Eastern Religions Vs Western Religions Essay

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The development of contrasting religious beliefs regarding life and life after death differs greatly by geographical area. Because of the influence of culture and history, religious beliefs vary greatly by area. Certain religions have specifically different ways of thinking and can be categorized as Eastern and Western Religions based off of their philosophical ideas on the afterlife. The eastern religions primarily refer to Buddhism and Hinduism, while the western alludes to Judaism and Christianity. The fundamental beliefs that separate these religious and philosophical ideas from another have to do with their views on what there is, the purpose or goal of life and death, on human nature, and their view on life and death. Regarding the view of what there is, this refers to the belief of reality and human’s connection to the world. In eastern religions, the view of monism is common. Monism is the belief that there is one kind of reality and that life is cyclical. If one believes in a monistic reality, then the goal of their life is break the cycle of life, death, and rebirth. For western religions, this believe differs as dualism or the belief in two kinds of reality is the foundational belief.…show more content…
In eastern religions, individuals live their life based on the idea of karma, or the universal law that what goes around comes around. In conjunction with the cyclical idea of life, karma determines every rebirth and whether an individual will be rewarded or punished based on how they lived their previous life. From this perspective, the goal of life is founded on personal duty and oneness with universal order and harmony. For western religions, how we live is founded on our moral destiny and we get rewarded or punished after we are dead in the eternal afterlife based on how we lived. The goal of this life is to obey natural law or the laws of
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