One World, Many Religions.
One World, Many Religions.
Being a strong believer in science, I find the concept of religion very interesting. When getting taught about Hinduism, Buddhism and other ‘major’ religions I thought that some religions were very closely linked and not all that different from each other. So, I thought, why not take two religions, as different as possible, and compare them. See what they have in common, what they don’t. And, after much consideration I settled upon Scientology and the Fundamentalist side of Mormonism.
So, first of all, to understand both groups, you need to understand: what exactly is a religion? Well, in a dictionary religion is defined as;
“a set of beliefs concerning the cause, nature, and purpose of the universe.” [1]
Now, believing in science, I believe that the universe was created by the Big Bang, but nevertheless, I respect other people’s beliefs and in conducting my research into each of these religious groups, I could find various doctrines that I could appreciate and understand why they are practiced.
I selected Scientology because it is a modern day religion that has spread globally over the last 5 or 6 decades. Founded by L. Ron Hubbard (1911–1986), Scientology teaches that people are immortal beings who have forgotten their true nature. Mormonism on the other hand was founded by Joseph Smith, Jr. at the beginning of the 19th Century. Now the Church of the Latter-day Saints, some of their original doctrines and beliefs have been discontinued, and it is exactly these doctrines that Fundamentalist Mormons still strive to up hold. So, on one side we have a fairly well-established, proven religion with members such as Kevin J. Foxe and Jon Heder, compared to a newfangled, ever popular religion that has members such as Tom Cruise and John Travolta. One of the main doctrines practiced by fundamentalist Mormons is polygamy. This is having more than one husband, or more than one wife. Polygamy is legal in almost 50 countries,
Being a strong believer in science, I find the concept of religion very interesting. When getting taught about Hinduism, Buddhism and other ‘major’ religions I thought that some religions were very closely linked and not all that different from each other. So, I thought, why not take two religions, as different as possible, and compare them. See what they have in common, what they don’t. And, after much consideration I settled upon Scientology and the Fundamentalist side of Mormonism.
So, first of all, to understand both groups, you need to understand: what exactly is a religion? Well, in a dictionary religion is defined as;
“a set of beliefs concerning the cause, nature, and purpose of the universe.” [1]
Now, believing in science, I believe that the universe was created by the Big Bang, but nevertheless, I respect other people’s beliefs and in conducting my research into each of these religious groups, I could find various doctrines that I could appreciate and understand why they are practiced.
I selected Scientology because it is a modern day religion that has spread globally over the last 5 or 6 decades. Founded by L. Ron Hubbard (1911–1986), Scientology teaches that people are immortal beings who have forgotten their true nature. Mormonism on the other hand was founded by Joseph Smith, Jr. at the beginning of the 19th Century. Now the Church of the Latter-day Saints, some of their original doctrines and beliefs have been discontinued, and it is exactly these doctrines that Fundamentalist Mormons still strive to up hold. So, on one side we have a fairly well-established, proven religion with members such as Kevin J. Foxe and Jon Heder, compared to a newfangled, ever popular religion that has members such as Tom Cruise and John Travolta. One of the main doctrines practiced by fundamentalist Mormons is polygamy. This is having more than one husband, or more than one wife. Polygamy is legal in almost 50 countries,
References: given in footer)