Rom, Chrismarc Jobel C.

STEM B - Newton

World Religion: Reflection

1. In your own beliefs, who is the best historical figure which existed in the world of religions
presented from the virtual parade?

I believe Kateri Tekakwitha is the best religious historical figure presented in the virtual
parade. The others were simply known for being more faithful than many, one was known
simply because she was a victim of pedophilic rape and murder. Kateri, however, showed
strength when the very worst thing that could happen to anyone, happened to her. She lived
through her family’s death, and from the description by the presenter, were no words about
God. I find true morality far superior to religious faith, believing in your own strength instead of
begging it from God, and being kind without the thought of God’s judgement, or which afterlife
you’ll end up in. She was also a diligent and skilled worker, which is worth more than just being
faithful. Lastly, she refused to accept an arranged marriage, something that goes against
Christianity’s own teachings about love. She made her own decision and stuck with it, an
anomaly in Christian faith considering Christianity’s history of misogyny and gender inequality.

2. Write at least 5 religious’ teachings about your most ideal religious icon, and give your stand on
each teaching.

From my research about Buddhism:

a) Acknowledge the fear. Suffering, illness, and death are to be expected, understood
and acknowledged. Buddhism teaches that negativity are natural parts of life, as
opposed to Christianity’s method of accepting negativity, giving one man the power
to murder every firstborn son in an entire kingdom, God outright committing
genocide by flooding the earth, or massacring an entire village simply because they
complained.

b) Practice mindfulness and meditation. One must constantly be aware of

surroundings, and be able to keep a calm mind. This can help in those who focus too
much on one thing, become disturbed by it, and end up losing themselves; or those
who do not focus at all. Even though I wasn’t aware this was taught in any religion, a
calm, yet prepared, state of mind is something I’ve always told myself to keep.

c) Cultivating compassion. Emotions are incredibly powerful things. Negative feelings

such as anger, sadness, hatred, fear, and anxiety could end up destroying lives.
Instead we must remind ourselves that these feelings can affect not only our own,
but others as well; having compassion is our way of connecting and helping each
other in moments of emotional negativity.
Rom, Chrismarc Jobel C. STEM B - Newton

d) Understanding our interconnections. We can subtly affect things even when we

don’t know it. The things we do that we think are insignificant, can have a big
impact on someone else. When we think everything’s alright, someone we know
and love could have nothing going right for them, so we must remember we are
part of that someone’s life and we have the power to make things even a little bit
better.

e) Use this time to reflect. Referring to the pandemic, we all have more time than ever
to just sit down and think; past, present, future; ourselves, family, friends, even
strangers; the things we’ve done, the things we’ve yet to do. There are people out
there who unfortunately are unable or unwilling to think deeply, their self-
confidence became selfishness, narcissism and egotism prevent them from seeing
things in the perspective of others; their disabilities are too heavy on the heart and
mind to think clearly.

3. In this time of pandemic, where does religion stand?

Religion’s main purpose in any situation is to ignite hope, whether true or false, that
everything will revert to its original state of peace. Religion can never be a substitute for science
and logic, and anyone with common sense will know that prayer cannot heal the sick nor
prevent themselves from being sick. There are those who trust that God will save them from the
infectious disease, choosing to live their lives as they did before the pandemic; public
gatherings, refusal to wear masks, and even denial of the virus’s existence. They do not trust in
constantly advancing, up-to-date, scientifically proven methods of keeping ourselves safe, and
instead trust a belief system thousands of years old with little to no changes other than keeping
up with technology. Religious practices should be done after all the important actions deemed
necessary are done; in fact, religious masses should be banned from taking place at all.