GKAS 3323
3 cr.
Religions in the Global Village: Walls and Bridges
Uskonnot maailmankylässä: muureja ja siltoja
ktk.ulapland.fi/globaleducation/gkas3323
GKAS 3323
3 cr.
LECTURE SESSIONS:
6 x 2h
EXERCISE SESSIONS: 0h
ktk.ulapland.fi/globaleducation/gkas3323
Lecture 1 (cont’d … ») :
• The contribution of religions to civilization — direct and indirect influences:
» How has religion influenced civilization?
» Religion has always had an undeniable influence on civilization: both in terms of personal and collective moral, and in terms
of cultural, artistic, literary, scientific and technological advances; this is unanimously approved by the majority of historians!
» There are many obvious examples of the civilizational outcomes of indirect religious influence: the Renaissance was a co-result
of the civilizational influence of both Christianity and Islam; the Christian Reformation movement had a boosting influence on the
rise of entrepreneurship, economy, productivity and industry; these are “indirect” in the sense that the emphasis is on the concrete
cultural advances rather than on ethical or spiritual teachings!
» However, there are also many examples of the civilizational outcomes of direct religious influence: the ancient Persian Empire,
the Kingdom of Solomon, the Byzantium Empire, the Dominion of Ethiopia, the Abbasid Caliphate, the Ottoman Empire etc.;
these are “direct” in the sense that, when they were at their peaks, the moral and ethical aspects of religious teaching were as
much present as were the outward cultural achievements — civilization was a combination of moral and cultural advance!
Lecture 1 (« … cont’d … ») :
• World religions, geographical and statistical facts:
» There are hundreds of religions in the world; the vast majority of them are so-called “folk religions” or “tribal religions” — these have
the total of some 600 million adherents, worldwide; then there are “world religions” that have over 6'000 million adherents, worldwide!
» The concept of “world religion” is used (in the academic field of comparative religion) of those religious movements that have spread
widely and have had a stronger civilizational influence on a larger scale — so it is more focussed on socio-cultural influence and
geographical distribution rather than on the number of followers; these include:
› Christianity: 2'000-2'200 million adherents
› Islam: 1'570-1'650 million adherents
› Hinduism (incl. Jainaism & Sikhism): 865-1'000 million adherents
› Buddhism (incl. Shintoisim): 450-1'500 million adherents
› Judaism: 14-18 million adherents
› Bahá’í Faith: 7.6-7.9 million adherents
› Zoroastrianism: 0.2 million adherents
Lecture 2:
• Religion as the “light of the world”, and its “darkness” — walls & bridges:
» The principle of commitment to greater good — invariably advanced by all world religions — has been a driving force in the process
of unification and social maturation; religions have been the engines of the historical and evolutionary imperative of social cohesion
and unification!
» One may rightly ask: If religions have been promoters of “commitment to greater good” and of “cohesion”, how is it then that there
has been, and still is, such hatred and animosity between the followers of various religions, causing such political and cultural
conflicts, such human cruelty and perversity?
» Religion as a two-edged sword: (1) Religions have had an undeniable positive influence on humanity’s societal life — their dynamic
and regenerative impulse which, when in its full vigour, gives new energy to both the lives of individuals and the development of
culture!
» Religion as a two-edged sword: (2) Religions have also had an undeniable negative influence on humanity’s societal life — the
juxtapositions and destructive conflicts caused by the narrow interests and politicization of religious institutions and clergy saps
the flow human development and creativity and halts the original constructive impulse!
» For instance, during the Middle Ages, the Crusades and the war over Jerusalem were, supposedly, wars of religion; viewed in the
actual teachings of Christianity and Islam — the actual sayings of Jesus and Muhammad — these campaigns and their “justifications”
fall in sharp contrast against the spirit of the teachings of these religions; hence, the religions that were allegedly fought for, in fact,
stand against these wars!
» The concept of “religion” is, therefore, problematic: the word means two completely different things, referring to (1) the original
regenerative impulse brought by the life and teachings of the Founder Teacher of a religion, on the one hand, and to (2) the
subsequent dilution of those teachings with compromising interpretations and vested interests of religious leadership, on the
other!
» How can the regenerative and life-giving impulse of religion be maintained while, at the same time, avoiding the dilution of spiritual
teachings and the dogmatization, politicization and radicalization of religious communities?
Lecture 3 (cont’d … ») :
• The shared ethical and spiritual foundation of world religions (cont’d … ») :
» What commonalities can be found between the various world religions?
» The Golden Rule is the teaching that we should treat others as we ourselves would wish to be treated; it is an ethic variously
repeated in all the great religions of the world!
