Comparative Religion

Final Essay for Comparative Religion Masters Rev. Katherine MacDowell The Comparative Religion Masters course distilled a complex topic in a coherent and well-designed format with super adjunctive reading recommendations and website options.  One of the critical elements I gained through exploring the material of the course is not only an appreciation of the shared elements of faiths, but also their unique differences.  As I read through the opening lesson's discussion of the philosophical interpretations of the nature of God, I could not help but also ask what is the nature of the differences between these faiths and how do these differences ultimately shape how we find our religion.  As a psychologist, I am deeply embedded in questions associated with how individuals come to make their choices, as well as issues of cultural difference.  Recently, I finished reading Chet Raymo's When God Is Gone, Everything Is Holy and he emphasizes the role of parents and our primary cultures determining our religious affiliation—in his own bias (he is largely against religion as something that is counterintuitive to the revelations of our contemporary sciences, but that is for another discussion all together!) he holds that such determination cannot truly reflect the development of an authentic religious self, which must be engaged with and consciously chosen.  I would hazard a guess that many faiths would take issue with the notion that one should "choose" their faith, as many hold that God "chooses" you.  Nevertheless, as I read through the lesson material, I wondered at the process unique to our contemporary time and increasing global culture of how we come to choose our faiths.  What are the subtle differences that draw our focus?  I asked myself, having grown up an Episcopalian and traversing through many religious paths before settling on religious naturalism and shamanism, what invites me in to these paths?  When I consider the elements of Catholicism that I feel drawn to—what stops me from considering myself a Catholic?  I found it amusing that the author of our material found a website that allows you to input answers to find which faith resonates most closely with you!  This of course added to my own questioning of how has our access to the Internet changed how we relate to religion and are we really the first generation who has choice and thus can embody a new kind of fervor in our faith?  I know that these are more questions than specific facts learned, but this is how I engage with material and likely is a reflection of my own background in the sciences.  I find more is gained when I retain an openness to being deepened by questions than by answers. There were specific elements of the course that I thoroughly enjoyed, such as the ongoing use of recommended reading at the end of each lesson, thus allowing me to deepen my knowledge of a topic that struck me.  I thoroughly enjoyed discourse 19's discussion of religious archetypes and found this a superb way of exploring the shared elements of religious roles in an organized fashion.  This also appeals to my psychological background in the possibility of how might individuals, not attaining a more professional role in a religion, engage with these roles on a personal level either through embodying them or through relating to others in these roles.  I also found discourse 11's exploration of the fundamental questions religion seeks to answer (afterlife, painful experiences, suffering,  etc.) to be well organized and providing some areas for fascinating further examination.   I loved the definition of sacrament: "It has at its core the belief that taking into the body something that is divinely charged will unify the microcosm and the macrocosm" (Discourse 12).  I found this to be a profound statement that explores an underlying philosophical position of what is above, so it is below.  As such it highlights the notion of union with the Divine and speaks to our hopes of bringing this energy and the associated conceptions of the afterlife or the personality of the Divine into everyday human existence.  It does also suggest that human also hold a fundamental conception of themselves as somehow lacking and their surrounding world as that which is filled with suffering.  Indeed, the sacrament appears to be the solution to the issue of suffering and may provide a fascinating psychological benefit to allow individuals to experience a sense of resiliency and power through their capacity to engage in this specific behavior (likewise underlying ritual/ceremonial behavior whereby individuals provide an offering to a deity in the hopes of securing a different outcome in their physical, every-day life).  I absolutely loved the flow chart in the concluding chapter about the interconnective development of religion, although I would disagree with the notion that a Goddess tradition underlay all others—more on this in a moment. I think what I least liked was the two discourses on hermeticism, alchemy, and secret societies.  I would not consider these religions per se as systems of magic or perhaps philosophy as they lack real theological clarity and other elements that define religion.  I think a chapter on philosophical influences would have been enough to explore hermeticism.  I would have liked to have seen greater exploration of the philosophical elements of religion that are introduced in discourse one and how religions seek to answer these philosophical positions.  I do think Neopaganism and its religious children (Wicca, Druidism, etc.) should have been more widely visible in the entirety of the lesson alongside older faiths. My main point of contention with the course is the author's supposition that a Goddess faith underlay all other traditions in the last discourse.  There is substantial archeological dispute about this view largely asserted first by Robert Graves in The White Goddess and later by Marja Gimbutas and a handful of feminist scholars—none of whom other than Gimbutas are in fact archaeologists.  All of which has been argued against by mainstream archaeology, including women within this field.  I would direct the author to Lotte Motz's The Faces of the Goddess, which provides counter arguments to the underlying beliefs that God was initially a woman.  It's worth the read to ensure that one's assertions are accurately and not presented as "fact".  What would be a more historical accuracy would be to discuss the Goddess traditions within the contemporary context, where they have a powerful life of their own as explored by Starhawk, Z Budapest, and Carol Christ for example.   Otherwise, I thoroughly enjoyed the course. Katherine MacDowell ********************** Ordination with the Universal Life Church, is free,  and lasts for life, so use the Free Online Ordination, button. The  ULC, run by Rev. Long, has created a chaplaincy program to help train our ministers. We also have a huge catalog of Universal Life Church materials.   Try our new free toolbar at: ULC Toolbar

Comparative Religion

ULC Comparative Religion

What I gained from this course:

The last in Comparative Religion  was a validation of my beliefs. I've always thought that the different religions that have grown throughout the world were rooted in the same basic belief in a higher energy, Creator, Source, Divine Bring or any other term developed by humanity's limited language skills that one would care to use to describe the underlying power of the Universe.

