SOC 412 Topic 8 DQ 2

After reading “The Appeal to Americans of Hinduism and Buddhism” on pages 281 – 282 of Religion in America, how do you respond to the reasons given for interest in Asian religions?

ADDITIONAL DETAILS 

The Appeal to Americans of Hinduism and Buddhism

Introduction

Hinduism and Buddhism are two religions that have been growing in popularity in America. Both these religions have a small number of followers, but they are growing by leaps and bounds. This article will discuss how these religions can be appealing to Americans because of their lack of structure, focus on morality rather than rules, and use of readings instead of mandatory prayers or rituals.

Hinduism

Hinduism is a religion that originated in India. It is the third largest religion in the world, after Christianity and Islam. Hinduism has no founder or prophet; it was founded by people who lived over 4,000 years ago. The word “Hindu” means “the people of Hindustan.”

There are many different types of Hinduisms: Vaishnavism, Shaivism, Shaktism and Ganapatyas. Each one focuses on different aspects of life such as love (Vaishnavites), death (Shaivites), war (Shaktites) or knowledge (Ganapatyas). There are also several subsects within these main branches like Smarta Vaishnava sampradayas who worship Vishnu only instead of Shiva/Parvati etc., Smarta Siddhanta Saraswati Pariṣad which believes in three gunas – Sattva Guna being good while Rajo Guna being bad; Lingayats believe in one godhead called Vithoba who has two forms – Narayan Avatar & Balaram Avatar

Buddhism

Buddhism is a religion, philosophy and way of life. It is based on the teachings of Siddhartha Gautama (the Buddha), who lived in India about 2,500 years ago.

The Buddha taught that all people have Buddha nature within them but it can be obscured by negative emotions like anger and greed. He taught that you can release these negative emotions through meditation and other practices such as prayer or chanting.

No religious structure or mandate

In America, Hinduism and Buddhism are often compared to Christianity. However, this comparison is flawed because there is no church or temple in either faith. With Christianity, you have a set of beliefs that you must follow in order to be considered a “good” person by society. You can’t just believe whatever it takes for yourself—you have to follow the rules laid out by God (or whatever god you believe in).

In Hinduism and Buddhism there isn’t any such thing as “being good” or “being bad,” so people don’t feel pressured into following any rules associated with their respective religions. Instead of constantly judging each other based on how they act towards each other or others around them; these religions allow individuals great freedom when practicing them without feeling obligated into doing so!

Using the readings to argue against meeting the criteria for being a religion

The two religions are not monotheistic. They do not have a founder or prophet, nor do they have a sacred text. In fact, Hinduism and Buddhism are polytheistic by nature: there is no one god or goddess that everyone worships; instead, each religion recognizes multiple gods (or goddesses) whose powers are shared among humans. The same goes for the texts used to study these religions: while some people may claim that the Upanishads or Sutras contain divine revelations from God/Goddess/Gods/Goddesses, these texts were written by humans—not deities—and therefore cannot be considered divinely inspired by God/Goddess/Gods/Goddesses themselves (even though many Hindus believe otherwise).

Furthermore, unlike Judaism or Christianity where there is only one central authority figure who can interpret scripture correctly (i.e., Moses), Hinduism does not have such an entity either! Instead there are multiple schools of thought about what should be considered orthodox–some will say heretics like Mahatma Gandhi don’t deserve respect because he doesn’t follow tradition enough; others will say all his followers should burn him at stake because he violates rules laid down thousands years ago… etcetera ad infinitum

Hinduism and Buddhism as religions in America

Hinduism and Buddhism are not religions in the United States, but they can be considered religions in India. There, these philosophies have been embraced by millions of people over many years and are often referred to as “world religions.”

The reason why these two faiths are not considered religion in America is because they don’t have a deity, holy book or religious structure. In fact, Hinduism does not even have one god—it has many gods! Similarly, Buddhism doesn’t have any single central figure or organization that governs its beliefs and practices; instead it relies on personal insight and practice rather than dogma (the teaching of religious truths).

Conclusion

While both Hinduism and Buddhism have historically been African American religions, they are not currently recognized as such by the United States government. This means that the two religions are not eligible for tax-exempt status or federal funding from the government. If you’re interested in exploring these beliefs further, check out our other articles on using religion as an identity and why people don’t believe in God anymore.

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