RELN1000 – Take Home Exam
Section 1: What are the Five Pillars of Islam and explain their
significance?
The Five Pillars of Islam are the basic acts that all Muslims considered to obligate (Glasse: 2001). The Five Pillars consist of the Creed (Shahada), Daily prayers (Salah), Fasting during Ramadan (Sawm), Almsgiving (Zakat) and the Pilgrimage to Mecca (Hajj) at least once in a lifetime. These acts are stated in Qur’an as a framework for worship and commitment to the faith to God, Allah (Armstrong: 2002, Esposito: 1998).
Shahada, the creed of Islam, means ‘to know and believe without suspicion, as if it witnessed’1. This first pillar is the Muslim declaration of belief in the acceptance of Muhammad as prophet of God and in the oneness Allah. The Shahada is the most important of the Five Pillars. For a person to become Muslim, a single honest recitation of the Shahada all that is required (Burrell: 1997).
Daily Prayers or Salah is the practice of formal Islamic prayer. It means ‘supplication’ in Arabic. Salah is a ritual prayer, having prescribed conditions, procedure and times. All adult Muslims must perform Salad in a state of ritual purity; meaning Salah is forbidden for a female that experiencing menstruation (Esposito: 1998). Salad is performed five times a day according to the sun movement. Salah is used as a way to communicate to God, to thank him, to praise for him and to remind Muslims of his blessing (Robinson: 1999).
The third pillar is Sawm, the fasting during the holy month called Ramadan. Eating, drinking and anything against Islamic law are prohibited from sunrise to sunset. The aim is to sympathize with those who are less fortunate, who do not always have food and drink readily available. Also it is also viewed as a mean to control the desire of human basic needs and focus more on God; to seek closeness to God (Khan: 2006).
Zakat or alms giving is the fourth pillar. It is described as the act of giving personal possessions, such as material and financial wealth, livestock and agricultural products to charity and those needy and the poor. All the Muslims who have reached puberty must perform this act, as they believe it is an Islamic duty that one must give to the community as a way of purifying themselves from selfishness and greed (Robinson: 1999).
The last pillar is Hajj or a religious duty to visit Mecca in Saudi Arabia at least once in a lifetime by Muslims who can afford to do so. The Hajj is believed to be a demonstration of the solidarity and the submission of Allah from the Muslims people. It is one of the largest annual pilgrimages of the world, which occurs on the 8th to the 12th of the last month in Islamic calendar. During this visit, many rituals are performed including Stoning the Devil, and drinks from Zamzam well (Bianchi: 2004).
Some Muslims cannot accomplish these pillars due to many unfortunate reasons for example, they could not fast during Ramadan because of the medical reasons or they are the less fortunate financially, therefore they could not fulfil the fourth and fifth pillar (Huges: 2004).
Section 2: Describe the caste system of Hinduism and its significance
The caste system has been observed since the time of the ancient Persians till today religions, including Christian and Islam. However, the most observation in today world of the caste system can be found in India where Hinduism is generally identified with. Caste system is described as the system of the social stratification, where social restriction and social classes exist within the population. This usually based on occupation and family linage. In India, there are four castes and out-casted social groups. Even though the discrimination caste-based has outlawed by the Indian Constitution, however the caste system still survive and exist within the modern Indian population due to a combination of social beliefs and behaviour and political factors (Flood: 1996, 2005).
The four castes are Brahmins, Kshatriyas, Vaishyas and Shudras. Brahmins consists of priests and teachers who obliged to observe the sacraments and perform rites and rituals for others (Flood: 1996). The preservation of the tradition and the pursuit of divine knowledge are expected from people in this class as examples to other. The second class is Kshatriyas, which consists of the warriors and the rulers. They also confer gifts to Brahmins, dispense justice, study Vedas (the oldest scriptures of Hinduism) and abstain themselves from sensual pleasures. Also their command is to protect the people such that the king protects his kingdom and his people. The third class is Vaishyas or the merchant and peasant class. These people are expected to tend cattle, offer scarifies, study the Vedas and cultivate the land. The men from this social class are not allowed to marry women from higher castes. The last caste is called Shudras, the labour class whose duty is to serve other three higher classes. People in this class do not allowed to study the Vedas or even hear the sacred chants. Furthermore, they do not allowed to eat or drink food in the present of the higher classes, and marry the women of higher classes (Jayaram: 2011) (Milner: 1994).
Once the person in born, he or she will belong in the same class as their parents, where both come from the same class, and will remain in the social class for the rest of their lives. Unlike those who were born by parents from different classes, these people will get marked as Harijans as marriage between classes is seen as impure (Silverberg: 1969).
