Faith Assembly Of StCloud

We Live in a World Characterized by Religious and Cultural Diversity

The world is a salad bowl of different people of various color, race, beliefs, customs, and culture. With that, we can say that each person is unique to the other. Although our differences are very much evident on the physical aspect as well as on the spiritual beliefs, we are bounded by a unifying principle that human beings are created to socialize and to interact to one another. In times of great adversities and struggles, individuals with different beliefs and different social status settle their differences and help one another for the greater good of mankind. That is, no matter if you are the richest man in the country, when a person needs help, it is an innate desire of a human being to help that person needing help.

Diversity is the perfect word to reflect the world wherein we exist. Different people have different culture. An act or behavior that is acceptable to a specific culture may not be acceptable to another culture. Let us say, for instance, direct eye contact in a conversation is a sign of sincerity, and it is highly encouraged for the American people while for the Japanese, it is not an acceptable behavior, and it denotes being rude. Aside from that, Americans are also quite frank in terms of speaking. They speak what they want to express, and they do not cloud the true meaning of what they are talking about with hesitations, whether the person might get hurt or not. Hence, they generally speak the truth and nothing but the truth regardless of feelings involved. On the other hand, some people are very tactful when it comes to voicing out what they feel to other people. An example of which are Filipinos. They are very sensitive to other people’s feelings; in fact, it is sometimes too sensitive to the point that they intentionally do not say the truth just to be able to prevent other people’s feelings to get hurt. So, we can really say that people with different cultures react or behave differently in certain situations. Knowing this fact, it is advisable to know the differences of other people and to give respect in what they believe in. By doing so, an individual can also earn the respect of other people. Cultural diversity need not to become a barrier for effective communication and unity to occur. Knowledge about other people’s culture and respecting each other’s differences are key factors in order to achieve unity.

The element of religion also takes a vital role in making the world a much diversified place to live in. For the record, the biggest type of religion with the greatest number of followers in the whole world is Christianity. The country which has the greatest number of Christians is Brazil. These people believe in Jesus Christ as their supernatural deity and their ultimate Creator. Other religions in the world include Islam, Judaism, Hinduism, Buddhism, Sikhism, Taoism, and so much more.

Believers of Islam know, for a fact that it is Allah, whom guides them to the right path of righteousness. Islam is also one of the biggest and widely known religions in the world with about more than a billion followers worldwide. Believers of Buddhism view Buddha, the enlightened one, as their spiritual leader. In order to achieve the state of nirvana wherein true happiness could be attained, the eight-folded path must be followed. The many believers of Buddha follow His teachings to have a life full of contentment and happiness.

Aside from the religions mentioned above, there are also other religions, which are ethnic or tribal in nature. This just only proves that religion is indeed diversified and people of different places around the globe have different forms of belief. Yet, it is still possible to have unity despite incongruence in religious beliefs. All religion more or less aims to achieve a state of world peace and harmony wherein everyone can be friends and bloodshed need not to happen just to be able to exert force over the other. It is also agreed that religion will not save a person from his wrongful doings here on earth, that is, no matter if you are a Muslim or a Christian, if you have committed a wrongful act then you must face the consequences of your action in the afterlife.

Therefore, cultural diversity is a concept that must be fully understood since we co-exist in a world where people are different in terms of religion, customs, language, and race. Respect begets respect. If we respect other people’s culture, then it would bridge the gap of our differences and the world will be a much better place to live in.

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