Wednesday, July 24, 2013
COM 325 / Week #5 Discussion: Religion and Ethical Guidelines
Besides beautiful rituals and ceremonies, religion provide us with ethical guidelines to regulate our conduct and relationships. To me, Confucianism (a type of humanism) means a lot in regard to my daily interaction with others. How does your religion, secular worldview, or spirituality provide you with some ethical guidelines to weather through the ups and downs in your life?
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I come from a family who for the most part wouldn’t consider themselves religious at all. However, when I was younger I did go to Christian church a few times and then we stopped going. Then again when I was around the age of 14 we started to go again, as I also went to a lot of youth groups with friends. I wanted to be a part of something bigger, I felt as though I was missing out since everyone else believed in something that seemed so mysterious to me. As I got older I realized that going to this particular church isn’t who I am. I can believe what I want to and a book doesn’t have to tell me if it is okay or not. I would agree that I probably most fit in with Confucianism, as I am today. For me family has been the biggest part in my belief of ethical guidelines along with getting me through my ups and downs. This can also be related back to Confucianism, which is being of my true self.
ReplyDeleteWhen I was young, I would go to a Christian church every week with my grandmother. My parents have never been religious and never attended with us. As my grandmother started to age and had trouble getting around she stopped going to church since she was put in a Christian nursing home. I think I was around the age of 8 when I stopped going to church and have only been back for weddings or funerals. I would not consider myself a religious person; I say I don’t worship but I believe. I believe that there is something that is out there that governs our ethical beliefs and protects us when we need protecting. I’m not sure if I would say it is a god but maybe a spiritual being in this position. A lot of what I learned as a child in church guides me throughout my life even though I could not recall what I learned in church. After reading this chapter, I would say that Confucianism is more like my beliefs in most of my life. I believe that there should be respect for your elders and others in certain positions. I have a very strong sense of commitment and ethics that I try and live my life buy. I try and help those in need as much as I can even though there are times where I cannot do enough.
ReplyDeleteI was raised as a Christian but, we were not practicers of any particular form of religion. My mother also instilled what she choose to pick from other religions such as ‘do unto others as you would have them do unto you’ and other random acts of kindness. I believe that the belief in something more whatever that may be is a big part of my life I am not sure if I will be reincarnated or if I will go to Heaven or if once my body dies I will be nothing I really don’t know and I am not sure if I want to know. I do believe that there are spirits or angels or something on another realm that do watch over us. As I said I have a mish mosh of beliefs and really just try to live my life in a way that makes me feel at peace. My religious views are a way for me to understand the crazy and horrible things that happen in this world that seem to be out of my control, also to help my children understand death and other facts of life that are difficult to understand and explain.
ReplyDeleteI was not raised in the Church. I don’t attend church, read the Bible, pray regularly, and give tithings. My parents are not religious nor were either set of my grand parents. I have been part of many rights of passage and rituals in the Lutheran Church where I grew up. I was married in the Church attended funerals and celebrations of loved ones and acquaintances. I recently did a college paper on how to fight a fire in this 100 year old Lutheran Church with many additions and challenges for firefighters. This Church and its symbolism are important to me as an essential component of my community that I grew up in.
ReplyDeleteI believe in a higher being and would consider myself a Christian in my worldview. I know it is wrong to sin; I know the difference between right and wrong but have not read the bible in its entirety. My moral compass is a result of my parents, grandparents, friends and teachers who have all had a hand in helping to guide the way to living a productive life. I have had some ups and downs during the most trying down times I did turn to God for some sort of guidance.
The ethical guidelines of Christianity have always been a part of my life. This is not due to my regular attendance to Sunday services or a study of religion and the Bible, but mainly because decency and common sense that society has instilled in me.
My religion which I don't really like to call my religion, is something that keeps me grounded I believe. I am a Christian, and I like to say that it gives me something to keep my day going, as well as keeps my hopes up for something better than the life we are living. Not that I think my life is bad, which it is far from, but it is nice to think about sometimes when I am feeling down. Through the ups in my life I praise God for the things that he has given me, and through the downs in my life I pray that he will help me through them. This is something that has always been in my life, I was raised in church and I still attend (rarely however with a new baby) but I like when I go, it makes me feel fulfilled.
ReplyDeleteThe ethical guidelines provided to me through my worldview significantly affect my everyday existence. Through the teaching of my Catholic schooling, and the early emphasis, by my parents, on the importance of community, my daily actions always try to stay within those guidelines. At this stage of my life, I do not make conscious ethical decisions based on those guidelines, I believe it to be more natural, because of my “buy in” from an early age to the aforementioned lessons from my church and parents. That being said, as my children (5 and 6 y.o) start to question me about my actions, I am starting to revisit some guidelines so I can pass them on to my children. This will only help our family unit to be stronger and to reaffirm the values that are important to me.
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