The Cultural Clash of a Wedding between a Catholic Priest and a Female Essay

The Cultural Clash of a Wedding between a Catholic Priest and a Female Buddhist - Essay Example Culture plays an important role in every society especially when it comes to religion and gender roles. This aspect has had a major impact on how various people from cultural backgrounds and different gender go about their duties within the society. Ingram states that some cultures and religious doctrines are to a certain degree non-conforming therefore, a major cultural clash can occur in the event of the interaction of the two religious setups that may profess extreme doctrines (6). This is especially so when it involves the incorporation of gender as each religious doctrine associate men and women with specific gender roles. The main aim of this essay is to discuss two distinct cultures and identify the cultural clash that may arise when a wedding between a female Buddhist and Catholic father take place. Religious and cultural doctrines under the Roman Catholic Church Believed to be the earliest Christian Church, the Catholic Church like any other Christian Church, believes in cre ation and life after death. The church practices a number of doctrines that place women at a certain level within the society. Worshipping I the dioceses and parishes, the Catholic hopefuls, men and women included, partake of the mass and to a certain degree, confine their religious teachings within the Bible. The worshippers believe in trinity and the resurrection of Jesus Christ and they confirm this by baptism and partaking of the Holy Sacrament. Most worshippers believe in religious symbols of Jesus and Mary as a way of connecting to God. When it comes to gender and sexuality issues, the Catholic Church is especially restrictive to women holding positions of power like the papacy and fatherhood. In addition, men who have devoted their lives to Christ ought not to marry (Ingram 22). Religious and cultural doctrines in Buddhism Unlike their Christian counterparts, the Buddhists believe in the Three Jewels, often referred to as the Three Refugees. The Buddha, the Four Noble Truths, and the Four Reminders, talk about human life and the essence of his existence although some of the details contained therein may significantly differ with Christian beliefs (Ingram 24). When it comes to gender roles, there is perception that women ought to be equal to men although there are certain discrepancies. The monks and nuns ordain the nuns while only the monks ordain themselves. According to the Buddhist philosophy, enlightenment of a person can elevate their social status irrespective of their gender, a perception that has infiltrated several Buddhist cultures through western modernization (Ingram 36). The clash between the Roman Catholic and the Buddhist culture Although there are some elements of resemblance between the Buddhist and Catholic belief systems, significant inconsistencies surface across the across the cultural divide of the two cultures. According to Ingram, certain similarities do exist especially pertaining to the exclusive importance accorded to life wit hout due regard to the specific gender. These include the right to life, refraining from sexual misconduct, practice of high morals, and the belief in a supernatural being, which has spiritual reign over all that inhabit the earth (26). However, there are notable differences between the two cultures that may lead to a scenario of a cultural clash, in case circumstances force the two cultures to interact (Ingram 32). The major one being that generally, Buddhists are polytheists while the Christian Catholics are monotheists. While Christians follow one Almighty God, most Buddhists have specific gods for certain incidences of life, for example the god of life, the god of marriage, and the god of the skies. Christians do believe in the good old story of creation of mankind and life after death while to the Buddhists, it is a bit twisted in that they do not regard the story of creation while at the same time ignoring what happens after life on earth as

Ethics, Gender and Family - Legalising Same-sex marriage for the Research Paper

Ethics, Gender and Family - Legalising Same-sex marriage for the benefit of children - Research Paper Example Different religions tend to have different point of views on same sex people; and the same could be said about the politicians also (Maylor and Blackmon, 2005, p. 209). Today same sex marriage is legally recognized in countries like Belgium, Argentina, Brazil, Canada, France, Denmark, etc. Another major issue that has evolved over the past few years along with same sex marriage has been the issue of partnership and adoption issues related to same sex marriage. There are people who believes that same sex marriage should be legalized mainly for the benefits of the children; however there are those who believe that same sex marriage is something which is not natural and it may not actually benefit the children. The present study has been conducted in lieu to understand the issues involved in the debate against and for same sex partnering by recognizing the attitudes, prejudice, stereotypes, myths involved in the lesbian and gay individuals in the role as parents. Hereby it is also needs to mentioned that secondary research has been used for the collection of secondary data, which has been used for the analysis to draw the final conclusions. A child is defined as an individual person below 18, except the national regulations and laws identify the age of majorities earlier. The controversy of same sex marriages is growing every day. Several options are rising with fear or courage. It is quite difficult to understand to find out the appropriate argument. Smart (1991) has argued that, psychoanalytical theories have labelled the homosexuality as the trait of deviant psychiatric. It is evident that, the attitude of human beings has changed in recent years (Staver, 2004). Still a prejudice element exists regarding the same sex parenting. It is assumed that, children may be flat with the confusion about gender. Moreover, in this case children may get confused over the sexual orientation and stigmatisation. In several countries, the identification of same sex couple is wel l established. Denmark is the first country who has introduced same sex union’s legal reorganization. By observing this, several other countries also have granted several legal rights to these kinds of same sex couples. Civil marriage rights are exist in eight jurisdictions, such as Spain, Belgium, Canada, Netherlands, California, Connecticut, Massachusetts and South Africa (Laycock, Picarello & Wilson, 2008). In these countries, there is no distinction between the heterosexual and same sex couples. In the year 2008, the parliament of Norway has adopted a marriage law considering the same sex couples (Wardle, 2003). In the year 2006, the supreme court of New Jersey has passed a law about the same sex couple. Moreover, the higher courts of New York City and Washington D.C. have defined the same sex marriage (Eskridge & Spedale, 2006). In the same year, the supreme court of New Jersey has announced that, the couples of same sex will enjoy the same social benefits similar to the couples of opposite sex. The same sex marriage was legalized in the year 2009 in the supreme court of Columbia, New Hampshire and Vermont. Moreover, the states of Washington and Maryland have legalized the same sex ma