Scintillating discussions of art and philosophy, by Rebecca Blocksome's Western Thought I class at the Kansas City Art Institute.
Friday, May 6, 2011
Religon
One thing that has always really bothered me is the way people react when they here the word "religon" or "god" or anything related to this. I find it really disrespectful for people to be put off by it so quickly. thats not to say I'm not also put off by people with religous views pushing their thoughts onto others who clearly aren't interested. Another thing I really wish religons did was push the views alittle bit - i realize now in days you can be labeled as "non denominational" but people with other views- why can't they push the boundries alittle bit -actually think about whats out their and experience and learn about other religons? I do respect traditions that are often played in catholic, jewish, muslim etc. religons but they seem so meaningless and overdone. I also really dislike how one sided religous - or athiest people are. I really want people to be more open to the ideas of whats out their and not completely turn different ideas off.
I find Emily's reponse to this comment true ands respectful for people who are religious and non religious. It is not always about changing someone's beliefs and you can't assume that radical religious people's actions are also like those of the whole religion. Religious people become defensive because they are tired of the sterotypical assumtions they hear day in and out about their religions. Its more about educating your peers than it is about changing them off the bat. It is sad, but it is true that society tends to base their opinions of a religion on the actions of one individual. Not all muslims are terrorists, not all Catholic priests are child molesters, not all Catholic nuns are old, wear black and white and masturbate, not all Jews have big noses...One of my good friends is a practing Muslim and tells me how the text books and teachers are wrong about her beliefs and as a practing Roman Catholic I feel the same. You must not always believe the books or professors say about a religious group or the news. They tend to only show the scandals of a religion. You must take the time to get to know not the people who claim to be religious but who show it through their lifestyle and actions. It seems to me that you, Kim, have had a bad experience with a certain individual who happens to be religious, not a religion in its entirety. You say you respect traditions of Catholic, Jewish, Muslim etc. but contradict yourself when you say "but they seem so meaningless and overdone." Those are strong accusations and maybe NOT having tradition, being untraditional is "meaningless" and "overdone". Maybe actually having a set standard of values and strong beiefs is respectable. As a "religious" individual I am use to persecutions and such. I try by best to respect others views and tolerate different life styles, but when someone starts talking about my religion I feel the need to defend and speak up. I try to keep thoughts to myself, but sometimes if a person accuses a whole religion of something such as being one sided, how can I not speak up? If I didn't then I wouldn't be who I say I am.
ReplyDeleteit is true that many are put off by the idea of god. but i think it's because many associate negativity with certain religions. there are many religions that can appear as very limiting, and yes, there are those that push their religion on others. i think many people have only experienced the seemingly restrictive sides of religion, whether it be someone trying to push religion on them or certain things about a religion that might take away from their freedom of expression. people forget that religion can be very open and is a very personal thing. well, i guess it can be. i don't really know, i'm not really a religious person. personally, i prefer to live by philosophies more than a set religion, and i think it is very important for people to remain open. it's the close-minded, strict religious people that turn people off of religion, i think. but it's hard to get people to realize that these are just the negative people they are experiencing, and not the religion itself.
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