Living In a Plural Society.

GCSE Religious Studies (Philosophy & Ethics)

In Britain today we live in a Plural Society in which many people of different religions, backgrounds, cultures, beliefs, opinions, colours of skin and walks of life live.

In our country by law, we must respect other people’s religious, ethnical, cultural and other beliefs and opinions, and due to this we must accept all aspects of this.

In particular, religion affects people’s beliefs and opinions as well as the way they act, their lives and the way they live it.

In Britain, we have many people with different religions and ethnic minorities due to immigration and asylum seeking. We as citizens of this plural society are not by any means obliged to believe or be a part of a religion, which has its own theories, beliefs and opinions, but we are obliged by society to respect the people who do have religious beliefs and obligations, and to respect someone does not require an effort and is a simple task, but for many they can’t seem to grasp the concept.

To be prejudice or discriminate against a person because of the way they live their lives and their beliefs concerning religion is religious persecution. This can sometimes be verbal and physical harassment which leads to upset of the person being discriminated against, as they have done no wrong and feel irritated because they are treated differently for practising a basic human right to be entitled to their own beliefs. It is not only morally wrong and not acceptable in a plural society such as ours in Britain to discriminate against someone because of his or her religious beliefs, but is a criminal offence, which can lead to criminal prosecution.

We are all entitled to our beliefs, opinions and religion and this needs to be recognised by all in our society, and is also enforced by our government.

Some religions in our country are:
Islam

Christianity

Hinduism

Sikhism

Buddhism

Rastafarianism

Shinto

Judaism

……to name but a few.

Many of these religions specify in some way, whether it be through teachings, the religious book, rules or regulations or general acceptableness, how the followers of the religion should think about themselves, others, their god(s) and the world, how they behave, how they live their lives and many more aspects of their life.

The outcome of a plural society with a mix of people is different beliefs. All people have alternating beliefs and in our country no belief is right or wrong. All beliefs are respected and should not be questioned for criticism.

In my investigation I am going to give an idea of some issues which different religions and the followers have opinions about, and to show sometimes how different they are.

In my investigation I am going to be covering the following topics which religions have specific beliefs about:

God

Salvation and the afterlife

Morals

Worship

These are just a few of the many thousands of issues which affect religion.

I am going to be highlighting the opinions of the following religions concerning the above issues:

Buddhism

Hinduism

Christianity

Islam

The general topic of the investigation is BELIEFS, which plays an important part in a plural society, especially in Britain today. It gives an idea of how religions have different beliefs about certain issues and how we ...

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In my investigation I am going to be covering the following topics which religions have specific beliefs about:

God

Salvation and the afterlife

Morals

Worship

These are just a few of the many thousands of issues which affect religion.

I am going to be highlighting the opinions of the following religions concerning the above issues:

Buddhism

Hinduism

Christianity

Islam

BUDDHISM

God

There is no absolute God in Buddhism, although many have interpreted Buddhism as a search for God. The Buddha himself, who founded the faith did not deny the existence of God outright but said that the question of His existence "tends not to edification." This means that those who seek enlightenment need to concentrate on their own spiritual paths themselves rather than relying on an outside support. The Buddha did not claim divinity or even a divine source for his teachings. He saw himself as only an example to fellow. Many Buddhists believe the existence of suffering and evil in the world is evidence against belief in God.

Salvation and the Afterlife

Buddhism sees ignorance rather than sin as the roadblock to salvation. That is, the belief that the world and self truly exist, keeps the illusory wheel of existence rolling-only destruction of that belief will stop the mad course of the world.

Its doctrine is summed up in the Four Noble Truths: (1) life is basically suffering, or dissatisfaction; (2) the origin of that suffering lies in craving or grasping; (3) the way to stop suffering is possible through the stopping of craving; and (4) the way to stop craving and so attain escape from continual rebirth is by following Buddhist practice, known as the Noble Eightfold Path.

They see rebirth as a punishment for wrong-doing, and the place they aim to go is Nirvana, the holly place above for them. Nirvana literally means "blowing out," as with the flame of a candle, which means rebirth ceases only when a person is pure of heart.

Morals

Buddhists are urged to follow the Five Precepts, which prohibit killing (including animals), stealing, illicit sexual relations, wrong speech (including gossiping), and drugs or alcohol. Also they are expected to support the community of monks.

Monks and nuns follow a path of moderate asceticism, including strict celibacy and the repudiation of all personal property. Buddhist religious leaders often are involved in education and charity and even take part in politics; other leaders separate themselves in their monasteries, contacting the public only to gain funds.

Worship

In most cases what looks like worship before a statue or image is really a sort of paying respects. The Buddha is revered as an example of a saintly life and as the one who brought the teachings of Buddhism; Buddhists are taught that they must themselves overcome the obstacle of ignorance.

Meditation in Buddhism can focus on one's breathing (important because it is halfway between voluntary and involuntary action), one's own attitudes (as in Mindfulness meditation, in which one tries to be clear at all times as to one's true motives for every action), a neutral object, or a bodhisattva. In each case the purpose is to divest oneself of craving and sense of self.

