Compartive Religion

What I gained/learned from this course:

I found this 20 lesson course to be very informative and valuable to my education as a minister. Each week I anxiously awaited the next lesson and was never bored while studying the material. Although the lessons corroborated what I had always believed, that most religions are more alike at their heart than not, I did find myself learning a great deal about the ways in which religions are the same, as well as different. For example, I was fascinated to learn that so many religions have the equivalent of an angel, or divine messenger. Also, it was interesting to learn that most religions share similar teachings, such as the Golden Rule or its equivalent, as well as similar stories, such as a great flood occurring.

It was very interesting to learn about similarities across religions, such as the importance ritual plays in nearly all religions, as well as the idea of creating sacred space. I also learned how people from various faiths have similar ways of praying and reaching out to the divine, despite great differences in beliefs. After taking this course, I feel certain that all religions are simply different paths that people may use to try and connect with the divine source, and that all religions meet the same basic needs of humans. Religions serve to answer important life questions, such as what our purpose on earth is, where we came from, why we have suffering, and what happens after we die. They also serve to provide a set of rules and ethics by which to live our lives. Different religions certainly find different ways of answering these questions, but I think the variety of religions speaks to the fact that diversity is the way of the world, and no religion could ever satisfy everyone’s needs.

Overall, I feel that I learned a wealth of information regarding how the world’s religions are the same, despite obvious differences, which validated my long held belief that humans are all more similar than we sometimes tend to believe. I feel that this course provided information that will assist me in my hopes of working as an interfaith minister, and to work on building bridges between people from around the world.

What I liked best and least about this course, and how to improve:

I really liked the variety of topics covered in this course, and the fact that obscure as well as mainstream religions were given equal coverage. I felt that this course gave a fair evaluation of many types of beliefs held by a wide range of religions. However, I think that it would have been helpful at times if the information were broken down into chart form, or a format that would allow for easier comparison between religions. This could just be added to the end of lessons, while leaving the more details discussions for a deeper understanding of the topics.

Rev. Kythera Ann did a wonderful job of researching and presenting this information. I think it is an important course for everyone to take, not just those choosing to be ministers or work in religion. I would definitely take another course by this author, and look forward to future parts of this course.

Rev. Nahtanha Hering

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The Universal Life Church is a comprehensive online seminary where we have classes in Christianity, Wicca, Paganism, two courses in Metaphysics and much more. I have been a proud member of the ULC for many years and the Seminary since its inception.