Friedrich Schleiermacher’s article, On Religion, clearly demonstrates how different values can cause people to interpret religion in many diverse ways. Schleiermacher’s claim that everyone has their own experience with religion successfully explains why there are so many religions present in society today, and made me realize that being open minded to these different values lead to a greater understanding of those who are different from you.
Schleiermacher’s article gives an example of a common clash of values during the late 1700’s leading to the early 1800’s. During this time Romanticism was on the rise and people began to value reason and individual opinion. This led many to the reject positive religion by disregarding doctrines, institution, and ultimately religion all together. Schleiermacher opposes this view by contradicting the values of his peers and stressing the importance of religion. He believes that religion in a feeling of the infinite. He does not think that religion has to be based on doctrines and institutions but instead on individual experiences. It is a time of contemplation and reflection on one’s own life and how God’s presence affects it.
This idea that people value and believe different things can help explain why new religions come to be. When a group of people reject a common practice within a religious community often times a new religion or faith begins. This process has led to the creation of an immeasurable amount of religions around the world. Schleiermacher’s article only addresses a few of these different values but the idea can be applied to all different religious communities. I experienced this when I visited a Christian Science Church this week and was exposed to their values. Although there were some similarities, ultimately their beliefs and what they hold important is different from my own Catholic values.
While reading this article and listening to the in class discussion it helped me approach the Christian Science Church without judgment. It is hard to go and meet a community of people who are often labeled as a “cult” or “crazy”. Although I do not believe in many of the Scientologist’s practices, by reflecting on Schleiermacher’s article and realizing that people value different things, I was able to appreciate their community for being passionate about their religion and their beliefs, even if my own values are different from theirs. During the church service a man gave a testimony about his experiences flying in the Vietnam war. He spoke of his courage but mostly of his fear. He then proceeded to explain how his Christian Science beliefs helped him get through that fear by realizing that God would give him the opportunity to succeed. Although this community values science and health and rejects many of my own traditional Catholic practices, many people and religions can relate to this man’s story of overcoming fear by looking to God.
Schleiermacher was right when he said, ”You are wrong, therefore, with your universal religion that s natural to all, for no one will have his own true and right religion, if it is the same for all.” Through observing different religions, reading about different values, and realizing that it is impossible to count how many religions are all around the world, it is very apparent that people have their own religious experiences. You cannot force people to believe what you believe, only stay true to your own faith and respect those who do the same.
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