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multifaith society?

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raheel
 
Reply Fri 28 Jul, 2006 09:32 am
i didnt know where to put this so i put it here cause i want more of a philosophical response thn a political one.

i think multifaith/ multicultural societies are stupid, wrong and deluded and can seriously mess people up and cause alot of problems all round.

what do you think?
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Type: Discussion • Score: 1 • Views: 1,685 • Replies: 21
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Shapeless
 
  1  
Reply Fri 28 Jul, 2006 10:07 am
Re: multifaith society?
raheel wrote:
i didnt know where to put this so i put it here cause i want more of a philosophical response thn a political one.


I don't blame you, since it's only from a philosophical perspective (if that) that this view could be taken seriously.
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flushd
 
  1  
Reply Fri 28 Jul, 2006 10:11 am
Thanks for my first laugh of the day.
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yitwail
 
  1  
Reply Fri 28 Jul, 2006 10:12 am
totally disagree. the world as a whole is multicultural & multifaith. unless a country is self-sufficient, or restricts itself to interacting only with other countries that share the same culture & faith, some contact with "outsiders" is inevitable. at the very least, some sort of zone where foreigners are allowed to set foot--which was the practice in China for centuries, for example--needs to be established. i'd like to know what benefit of formally quarantining outsiders outweighs the bureaucracy needed to maintain such an arrangment.
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Intrepid
 
  1  
Reply Fri 28 Jul, 2006 10:13 am
Calling something stupid, deluded and wrong without giving an explanation for the thoughts is stupid, deluded and wrong.
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NickFun
 
  1  
Reply Fri 28 Jul, 2006 10:18 am
Maybe he means that when you get Ba'athists, Shi'iites, Jews, Muslims, Protestants, Catholics Christians, Buddhists and all the others together you risk upsetting the natural order of things thus creating WWIII and risk world anihilation.

Actually, I have attended interfaith conferences and found them quite enjoyable and harmonious.
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Phoenix32890
 
  1  
Reply Fri 28 Jul, 2006 11:06 am
raheel wrote:
i think multifaith/ multicultural societies are stupid, wrong and deluded and can seriously mess people up and cause alot of problems all round
.

And what sort of society would YOU like? One where all the people are homogenized into neat little boxes, with everyone thinking, acting and believing the same?

One of the wonders of a free, multicultural society is the ability to learn from people who perceive things differently. To me a society where everyone thinks, believes, and behaves in a similar way is:

B-O-R-I-N-G
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Intrepid
 
  1  
Reply Fri 28 Jul, 2006 11:08 am
...not to mention, dangerous
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yitwail
 
  1  
Reply Fri 28 Jul, 2006 11:45 am
it also wouldn't work in Japan, where practically everyone is both a buddhist & a shintoist.
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NickFun
 
  1  
Reply Fri 28 Jul, 2006 11:58 am
Ah, but in Japan there are many different sects of Buddhism and a smattering of Christians. It would work as well there as anywhere.
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yitwail
 
  1  
Reply Fri 28 Jul, 2006 12:06 pm
Nick, i was pointing out that most everyone in Japan is multifaith, so the society couldn't become monofaith. for the curious, in Japan shinto deals with the here & now, and buddhism with the hereafter. for example, weddings are performed by shinto priests, but funerals by buddhist monks. but that's a generalization, there probably are some Japanese who are exclusively one or the other, but they're the exceptions.
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Brandon9000
 
  1  
Reply Fri 28 Jul, 2006 12:09 pm
The only way to have a single faith society is to forbid members to believe what they wish unless it corresponds to the one allowed religion. Such would be the act of barbarians and facists. The US is a free country which allows any relgion from atheism, to Zoroastrianism, to personal beliefs of individuals. Just because you live in some kind of fascist dictatorship, don't expect the rest of us to step back into the dark ages with you.
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fresco
 
  1  
Reply Fri 28 Jul, 2006 12:41 pm
Quote:
i think multifaith/ multicultural societies are stupid, wrong and deluded and can seriously mess people up and cause alot of problems all round
.

Philosophically, this statement is vacuous because the accepted concept of "society" IS multifaith and multicultural. We usually prefix the adjective "civilised" to "society" in recognition of the tolerance and empathy we accord to the common status of being "human like us" over and above any parochial group allegiances.
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NickFun
 
  1  
Reply Fri 28 Jul, 2006 12:53 pm
yitwail wrote:
Nick, i was pointing out that most everyone in Japan is multifaith, so the society couldn't become monofaith. for the curious, in Japan shinto deals with the here & now, and buddhism with the hereafter. for example, weddings are performed by shinto priests, but funerals by buddhist monks. but that's a generalization, there probably are some Japanese who are exclusively one or the other, but they're the exceptions.


