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Nostra Aetate theological text
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Nostra Aetate theological text
Religious Studies raises essential questions of value and purpose along with building up
fundamental life skills. Portier feels that learning religion traditions helps to solve the problem of
privatization. Religions have become personal rather than communal. Most teachings make
people believe that the only way to find God is within themselves and therefore, do not
incorporate God in their daily life. It has led to a lot of religious intolerance among believer.
Studying religious traditions make the religion more communal than private.
Religion has been separated from the daily life leaving everything in the world secular.
The practice encourages many sins in the world since a person believes that God is simply
concerned with the soul. When one studies religious traditions, he realizes that God is part of
everyday life, and people need to act according to the doctrines always
Learning religious traditions will ensure that human beings do not only focus on personal
beliefs. It is not disputable that religions are many. However, thinking that all other religions are
wrong except the one’s leads to a lot of misunderstandings that may eventually result to religious
wars. The deep understanding of different religious traditions makes one respect other religions
even as he believes in his. It leads to love for one another and peaceful relationships among
believers.
It creates analytical skills, critical thinking, cross-cultural understanding, and
communication skills. The answers that different religious traditions offer regarding these
essential questions are often contradictory and varied. However, the questions are those with
which humans have grappled from time immemorial, and seemingly, it will go on to grapple with
into the future. Thus, one of the advantages of studying religion traditions is to enhance people’s
understanding of themselves and others.
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It is not sufficient to only understand and practice one’s religion. Humans tend to respect
their tradition more after critical study. Many tend to respect their religion more after studying
and understanding other religions. For example, the way it differs or resembles in its origin,
understanding, development and practice of other religions.
Studying religious traditions helps people to operate as responsible worldwide citizens by
tolerating, developing and respecting their religion and that of other people. Appreciation and
recognition of others’ point of view play an important role in creating a compassionate
relationship between individual and nations or societies.
The study of religion helps one to understand more about the way different aspects of
human life have been structured. These aspects of life include; science, politics literature,
economics, and law. Achieving this is by altering religious notions of, for example, images of the
divine and the deity, evil and good. Studying various religious doctrines, stories, scriptures, and
rituals can help one understand the way various groups of believers used religious traditions to
transform, sustain, and shape themselves.
Prothero (2011) Fails to understand the reason as to why there could be different
religions with different doctrines, serving the same God. He outlines the religious differences and
concludes that for sure, God is not one, and therefore religions are not the same. According to
him, each of the eight religions tries to solve the different human problem. For example,
Christianity uses salvation to solve the problem of sin. Islamic uses the submission to solve the
problem of pride. Buddhism uses awakening to solve the problem of suffering. Judaism uses God
to solve the problem of exile. Confucianism uses social order to solve the problem of chaos.
The argument here is that religions can never be the same since each of them tries to solve
different problems. God is, therefore, not one because it is not possible to use different paths
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leading to the same God. It contradicts the common belief among worshippers that indeed God is
one.
Prothero (2011) Says that the two most competing versions of religious studies are
Christianity and Islam. Christianity has been the greatest of all religions for a long time;
accounting close to fifty percent of the world’s population. He, however, cautions that one should
confuse the word greatest with the right. The fact that Christianity is the greatest does not mean it
is right in its teachings and beliefs. Most of the Americans confess to being Christians, and the
Bible is one of the most selling books all over the continent. Most of the government offices use
the Bible more than any other doctrines in the world.
However, in the recent past, Islam, which is the second in terms of numbers, has been
rapidly growing in number. He argues that Islam has grown at a rate of thirty-three percent in the
recent past while Christianity has only grown at the rate of twelve percent. He attributes this rapid
growth to the increasing population in areas that Islam dominates such as Egypt. However, this is
not the only reason since these are not the only areas where people have witnessed Islamic rapid
growth. The religion has tripled in number in Europe for the last thirty years. It is, therefore, the
fastest growing religion in the region.
Prothero bases his arguments on numbers totally. Many people in the world simply
mention a religion they belong to but do not deeply subscribe to the doctrines and beliefs of the
religion. That means that taking concluding that a certain religion is the greatest or the fastest
growing simply by numbers is not convincing. For example, Hindus may have few but very
devoted members while Christianity has many people but only a few are devoted. It takes many
factors to conclude about the religion that is greatest and that is not. Numbers alone is far much
less to base a person’s arguments (McCarthy & Lysaught, 2007).
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Even though Portier acknowledges that indeed there are many religions in the world, he
highlights out certain things that need to unite human beings than divide them. He looks at some
issues that human being undergo similarly such as birth and death. He says that birth and death
mark the beginning and the end of every human being and that every expectant mother
experience pain followed by immediate joy.
Portier highlights all the religions talk of love to God and every human being. These
religions equally condemn sin; a fact that unites human beings together. He compares certain
writings in different doctrines that show similarities among the many religions, indicating that all
religions head in one direction. Some of them are the sacred calling like that of Moses and
Arjuna. The sacred appears ordinary person in ordinary space and time and the return to the
ordinary being (Portier, 1994).
In summary, even though there are different religions teaching different doctrines, these
religions closely relate to each other. They discourage discrimination against another human
being or other religions. The Church practices all that is holy and factual in the religion.Despite
differing in many ways from its instructions, nonetheless often reflect a ray of that truth that
enlightens all men. Catholic declares and is bound to proclaim without fail, championing of
Christ as the way, truth, and the life. It is in Him that God reconciled all things to himself. Thus,
people find the fullness of their religious life. The Church, therefore, urges its followers to enter
with prudence and charity into discussion and collaboration with other religious affiliations.
Christians witness to their faith and the way of acknowledgments, life, preservation and
encouraging the nourishment found among non-Christians.
All religions teach and discourage any form of violence and discriminations. They
highlight some apostles in their various scriptures who were friendly and sacred and encourage
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worshippers to follow their footsteps. It shows that indeed God is one, and different religions talk
about the same thing in different aspects.
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References
McCarthy, D. M., & Lysaught, M. T. (2007). Gathered for the Journey: Moral Theology in
Catholic Perspective. Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing.
Aetate, N. (1962). Declaration on the relationship of the Church with non-Christian religions. The
second Vatican council, 1965.
Portier, W. L. (1994). Tradition and Incarnation: Foundations of Christian Theology. Paulist
Press.
Prothero, S. (2011). God is Not One: The Eight Rival Religions That Run the World, And Why
Their Differences Matter. Black Inc..