Matthew Loudon 4-2-15 World Religions Mr. Wenninger A Comparison of Taoism and Buddhism When taking a look at the religious beliefs in the world, there are many different types of religious beliefs, but all have at least some types of similarities. These similarities can be in what is considered as being a good person, how humankind came about, and what happens when we eventually die, the end and significance of the universe; the existence and wishes of powerful, non-human beings such as spirits, ancestors, angels, demons, and gods; and the manner in which all of this shapes human behavior (Partridge 20). Of course, not all religious beliefs are going to agree with each other. This makes sense because many different cultures will have separate …show more content…
As the world is a huge a place, no two cultures will experience the same events which in turn help to define the religious beliefs of that culture. A good example of this is to take into consideration a civilization that lives near the ocean and relies on fishing for sustenance will put greater value in the sea and pray that no storms, tsunamis, etc. come to sweep away their homes. This hope/prayer that the sea remains calm would eventually become a belief that the sea must be appeased so that no misfortune comes across the people of this civilization. The same idea goes with a different civilization that lives on a grass plain that relies on agriculture instead of the sea. Specifically, this new civilization will have beliefs that try to prevent a bad harvest, fires, etc. Experiences of a culture are only one aspect of why a certain set of religious beliefs may come about. Two such religions that help to demonstrate the different aspects that effect the religious beliefs of a culture are Taoism and Buddhism. Of course some background information about the two religions is necessary in order to be able to describe how Taoism and Buddhism relate/differ from each …show more content…
Taoism, also called Daoism, origins can be traced back to prehistoric Chinese religions in China. The founder of Taoism is believed by historians to be Lao-Tzu. The date Taoism was formed is estimated to be 550 B.C.E., because this is generally the time period when a variety of spiritual thinkers, such as Confucius, were putting their ideas into writing. The writings of Lao-Tzu were not collected as a composite teaching until the 4th or 3rd century B.C.E (“Taoism”). Taoism started off as a more of combination of psychology and philosophy then as a religion, because in Lao-Tzu’s book “Dao De Jing”, he describes the nature of life and the way to peace. Taoism gained official status in china during the Tang Dynasty and became one of the three main religions of China (Wertz). Taoism was forced to battle against Buddhism and Confucianism to become the preeminent religion in China. Unfortunately by 1949, the Communist Party of China restricted religion freedoms causing the religion of Taoism to be practically eradicated. It stayed this way until 1982 when Deng Xiaoping finally restored some religious practices. Since then communist leaders have recognized Taoism as an important traditional religion (Wertz). The history of Taoism is interconnected to the history of Buddhism because they were influenced by each other. Many people even believed that Buddhism was a form