Sociol. of Religions: Shinto, Islam, Christianity, and More - Essay Sample

Introduction

The capacity of beliefs in humans is virtually limitless. In human society and history, there has been a generation of beliefs and practices associated with it, leading to many writers on religion being curios, including sociologist (Hamilton, 2001). Sociology of Religion is the study of the practices, beliefs, and organizational forms of religion using the appropriate methods and tools of sociology. This paper focuses on the Sociology of various religions in the world, i.e., Shinto, Islam, Christianity, Judaism, Confucianism, Taoism, Buddhism, Jainism, Sikhism, and Hinduism.

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Shintoism

Shintoism is the Japanese traditional religious system based on the "Shinto." From the Division of Religious Affairs of the Japanese Ministry of Education and Science statistics, which is compiled annually shows at the end of 2001, the official certified and registered religious corporations under Japanese related to Shinto were about 85,000. Shinto's origin of worship is unclear; there is no founder, no fixed system of doctrines, nor any sacred scriptures. Instead, the religious system seems to start from the worshipping of the Kami gami. And, the development of the rituals is based on the settling down of the people to grow rice during the Yayoi era between 300-250 ce. The reforms of the religious system after World War II had significant changes in religion and society. The changes included the secularization of the state, though the imperial system remained the same and the new constitution, which now became the authority and law. Currently, Shintoism exists due to the established freedom of religion as a fundamental human right. It exists in several forms:

• Shinto, on the imperial household, is practiced in imperial institutions, and the main focus is on the rites for the spirits of imperial ancestors.
• Shrine Shinto is the prevalent form of Shintoism currently and embraces the broad majority of Shinto shrines.
• Sect Shinto is 13 religious organizations having its origin from the New Shinto movements that arose at the end of the Tokugawa period and the start of the Meiji period due to the economic and social distress.
• Folk Shinto is the substratum of the more organized systems

Christianity

Christianity is the largest religion in the world today. It leads backs to 2,000 years ago in Palestine. Jesus of Nazareth was the charismatic leader and taught his followers about charity or treating others appropriately. Currently, the scholarly understanding Christianity concept has been a topic of discussion, in particular in the realm of the social sciences. Christianity is faith developed and regulated through a system of "mandatory beliefs" and "dogmas" per the knowledge of god and how he redeems or helps humans. From the beginning, Christianity has been organized in communities with hierarchy, which entails the "church." The "church" applies to all the Christians and limited to any community of believers headed by a priest that has gatherings periodically for the faith doctrines. Christianity has a vastly developed relationship with its social environment. Despite Christian churches trying to "Christianize" their societies, improving the morality, supporting their agendas more often, they have looked for a way to accommodate the social condition, thus leading to successive change.

Islam

Islam dates back to the 6th century, and it is the 2nd largest religion in the world, with over 1.2 billion adherents. The sociology of Islam is the empirical study of the Muslims Societies. The core of the Islamic worldview is the features and structure of society. The vital principle in Islamic sociology is that faith provides a harmonious relationship between the community and the individuals and establishing a balance between collectivism and individualism. According to the Quran affirms that Adam is the origin of the human race and that women and men are equal in god's eyes. Islam provides the general frame which organizes the social life and includes value standards and meaning guiding the social activities. The Islamic world entails a part which is a significant part of humanity and, therefore, a need for sociologically analysis and understanding of Islam's religious, political, and social activities. Finally, religion is practical since it combines empirical reality with the theoretical orientation.

Judaism

The Sociology of Jewry is the application of the sociological theory of the Jewish faith and Jewish people. According to Weber, the ancient Judaism is the source of Christianity which later changes the Western world. In American Jewry, sociologists explore how the Jewish Communities in America perceive the challenge of maintaining their religious identity in the U.S currently. The Jews have a lot of options to choose from outside the Jewish religion. While another community accommodates the secular world, others want to isolate themselves from others. The Sociology of Israeli is more limited, and it does not use frameworks and concepts in the vast field of sociology of religion. The religion needs to focus on the implications arising from isolation and embrace the positivity of opening to the secular world.