» Hinduism: “The true rule is to do by the things of others as you do by your own.” “This is the sum of all true righteousness: deal with
others as thou wouldst thyself be dealt by. Do nothing to thy neighbour which thou wouldst not have him do to thee after.”
» Judaism: “Whatever you do not wish your neighbour to do to you do not to him.” “What is hateful to you, do not to your fellow men.
That is the entire Law, all the rest is commentary.”
» Zoroastrianism: “As you do you will be done by.” “That nature only is good when it shall not do unto another whatever is not good
for its own self.”
» Buddhism: “One should seek for others the happiness one desires for one’s self.” “Hurt not others in ways that you yourself would
find hurtful.”
» Christianity: “Therefore, all things whatsoever you would that men should do to you, do even so to them.” “As ye would that men
should do to you, do ye also to them likewise.”
» Islam: “Let none of you treat a brother in a way he himself would dislike to be treated.” “No one of you is a believer until he desires
for his brother that which he desires for himself.”
» Bahá’í Faith: “If thou regardest Mercy, look not to that which benefits thyself; but to that which will benefit thy fellowmen. If thou
regardest Justice, choose thou for others that which thou choosest for thyself.”
Lecture 3 (« … cont’d) :
• The shared ethical and spiritual foundation of world religions (« … cont’d) :
» The Golden Rule, however, is only the basic ethic of moral behaviour — it is the expression of justice between human beings;
in fact, all great world religions go beyond that: they command their followers to exercise mercy to others, i.e. to return evil with
goodness!
» “A noble soul will ever exercise compassion even towards those who enjoy injuring others or those of cruel deeds when they
are actually committing them — for who is without fault?” (Hinduism, Ramayana)
» “Anger is never appeased by anger. Anger is appeased by loving kindness. This is an eternal truth.” (Buddhism, Dhammapada)
» “Aid an enemy before you aid a friend, to subdue hatred.” (Judaism, Tosefta)
» “Ye have heard that it hath been said, Thou shalt love thy neighbour, and hate thine enemy. But I say unto you, Love your
enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute
you.” (Christianity, the Bible)
» “Moreover, good and evil are not to be treated as the same thing. Turn away evil by what is better, and lo! he between whom
and thyself was enmity, shall be as though he were a warm friend.” (Islam, the Koran)
» “The religion of God is for love and unity; make it not the cause of enmity or dissension.” “Ye were created to show love one to
another and not perversity and rancour. Take pride not in love for yourselves but in love for your fellow-creatures. Glory not in
love for your country, but in love for all mankind.” (Bahá’í Faith, Tablets of Bahá’u’lláh)
Lecture 4:
• The weakening of religion and the spread of secularization — material vs. spiritual views of human reality:
» RE: The concept of “religion” is, therefore, problematic: the word means two completely different things when referring to (1) the
original regenerative impulse brought by the life and teachings of the Founder Teacher of a religion, on the one hand, and to
(2) the subsequent dilution of those teachings with compromising interpretations and vested interests of religious leadership, on
the other!
» The spread of the latter meaning of the word “religion” has disillusioned (for good reason, too) the masses of people and has
prepared the stage for the spread of a narrow-minded commitment to selfish pursuit of happiness, instead of commitment to common
good; after all, as Jean-Paul Sartre (who was openly anti-religious) said: “Indeed, everything is permissible if God does not exist”!
» PRE: The ‘pursuit of happiness’ is increasingly transmuted into an aggressive and almost unlimited self-justification to pursue one’s
own advantage without committing to common weal or a greater purpose ... ; this trend is steadily taking the role of a global ‘substitute
religion’!
» PRE: … collapse in the sense of community and self-destructive behaviours inculcated by a dogmatic and lop-sided ideology ... Is
seen, for instance, in the damage done to generations of youth who were taught to believe that violence, indecency, and selfishness
are triumphs of personal liberty!
» The “creed” of the individualistic-materialistic dogma is simplicity itself: (1) reality, including human reality, is essentially material in
nature, (2) the goal of human life is the satisfaction of material needs and wants, (3) society exists to facilitate this quest, (4) the
collective concern of humankind should be an ongoing refinement of the system to be ever more efficient in carrying out this assigned
task!
» In this “creed”, religion is either (1) simply driven back into fanaticism and unthinking rejection of progress, or it (2) is reduced to a
kind of personal preference and a pastime designed to satisfy spiritual and emotional needs of the individual; the sense of community,
cohesion and mission that had defined the major world religions was sidetracked and stifled!
» The fundamental issue is: spiritual and materialistic conceptions of the nature of reality are irreconcilable with one another and lead in
opposite directions — intellectual honesty cannot accept that both would be true simultaneously; reality is either purely materialistic
and physical, or it is a versatile and complex entity of the material & the immaterial, the concrete & the abstract, the physical & the
spiritual!
