The paper by Watt and Wolf are both concerned with the study of religion in the discourse of intercultural communication. Watt’s main argument is that religion plays an important role in intercultural communication, it helps unite people from diverse culture. People with the same religion from all around the world have their belief originated from the same language. Wolf’s paper explores the relationship between inter-religious dialogue and dialogical identity and questions the privileging of the secular state in discussions of intercultural communication. His discussion is predicated on the idea that to be intercultural is to be inter-religious, it is to place ourselves in a fundamentally holy space.
As a handbook chapter, Watt’s article
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The former refers to where religions tend to resist social innovations and lend themselves to anti-modernization. One example includes the Christians’ preference for the King James Version of the Bible, which involves the use of archaic languages and style, which are perceived as respect for what is holy and traditional, even if they are performed inconsistently with the original grammar. The latter states that all religious belief systems include some beliefs about language. The veneration of language is apparent in religious discourse. In Muslim’s realm, the Qur’an can only be read or recited in Arabic. The permissibility of translation is disputable. This become relevant to cross-cultural contact because religion is global. Language ideology that was housed in that religion becomes transported to the new cultural setting. People from all around the world share the same belief. Muslims not knowing Arabic still need to recite the Qur’an in the same …show more content…
He wants to demonstrate that the contemporary privileging of the secular state is problematic by pointing out the dangers of an inclusivist approach as well as the vapidity of multiculturalism with its empty desire to respect differences whilst not living them out to the full. Serious understanding of inter-religious encounters is vital to make an intercultural dialogue proper. It is necessary for us to combine the linguistic form with the specific context of the utterance in order to determine the full meaning of an utterance. Wolf finally talks about the approaches that nation states should take in dealing with religions. He suggests that they need to take into consideration the three preconditions for dialogue outlined in the previous discussion: (1) calculus of interpretation, (2) dialogical co-construction, and (3) performativity. The most ardent secularists should try (1) to work out the inferences generated by religious propositions, (2) to discover a common ground in the bridging of two differing teloi, (3) to be aware of the need ‘to transcend’
Appiah takes a close look at one Burton’s writing. He believes that people with different religion should perform their duty. For example, Muslin ought to make the haji and Catholics should go to Mass. He states that “living by your beliefs is important” (17). Appiah tries to persuade people that there are fundamental beliefs that we won’t agree on.
I chose this quote because I realize that many people including myself encounter other religions and their lifestyle due to multiculturalism in the modern society as well as technology and social media. Having peers who are of other religions, being a part of their lives and seeing pictures, videos, words and thoughts derived from other religions on social media has allowed us to understand and gain knowledge about these religions that alter and reshape our understanding of our own faith. The exposure of different religions in our daily lives through observation and experiences raises countless questions about not only the reasons behind the practices and traditions of other religions but also what this information and knowledge means to one as an individual of another religion. For example, the author 's encounter with Banaras and a few of the people she met allowed her, as a Christian, to realize that people of other religions have similar values or beliefs and she realized the possibility that "god really encounters us in the lives of people of all other faith" (10). It is also important to note that everyone has a different personal experience and perception of these encounters as personal beliefs and opinions play a part in building up the
Secular governing, also known as the separation of church and state, has not been around for a long period of time. Since before the United States was founded, there have been many radical changes in the general consensus on whether or not a government should encourage or even force a religion on its people. With Puritanism, Deism, and Transcendentalism, it is easy to see a change in attitudes as the years went by. The canonical literature created by some of the celebrated writers in the United States shows a progression over time in regards to different beliefs and their views on secular governments.
