WESTERN THOUGHT Weekly Topics西方思想.docx

WEEK 2 - RELIGIONChristianity the main religion in Western countriesChristian a person who believes in the Christian religion (there are about 2.2 billion Christians in the world)Islam the main religion in the Middle East and AfricaMuslim a person who believes in the Islamic religion (there are about 1.6 billion Muslims in the world)QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION1.Why do people believe in religion?Because their parents did. If you tell children something when they are very young they will believe it. It will be very hard for them to stop believing it later.Because it gives them a sense of security. Religious people like thinking theyre special, or that they will be rewarded by God for believing in him. Going to church also makes people feel secure because they are part of a group.Because believing in religion is easier than understanding the real world. If you dont want to know why everything is the way it is, or where everything came from, you can just say “God did it”. Its not true, but its easier than learning things. In Western countries, poorly educated people are more likely to be religious.2.Does religion make people better?In my opinion, religion makes some people think they are better. People think they are good people just because they believe in god, and like to think that other people arent as good. Being Christian gives people a feeling that whatever they do is right, because theyre Christian.Some of the worst organisations and people in history have been Christians. They all use God to justify their actions. (Pictures of Hitler and KKK) Hitler; jews; KKK; black peopleA lot of people donate money to Christian charities. Where does most of the money donated to religious charities go? Building churches. (show church picture)3.Are religious societies better places to live?The most violent societies on Earth are all religious ones. Middle Eastern countries and Africa have the highest percentage of religious people and the highest rates of murder and rape. America has a much higher percentage of Christians than other Western countries. It also has the most violent crime, drug use, and poverty.The History of Western ReligionChristianity began in the Middle East in the 1st Century, as a small branch of the Jewish religion. Christianity is based around the teachings of Jesus Christ. Christians believe that Jesus was the son of God, and died in order to save all humans from their sins.Christians and Jews worship the same God, but have different Bibles. The teachings of the Jewish religion are mostly about punishment (going to Hell). The Christian religion says a lot more about tolerance and forgiveness. The Islamic religion began about 500 years later. Much of it is copied from the Jewish and Christian Bibles, but stresses punishment and violence against people who do not believe in Islam.Christianity quickly spread to parts of Europe and Africa. In the 4th Century, Christianity became the official religion of the Roman Empire. During the Middle Ages (from the 5th Century to the 15th Century) most of Europe was Christian.During this period, Europe was controlled by the Catholic Church. The Church had higher authority than the Kings or Queens of powerful European nations (like Britain or France). During the Middle Ages, Europe fought many wars against the Middle East, called the Crusades, resulting in millions of deaths. Why? Because they had different religions (Christianity / Islam).During the Middle Ages, the Catholic Church controlled all ideas and information. Most people at this time were peasants, and could not read or write. It is very easy to control people if they are not literate. Most people who could read and write belonged to the church, or the royal family. During this time, anyone who questioned the authority of the church would be killed, often by torture or burning. The leader of the Catholic Church is called the Pope (picture). Catholics believe that the Pope is in direct contact with God. During the Middle Ages, the Pope had more authority than the King or Queen.At the end of the Middle Ages was a period called the Renaissance (beginning in the 15th Century). This was a time when normal people were learning to read and write, becoming interested in science, literature, philosophy and travel, and becoming rich through trade. While most people still believed in the Christian god, the Catholic Church started to lose its control over peoples minds.European nations (especially Britain, France, Spain and Portugal) were discovering many new parts of the world. This time was also called the Age of Discovery. As a result of European nations exploring other parts of the world, Christianity spread to many other countries.Christianity is one of the most important parts of Western history, but in the last 100 years, most Western countries have become less religious. Why? Because of information. The more information people have, the less likely they are to believe the stories their parents tell them.In most Western countries, only a small percentage of people go to church, and most people dont care about god.Does religion cause problems? Can you think of examples?War. Tens of millions of people have died in religious conflicts.Intolerance and Inequality (women, gay people, slaves)Ignorance (against science, bans books, restricts information, boobquake)Stops scientific research, education, progressIgnoring the parts that are inconvenient to them.Using the parts that justify their bad behaviour