On Saturday 28 Jul 2012 11:46:30 am Charles Haynes wrote: > African Christianity is very different from European Christianity which in > turn is very different from South American Christianity. > Tibetan Buddhism is very different from Japanese Buddhism which is very > different from Sri Lankan Buddhism. In ways that reflect the local culture. >
Quibbles: 1. African Christianity 2. European Christianity 3. South American Christianity Christianity is common. None of the followers hold the Quran, Playboy or Bhagwad Gita as sacred. The differences are in the culture, because the culture is different, not because the religion is different. The religion is the same, the culture is different, Ergo religion and cuture are separate. 1.Tibetan Buddhism 2. Japanese Buddhism 3. Sri Lankan Buddhism. If you ignore the fact that Buddhism itself comes in at least two flavors, the practice of Buddhism differs from culture to culture. But it remains Buddhism. It does not become Jainism or Sikhism when the culture changes. The culture may modify the religion, and the religion may modify the culture. But religion is not equal to culture. > The best example though is Judaism. Trying to claim that the Jewish > religion is not cultural, or that Jewish culture is not inextricably bound > to Judaism is ludicrous. Jewish culture and religion are interlinked, as is Arab culture and Islam. That does not hold true for all religions and cultures. I detest the brainless expression that the exception proves the rule, but I am tempted to use it here out of sheer convenience. shiv
