Hi!
Here are the questions presented to me by Shogo.
Do you have religion? Decribe it.
Do you think people need religion? Why or why not?
Please write as much as you can in response to these questions. Also, because this is a somewhat more personal topic, it's important that we remember to respect everyone's views.
I look forward to reading your responses.
Have a good weekend!
Shiki's Response:
I believe in a kind of Buddhism, but I don’t know well about it. It is because generally, I have not used it. My family and I use it only when we perform a funeral, wedding ceremony or new year’s days. I think in my country, Japan, most people are in almost same situation as me. For example, on new year’s day, most Japanese people go to shrine or temple to pray to god. While we pray, we say appreciation or some wish to god. When my family performed a funeral for grandmother, we invited a specific priest who believes our religion and, he said a sutra. In addition to that, we had to wear black clothes and have only vegetables and law fishes for one week. My grandmother and grandfather believed their religion more than me. There is a household Buddhist altar in their house. Furthermore, they clean it and pray to god in front of it almost every day. I think the people who believe religions come to reduce gradually. But I don’t know its reason. In my opinion, people need religion but, it is not good to depend it strongly because probably, we want to need the power we cannot see when we get into difficulties. I usually pray to god when there is nothing I can about something. For example I pray to god just before I take a very important exam. However, there were a lot of wars all over the world because of the people who believed their religion strongly. I think such people came to be blind through they depended on their religions. Religions sometimes help us but, sometimes they cause a big war or problem. Therefore, it is the most important thing to respect other religions and not to depend on one religion hard.
Yu's Response:
I think it is the hard question. I don't have religion, but I believe the god. Many people have the same idea in Japan, and sametimes it is regarded as unusually thing. For exsample, the man has the religion, and he has mental illness and needs to be able to believe something. We think so. But I think therefore it is needed by people. Sometimes it can support people. If we don't believe anything, we can't keep usually our mind. I don't know what is about religion so much,so I can't say anything. But I think we can choice we have religion or just believe the god.
Satsuki's Response:
Honestly, I don’t believe religion. I think religion is important in the world, but not necessary thing for people. I think religion is connecting many things. When I was high school student, my school is Christian, so I used to worship every Monday at school. A preacher always did preach for us and we sung a hymn. This is not interested for me, but there were many things to study. Religion has some rules, some rules are strict and some rules are important or pleasant. I can’t understand well about these rules. It means not criticism for religion, but believing religion is difficult for me. In Japan, there are many people who are an unbeliever, but there are many events that connecting to religion. For example, most Japanese people aren’t Christian, but they are celebrating it on Christmas day. It becomes habitual event in Japan now, but usually almost all Japanese don’t think about Christian. Also, Japanese people who are an unbeliever always go to shrine or temple to worship for the gods and Buddha. I don’t know what is right about religion, but I think people should have jointly that important, pleasant thing of religion.
Shogo's Response:
I may be not more religious than others, but I am a Buddhist. I went Buddhist temples when these are traditional times to visit Buddhist temple, like the New Year in January, an annual visit to our family burial site in August, or memorial service, for example. And I visit the temples to enjoy the beauty I find there. I think that religions are not needed for people, but if you think that it is need, it is need. For me, it is not important that I have a religion. Actually, most Japanese don’t have it, they are not more religious. I ‘m not pretty positive, one of the reasons, we have a big rate of suicide. Sometimes, religions make sadness like war, but it makes happy like excusing. I mean that it depends on their selves that the a religion is need or not.
11 comments:
I am a person without religion. But in my home country, a variety of religions can be found due to its multicultural. One of common religion is called Taoism. In addition, the religion of Taoism worships several gods; the one of goddess is the widely worshipped in residents and foreign which is called Mazu. The United Nations Education, scientific and Cultural organization (UNESCO) designated Mazu worship as world heritage. Furthermore, DAJIA JENN LANN TEMPLE is holding the Mazu’s birthday festival at the twenty-third day of the third lunar month of the Chinese calendar every year. The beginning of Mazu’s birthday festival, many Mazu’s followers gather at JENN LANN TEMPLE to attend annual pilgrimage. The event will persist for eight days. According to statistics from Taiwan Tourism Bureau (2011), it is stated that this festival attract the millions of people in these days. The follower by means of this event to prayed to her for health, career, marriage, and all sorts of concerns. In addition, the worshippers believe that they can get the blessed and repeal evil for Mazu. Therefore, the devotees of Mazu attend this festival in an endless stream. But in my opinion, many people face the big trouble; they are used to ask for help by the religion. But we need to face the fact; the problem will not solve by the religion creed. Thus, the religion is merely consoling our soul, not the problem solver.
I don’t have religion. In Japan, I think almost of all Japanese don’t have religion, because there are not specific religions. But they sometimes believe in gods. For example, they pay a visit to a shrine on January 1st, and pray for their health, works, passing exams and etc. Also they hold a memorial service for the dead, and they offer flowers or something that the dead had liked before their family Buddhist altar. I also do so.
I don’t know whether people need religion or not. However if they need religion, they should do so. Also if they sometimes need to believe in gods like religion, they should pray them. That is to say, it depends on each person.
