Persuasive Essay: Comparing Religion And Culture

Persuasive Essay Comparing Religion and Culture

Some would argue that culture and religion are two disparate systems, because we define religion as a system of faith, and culture as a system rooted in one 's environment. However, others would argue that culture and religion are one in the same, because both religion and culture can describe the ideas, customs, behaviours, and beliefs of a particular group. Although the specific customs and beliefs of different cultures and religions vary, both religion and culture generally describe a set of beliefs and behaviours that are customary among particular groups and communities. Therefore, I believe religion and culture are more analogous to one another than they are disparate.

Although many perceive

Further, just as culture changes over time, religious practices and beliefs change simultaneously with our culture. To highlight the diversity and evolution of religion and culture as comparable systems, we can look at ancient Greek, Wiccan, and other Pagan religions. On Thursday, February 1st, Dr. Justin Lewis discussed syncretism (i.e., the amalgamation of many different religions) and polytheism (i.e., the belief or worship of more than one god or goddess) as they existed in ancient Greek religion. Specifically, Lewis described the various depictions of the gods and goddesses, and how different communities believed in and worshipped the gods and goddesses in different ways. For example, people perceived and worshipped the goddess Aphrodite differently in Egypt (i.e., ISIS - Aphrodite) than in Greece, despite both cultures worshipping the same goddess. While Lewis briefly discussed the many variations of early Pagan religion during this lecture, he further discussed the variations in contemporary Paganism during his lecture on Tuesday, February 27. Specifically, Lewis explained how Wiccans re-defined witchcraft from something negative into something positive, and later described how some people practice the Wiccan religion differently based on if they follow