INTRODUCTIONS & CONCLUSIONS EXAMPLES FROM FORMER STUDENTS

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1 INTRODUCTIONS & CONCLUSIONS EXAMPLES FROM FORMER STUDENTS The following are three examples of unedited fair, but not perfect, introductions and conclusions that former students wrote for this course. Note the various approaches, word-choices, etc, but remember that no one methodology is best or easiest. You must choose a presentation style that feels comfortable to work with and best suits your needs. Over time, you will gain experience and gradually perfect your own approach. For now, just experiment with the possibilities. Santeria Refugees from Castro s Cuba living in the United States and Afro-Cuban peoples of Cuba are often associated with the practice of Santeria. Santeria evolved from the beliefs of the Yoruba tribe of western Nigeria after it was brought to the New World by kidnapped people of the area who were sold into slavery. The practitioners of Santeria are mostly concentrated in the area surrounding Miami, Florida and New York City, which have large populations of Cuban refugees. Santeria became the focus of a religious rights legal battle between the Florida city of Hialeah and the Church of the Lukumi Babalu Aye in 1987 which finally was heard by the United States Supreme Court in It was this court case, centering on the practice of animal sacrifice in Santerian rituals, which was argued as much in the media as it was in the courtroom that drew my attention to Santeria. In this paper, I explore the origin of the religion, beginning with its Yoruban roots and its evolution from that origin to its present day practice. I examine the origin of the Yoruba religion and its importance in guiding the daily lives of the Yoruba people and give details as to the religious hierarchy and the rituals associated with the worship of the principal gods and their ancestors. This is followed by a discussion of the cultural evolution of the Yoruban religion into its present day form of Santeria through the adoption of rituals and saints of the Catholic Church by the practitioners who had been enslaved in Cuba. I also discuss the important role Santeria played in helping Cuban refugees adapt to the United States and conclude with a discussion of the legal case regarding freedom of religion presented to the United States Supreme Court. It is my hope that this article will enlighten others about Santeria and that they will develop a tolerance towards it and its practitioners. [END] 22

2 Throughout this paper I have explored the Santeria religion in an attempt to provide a better understanding of the religion and to focus on the importance of developing religious tolerance. My discussion about Santeria s origins was intended to show that it, like many other modern day religions, is a combination of one or more beliefs and is just as significant to its practitioners in guiding their daily lives as Catholicism is to devout Catholics. My intent in discussing the experiences of Cuban refugees was to parallel their experiences with those of other immigrants and to emphasize that by studying these experiences, we can learn how as a society we can smooth the transition for these peoples to American society. It is important that we recognize that immigrants to our country suffer not only a language barrier, but also have little knowledge of our customs and laws and that we need to learn about their culture. If we work with immigrants in the context of their culture and customs in regards to their societal hierarchy and their religious beliefs and practices as we teach them our language, customs, and laws, we will be able to better bridge the differences between our society and theirs. And in the process, we as a society, will gain a wealth of knowledge about the world. I also discussed the United States Supreme Court s case involving the City Council of Hialeah, Florida infringing on the rights of the followers of Santeria to practice their religion to show the importance of religious tolerance. The fact that the Santeria church was supported in their lawsuit by Jewish organizations and the Presbyterian Church and National Association of Evangelicals emphasizes that what the government may apply to one religious sect, may by extension, be applied to another. There is a fine line between us and them and it is often blurred by ignorance. It is imperative that before jumping to conclusions and condemning any one specific group, American society must first strive to gain knowledge about the group and attempt to connect its practices and beliefs to any of our own. We have a lot more in common with the world than we have differences and the differences are not that great. 23