In some sects it is believed that a bodhisattva can transfer his merit to a supplicant and so aid him to nirvana. In those cases the Buddhist becomes very much like a worshiper petitioning God for grace and mercy.

CHRISTIANITY

God

To Christians, there is only one god. They believe god was the creator of everything; the universe, human beings, animals and all land features. To them God is the person they go to in heaven when they die along with his son Jesus, who is amalgamated with god to create one holy spirit. God affects them in their every day lives, and they pray to him for forgiveness, happiness and other issues.

Salvation and the Afterlife

Christians do not have a very difficult concept to understand about the afterlife. They believe that one a person dies, their spirit goes to heaven if it is free of sin, and will live their for eternity. They believe that heaven is the only positive place to aim for when they die, and if they have done wrong and have sinned in their lives they go to hell, where Satan himself lives. But, they do believe that one day in the future, judgment day will arrive, where god will judge every man and creature alive on their souls, and those free of sin will go to heaven, and our world will exist no more.

Morals

One moral that is a big issue in Christianity is Jesus Christ. They believe he was sent by God to spread his word to the people. They believe that we should be thankful for Jesus Christ, as he died for our lives. We should be thankful to him, as he gave his live when he died on the cross for us. They also believe that they should live their lives sin free to allow them to access heaven, be acceptable to God and to live a pure life. To live a pure life they follow 10 basic rules given by god to the people at the time, to get rid of the chaos that existed. These rules are called the Ten Commandments, and they are:

Worship

Christians worship god in prayer and hymns. They also worship him by attending the holy church and living their lives around the ten commandments. Prayers are important to Christians, and to most of the worship is based on the ten commandments, relating to God.

HINDUISM

God

Many gods or incarnations of gods are worshiped by Hindus. Chief among them are Shiva, a fierce figure representing both the creative and destructive sides of divinity as well as the ideal of yogic meditation, and Vishhnu, who incarnates himself many times through history in order to bring the message of salvation to man. Vishnu's incarnations (or avatars) indude Rama, a benevolent king, and Krishna, an impetuous, violent, and erotic figure. Brahman is seen by many Hindus as a personal, loving God who desires the salvation of all men. More usually, however, he is described as a supreme, impersonal being completely above all creation and uninvolved with life on earth. Basically, Hindu’s thank certain God’s for parts of their life they couldn’t be without e.g. the sun, earth, life etc.

Salvation and the Afterlife

The final goal of salvation in Hinduism is escape from the endless round of birth, death, and rebirth. That can mean an eternal resting place for the individual personality in the arms of a loving, personal God, but it usually means the dissolving of all personality into the unimaginable abyss of Brahman.

Four yogas, or ways of reaching such salvation, are described: (I) jnana yoga, the way of knowledge, employs philosophy and the mind to comprehend the unreal nature of the universe; (2) bhakti yoga, the way of devotion or love, reaches salvation through ecstatic worship of a divine being; (3) karma yogo, the way of action, strives toward salvation by performing works without regard for personal gain; and (4) raja yoga, "the royal road," makes use of meditative yoga techniques. Raja yoga is usually viewed as the highest way, but for the majority of people, who cannot become wandering monks, the other ways are considered valid.

Most Hindus consider that they have many incarnations ahead of them before they can find final salvation, although some sects believe that a gracious divinity will carry them along the way more quickly.

Morals

Because of the vast number of reincarnations of any given individual, Hinduism recognizes that most people's lack of spiritual development means they must lead normal lives. However, it is thought that as a person matures he can grow closer to the ideal of full renunciation of the personality. Thus, pursuit of wealth and love of the opposite sex are considered proper to certain stages of life, but when people grow old they often leave behind their worldly possessions to pursue the life of a wandering monk.

Yet no matter what stage of life one is in, "renouncing the fruits of your labors" is the supreme law of morality. Hindus seek to remain conscious of the illusory nature of this world and so progressively deny themselves, at least in thought, all forms of material, emotional, and even spiritual rewards and property.

For centuries the notions of reincarnation and karma have been used to support the cruelties of the Indian caste system, which relegates the majority of people to poverty and subservience. Probably as a result of Western influence the caste system has been substantially dismantled, although the idea that all human suffering is deserved is still responsible for a great deal of injustice.

Worship

Hindus have a magical and legalistic notion that one can acquire spiritual "points" through contact with all manner of holy objects and persons; that is by and large the Hindu notion of grace. At least among the uneducated an image of a family god is kept in the house, and villages generally have their local icon as well. Animals such as cows, monkeys, and snakes are revered. Certain rivers--the Ganges in particular--are thought holy, and bathing in them is thought to improve one's karma.

Even among more intellectual Hindus certain portions of scriptures are memorized and chanted, sacred stories are acted out in plays and songs, and gods are prayed to in an ecstatic manner. Holy men are highly revered, and in serving them Hindus hope that some of their holiness will rub off and aid them to salvation.

CONCLUSION

To conclude, people of different religions have different beliefs, which affect their thoughts, opinions, the way they live their lives and the way they look upon the holy one, themselves, the world and others. This really affects our society, as we have mixtures of opinions, and there must be respect between all people. This means that rules need to be in place to ensure everyone is treated the same and that everyone is entitled to their own beliefs.