Wijitha Bandara

Jon Diederich

World Religions 2300

Reflective cover letter

World Religions 2300 taught by Professor Wijitha Bandara really expanded my

knowledge on all of the world religions. Going into the semester, I thought I knew other religions

fairly well, after the first week, I knew that I would have to change my perspective on religion to

maximize the learning in this class. I now can say with confidence that there are many religions

who teach the same values for the most part, but through tailoring teachings to ones self, there

have been so many different reformations, and so many new religions built. I went to a Hindu

temple this semester and learned more about the Hindu beliefs. It was interesting to me to see

how other expressed their inner emotions and dedication to what they believe to be their God/

gods so to say.

The main challenge for me was coming to the understanding that I needed to accept other

people for their own beliefs. It was difficult to hear other teach what they believe to be true, but

once I looked at it from a different perspective, this became much easier. In my essay on Religion

I talked about how religion was a structure of life made up by people to express their personal

interests. German philosopher Ludwig Feuerbach came to the conclusion that the deity or deities

people believe in is or are just imaginations or objectifications of human qualities such as love

and power. He claims that we disregard the qualities in us that we form our deities with. We are

weak and sinful.1

1 Mary P. Fisher, Living Religions, New Jersey: Pearson, 2016, p. 4

 I went to a Muslim mosque this semester and enjoyed that very much. I learned so much

when I went to visit. The people there were very kind and welcoming. They practice their

religion very strictly and faithfully. Their worship space was very plain and respectful. It didnt

distract me from feeling Allahs presence in the mosque. I wont forget that experience.

In conclusion, I believe that there are many different ways of expressing your religion, It

reality, there are different personal beliefs for each person in every religion. I think that there are

values that need to be taught to everyone such as love, compassion, forgiveness, obedience, and

diligence. Does this have to do with religion? Yes. Church is were ethical principles are taught.
 Works cited

Fisher, Mary P., Living Religions. Ninth edition. Upper Saddle River, New Jersy. Pearson

Education, Inc. 2014.