Experiencing the World’s Religions, Essay Example

Identify and analyze the Four Noble Truths, in particular, the Noble Eightfold Path. What ideas from Hinduism did Buddhism essentially keep? Describe them. Include enough details to support your answer.

The four noble truths include connected chains of truths regarding life. The first one is “to live is to suffer,” which implies that people are born and live in a world that has plenty of suffering. As such, since the day one is born, he or she is bound to suffer for the rest of their lives until the day they die. The second noble truth is “suffering comes from desire,” which implies it is human nature to want things we do not have. Tentatively, we never get contented with whatever we have. The third one states that “to end suffering, end desire,” which is attained by discarding our desires and eradicating what develops that desire. With the third noble truth, one can lead a normal life without adornments, and people will become content with the possessions that they have in contrast to what we desire. The final noble truth is “release from suffering is possible and can be attained by following the noble eightfold path.” The notion implies that one can find happiness and be detached from suffering once he or she finds inner peace or nirvana. Hence, to get nirvana one needs to follow the stipulated eightfold path which involves various aspects: right contemplation, right effort, right action, right intention, right understanding, right speech, right work, and right meditation. According to Molloy & Hilgers (2013), adhering these steps can cause one to achieve peace or nirvana, which is regarded as the end of karma or rebirth.

Compare and contrast Sigmund Freud’s theory about the origin of religions with William James’s theory. How does each of these psychologist’s view religion (positively or negatively)? Now analyze how the insights of Freud or James might illuminate your religious tradition or the tradition with which you are the most familiar. How would Freud or James understand that tradition? Use specific examples to support your answer (e.g., a specific belief or ritual).

Both authors became renowned as a result of religious pluralism in the late nineteenth century as well as the growing disillusionment of religious expressions. As such, empirical investigations were conducted by researchers with regards to the patterns and particular religious content to study psychology of religion. Nonetheless, when comparing these theories, Sigmund Freud’s theory regarding the origins of religion paints a negative picture of religion. The author argued that believers develop a belief in God as a result of the impressions imposed on them when they were children by their parents (Matthews, 2012). According to Freud, parents often projected their image of God upon them as it was done to them by their parents. The author implies that the primary purpose of religion is to keep human beings in check and provide them with a fallacy that they are safe and protected. On the contrary, William James’s theories hardly have a significant impact on my religious beliefs. As such, I tend to agree with James’s notion regarding religion that leads to a “harmonious relation with the universe” (Matthews, 2012). With this passage, I tend to agree with the author and understand that he would also appreciate my religious traditions often carried out on Sundays. Understandably, James’s would even agree on the part of the mass where we say to our fellow believers in the congregation “peace be with you.” The depiction of such a moment tends to represent our will to be peaceful and love our neighbors (Molloy & Hilgers, 2013).

References

Molloy, M., & Hilgers, T. L. (2013). Experiencing the world’s religions: tradition, challenge, and change. New York: McGraw-Hill.

Matthews, W. (2012). World religions. Cengage Learning.