Introduction: In the text by Eboo Patel “Acts of Faith: The Story of an American Muslim, the Struggle for the Soul of a Generation,” Patel focuses on living in a diverse faction full of religious prejudice in a world full of materialistic outlooks. At the same time he intertwines his personal experiences and provides a remarkable account in which he says that growing up in America as a Muslim led him to discover the importance of cultural pluralism, the acceptance of all religions, and his huge account that all Muslims aren’t extremists. He believes in ethnocentrism; religions should be able to coexist without feeling that one religion is superior than the other. In a world where the forces that seek to divide us are strong, Patel thinks the meaning of pluralism is that the differences
Aviya Kushner, the author of The Grammar of God, was raised in an Orthodox Jewish family where not only was Hebrew her first language and language studied/spoken it school, moreover, it went beyond simply speaking it in home and class, rather, her family culture was vested in discussing, reveling in, and questioning the grammar, meaning, and overall language of the ancient Hebrew text: The Bible. When Kushner came across an English translation of the Bible for the first time, she writes about how she did not seem to recognize the thing she loved dearly. This jolting surprise in a Graduate school course led her on the path to write this book that examines the role of language, translation, and what it all means. The heart of the book seeks to
This book should be read because it can help make aware of the religious ignorance in the country. To a reader of minority religion, it can allow them to understand why most people act the way they do towards their
Heavily influenced by Max Weber, Peter Berger was interested in the meaning of social structures. Berger’s concern with the meaning societies give to the world is apparent throughout his book The Sacred Canopy (1967), in which he drew on the sociology of knowledge to explain the sociological roots of religious beliefs. His main goal is to convince readers that religion is a historical product, it is created by us and has the power to govern us. Society is a human product. Berger made it very clear from the beginning, that society is a dialectic phenomenon; it was produced by us and in return, produced us too.
In the essay, “ The Role of Religion in Modern Society”, Dalai Lama, The preeminent religious authority in Buddhism reveals the reason behind why religion has been a major source of conflict throughout the history, and how inter-religious harmony is the key to overcoming conflict of the first sort. He goes deeper into the similarities between different religion and identifies the obstacles that obstruct inter-religious harmony by developing ways to overcome them. He believes religion plays a vital role in the modern society by shaping the person's spiritual qualities rather than making him a better religious person than the other. Dalai Lama expounds that religious practice can help a person cope with adversity than those who don't.
His encounters with priests, and foreign soldiers embody the nation’s ongoing strife with westerners gaining control of their country through religious indoctrination and forceful control. The society’s ability to channel the gods through ritual embodies their own religious conviction which further empowered them to protect their culture against those who wished to displace it with
Racism Trough Discourse Analysis Analyzing racism and gender discrimination in a white/black society discourse and its' reproduction in white elite culture. Based on educational researchers that consider racism discrimination directed against someone of a different race based on the belief that one's own race is superior in characteristics, abilities and qualities. As defining discourse concept that spoken is written communications that provides a big supporting filed of racism application, beside the structure of text on minorities of words, mental, socio-cultural , politics, effects or function. The discrimination defines the unjust treatment of different categories of people through races, ages, sex, etc... . In addition, white elite is
Religion in Western civilization has undoubtedly played a pivotal role in shaping and developing Western society. Regardless of the form of religion, such as polytheism or monotheism, people in ancient societies believed in a God or Gods. This belief in a higher power was an important part of human progression and expansion. Religion was the backbone of Western civilization and has always been a very important foundation of culture, schooling, philosophy, art, and social interaction. Before Judaism and Christianity, philosophers such as Aristotle ponder the thought of a higher power and in his book Metaphysics wrote about eternal motion was an unmoved mover.
Old Egypt and China were fundamentally the same as additionally varied from multiple points of view. Their topography was similar. They both had the same idea of composing. Both civic establishments esteemed religion and made it a major some portion of their lives.
The author gives a view on the religions in the global context. 5. Topic Sentence: The contemporary world today combines a wide diversity of world religions and in order to preserve peace people ought to display high level of mutual tolerance.
Culture and Religion seem to be working hand in hand in society, when looking at culture we look at characteristics and knowledge of a particular group of people, defined by everything from language, religion, food, social habits (things that are done natural e.g. saying please and thank you), music and arts. With religion people often use the word to mean the worship of a god or gods. However, some religions do not have gods. One thing that all religions have in common is that they help their believers to find meaning and comfort in the world by using some aspects from that particular religion. With culture and religion playing a big role in our everyday and life choices contraceptives go against a lot of cultural and religion choices and
Cultural identity plays a very vital role in cross cultural communication, people from a particular culture communicate with partners and employees from many different cultures and in this situation every individual strives to keep their cultural and individual identity. According to Gardiner and Kosmitzki, identity is defined as “a person 's self-definition as a separate and distinct individual, including behaviours, beliefs, and attitudes” (Gardiner & Kosmitzki, 2008, p. 154). Also, Ting-Toomey defines identity as a "reflective self-conception or self-image that we each derive from our family, gender, cultural, ethnic, and individual socialization process"( Ting-Toomey, 2005). Both definitions bring out the generalisation of cultural identity