Lecture 5:
• Interfaith cooperation and possibilities of religious reawakening:
» The problem of the choice between the materialistic and the spiritual conceptions of reality is obvious: if one chooses the former,
the result is the social degeneration and collapse we see around us; but if one chooses the latter, the spectrum of competing and
conflicting religions is daunting!
» The dilemma of choice for any unbiased and honest seeker of truth will remain as long we fail to appreciate the foundational unity
of religions; this, in turn, will not be solved as long as the followers, and especially leaders, of various religions insist on their claims
of privileged access to truth!
» The experiences of the past century in “interfaith dialogue” and other “ecumenical attempts” are praiseworthy attempts to break the
walls of religious orthodoxy; the loosening of the grip of religious prejudice was first seen publicly in World’s Columbian Exposition
in 1893, during which a “Parliament of Religions” was prefigured, with a vision of spiritual and moral consensus and the goal of
“emancipating the world from bigotry”!
» The Parliament of Religions was a laudable attempt, no doubt, and it produced a new tradition of interfaith dialogue that still goes on
among open-minded and enlightened religious people, including some leaders of religion; however, these initiatives, well-intentioned
as they were, lacked both intellectual coherence and spiritual commitment!
» In so far as giving up the “monopoly of access to truth” is concerned, attempts have been utterly insufficient and inefficient: the
suggestion that all of the world’s great religions are equally valid in nature and origin is still stubbornly resisted — so fundamental
a reorientation religious leadership appears, for the most part, unable to undertake!
• The persistence of religious prejudices and intolerance — the responsibility of religious leaders (cont’d ... ») :
» The legacy of the twentieth century is that prejudices that once seemed inherent in the nature of the human species are everywhere
giving way; that so fundamental a change could occur in so brief a period — virtually overnight in the perspective of historical time —
suggests the magnitude of the possibilities for the future!
» A threshold has been crossed from which there is no credible possibility of return; fundamental principles (incl. those of universal
human rights) have been identified, articulated, accorded global publicity and are becoming infused into institutions capable of
imposing them on public behaviour!
Lecture 6:
• The persistence of religious prejudices and intolerance — the responsibility of religious leaders (« ... cont’d) :
» Tragically, and unexpectedly (in view of the process of secularization), organized religion, whose very reason for being entails service
to the cause of brotherhood and peace, behaves frequently as one of the most formidable obstacles in the path; in particular, it has
long lent its credibility to fanaticism!
» The consequences of religious dogmatism, in terms of human well-being, have been ruinous; in addition to the spiritually fatal effect
of fanaticism, there is the betrayal of the life of the mind which, more than any other factor, has robbed religion of the capacity it
inherently possesses to play a decisive role in the shaping of world affairs!
» Religious reconciliation does not call for abandonment of faith in the fundamental teachings of any of the world’s great belief systems;
what is essentially needed, on the part of both religious leaders and the rank-and-file of believers, is the renunciation of all claims to
exclusivity or finality; these claims wrap their roots around spiritual life and suffocate impulses to unity, instead promoting hatred and
violence!
• Meaningful living and global ethos — prospects:
» Religion has served throughout history as the ultimate authority in giving meaning to life; in every age, it has cultivated the
good, reproved the wrong, and held up a vision of potentialities as yet unrealized; from religious counsels people have derived
encouragement in overcoming limits imposed by the world and in fulfilling the yearnings of the soul!
» Religion has been the chief force binding diverse peoples together in ever larger and more complex societies; in this ever-expanding
conception of society, the individual capacities have been released and found fuller expression; the global age we have entered
makes it possible for the entire human race to see this civilizing process as a single phenomenon!
» PRE: A sense of global responsibility and an accompanying culture of service are basic requirements of world citizenship!
» It is the scriptures of all religions that have always taught the believer to see in service to others not only a moral duty, but an avenue
for the soul’s own approach to God; today, the progressive restructuring of society, on a global level, gives this familiar teaching new
dimensions of meaning!
» The schools of the world face a real challenge in religion: Can they become genuine fora of the emergence of global ethos — can
teachers become promoters of ethical dialogue between various faith communities, taking the step beyond mere religious tolerance
towards religious reconciliation?
“Religion should unite all hearts
and cause wars and disputes to vanish from the face of the earth,
give birth to spirituality, and bring life and light to each heart.
If religion becomes a cause of dislike, hatred and division,
it were better to be without it,
and to withdraw from such a religion
would be a truly religious act.”
• ‘Abdu’l-Bahá (1911) •