3 The Religions of Tibet and their Art Tibetan art is all encompassing to the Tibetan people. Art is synonymous with their religion, recording their history, lineage, and the symbols necessary to produce religious vision. The Dalai Lama who is the spiritual and exiled leader of Tibet explains: Art expresses the perceptions of a people. Sacred art reveals their deepest insights and their highest aspirations. So, to encounter our works of sacred art is to experience for yourself some of our most profound visions. Some of these visions come from our greatest masters, who looked deep into the human soul, confronted the stark realities of human passions, and discovered the human capabilities of wisdom and love (Rhie 1991:7). The intent of this paper is to survey the art of Tibet to identify the symbolism in relation to the Tibetan religions, Buddhism and Bon. The religious majority of the people of Tibet are Buddhist. However Bon, the pre-buddhist religion of Tibet, represents a very large minority of Tibetans. Therefore I examine how these two religions have become interrelated, creating a very distinct culture and art. I explore the emic view: how Tibetans see themselves as two separate religions and also the etic view, relating the two religions in art and symbolism. Tibetans have tried to hold their culture together since the Communist Chinese take over in Today they are scattered throughout the world, and their government is now based in Northern India. To cling to culture and religion in Tibet is an offense that may invite a life sentence in prison. And yet, throughout these turbulent times, Tibetans still differentiate among themselves, segregated by their religions, Buddhism and Bon. My goal in this paper to illuminate the similarities of religion, art and culture of and among all Tibetans. My intent in writing this research paper was to examine the two major religions of Tibet, Tibetan Buddhism and Bon, to investigate how these religions have interrelated to produce the distinct Tibetan culture we see today. I endeavored to explore Tibetan art and symbolism in relation with these two separate and also similar religions from emic and etic viewpoints. Viewing the similarities between the religions, I believe the Bon would tend to agree with me and cherish them and that the Tibetan Buddhists would take exception to them, claiming plagiarism and heresy on the part of the Bon. Viewing the religious differences, I think that the 24

4 Tibetan Buddhists would emphasize the fact that Buddhism is a world religion and radically different from Tibet s pagan Bon. The Dalai Lama s recent announcement recognizing the five religious traditions, which includes Bon, is an exciting step toward a cohesive future for Tibetans. In all, I have attempted to illustrate the how the people of Tibet, Buddhist and Bon, have a common heritage and that the two religions have interrelated throughout time to create similar religions based upon a common theme, the enlightenment of mankind. HUTTERITES The fire of God burned within them. They would rather have died the bitterest death, yea ten deaths, than to forsake the truth which they had espoused. They would take nothing in exchange for their faith in Christ, no lordship, no principality, no kingdom, yea not all the wealth and pleasures of the world; for they had a firm ground and assurance of their faith (Hostetler 1974:27). The Hutterites, also known as a forgotten people (Huffman 2000:2), are a communal Anabaptist group with an emphasis on the community as a whole. Their beliefs are quite similar to Christians, yet their lives are much different. In this paper I look at the Hutterite communities of North America in order to show the strong bond they have between community and religion, and how community and religion are in fact regarded as the same concept in Huttarian belief systems. In order to show you this connection I will show you two patterns within the Hutterite community. The first of these are the authority patterns of the colony. The second are the age patterns of the colony. Both of these that I will go into detail about are great examples of the strong connection there is between community and religion in the Hutterite community, and will enlighten you about a very little known people. Before I can even begin to speak of the Hutterian communal life in North America, I must first give you a brief overview of the history of the Hutterites. It is only then that you will understand what the people as a whole have gone through, the way they used to be, and what changes they have made to become the people they are now. 25

5 In this paper I have been discussing the history, belief structure, authority patterns, and aging processes of North American Hutterites in order to show the strong connection there is between Huttarian community life and their religion. The main point I talked about in this paper was the divine order, which states that God is over man, man is over woman, parents are over children, elderly is over younger, and man is over animal and material objects. I have shown how the divine order affects the authority structure of the community, as well as the aging patterns of the community. This I felt helped to illuminate just how much community life and religion are interconnected within the Hutterite structure. Hopefully this paper has helped you to understand a different way of living from a group of people that is not spoken of widely. As for further study, there are still questions to be asked. What will happen to this communal society as years go by? Will they last with the world closing in on them? As the population grows and remote space becomes lesser the Hutterites may have to further test their strength of self-denial and temptation. The greatest present danger is a pervasive, friendly, and outwardly appealing culture that leeches away, slowly but surely, at their unique customs and their most fundamental beliefs. The Hutterites have always feared the encircling world, and should fear it most of all when it is more curious than shocked, more helpful than hostile, more alluring than repelling. The siren is more deadly than the soldier (Conkin 1964:75). 26