Comparative Religion Class

[SearchingForGod]

Hello everyone! It's been a spell since I was here last, hasn't it? How's everyone been?

Currently, I've been devoting much of my time to school and working towards my degree in Social Work. It's coming along, to say the least, but while I'm still waiting to get into the Social Work program, I've decided to take a few elective classes and one of those classes is called the Comparative Religion class. This class, and another one about morals, are both making me very excited for next semester. I hope to learn a lot from what these classes have to offer. And now I have a question for you guys. Have you ever taken a class on different religions? If so, how was that experience for you? And did it strengthen your beliefs in any fashion or perhaps change them?

 

[Jesster]

I haven't taken a comparative religion class, but I have taken multiple art history classes. That definitely gave me a different historical view of several religions that I didn't have before. My beliefs didn't change from it, but I did enjoy it.

 

[sun rise]

I never took such a class but I've studied and compared almost all of the world's great religions. My "independent study" has broadened my view and given me an appreciation of how varied are the interpretations from scripture.

 

[Rye_P]

Have you ever taken a class on different religions? If so, how was that experience for you? And did it strengthen your beliefs in any fashion or perhaps change them?

1. Yes, two different religions class and one comparative religion class.
2. Terrible.
3. It makes me hate one certain religion even more, think so damn highly cos they're majority.

 

[Fool]

Hello everyone! It's been a spell since I was here last, hasn't it? How's everyone been?

Currently, I've been devoting much of my time to school and working towards my degree in Social Work. It's coming along, to say the least, but while I'm still waiting to get into the Social Work program, I've decided to take a few elective classes and one of those classes is called the Comparative Religion class. This class, and another one about morals, are both making me very excited for next semester. I hope to learn a lot from what these classes have to offer. And now I have a question for you guys. Have you ever taken a class on different religions? If so, how was that experience for you? And did it strengthen your beliefs in any fashion or perhaps change them?

a rose by any other name still smells sweet. omnism

all religions have pretty much the same core teachings; especially the rule of reciprocation. their forms are superficial, skin deep.

 

[Fool]

I never took such a class but I've studied and compared almost all of the world's great religions. My "independent study" has broadened my view and given me an appreciation of how varied are the interpretations from scripture.

sort of amazing how many ways that love can be expressed verbally, symbolically.

 

[Milton Platt]

Hello everyone! It's been a spell since I was here last, hasn't it? How's everyone been?

Currently, I've been devoting much of my time to school and working towards my degree in Social Work. It's coming along, to say the least, but while I'm still waiting to get into the Social Work program, I've decided to take a few elective classes and one of those classes is called the Comparative Religion class. This class, and another one about morals, are both making me very excited for next semester. I hope to learn a lot from what these classes have to offer. And now I have a question for you guys. Have you ever taken a class on different religions? If so, how was that experience for you? And did it strengthen your beliefs in any fashion or perhaps change them?

Never took that class. It might be interesting in that I would learn more about some of the religions I do not now have much knowledge of. What is the actual objective of such a class?
For me, it would be akin to taking a class on comparative mythology.

 

[Eliab ben Benjamin]

I perhaps helped start the subject ... Mine was "Biblical History" but the thesis i wrote for my PhD
compared all religions and came to the conclusion that the core of all taught people to live together
in close to harmony giving thanks to a creator, or other perspectives of divinity....

I concluded they were all correct for the culture of the people at the time...
and all wrong when they gave the power or control to their monks/priests/ who then added distortions
and power (to themselves) as a way to be in charge.... The "keepers of the book" as the author
Richard Bach describes them.....

 

[Jumi]

Where I live comparative religion is something that used to be somewhere around 7th to 9th grade curriculum in school. I was an atheist at the time and I learned about non-protestant religions for the first time. If you're doing one in university or college it might be more interesting.

 

[Shiranui117]

Yeah, I took a world religions class in high school. I came to love Buddhism from that, and I also got to know Hinduism. Also took several art history courses, and through those I came to understand Egyptian, Sumerian, Babylonian, Aztec, Mayan, Greco-Roman, African and Polynesian myth, art and worldview much better than I would have otherwise. It broadened my horizons and made me more tolerant and respectful of others' beliefs. These courses are probably also partially to blame for my animist tendencies.