Confucianism

Confucianism is significant in Chinese spiritual life and the aspects related to it. A spiritual and moral system of Confucius establishes an ideal for an individual to be religious. Confucianism is embedded in Chinese life. It is the same as "civil religion," ''a collection of beliefs, symbols, and rituals concerning sacred things and institutionalized in a collectivity'' (Bellah, 1967). Confucius founded a system of both spiritual and moral that enables an individual to be religious through self reflection. East Asia's economic success has motivated scholars to research more about modernity and Confucianism. The Confucian emphasis in social relations, for example, respecting the elders, is essential in Chinese. Confucianism remains necessary for the Chinese and also for Japanese and Koreans despite the influence of the Western. According to de Bary (2003), Confucianism does not encourage a community or group at the cost of an individual.

Buddhism

Buddhism is a neologism established in Europe IN nineteenth century CE, the word Buddha is a Sanskrit word meaning the awakened one. Buddha gives the disciple the guidelines and teachings they need to follow in his footsteps. The Arya (noble) are the truths taught by Buddha, who is referred to as being magnificent and superior to rational beings. The true suffering, true origin, true ceasing, and true path or means are the truth taught by Buddha to the disciples. Buddhism affects the philosophical construction of human morality. The right of understanding, the right of intentions, right conduct, right livelihoods, right effort, right mindfulness, and right concentration leads to the development of human morals.

Hinduism

There are two indigenous institutions under which the religious and social identities are classified; caste and sect. The caste system is the core feature in Indian society, which is part of the stratification which cannot be separated from Hinduism from its origin of hierarchy. The practices and beliefs in Hinduism control their social environment, leading to a new way of conducting things. From its conception to end it involved in rites of passage including, birth, initiation, marriage, and death. The social organization of the Hinduism has four primary categories of human beings; the Brahman, the Rajanya, the Vaishya, and the Shudra. Each of these categories plays different roles in the community. The Indologist, a specialist of classical text, has defined Hinduism as varna ashrama dharma, which means the systematic way of life according to individual varna or jati (stages of life). There are four stages of life in Hinduism; Studentship, householders, retirement, and renunciation.

Sikhism

The founder of Sikhism is Guru Nanak in the Punjab, South Asia. The continuous progress of the religion was made possible by the ten succeeding gurus and their literature. The fundamental of their message established the existence of one god who could be accessed through meditation. The Sikhs have daily practices of meditation and prayer, which they believe brings them closer and understanding god. Gurdwara is the center of worship, and at the Guwara, daily services are given, which include reading of the scripture and reciting the hymns. The baptismal ceremony is known as the Armit ceremony and is conducted when a convert fully understands the vows. The converts drink Armit, which is a mixture of water and sugar stirred with a sword. The Sikhs are expected to avoid the following; Lust, Greed, Anger, Attachment, and pride. Also, the Initiates of Khalsa are required to follow the K's to strengthen their unity and faith; kesh-uncut hair, Kara- steel bracelet, Kanga- A wooden comb, Kaccha- Cotton underwear and, Kirpan- steel sword. Sikhs are not in support of abortion, suicide, and unjustified euthanasia; because they believe that no human should interfere with god's work.

Jainism

The belief in Jainism is that there is no existence of god or any other form of the spiritual being to assist humans. According to their beliefs, Karma governs the reincarnation. Also, they believe the universe was never created, nor will it be destroyed. The souls that have reached liberation from Karma, known as Siddhas, are considered to be their gods. Although they are not powerful or have any effects on the physical world. During meditation, the meditation they believe that one's soul is brought to its purest state and creates one conscious of continuous real-time. The primary source of their information is from the teachings of Mahavira collected in the Agamas. The Five Anuvratas serve the code of conduct for Jians; Ahimsa-Non-violence, Satya- Truthfulness, Bramacharya- Chastity, Aparigraha- Non-possession, and Asteya- non-stealing. Right faith (Samyak Darshana), Righ knowledge (Samyak Jnana), and Right Conduct (Samyak Charitra) represents the core ethics of Jainism. Their temple is the center of worship, while tirthankaras for reflection. The Digambara and Svetembara are the major sects in the religion. The Digambara Sect has a belief that a woman cannot achieve liberation without prior becoming a man.

References

Hamilton, M. (Ed.). (2001). The Sociology of Religion: Theoretical and Comparative Perspectives. New York: Taylor & Francis e-Library.

De Bary, T. (2003) Confucianism and Communitarianism. In: Chen, R. (Ed.), Ruxue yu Shijie Wenming (Confucianism and World Civilizations). (pp. 919-932). Department of Chinese Studies, National University of Singapore, Singapore.

Bellah, N. (1967) .Civil Religion in America. Daedalus 96, 1-21.