Reflection Paper on Religion

Diversity in Counseling

11/17/2013

Jesslyn Guenther Jesslyn Guenther Reflection paper on Religion Diversity in Counseling 11/17/13

Religion is the relation of human beings to God or the Gods or to whatever they consider sacred or, in some cases, merely supernatural. Archaeological evidence suggests that religious beliefs have existed since the first human communities. They are generally shared by a community, and they express the communal culture and values through myth, doctrine and ritual. Worship is probably the most basic element of religion, but moral conduct, right belief and participation in religious institutions also constitute elements of the religious life. Religions attempt to answer basic questions intrinsic to the human condition, (why do we suffer?), (why is there evil in the world),

(what happens to us when we die?), through the relationship to the sacred or supernatural (Buddhism) or through perception of the true nature of reality, broadly speaking, some religions (Judaism, Christianity and Islam) are outwardly focused and others (Jainism, Buddhism) are inwardly focused (Religion-Definition and More).

I agree, that a big part of why people are religious is because they are afraid of the unknown and through religion they hope to find the answers to why we suffer, why there is evil and if our existence ends when we die or do we go on to a better existence. I myself wonder these things all the time. Jesslyn Guenther Reflection paper on Religion Diversity in Counseling 11/17/13 I grew up in the Lutheran Religion and never questioned the Bible or the existence of

God until I became an adult and began to question if Adam and Eve were the first human beings when there is evidence that we came from apes. A big question that I have always wondered about is if God is so wonderful and kind, why would he let his son die such a horrible death, just to forgive our sins. That part still doesn’t make any sense to me.

I raised my children to make their own decisions about God and choose whether or not they want to believe in him. I sent them to Sunday School so they would know what religion was about and when they became old enough to understand , they decided whether they wanted to continue to go or not.

My oldest daughter is a big reader and always has been. When she was in middle school, she learned about evolution and that brought up a lot of questions with her about God and the bible, so she read the entire bible (something I have never done and

I wonder how many people actually do). She had so many questions and doubts about religion after that and I didn’t know how to answer her questions, so I talked to our pastor and I thought he would be upset about her doubts, but he was actually very understanding and in awe that she would read the entire bible to find answers to her questions. Today she is 28 years old and she believes that God exists and has had my grandsons baptized but she doesn’t believe everything the bible has to say because of evolution. Her younger sister believes in God and doesn’t really question his existence, but my son is an agnostic because he isn’t sure that God or Satan really exist. Jesslyn Guenther Reflection paper on Religion Diversity in Counseling 11/17/13 The Lutheran Church is the oldest Protestant Christian tradition, dating back to the

Protestant Reformation and the person of Martin Luther. Lutherans are those Christians who choose to accept Martin Luther’s teachings. On October 31, 1517, Luther, a

Catholic monk, posted his 95 Theses as a challenge to the doctrine and practices of the

Roman Catholic Church, hoping to reform the practices he felt were inconsistent with scripture. When the conflict escalated to a distinct separation with the Roman Catholic

Church, those who accepted Luther’s reforms became “Lutherans”. Based on Luther’s own writings, Lutheran’s still uphold Luther’s theological teachings such as “sola scriptura” (scripture as the primary authority for faith and life), justification by the Grace of God alone and salvation through faith in Christ alone. Luther’s many theological ideas have since been collected into the Book of Concord, which is still an authority in

Lutheran doctrine and practice (Lutheran Origins).

Because of its initial grounding in the Roman Catholic Church, Lutheran worship, more than many other Protestant traditions, has many elements similar to the Catholic style of worship. Lutheranism spread from Germany to most countries across the globe and has become one of the largest Protestant denomination (Lutheran Origins).

I found this to be extremely interesting because all my years of being Lutheran, I never heard of Martin Luther or that the Lutheran Church came from the Catholic Church and also is part of the Protestant Denomination.

Protestantism is more a definition of the group of churches that broke off from the

Roman Catholic Church during the sixteenth century rather than a religion in and of itself. All Protestant churches can trace their roots back to the Protestant Reformation Jesslyn Guenther Reflection paper on Religion Diversity in Counseling 11/17/13 that was initiated by Martin Luther when he wrote his 95 Thesis and nailed it to the door of the Wittenburg Church. The term “Protestant” was originally meant to denote someone who was “a witness” rather than someone “against” something. Most early

Protestant figures saw themselves as trying to correct problems within the Roman

Catholic Church rather than trying to rebel against it.

Today, the term Protestant describes any sect or religion that had its basis originally in the Catholic Church but broke away to form their own organization. These Protestant families include religious sects such as Lutheran, Presbyterian, Anglican, Episcopal,

Baptist and Calvinists. In later centuries, there would be many splinter groups from these early Protestant religions such as Methodists, Evangelical Churches and

Pentecostals. Today there are hundreds of different denominations that originally derived from the Reformation Movement (Religious Beliefs, Protestant).

The Baptist tradition is one of the largest of the Protestant Christian denominations.

Most Baptist Churches agree with the basic Protestant Christian denominations. Most

Baptist Churches agree with the basic Protestant doctrines, but they stress the belief that only Christian believers should be baptized (called “believers baptism”) and that baptism should occur by immersion, a practice they trace back to the early church. In the U.S., a significant split occurred within the Baptist tradition along the north/south distinction in 1845 with the formation of the Southern Baptist Convention. The Baptist

Church has a strong tradition with black communities. Most Baptist Churches tend to be evangelical in doctrine and vary greatly from extremely conservative to liberal socially and politically (Baptist Origins). Jesslyn Guenther Reflection paper on Religion Diversity in Counseling 11/17/13 Judaism is a Monotheistic Faith, meaning that Jews believe there is only one God.