I am an atheist, and I believe in only things that I see. I have never seen god yet, so I don’ t believe any exist of gods. I am not also sure people need religion or not, same as Marika. I think that religion have both a positive point and a negative point. The positive point is religion could be a motive of living actively. When I was a Japanese university student, my theological professor said that every religion tells people how to get good lives. If people are encouraged by religion, it is definitely an essential thing for them in order to feel satisfaction. On the other hand, some people misunderstood or violently understood their religion. In addition, in the history of humans, people have had many terrible wars because of religion. In my country, Japan, there are many kinds of religion, and some of them commit crimes like fraud, injury, or murder. One of the most terrible incidents, Sarin gas attack on the Tokyo subway, March 20, 1995, was caused by one of the cult religion. Thirteen people died and about 6,300 people injured by this gas. Religion has extremely strong power, so it can change lives to a bright ways, but also it sometimes make people violent. In my opinion, Josh also wrote in the introduction of this journal. Every people, atheist, Christian, Muslim, Buddhist, Hindu, and believers of other religions, never forget respect each other. Moreover, we must understand that there are lots of kinds of religion and different thoughts. I hope that talking about religion is not a sensitive issue.
>>Kento: I'm Interested in your opinion in terms of sociology. so you said, "I believe in only things that I see." What does it mean? How about Love?, Friendship?
I don't understand how many denominations of Buddhism are in Japan, and what is the difference between each denominations of Buddhism. Therefore, I don't know I'm really Buddhist, but I believe or agree with Buddhism's thought like guidelines, an impress word, a proverb or a maxim. There is the Buddhism word Shiki-Soku-Ze-Ku. This mean is all of substantial things existing in the earth have no inner meaning. In another word, we don't need to have a deep attachment for such substance because every thing we can see will disappear someday. As for me, this word's mean is that things we can't see is the most important such as love, feeling, thought or friendship, and we have to take care such things.
I know some people still believe that fancies aren't real including the Gods. But I wanna tell them that's wrong. Just because we can't see such imagination things doesn't mean they aren't real. Such imaginations sometimes influence our life more than most real people. For example, the Santa Claus, ghost or Luke Skywalker, an imagination characters, influence my life when I was young. They sometime change my thought and my action. These things mean they are kind of real. As a result, Gods or religions are also too. People was effected by not actual things, and people believe some not actual thins. Religions are just one of them. Thus, I couldn’t say people surely need a religion, but people believe some thing instead of religion.
Kento says religions have some serious problem between each other’s. But I think it’s not only an issue of religions but also poverties, language, politics and economics. As a result, one of the ways people try to assimilate others is such the religion, and it become an effective use in the world. Therefore, we don’t have to think the religion is the only reason of an international dispute.
In my opinion, people need what they can strongly believe; likewise, I need something I can believe to live fully, and it include the religions.
hi i really do have a religion and i think every one should have a religion because its so important for every one it gives you good manners and help to work in this life because you will believe in some thing that you have to work for like we muslims believe in allah and we believe in judgment day and we should do good things for this day and we should be nice with every one no mater where is he from or what dose he believe in we should help every one and try to do our best and our profit taught us that in my religion we have to parts or tips but we are all muslims and we live together and its mostly the same and their is no deference and we love pace we don't like fighting or having problems we are not like the bad people on T.V they are bad and what they do is not in our religion and i think most people have the wrong info about my religion and i wish that i can show every one who thinks that we are bad that we are not bad we are good people and we are not like the bad people and its not in our religion
Hey everybody,
I am a Muslim. My religion calls Islam. I grow up with this religion but I am always thinking about atheism and agnosticisms. To be a Muslim you have to believe in five faiths as Shia rules (the second Muslims majority). First, Oneness mean there is only one god (Allah).Second, justice mean Allah is fair The third, Prophet hood –this mean Muslims should believe there are Many prophets (Jesus, Moses, Ibrahim etc.) and the last prophet is Mohammad The forth is leadership (you should believe there are 12 leaders.)The fifth is the day of resurrection (this means by the end of this life Allah will judge us) If you believe in these five faiths then you will end up reading Quran (holy book sent from God.). And fasting thirty days during daylight of Ramadan month (you can’t eat, drink or have sex.) and praying five times a day. Finally, I think we need to have a religion because everyone is weak and when we get in trouble we usually ask for help and also Allah asked us to believe in him to get in heaven and avoid his punishment.
Everyone has right and free to believe or not and this what Allah said as what I do believe.
Hi everybody.
My religion is Islam. All people in Saudi Arabia are Muslims, and we believe in one god(Allah).Some of the reasons to believe in (Allah) the prophet Mohammed because he taught us all of things about Allah and Scientific Miracles in the Holy Quran. we believe in Allah because he is the only creator of this whole world.
Alhamdulillah I am a Muslim. And I am proud of it that I am Muslim. In Islam we have one God and that God is Allah who create the whole world the life every breathing and Muhammad (s.a) the messenger of Allah. In my country all of tajik people Alhamdulillah they are Muslims and all of them already know the right way of life and which religion is the rightest. And the Holy Quran showed us the right way and The Holy Quran will show the right way to everybody....
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