Comparison of Catholic and Hindu Religious Services and Their Sanctums
Ian Brown
Dr. Fryman
AP World History
3 August 3, 2009
Comparison of Catholic and Hindu Religious Services and Their Sanctums Modern religions are separated by thousands of years of cultural diffusion and theological diversity. Each region of the planet has its own popularized religious practices that therefore define the region and, more importantly, the people that live there. However, what exactly separates two groups’ religious followers, for example, Catholics and Hindus? Is the difference the place they worship? Is the difference the way they worship? Theological beliefs do separate, however they are not usually noticeable on the outside looking in. What do us as people notice first that gives us the distinct sense that this religious assembly is nothing like that one? We see the building, the architecture, and we watch what they do. We watch how they participate, what actions they perform. What most distinctly separates two religious sectors as diverse as Catholic and Hindu are the architectures and religious practices that we see most often. Inside a Catholic Cathedral of a decent size, you may first notice that it has many rows of forward facing pews with a central isle leading to the front of the church. However, inside a Hindu temple, the worshipping is concentrated in one central sanctum with standing room only. The walls at the temple are marble white with some colorful decorations of flowers on large marble columns. In the cathedral you may find a similarly plain color palette. Stone was originally used in most catholic cathedrals by the stone masons that built them in Europe, leading to most being stone grey, also with many columns. The only break from the blank color scheme is stain glass windows filtering light down onto the rows of pews and the banners hanging from the walls, displaying religious or seasonal pictures. Also, the largest difference you may find are the large amount of sculptures present in a Hindu Temple. This is not so in
Dr. Fryman
AP World History
3 August 3, 2009
Comparison of Catholic and Hindu Religious Services and Their Sanctums Modern religions are separated by thousands of years of cultural diffusion and theological diversity. Each region of the planet has its own popularized religious practices that therefore define the region and, more importantly, the people that live there. However, what exactly separates two groups’ religious followers, for example, Catholics and Hindus? Is the difference the place they worship? Is the difference the way they worship? Theological beliefs do separate, however they are not usually noticeable on the outside looking in. What do us as people notice first that gives us the distinct sense that this religious assembly is nothing like that one? We see the building, the architecture, and we watch what they do. We watch how they participate, what actions they perform. What most distinctly separates two religious sectors as diverse as Catholic and Hindu are the architectures and religious practices that we see most often. Inside a Catholic Cathedral of a decent size, you may first notice that it has many rows of forward facing pews with a central isle leading to the front of the church. However, inside a Hindu temple, the worshipping is concentrated in one central sanctum with standing room only. The walls at the temple are marble white with some colorful decorations of flowers on large marble columns. In the cathedral you may find a similarly plain color palette. Stone was originally used in most catholic cathedrals by the stone masons that built them in Europe, leading to most being stone grey, also with many columns. The only break from the blank color scheme is stain glass windows filtering light down onto the rows of pews and the banners hanging from the walls, displaying religious or seasonal pictures. Also, the largest difference you may find are the large amount of sculptures present in a Hindu Temple. This is not so in