Church and World Religion - Essay Example

School: Topic: presented: Experience Conducting an interview on religious matters is both interesting and sensitive as it was necessary to avoid hurting the interviewee with questions that could be considered as offensive by a Muslim. On the other hand, the interview was an important eye opener that satisfied the curiosity of understanding the importance of religion to a person who is a practicing Muslim. The experience from the interview revealed the need for meticulous preparation with regards to the topical issues to inquire about and the avoidance of suspicion, which may motivate the respondent to conceal some information. Familiarity with Muslim communities enhanced acceptance by the interviewee and openness during the interview. Effective communication is important for a successful interview to take place. Most Islamic teachings are in Arabic and have not been interpreted explicitly in English. The interview therefore was characterized with communication snags as the interviewee tried to express certain meanings as understood from the Quran. It was interesting to find out how a Muslim is well-versed with the teachings of the Quran, quoting from different verses to support answers to the interview questions. There was also a notable affection of Islam as the respondent participated in the interview. The readiness to explain more than requested indicated an inner driving force for the Muslim to help others understand his own faith, which demonstrated the need for dialogue. Analysis Religion emerged as a core aspect of a Muslim’s life and that there is a day of judgment when every individual will be required to account for all his/her actions. Islam is a peaceful religion that teaches on the existence of one supreme God who is unique and without equal. It instructs believers to maintain peace with others and to follow the desires of God as manifest in His angels as well as the revelations that were conveyed to human beings through prophets. Every human being is supposed to obey God who holds the ultimate authority over mankind. For this reason, perpetrators of the crimes against humanity committed all over the world by Muslims and non-Muslims are against God’s will and every individual will pay the price of sin on judgment day. There are a number of prophets that are held in high regard by Muslims with whom they associate with God’s intention to bring peace to the world. This is an indicator that God intended to bring happiness to man despite the sins that distance people from Him. It was also an important realization that some of the prophets are also revered in Christianity and Judaism, which is a well known fact by Muslims. Jesus is one of the respected prophets in Islam while Abraham, Moses, Job and Noah are among the biblical personalities that the three religions believe were used by God to convey His message to mankind (Race & Hedges, 2008). Religion influences how an individual interacts with other people depending on whether they are Muslims or not. There is a high propensity entrenched among Muslims that other religious beliefs are untrue and that their teachings are bent away from the message of God as presented to mankind through prophets. There is a strong belief that Islam is the only true religion that existed at the beginning of creation and that distortion of information and falsehoods are the source of the differences that exist among the faiths associated with Abraham; i.e. Islam, Christianity and Judaism, and hence it is offensive for non-Muslims to try to convert Muslims to other religions. However, it was clear that Muslims respect other religious groups despite considering them as infidels. Food habits are also influenced by religion with food being regarded as either ‘halal’ (lawful) or ‘haram’ (unlawful) according to Islamic law. Muslims can not eat certain foods while all animals must be dedicated to Allah during slaughter. This means a Muslim cannot eat an animal slaughtered by a Christian as it does not meat the standards of ‘halal’ food. Within the Muslim population, the behavioral expectations are different between men and women. Intermarriage with non-Muslims is unacceptable and is considered offensive to Islam. The places of worship are segregated on the basis of gender, which is also evident in virtually all aspects of life, which demonstrates the significance of religion in the lives of Muslims (Fox, 2014). Religious matters are also inherent in the business culture of Muslims. Daily prayers must be observed in all aspects of business, which includes adherence to religious holidays. Alcoholic beverages can not be used by Muslims in social occasions or celebrations as they are considered anti-social. A Muslim is expected to conduct business according to Sharia Law in line with the Islamic calendar. Muslims are motivated to borrow from Islamic banks that are not allowed to charge interest to borrowers. Depositors should also not expect interest accruals on their savings, which is widely accepted by Muslim business people. This also serves as an indicator of the significance of religion to Muslims (Midlarsky, 2014). Reflection The interview helped to develop an understanding of the beliefs and practices of Muslims. It is possible for people to assume that others are untruthful in their ways of worship yet the various faiths have many things in common. Dialogue is a critical component in the efforts to bring