God, but what I only experienced is "that I am special."    

 I know that the feeling was always there but to distinguish it was the hard part. You see, it is very hard to tend to yourself if you are over occupied of tending other things like playing with other children, chit chatting, demanding toys and food to eat. It consumes all of your time. That is why when I learned to see myself; putting my very self in front of me, I realized, this is it, this must be God; this joy, this amazing feeling, it must be Him.

After this encounter, I wanted to praise Him, to get closer to Him. I longed for that experience. I desire more. That worshipping during Sunday was not anymore mechanistic worship but it turned to a holistic offering of myself to God. A boring praises and church activities became my time to give thanks and to give more of what I have. If only I could share that very joy of every experience of Him, maybe those who have lost their way; hopeless and in sorrow, could find another reason to live. That is why, I realized if I could not share it (the Joy), then the very least I can do is to extend my arm; my very own self.

Religion is universal. The encounter of that Holy is not just for a specific person only but He appears to anyone, to everyone. We do not need to give a free taste like that in the supermarket just to make other people how delicious the product is but it is already He who is always there appearing to us and everyone already encountered Him already. Some were just have disabilities on their senses. They cannot experience Holy. Lucky those who are blind but see.

Religious practices were product of our encounter with Him. Signs, symbols, etc were rooted for a reason that we have this desire to show to Him how much we thank Him, praise Him, want Him, love Him, etc. Just like how we show our affection to someone we idolize and love.

Religion is primarily our response to our encounter with the Holy. And sometimes because of great feelings, over-filled with emotions, we are silenced. We could not just find a word that best describes our feeling; our experienced with that Holy. I am just in awe.