Aiden Thompson

● REL-1103-62663
● December 9, 2020
Professor Kim

Final: Reflection Paper

Religious diversity in my opinion is great because it gives individuals an opportunity to

explore different religions and pick which best fit their lifestyle. Religious diversity also
gives information about other religions and their shared common beliefs. Diversity helps
people to get used to living and interacting with people from various religious
backgrounds. Yes, my views on diversity in religion remained unchanged. I still believe
that diversity in religion has a positive impact on the world. Buddhism was the faith I find
most fascinating to think about. Buddhism stands out from other religions because
Buddhism was not based on a relationship between God and humans. Buddhists
believe that nothing is permanent and that change is always possible. Buddhists believe
that life, misery, and confusion are both infinite and subject to impermanence. Such
tricky concepts about Buddhism that were hard to understand was the mentioning of
“emptiness” in Buddhism. Religion may have both a positive and a negative effect on
the planet, in my view. By giving people the courage to keep moving through life and
believe their lives have a meaning, religion can have a positive impact. Religion makes
the ideas of right and wrong more appreciable. Religion may allow individuals to deal
with their own mistakes and weaknesses. Religion creates cultures. We are taught by
faith to be kindhearted, forgive, and serve others. Religion may have a negative effect
as well. Some religions have a tradition of silencing women and abusing them.
Throughout history, religion has played a part in conflicts. Religious convictions have
been used in the past as a justification to kill or sacrifice people. Religion has too much
impact on the state in some countries. Some religious groups urge individuals, only
because they are socially conservative, to vote for political candidates that are opposed
to some form of change. In doing less judging and encouraging people to openly
express themselves and their views without prejudice or correction, we may use faith to
make the world better. My faith course would be about religion and parapsychology if I
were to take another course on religion. I would like to choose this course because I
would like to learn from the paranormal claims of human experiences.