Kim Robinson - outside reading # 3

I’m currently enrolled in RSTD 211 or Religions of the East and right now we’re studying the religions of Japan. We’re learning about Shinto, Zen Buddhism, Confucianism, Hinduism, and so many more. It’s amazing to me how their culture has been able to incorporate a truly pluralistic view of religion into their everyday lives. These different religions have different functions when it comes to how they interact with society. Shinto is seen as the native religion of Japan even though it’s a transplant from China. Buddhism is used in the Japanese practice of ancestor worship and also as final rites during funerals. Political life is dictated by Confucian philosophy which is strongly influenced by moral and rational reasoning. Japan has created their own cultural religion using aspects from many types of religions or belief systems. It’s strange to think how they were able to do that, but what makes it so improbable. Why can’t our culture be like that? We were once considered the mixing bowl because of how many cultures were represented by the immigrants who came to America in the early years. Why can’t we become a mixing bowl once again, but instead of culture it is our religions that blend together. It has happened it some areas I know, but why not on a larger scale. Tolerance is not a quality that some in this country have learned and if religions were to mix, maybe then people would seem as equals and different from one another….