It has been my life long belief that all the religions of the world lead to one place, it is just a matter of how one gets there. A brief visual description may assist in understanding my point. Imagine a large mountain and the goal is the summit. Each person is located at the base. There are paths that spiral around the mountain climbing ever higher. There are some paths whose course takes them directly up the side of the mountain on a vertical ascent. These paths all start at different points at the base of the mountain, but all end at the summit. Some of these paths even travel the same course at times, some never meet. While all start at a different point, all take a varied route; all arrive at the same point in the end - the summit or to phrase it another way - reunification with Divinity.

I believe that the vast differences are there to accommodate the various level of spiritual development evident in each culture at any given point in their evolution. That is to say, an early pagan would have had a hard time comprehending the higher teachings of the Buddhist religion. Another example of this is the evolution from Hinduism into Buddhism. This difficulty in comprehension is just as true for the modern day Christian. By that I mean that a Christian has trouble accepting that each individual is responsible for their own evolution on the wheel of life, death and rebirth. Most of the Christians that I have spoken with believe that unless one believes in Jesus salvation can never be obtained.

What I liked best and least about this course, and how to improve:

While I was pleasantly surprised to see the more obscure religions given the same basically fair treatment as the more commonly practiced ones, I would also have liked to have seen a more in depth comparison of each of the religions covered. Many times I was waiting in vain for the next religion to be explained to the extent that the last one had been discussed. This was true not only of the obscure ones, but even the common ones. The discussions (lessons 16 and 17) on Divine Messengers for example as well as the discussion on Religious Titles (lesson 18) serve to illustrate this point.

I would have enjoyed seeing a systematic breakdown clarifying how each religion compared and contrasted with each other one during the course of each lesson. Using the above examples, if each religion's terms for angels had been laid out in table format and each religion's titles had been detailed side by side I believe it would have more fully explained how they relate to one another.

Over all, this was an excellent course. I would definitely be willing to take another course from Reverend Kythera Ann; and am looking forward to Part 2 of this course. I am of course assuming there is a Part 2.

Theresa A. Bedwell

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Comparative Religion

Rev. Robin M. Viorla, O. of M. Master of Comparative Religion Instructor: Rev. Kythera Ann I was called to the ministry when I was thirteen years old. I talked with my teacher, Sister Marie 'Somebody', who suggested that I, upon completing high school, come back to the convent and become a part of their community. The invitation, though offered in love, left me cold. There was something else for me. Committing my life as a Nun, did not resonate for me as my journeys goal. Throughout my spiritual journey, I searched for places where I could grow and learn. It became painfully obvious that the traditional seminary experience was not going to work for me. So I prayed and recognized that the path was spreading out before me. It was important for me to move along it with strength and faith as I would gain the necessary information and experiences necessary to fulfill my desires and needs. I am fifty years old now, and the stop along this juncture of the road is called the Universal Life Church Seminary. Having gone the traditional academic route, I have attained a BA in Political Science, worked as a Teacher of the Handicapped in the New Jersey School system and presently work with teachers, teaching the how to create and maintain positive environments in their classrooms. I myself have had many life-teachers. Several incredible Spiritual teachers, and as usual, Masters have come to me upon my readiness to hear information new to me. ULC has offered me an opportunity to do a study, the research of which would have taken me years to gather on my own. Comparative Religion, in all good seminaries, is the basis for understanding and developing authentic respect for all forms of religions and the individuals to aspire to walk its path. The format chosen to present the topic (s) of the twenty discourses developed by Rev. Kythera Ann, did not only provide an almost side-by-side presentation of the subjects and issues, but did so with a comprehensible and research-base approach. I enjoyed equally the independent study format and the opportunity for me to work at a pace that was good for me and my schedule. Knowing that I had access to my instructor and others made it easy to ask questions of them if I had any. Although I would not suggest that just anyone take the course, I would support those who are sincere and able to work on their own, to dive in and experience any course that ULC offered. For example: Discourse #3 – Similar Teachings Throughout Religions I will always remember this particular discourse as the one that had that "wow' factor, such simple information yet, so important. When you spend so much time in the world attempting to teach people the benefits of reversed thinking based related to the differences and realities of religions which seems to separate more than unite, it is easy to forget that the very basis of our searching is that all human beings seek peace and love. Although I have referred to this searching as the "forest for the trees" syndrome, it is nevertheless the basis of all of our desires. Discourse # 9 Symbolism An equally surprising discourse, I was amazed the depth of the subjects discussed here. I had studied the work of J.J Hurtak the most popular of which being, The Keys of Enoch, "a paraphysical 'codebook' written in 1973… It is a text of higher consciousness experience which explains how the human race is connected with a more advanced higher evolutionary structure of universal intelligence." Much of Hurtak's work is around his interpretation of Sacred Geometry as an ancient science that explores and explains the energy patterns that create and unify all things. I was impressed with Rev. Kythrea's ability to make such intricate subject matter, so clear in its contrasting among other meaning symbolism of religions and cultures. I could go on and on about what I believe to be the most comprehensive compilation of comparative religious studies I have ever read, and I have read many. I am so happy that back in eighth grade I decided to trust that my path would be guided. The education that I have gained through this course has done more that given me a fresh look at religions and the cultures which abide by them, but has confirmed for me, things I have previously understood about people and the need of all people to belong, discover, create and seek their divine selves. There is nothing about this course or the information that I disliked, as I went initially approached it without judgment waiting to pounce on every word laid before me. We are, in my humble opinion, more same than we are different, and even in our struggle to be unique we are, just that much more the same. Thank you, ULC. Thank you, Rev. Kythera. ******************************* The Universal Life Church is a comprehensive online seminary where we have classes in Christianity, Wicca, Paganism, two courses in Metaphysics and much more.   I've been ordained with the Universal Life Church for many years and it's Seminary since the beginning and have loved watching the continual growth of the seminary.     Try our new free toolbar at: ULC Toolbar