I have been a practicing Nichiren Buddhist for over 24 years, Buddhism deals with the here and now. The here and now and the hereafter are not separate from each other. Over 10 million people in Japan belong to my particular sect.
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yitwail
 
  1  
Reply Fri 28 Jul, 2006 01:02 pm
nick, my late mother was a practictioner, and i'm a lapsed practictioner, so i'm well familiar the faith. i was only repeating a generalization i heard. unless she was pulling my leg, my mother professed belief in the shinto myth of creation.
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Wolf ODonnell
 
  1  
Reply Sat 29 Jul, 2006 06:32 am
If you insist on a free state with democracy, then multifaith is the natural way for things to go. People will gravitate towards different faces, based on their way of thinking and their immediate environment.

Dictatorships tend to create homogenity in faith, with the exception of Saddam's secularist dictatorship (Damn him and his ability to screw things up).

If a multifaith society is a natural product of democracy and freedom, then I'm guessing Raheel thinks that such things are stupid.
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raheel
 
  1  
Reply Sat 29 Jul, 2006 07:23 am
ok let me try to explain what i mean.

people of different cultures and different faiths have different values beliefs and norms.

a society should be made up of a set of beliefs values and norms from one faith or culture as it is only in such a situation where these ideas can be appreciated to the greatest extent.

where a culture originates from is where it can function properly- this does not apply to faiths- with faiths the problem is that one can only practise ones faith completely where the laws of the land are the laws of the faith- i.e. in a theocracy

multicultural societies mess people up- leaving them devoid of any beliefs values or norms or any sense of identity
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Shapeless
 
  1  
Reply Sat 29 Jul, 2006 07:40 am
raheel wrote:
a society should be made up of a set of beliefs values and norms from one faith or culture as it is only in such a situation where these ideas can be appreciated to the greatest extent.


In fact, in order to appreciate something to its "greatest extent," you have to be able to compare it to things that are different, which is more easily achieved in a multicultural society.

raheel wrote:
multicultural societies mess people up- leaving them devoid of any beliefs values or norms or any sense of identity


Sorry to disappoint you, but I live in a multicultural society and I have beliefs, values, norms and a sense of identity.
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Wolf ODonnell
 
  1  
Reply Sat 29 Jul, 2006 07:46 am
raheel wrote:
ok let me try to explain what i mean.

people of different cultures and different faiths have different values beliefs and norms.


People of the same cultures and same faiths can have different values, beliefs and norms too. It is natural for people to be different.

Just look at America. Sure, the majority of people are Christian, but even in that Christian supergroup, you've got people of different variations on the same faith.

Quote:
a society should be made up of a set of beliefs values and norms from one faith or culture as it is only in such a situation where these ideas can be appreciated to the greatest extent.


There is no proof for that.

People in my country appreciate ideas from other cultures too and do not lose any of their identity.

Haggis, a dish typically associated with Scotland is actually Roman in origin, as is Golf.
England's Patron Saint is Turkish.
The English Sunday Roast is Roman in origin.

Heck, the United States's entire culture is a mish-mash of cultures from other countries and yet it manages to function properly.

It's when people try to keep their cultures pure and untainted when the problems occur.

Nazism, anyone?
0 Replies
 
Asherman
 
  1  
Reply Sat 29 Jul, 2006 07:47 am
Raheel,

You aren't very persuasive.

In a world where communications and transportation inevitably bring people of differing cultures, beliefs, and expectations together, any attempt to maintain homogeneity is futile. Of course, there is one country that is trying very hard to maintain a single culture and set of beliefs. That is the DPRK, and who in their right mind would want to live in that People's Paradise where everyone worships the divine Kim?

The radical Islamic movement (RIM) demands universal compliance to a single narrow interpretation of the Koran. This apparently appeals to many Muslim populations in South and Southwestern Asia. Since the Taliban have been forced from power in Afghanistan, only the theocracy of Iran is literally trying to enforce conservative Islam by government decree. The governments with large Muslim populations must tailor their policies to the demands for uniformity of religion, and the world is now involved in a bitter war against terrorism motivated by religion.

Frankly, I don't see how you can rationalize your position since the clear and obvious result of it is greater suffering, not less.
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