Religion and Theology Essay

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Religion is part and parcel of all societies across the world. Most populations around the world participate in some form of religious practices, irrespective of geographical location. One prevailing fact is that most of these religions share a lot. All religions have a practical and ritual dimension. This is what adherents do as part of that religion. They include prayer, pilgrimages, religious dress code, praise and worship among others. Another dimension is the experiential and emotional aspect. This defines a person`s emotion and internal conscience as a member of that religion. Narratives are also common to all religions. There are historic, creation, destruction and divine narratives in all religions. In most religions, rituals are also performed in a way that mimics the narrative account. (Bbadsn, C. S., 1950)
The doctrinal and philosophical dimension of religions provide for intellectual dissection of particular religions. However simple or complex a religion may be, there must be a systematic speculations and explanation of the relationship between humans and the supreme deities in the religion. Social and Institutional dimensions define how people`s interactions are organized as part of a religion. Monastic orders, Islamic Umma or totems and tribes are such social interaction examples for some religions.
Finally, the Material dimension is one that is common among all religions. This defines the physical forms in which the religion is embodied. These include the places of worship such as churches for Christians, Mosques for Muslims, Temples for Hindus and Synagogues for Jews. In these places of worship, there are common aspects such as the importance and meaning of architecture used. The Cross for churches, the moon crescent for Muslims and maps of the cosmos for the Native Americans are examples of such architecture. (Bbadsn, C. S., 1950)
This paper is an account of a visit to a "Shree Ram Mandir" Hindu Temple. The mythic, experiential and ritual aspects are explored. How does the structure of the Hindu temple describe the relationship between humans, God and the Universe? This paper will examine this symbolism, and how the rituals performed in the temple are perceived by the adherents. It explores how the rituals connect to the people`s daily lives.
The Hindu temple epitomizes the level of devotion to which Hindus have towards their religion. Every structural aspect of the temple is built with the fervor of devotion (Bresnahan, S., 2002). For Hindus, their temples are the external equivalent of the temples in their hearts. In a Hindu temple, there always is a deity on the altar. The deity reminds the Hindu of the temple in their hearts where God dwells. Hindus offer fruits, flowers and other items to God. This symbolizes the offering of prayerful thoughts
Most Hindu temples are built in the shape of a mountain. Mountains have a prominent place in the Hindu religion. Since ancient times in Hinduism, Mountains were thought to be the abode of the gods. The divine purpose of the temple therefore is to serve as the meeting point of between man and the gods (Bresnahan, S., 2002). This is the case in most other religions. These religious sites are the holiest places in respective religions. On top of the temple is a brass like or golden crown that catches the first rays of the sun and reflects them. Hindus believe that going to the temple is like paying God a visit. These visits are more pronounced during the weekends and special occasions. When visiting the temple, cleanliness and purity is paramount. This is an important tenet in Islam and Christianity. Hindus enter the temple with the right foot first as a symbol of being in the right frame of mind. One then rings the brass bells at the entrance to notify God of their presence (Bresnahan, S., 2002). Hindu temples have shrines in which images of gods called Murtis are placed. They believe in God`s presence in these images. Hindus believe in a single God Brahmin whom they perceive in many forms. They are allowed to develop love for one or more forms of God. These forms include Brahma the creator, Lord Vishnu the all present preserv...