E-portfolio Assignment

Two of the reasons given for why Religion exists are Functionalists, and faith based

perspectives. Functionalism is the believe that religion is good for us physically, mentally, and

socially; and that it brings people into communities which is essential to our survival. The faith

based perspective is the belief in some sort of mysticism, or in an ultimate or perfect reality that

exists beyond what we can currently comprehend. We can use both of these perspectives to

examine the issue taking place in Myanmar between Buddhists and Muslims.

"The world's most persecuted minority", that is how the Rohingya people are described.

The Rohingya are an ethnic minority of Muslims who have lived in the country of Myanmar for

centuries. Since 1982, the Rohingya have been stripped of and denied citizenship as well as

many of their basic rights. Their rights to work, study, marry, travel, vote, and practice their

religion are all being denied. 1Recently, after Rohingya militants attacked police and boarder

outposts, the Myanmar military has increased their violence and discrimination against the

Rohingya people. The military is burning Rohingya villages, and killing thousands of innocent

people. Thousands of Rohingya people have/are fleeing Myanmar; however they are often not

being accepted into other counties and are forced to stay in refugee camps.2 What is the cause

behind this terrible situation? Of the many reasons, religion is probably the biggest. Myanmar is

a majority Buddhist country, and the Rohingya people are mostly Muslim.

This situation is very interesting when examined under the perspective of functionalism.

In this situation, religion has brought people together into groups, however instead of treating

each other better because of their religion, they are fighting with one another. In this particular

situation it is because Myanmar Buddhists believe they are under siege by Muslims, and that

1
Staff, Al Jazeera. Myanmar: Who are the Rohingya? Asia Pacific | Al Jazeera, Al Jazeera, 30 Nov. 2017
2
Who are the Rohingya Muslims and what's going on in Burma? BelfastTelegraph.co.uk, 8 Sept. 2017
they threaten both their religion and their country; politically and economically.3 So in some

ways, their religion is acting in a way that supports the perspective of functionalism; by

protecting the many different aspects of their community.

There is also the faith based perspective. This situation seems to go against the ideas of

the faith of both Buddhism and Islam. Neither Buddha or Muhammad taught violence. In fact

they both strived to teach peace and love. Yet Myanmar Buddhist are attacking and killing the

Rohingya, and some radical Rohingya are attacking Buddhists. This is because many current

religious leaders are twisting the teachings of their religions founder, and interpreting them in

their own way.4 And this ends up going back to the functionalist approach; they are using

religion to protect themselves and what they believe.

In conclusion, this awful horrific situation taking place to the Rohingya people, although

tied to religion, does not stem from the teachings of Buddhism or Islam. Instead it comes from

the function of religion in general. It was caused by the forming of religious groups, and the fear

that one would threaten the existence of the other.

3
Deutsche Welle. Rohingya people in Myanmar: what you need to know | Asia | DW | 12.09.2017.
4
Myanmar's Anti-Muslim Monks | AJ Docs. YouTube, YouTube, 12 Nov. 2014
 Reflection

I learned a lot from doing this assignment. It helped me look at religion in a whole new

light. I was able to see that, not only does religion make a huge impact on people, people can

also have a pretty large impact on religion. Nothing can truly change what a religion started as,

but they can change how it is viewed and how it is executed today. Also, by researching this

topic, I was able to better understand why it is that religions often fight with one another.

I also learned so much this semester from taking this class. For me the most interesting

part about the class was able to find similarities between religions, and specifically truths these

religions share with my own faith. And I also appreciated learning about the different histories of

people and religions because I am planning on majoring in history. It was extremely interesting

to learn how much religion has made an impact on human history.

Lastly, I was able to learn a lot from my two site visits. I think it is very important for

people to observe other religions practices because it helps you to understand what it is they

believe and how they are similar to you. I also thought it was helpful in order to help me

visualize the concepts we were learning in our class. And once again, I enjoyed making

connections between these religions with my own, and seeing the similarities and even the

differences.
 Bibliography

Staff, Al Jazeera. Myanmar: Who are the Rohingya? Asia Pacific | Al Jazeera, Al Jazeera, 30

Nov. 2017, www.aljazeera.com/indepth/features/2017/08/rohingya-muslims-

170831065142812.html.

Who are the Rohingya Muslims and what's going on in Burma? BelfastTelegraph.co.uk,

8 Sept. 2017, www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/Viral/who-are-the-rohingya-muslims-

and-whats-going-on-in-burma-36112793.html.

Ratcliffe, Rebecca. Who are the Rohingya and what is happening in Myanmar? The Guardian,

Guardian News and Media, 5 Sept. 2017, www.theguardian.com/global-

development/2017/sep/06/who-are-the-rohingya-and-what-is-happening-in-myanmar.

Deutsche Welle. Rohingya people in Myanmar: what you need to know | Asia | DW |

12.09.2017. DW.COM, www.dw.com/en/rohingya-people-in-myanmar-what-you-need-

to-know/a-40340067.

Channel4News. Rohingya Muslims: what is happening in Myanmar? YouTube, YouTube, 3

Sept. 2017, www.youtube.com/watch?v=oHXPVg9a8RY.

Myanmar's Anti-Muslim Monks | AJ Docs. YouTube, YouTube, 12 Nov. 2014,

www.youtube.com/watch?v=GtAl9zJ3t-M.