 

[shunyadragon]

I have taken a number of classes over the years including Comparative Religion, a number of classes on philosophy and logic, and extensive independent study. They were very informative.

The conclusion was I could not believe in only one religion in any way shape or form as the only religion. I found that over the millennia of human existence religious beliefs and related morals and ethics evolved. I also found that the difference between religions did have an underlying commonality, but the differences today were deep and the differences had deep cultural reality that was not easily resolved by any effort of synchronization nor ecumenism. This could be explained two ways: (1) It may be explained as a natural evolution of human behavior, and extension of evolution of of the evolution of our ancestor primates. (2) The evolving spiritual relationship of the different religions, and the related morals and ethics may be explained by the Creation process of progressive Revelation, which is an extension of the natural evolution of life on earth. This view would be the Theistic view that God exists, and yes the spiritual and physical evolution would be a Creation/evolution process.

Yes, this process had a significant impact on my beliefs. Through the evolving process I became close to Buddhism, because of my life long involvement in Arts of the Way (Martial Arts), but it was a more non-temple wandering Buddhist form of Buddhism. This belief as other individuals failed to address the full unity and diversity of human beliefs. In the search for a more universal spiritual belief I became a Baha'i in the process, and accepted option two.

 

[metis]

Have you ever taken a class on different religions?

I taught one for two years.

If so, how was that experience for you?

I loved it, but I quickly learned that my greatest challenge teaching it was to try and keep the Baptists and Catholics from killing each other, although it's the former that by far was the most aggressive, thus taking their "my way or the highway" approach.

And did it strengthen your beliefs in any fashion or perhaps change them?

Neither. As an anthropologist, I was used to studying different religious traditions, along with realizing that one's religious beliefs are highly influenced by one's culture, and it's quite difficult to get students to strip culture out of their evaluation of a religion, including their own.

 

[metis]

Yeah, I took a world religions class in high school. I came to love Buddhism from that, and I also got to know Hinduism. Also took several art history courses, and through those I came to understand Egyptian, Sumerian, Babylonian, Aztec, Mayan, Greco-Roman, African and Polynesian myth, art and worldview much better than I would have otherwise. It broadened my horizons and made me more tolerant and respectful of others' beliefs.

It's amazing how studying other religious traditions tends to change our perspective even on our own religion. In "Seven-Story Mountain", Catholic monk Thomas Merton said that his study of Buddhism and using their meditative techniques made him a better Christian.

 

[Shiranui117]

It's amazing how studying other religious traditions tends to change our perspective even on our own religion. In "Seven-Story Mountain", Catholic monk Thomas Merton said that his study of Buddhism and using their meditative techniques made him a better Christian.

Honestly I feel the same way. Every time I delve into another religious tradition, I better understand my own and uncover another element of my spiritual life that I want to improve. Whether it's mindfulness and inner stillness, being connected to the world around me, having a sense of honor, defining my own personal values, honoring my ancestors, developing a living spirituality... every path, from Luciferian to pagan to Gnostic to atheist to Jewish to Muslim to Hindu to Buddhist to Zoroastrian to anything else has taught me a great deal about what it means to be a better Christian.

 

[arthra]

I hope to learn a lot from what these classes have to offer. And now I have a question for you guys. Have you ever taken a class on different religions? If so, how was that experience for you? And did it strengthen your beliefs in any fashion or perhaps change them?

As a Social Worker I found that learning more about other peoples' religion was essential to understand them better. Around January there's what's called World Religion Day and representatives from various religion attend it. There's usually an agreed upon theme. I helped organize a few of these some years ago and there may be one near you! Basically it provides us with a venue for sharing and comparing different faiths. I recall where a Zoroastrian and a Hindu compared practices and learned from each other. All in all it's a "win win"!

https://www.daysoftheyear.com/days/world-religion-day/