Marant,+Morgan





Just in case these two links don't work I'm copying and pasting the orignal unfortunately it won't be in brochure format.

Religion and Ritual A Study on the Relationship between Religion and Rituals By: Morgan Marant Gold Stream Due: 12-10-10

Religion and Ritual Ritual is synonymous to Religion. Rituals are a repeated series of actions or behavior for a certain desired result. Rituals are a main component in religion because it can be a determining factor in the extremity of the religion. Rituals can also measure the devotion of the people to a religion. In Christianity a ritual that many Christians take part of is the act of Communion. Communion is the act of taking in the Blood of Jesus Christ. It is done to remind Christians of the blood that Jesus shed for them on the cross. “Communion is a glorious privilege for Christians established by Jesus the evening before his crucifixion. It is evident from scripture and history that disciples in the first century partook of the Lord’s Supper every first day of the week.” This is done with the breaking of bread usually a cracker and taking in the blood usually done with red wine or grape juice. Judaic rule states that all Jews must keep Kosher. This is dictated by the Kashrut a detailed book of Jewish Law. Keeping Kosher is the act of abstaining from certain types of food. Those are considered unclean by Jewish Law. “Of the "beasts of the earth" (which basically refers to land mammals with the exception of swarming rodents), you may eat any animal that has cloven hooves and chews its cud. Lev. 11:3; Deut. 14:6. Any land mammal that does not have both of these qualities is forbidden.” Not all Jews keep Kosher but ritual can also determine how strongly an individual believes in their religion. In Islam a ritual that takes place every September is Ramadan. It is the act of fasting from Dawn till dusk to receive spiritual gratification. “Fasting is one of the Five Pillars of the religion of [|Islam] and one of the highest forms of Islamic worship. Abstinence from earthly pleasures and curbing evil intentions and desires is regarded as an act of obedience and submission to [|God] as well as an atonement for sins, errors, and mistakes”

Keeping Kosher vs. Communion The similarities between Keeping Kosher and communion are that they are both acts that have to do with cleansing the body. Communion is done for the sole purpose of cleansing the body from all sins. Keeping Kosher is to make sure the body stays pure of all unclean animals. Anything believed to be unholy is not to be eaten. Also both several Jews and Christians do not follow these rituals. Some do not agree with Jewish Law while others never practice Communion at their church. Both Rituals set believers apart from individuals, such as atheist who do not believe in a God. The acts of Keeping Kosher or Communion could seem foreign to them. There are also many differences between the two rituals. Keeping Kosher is a particular lifestyle while communion is more of an act. Also Keeping Kosher requires years of dedication and a lot of physical and mental preparation. Communion is done within the church and can be from an hour to about five minutes long.



Communion vs. Ramadan Ramadan is the Islamic ritual of fasting for 28 days. Ramadan and Communion are similar because they both relate food and spirituality to one another. In Ramadan the act of fasting is considered to be abstaining from all earthly desires. Communion is the refreshing of the blood of Jesus Christ within the body. No matter how many times a person sins if they’re honestly regretful and they pray then they are forgiven. Both Ramadan and Communion have to do with cleansing the body. They relate spiritually because they both share that food can have a very strong influence on the body. Both Ramadan and Communion require a lot of prayer before and after the acts are completed. The differences between the two are that Ramadan is the act of not eating while in Communion eating is the main component of the ritual. Communion can be done at any time. Ramadan has a specific date and it was dictated by Islamic Law. Communion was an act done by Jesus that he instructed the Gentiles (Christians) to repeat. Ramadan is supposed to be done by all Muslims but some choose not too participate.



Ramadan vs. Keeping Kosher In Judaism keeping Kosher is the ritual of not eating foods considered unclean. Ramadan is abstaining from all foods for a certain period of time. They both have to do with not eating to receive spiritual gratification. Each ritual sets them apart from other people. It also bonds the families of each religion closer together. Both Ramadan and Keeping Kosher have been dictated by the laws of Islam and Judaism. Some of the differences between the two rituals are that Ramadan is only for 28 days while keeping Kosher is a lifestyle. Prayer five times a day is required when Ramadan is taking place but with Keeping Kosher no prayer is necessarily required. In Ramadan it is also important to give back and do work while Ramadan is taking place. In the Kashrut it doesn’t say anything specifically about giving back. It seems that Ramadan is more of a ritual done to promote good works.

Reflection It seems as though these two religions are completely different. They could be contrasted to one another all day and night. But evidence shows that they do share similarities. All of the rituals within each religion suggest that food affects the spiritual form of the body very much. The idea is that either abstaining or eating certain foods can make a person within the religion feel very close to their God. The three religions are all monotheistic religions. It is important in to day’s world to not see what makes us different so much that it makes us blind with hatred. We should acknowledge the similarities within each other that connect us in life.

Bibliography McNabb, Allan. "Communion. Bible Study on Communion. Bible Study with BibleStudyGuide.org. Study the Bible on the Internet." //Bible Study with BibleStudyGuide.org. Bible Study, Bible Study Guide.// BibleStudyGuide.org. Web. 02 Dec. 2010. . Eymann, Paul E. "What Is Ramadan? - ChristianAnswers.Net." //Christian Answers® Network™ (ChristianAnswers.Net): Multilingual Answers, Reviews, Ministry Resources, and More! [Home]//. ChristianAnswers.Net, 2001. Web. 02 Dec. 2010. . Rich, Tracey R. "Kashrut: Jewish Dietary Laws." //Judaism 101//. Web. 01 Dec. 2010. .