Section 3: Briefly discuss the significance of the Dreaming in Australian
Aboriginal Religion.
Dreaming or Dreamtime is a great and fundamental concept of the Australian Aboriginal Religion. The Dreaming has many definitions but usually refers to a set of beliefs, a spiritual dimension of reality that has existed from the beginning, the foundation and shaping of the ancestor heroes and their spiritual power in the land, the certain sites and even the fauna and flora. The dreaming is varied throughout Australia. There are many stories that have been told for many thousands of years, from generations to generations (Australian Government: 2008). One of the most famous stories is the Rainbow Spirit.
The theology of the Rainbow spirit is believed to foundation of the Aboriginal religion. They believe that the creator as portrayed by the aboriginal artist as a snake, who emerged from the land and travelled to many places leaving the trail of life and return to land through sacred sites such as caves and waterholes. The Australia indigenous people believe that the Rainbow spirit is a symbol representing life and rebirth. As the creator, the Rainbow spirit gave life to the ancestors and all the creatures including trees, plants, animals, birds and even to the landscape itself. The Rainbow also serves as a guardian of the sacred places (The Rainbow Spirit Elders: 1997).
The Dreaming can be found in many archaeologically evidences throughout Australia. Many sacred sites contain painting from thousands of years, representing the Aboriginal beliefs. Each tribe have some similarities and differences in their beliefs and sometime these beliefs overlap each other. All Aboriginal deities are usually described as
ancestral beings
, and each deity has its own story and has performed specific activities in the creation period. They also relate and interpret their dreams as being the memory of the ancestral beings during the creation period (Aboriginal Culture: 2011).the sky and the living form such as animals and human. They embrace all the life events and phenomena as part of a relationship that can be traced back to the ancestral of spirits of the dreaming. Because of these beliefs, the dreaming establishes the structures of the society in the Aboriginal community, and it also ensures the life and the land is continued. Through singing, dancing and telling stories are the Dreaming transmission that tells the tales of how the creator travelled the landscapes and sites. Some songlines tell the stories how the creator travel right across Australia and kept alive by songs and dances perform by the indigenous people at large gatherings, which frequently organised, and through the ceremonies. Today, some of the ceremonies still being practice, especially in the Central Australia where the large number of the Indigenous people still living in the land of the ancestor (Stanner: 1989, Breeden and Wright: 1989).
Section 4: What are some of the characteristics of the New Age and
how are they manifested?
The New Age movement is developed in the later 20th century. It is a religion of free-flowing spiritual movement. Also it can be seen as heterogeneous movement of the individuals, most graft some of the New Age beliefs onto their regular religion affiliation. Its central perception revolves around both Eastern and Western spiritual and metaphysical tradition, with self-help motivation, parapsychology and consciousness research. Holistic worldview is the aim of the New Age movement, includes emphasising mind, body and spirit as they unite and form oneness throughout the universe by embrace both science and spirituality views. Many people believe that god is a higher consciousness that a person may reach or the total realization of personal, human potential (Heelas: 1996).
The New Age movement includes many elements and religious traditions. It believes that all religions are the expression of the same inner reality. The manifestation of all existence including the spirit, the unknowable and the supreme consciousness can be known by different names in different cultures. The interconnected energy, the deeds like believing in karma, feelings and thoughts, is believed to link all form of lives in all the states (York: 1995, Spencer: 2000)).
well as aura, fortune reading, tarot, astrology and runes (Spencer: 2000). Many practices can trace back to various sources; Hinduism, Taoism, Gnostic Traditions, Theosophy, Wicca and other Neo-pagan traditions. For example, using crystal in healing process, meditating to release oneself from the conscious thinking and divination to foretell the future, are practices that perform in the New Age movement. There are no specific spiritual pathways that the believers must take to unite and become oneness, the pathway of one can be freely chosen (Naisbitt and Aburdene: 1990).
The New Age Movement has no holy text, central organisation, formal clergy, geographic centre, dogma, creed etc. The New Age movement was formed to many reasons that have risen up in the modern society. For example, the changing role of women in society, perceived failure of Christianity and unstable political situation such as Cold War, Gulf War and War on Terror. The New Age movement believe in the introduction of the New World Order or the Age of Aquarius with one world government, to end the wars, hungers, diseases, pollution and poverty. The discrimination against gender, racial and religious will be ceased in the New World. The dawning of the Age of Aquarius is considered and believed by some astrologers to correlate to various changes in the world. For instant, the innovative technology, electricity, computer, aviation and even human rights, are the effects of the upcoming new era (Naisbitt and Aburdene: 1990, Melton: 1993).
Bibliography:
Section 1
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Flood G. (1996)
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