Hailey Trippany

Religious Observance Paper

Dr. Nowak
April 6th, 2016

Parma Baptist Church

4997 W Ridge Rd, Spencerport NY
Paul Fasy (4/1/16)
Nazareth College Zen Meditation (3/28/16)
Observance of home practice (3/26/16)
Kim Nguyen and Family

Zen Buddhism and Baptist Christianity are viewed by most people as two very
different religions. In some ways, this is correct. Christians believe in the holy spiritual
power of God and Jesus Christ, as well as their constant presence in their lives, while
the Buddhist figurehead, Buddha, is used mostly as a spiritual role model. The
environments and behaviors that are associated with their respective rituals vary
greatly. Christians practice in a church and have a more group centered service, the
space is mostly plain which allows them to be enriched by the word rather than a more
sensual experience. Buddhism involves independent reflection in front of idols of gods,
or by ones self. A Buddhists place of worship is often more intricately decorated with
symbols or art, and/or involves an auditory component, as well as a focus on the body
and movement. At the core, the followers reasons for attending these rituals is the
same. By attending these rituals, followers feel centered and spiritual and are reminded
of and enriched by the teachings of their religion.

For a Buddhist, the religious leader serves as a source of guidance. They lead
the chants and welcome the group, as well as sometimes imparting knowledge in the
form of stories for the congregation to draw their own meaning from. The congregation's
role is to follow the guidance of the leader in order to hopefully bring themselves to a
more peaceful state through meditation and/or understanding of Buddhas teachings. In

a Baptist service, the role of the leader is to share the word of The Lord through the
readings and help demonstrate it through the sermon and preaching. To the
congregation, the leader is imparting, and directly teaching to them the ways of the lord,
and what ways they believe this plays out in their life. Compared to Buddhism, the
Baptist preacher is more directly a teacher and a source of knowledge for the
congregation. Through observation, I have come to believe that both Buddhists and
Baptists place a high regard on the ethical dimension of religion, though their ethics
differ. For example, some conservative baptists, similar to the interviewees, do not
believe in abortion or gay marriage. To participate in or be associated with these things
is highly unethical and will result in damnation. In contrast, Buddhists believe in selfimprovement and enlightenment through the Eightfold Path and Four Noble Truths.
Enacting these ethical codes is, in essence, how they practice their religion, so acting
ethically is very important. The emotional dimension is also very important to Baptists.
Their service is typically very passionate and creates a lot of emotion within the
congregation. Baptists also act in fear of god and more often than not, follow a strict
interpretation of the bible in order to avoid damnation and to be saved by God. The
second important dimension to Buddhists is the ritualistic dimension. Buddhists place a
high value on rituals such as meditation, prayers to different gods, and the honoring of
lost loved ones through different rituals throughout the year, this helps them become
more centered and spiritual. In observing both of these traditions, I think the role of a
religious ritual is to help center the attendee and impart them with knowledge and
guidance pertaining to their religious beliefs. After leaving the ritual, the attendee should
have an increased ability to incorporate these beliefs into their daily lives.

For people with a strong religious identity, religion evidently plays a large role in
their lives. Religious beliefs are often expressed externally through behaviors and
choices, though they are sometimes subconscious. For a Buddhist, their religious
practice enriches their lives by allowing them to explore their own mind. By becoming
one with themselves and the universe through the practice of Zen Meditation, they are
ideally able to act in a way that removes selfishness and improves the life of others. The
interviewee describes Buddhism as a very welcoming and accepting tradition, rooted
mostly in personal practice. In this way it is not a very limiting or complicated practice,
because anyone is welcome to participate, and the teachings of Buddhism focus on self
control and treating others in a positive way. For a Baptist, religion both enriches and
limits their lives. Baptists are enriched by the word of The Lord through the bible and its
teachings, which through very literal interpretation, provide very strict guidelines on their
actions and behaviors. However, these actions can create conflict both internally and
externally. Most Baptists do not believe in abortion, or gay marriage. Defending their
beliefs can sometimes create conflict (ex. Kim Davis). The follower I interviewed is a
close friend of mine who is extremely adamant about defending and voicing his beliefs,
and is very passionate about growing within the church in order to share his beliefs with
others, however, he his an openly gay man. For him, his tradition and his own belief in
denying marriage to the LGBTQ community has limited him from growing within the
church and has also created much internal conflict, which he is also very open about.
One insight I can draw from religion's influence on peoples meaning and purpose, as
well as their choices and behaviors, is that people adhere and enact their respective
behaviors in the hope that it will make them feel fulfilled, and give them meaning. For

them, behaving in the way that is set out by their religion serves as a map to a life of
meaning, purpose, and fulfillment.

During the observation experience, I found psychology and sociology to be the

two most prevalent ways of studying and analyzing the rituals and responses. From a
psychological standpoint, I found it interesting to discover what the specific ritual or the
practice in general provided for that specific person. In analyzing for a sociological
standpoint I found it interesting that the religious influence came mostly from the family,
and was largely intertwined with the family as a whole, and their culture. One insight I
have gained about the role of religious ritual for people with a strong religious identity is
that ritual helps provide structure and time for self reflection, even if that is not its main
intent. Most services have sections of silent time which can be used for prayer or
reflection, which is not always available in our day to day lives. Attending a ritual allows
the follower to leave with a clearer picture of themselves and how they can improve
their relationship with God/the gods etc., until the next time they attend the ritual. One
aspect of religious ritual that I would like to explore further is how people that have a
completely different religion from their family got into their religion and their families
perspective on their choice. This would require a larger sample base in order find many
cases like this, but I think it is interesting how people connect with certain religions
better than others. I think religion contributes many things to America today. For many
Americans, religion provides structure in their daily lives and gives them a more specific
moral code. As we progress in the current presidential election, there is a lot of unrest
among candidates and protesters, and many threats to remove or block people of a
certain race or religion from the country. Religious teachings can serve as a personal

foundation to help decide whether these actions are something an individual would want
to stand behind, or perhaps against. These teachings can also serve as a guideline for
how to stand up for the issues that you believe in. At the core of almost all religions,
violence is discouraged, yet there is almost always some type of violent protest or
violent retaliation against protesters. For Americans, adhering to their own religious
code and attending their respective rituals will ideally promote peace and clarity
throughout the United States and the world.