Essay Sample on Religious Literacy

Introduction

Religious literacy is an integral part of any learning that aims at improving the economic, social, political and cultural engagement on the twenty-first century global stage. Individuals require to develop the ability to understand and create basic blocks of their religious traditions while attending to their day-to-day lives. The concept of religious literacy helps people to take part fully in economic, political and social growth in a country and a world where religion is considered a significant factor. Based on this concept, I got to know more about Hinduism. The main religion practiced by the majority of the Indians is Hinduism which involves several aspects and customs. India was colonized by the British Empire which had a set of impacts on the religion. For instance, the colonial system influenced the beliefs of people about religion.

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After discussing the effects of colonialism on religious, I was able to discover that the use of the Caste System in India had a significant impact on Hinduism. I came to realize that many Indians were converted to Hinduism on a large scale because of the numerous circumstances that surrounded the religious conversion. The colonial rule practiced by the British affected the Caste System as a large section of the British workers became assimilated into the native Indian community. The invention of the British accelerated the unitary of the Hindu religion. The British colonialism ensured that each person belonging to Hinduism possesses a collective identity and has a unified collective religious identity.

To me, globalization seems to be a new form of colonization after World War II. After studying in the class, I discovered that a decolonization process started among the previously colonized and slaved countries. Globalization focus on opening up of world trade, internationalization of the financial market and developing advanced infrastructures. As a result, the strategies used in globalization represent a form of colonization as the most potent nations take advantage over developing countries. Such nations gain more for their development at the expense of other countries. In the study of religion, I realized that we use the comparison of globalization and colonialism to evaluate the human benefits. Globalization helps to improve facilities which are utilized by people to make life better.

Scriptures are sacred texts drawn from holy books serve different purposes in deepening religious traditions. Individuals use scriptures to understand religion; induce a strong connection with the divine and to guide communal as well as personal spiritual practice. Most people show high respect for scriptures and use them to defend their spiritual life. Therefore, people use scriptures to convey spiritual facts making them have a better understanding of the religion. Scriptures can be used to explain religion, and this is because they contain philosophical insights, desirable values and spiritual ideals that are core aspects of the religious teachings.

India is a country with diverse religions; however, the main religion is Hinduism. The Indian political pattern is based on a democratic style. There exist a relationship between religion and politics in India. For instance, individuals belonging to one religion are closely identified by the specific religious group. Similarly, people interested in one political group have equal rights to be identified by that political party or group. The religion in India is termed as a useful tool of social control, and this also applies to political groups. They both share the task of imbibing specific ethical values to people. To study better about the relationship existing between religion and politics, we need to identify the roles played by each group.