Often this God is beyond our ability to comprehend, but God is nevertheless present in our everyday lives. How individual Jews choose to understand this manifestation of the divine varies. Some connect with God through prayer, others see the divine in the majesty of the natural world, others may not think about God on a daily basis. Each individual’s relationship with God is unique and personal (What do Jews Believe).

Buddhism was founded by an Indian prince named Siddharta Gautama around the year

500 BC. According to tradition, the young prince lived an affluent anf sheltered life until a journey during which he saw an old man, a sick man, a poor man, and a corpse.

Shocked and distressed at the suffering in the world, Gautama left his family to seek enlightenment through asceticism, but even the most extreme asceticism failed to bring enlightenment.

Finally, Gautama sat beneath a tree and vowed not to move until he had attained enlightenment. Days later, he arose as the Buddha, the “enlightened one.” He spent the remaining 45 years of his life teaching the path to liberation from suffering (the dharma) and establishing a community of monks (the sangha) (Overview of Buddhism).

Buddhism incorporates a variety of rituals and practices, which are intended to aid in the journey to enlightenment and bring blessings on one self and others. The practice of meditation is central to nearly all forms of Buddhism, and it derives directly from the

Buddha’s experiences and teachings. Meditation is the central focus of Zen Buddhism and the only way to liberation in Theravada Buddhism. In addition to meditation, the

Mahayana schools of Buddhism have developed a variety of other ritual and devotional Jesslyn Guenther Reflection paper on Religion Diversity in Counseling 11/17/13 practices, many of which were inspired or influenced by the existing religious cultures of

India, China, Japan, Southeast Asia and Tibet (Buddhist Rituals and Practices).

Sikhism is an English term commonly used to represent the Sikh Religion. The Sikh word for the Sikh faith is Sikhi. Sikhism is a belief in one creative being known as Ik

Onkar, adherence to the teachings of Ten Gurns and allegiance to Sikhism’s Holy

Scripture, Guru Granth, The everlasting Guru of the Sikhs. Sikhism does not believe in

Proselytizing of forced conversion. The Sikh faith promotes honesty and integrity, defending the weak and sharing with the less fortunate.

Sikhism originated with Guru Nanak in 1469 and has grown to be the fifth largest religion, with 26 million Sikhs in existence around the world. Sikhism spread to the

United States in the late 1800’s (Sikhism-the Sikh Religion).

The Catholic Church has been defined as a union of human beings who are united by the profession of the same Christian Faith, of all who believe in Jesus Christ; or the fellowship (Koinonia) of all who are bound together by their common love for the Savior.

He is their invisible head and they are his visible members. These include the faithful on earth, those in purgatory who are not yet fully purified, and the saints in heaven.

Catholics practice their faith under the director of their lawful pastors, especially of the one representative of Christ on earth, the Bishop of Rome (Church-Catholic Culture).

I realized that I could go on and on with all the different religions, but I would end up writing a book. This has been one of the most interesting papers that I have written. I learned a lot about religion that I didn’t know before, even about my own religion. Jesslyn Guenther Reflection paper on Religion Diversity in Counseling 11/17/13 I didn’t really dislike anything that I learned about the different religions because I believe that everyone has the right to believe in what they want. I even saw myself being connected to other religions like Judaism and Sikhism.

The only privilege that I experience due to my religion is that it is such a common religion, at least where I live and if someone asks and I say I’m Lutheran, there is never a question about it like there is if you are a Buddhist, Sikh or even Jewish.

My understanding of religion has a great relevance to me as a professional AODA

Counselor because I will come in contact with people of many religions and I need to be able to understand something about their religion and make sure that I never push my biases that I may have about their religion on to them.

What I learned about myself as a person is that other people’s religious beliefs don’t bother me at all. I find different religions very interesting and even finding myself connecting to other religions.

I have many questions about religious communities and cultural competence because there are so many religions out there that I have yet to learn about. I hope to continue to extend my knowledge about the many different religions to make me more aware as a counselor. Jesslyn Guenther Reflection paper on Religion Diversity in Counseling 11/17/13

Reference

Religion – Definition and More from the Free Merriam-Webster Dictionary, www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/religion

Religious Beliefs, Protestant Reformation Religion Sprung from Catholicism, www.religious-beliefs.com/protestant-religion.htm

Christianity - Definition of Christianity, www.ancienthistory.about.com/od/christianityglossary/g/Christianity.htm

What do Jews Believe? – Jewish Beliefs, www.judaism.about.com/od/judaismbasics/a/whatdojewsbelieve.htm

Baptist Origins, Baptist History, Baptist Beliefs, www.patheos.com/Library/Baptist.html

Lutheran Origins, Lutheran History, Lutheran Beliefs, www.patheos.com/Library/Lutheran.html

Buddhist Rituals and Practices, www.religionfacts.com/buddhism/practices.htm

Overview of Buddhism - Religion Facts, www.religionfacts.com/buddhism/fastfacts/overview.htm Jesslyn Guenther Reflection paper on Religion Diversity in Counseling 11/17/13 Sikhism - Definition of Sikhism – Sikh Religion, www.sikhism.about.com/od/glossary/g/Sikhism.htm