social cohesion and religious tolerance. It helps people to understand that they are unique in their own way and as they develop in to unique beings, they learn to value the distinctiveness of others. People also learn to appreciate religious diversity through listening and trying to understand others. Lack of interaction between people of different faiths is a major cause of the religious misunderstanding and conflicts that exist within the society. The contemporary society is complex yet every religion is focused on promoting peace. Ignorance of the fundamental rules of different faiths leads to development of social policies that are not acceptable by all members of the society. Dialogue can help to alleviate this problem allowing peace to prevail among religions and among nations (Fox, 2014). The theological themes emerging from the interview are the doctrine of God, humanity and the world, which are the major considerations among religious theists including Muslim, Christians and Judaism. God emerges as an all powerful supreme being that is indivisible or unequaled. These are the same teachings as in Christianity apart from the disparity brought about by the position that Christians give Jesus in their teachings as the almighty ‘son of God’. Muslims recognize Jesus as one of the revered prophets of God but disagree on his position as put forth by Christians. Muslims adherents make efforts to characterize their declaration of belief consistently, to make clear the statements out of the foundations of their faith and to allocate them to their particular place within the framework of every other worldly affair as well as religious processes, such as rationale and judgment (Thompson, 2011). My theology of religions has been informed by the interview on the perspectives of pluralism, inclusivism and exclusivism. The pluralism approach is true as it postulates that all religions in the world are right and similarly valid in their message of the existence and supremacy of God the world and sin. Christianity or Islam cannot be conclusively regarded as the only routes to heaven. Rather, they are among several world religions that teach the truth about God and heaven. The inclusivism perspective is also true as it asserts God’s presence in non-Christian faiths as it emerged from the interview. However, the interview disputes the exclusivism theory that asserts the definiteness of the Christian belief in Christ. It emerged from the interview that Muslims are also assured of their ultimate acceptance by God as long as they adhere to the teachings of the Quran (Race & Hedges, 2008). Action The interview and reflection has led me to change how I relate with people from other world religions. The general assumptions of the untruthfulness of the teachings of other faiths has bee overruled by the practical interaction and understanding of Islam and the Muslim culture. It has led me to relate religion and faith to the early upbringing by parents and guardians as the child will most likely follow their way of life and profess the religion once he/she is a grown up. The fear of God generated among humans through religious teachings make people worried of other faiths and also hinders free interaction and dialogue. But when people learn that others also fear the same God, they will be open for dialogue even without changing their belief. I have also realized that dialogue does not necessarily mean pressurizing people to change from their hard held beliefs as it may cause misunderstanding and tension among world religions. This is because no person would wish to see or hear his/her beliefs being watered down. I also understood the theology of religion in three different perspectives whereby pluralism and inclusivism emerged as affirmative while exclusivism left a gap that needs to be addressed through dialogue between Christians and other religions (Race & Hedges, 2008). References Fox, J. 2014. “The Influence of Religious Legitimacy on Grievance Formation by Ethno religious Minorities,” Journal of Peace Research, 36(5): 289-307. Midlarsky, M. 2014. “Democracy and Islam: Implications for Civilizational Conflict and the Democratic Peace,” Journal of Conflict Resolution, 8(3): 458-511. Race, A. & Hedges, P.M. 2008. Christian approaches to other faiths, London: SCM Press. Thompson, J. 2011. Theological Reflection, London: SCM Press. Appendix 1. How long have you practiced Islam? 2. Why do you think Islam is the right religion for you? 3. How as a Muslim do you understand the existence of God and his authority over mankind? 4. Do you have any friends who are non-Muslim? 5. What is the religion of your non-Muslim friends? 6. Do you interact with people from other faiths freely? 7. How do you take the faith of non-Muslims? 8. Can you eat or do business together with non-Muslims? 9. Would you support a marriage between a Muslim and non-Muslim? 10. Has anyone else ever approached you to convert to another faith? 11. If you realized today that Islam is not truthful, would you convert to another religion? 12. Do you think religion is a matter of choice or a family issue? For example if you were brought up by Christian parents, would you still be Muslim? 13. If you were offered an opportunity to streamline religion in the world today, how would you approach it? 14. What is your view of the current conflicts in the Middle East? 15. Do you think religion has a role to play in bringing peace to the world? Read More