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Intercultural Communication
Deep Culture –
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Yali Chen
School of Foreign Languages and Literature
Shandong University
[email protected]
from BBC
Religion is about
• the first cause of all things;
• the nature of life and death;
• the creation of the universe;
• the relationship of humankind to nature;
• mortality and immortality; and
•…
Important questions Religion asks
and answers
▫ Where did I come from?
▫ Why am I here?
▫ What happens when I die?
▫…
Religion and ICC
• The majority of people in the world are
faithful.
• Religion provides the individual with
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▫
▫
▫
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a way of gaining insight into people’s hearts,
notions of right and wrong,
precedents for acceptable behavior,
a sense of identity and security,
a possibility to shift decision making from
them to God(s)
▫…
It is clear that religion and culture are inextricably
The Important Religions
• Criteria
▫ numbers
▫ diffusion, and
▫ relevance
Which religions are taken as important
religions in the world?
“Important” religions
To cover
Judaism
Christianity
Islam
Judaism
Judaism
• Scriptures: The Hebrew Bible (Old
Testament) (Torah – first five books of
the Bible)
• God: Ywhw
• Authority figures: Abraham, Moses
• Date founded: about 1800 BCE
• Believers: 14 million (2012)
A 4000-year old tradition…
• The Patriarchs: Abraham, Isaac, Jacob (“Israel”)
– origins of the Hebrew
• Enslaved in ancient Egypt and led by Moses
back to freedom (more than 3300 years ago)
• Hebrew monarchy in the “Promised Land” (The
Land of Israel), ended in 6th century BCE
As a faith, it tells the Jews to believe…
• In one God, creator of the universe,
• no human ever will be divine
• humans are the pinnacle of creation
• the goal of human life is to serve God
• prophets of old – especially Moses, through
whom Torah was revealed to the Hebrew
people
As a faith, It tells the Jews to Believe…
• In themselves as the chosen people of God
▫ God’s providence extends to all people
• Torah (first five books of the Bible),
containing religious, moral and social law
which guides the life of a Jew
▫ the Hebrew Bible does not include the New
Testament
As a people, Jews are…
• A nation in Diaspora (dispersed)
• 14 million in worldwide population
• United by a common heritage (an “ethnic”
religion)
Synagogue
Mogein Dovid
As a way of life, Judaism is based on…
• 613 commandments found in Torah (“Written
Law”)
• Talmud (“Oral Law”) – commentary of ancient
rabbis that elaborates on how to apply God’s
Law in everyday life through:
▫ Dietary rules (Kashrut/Kosher)
▫ Dress and other symbols
▫ Prayer and devotion to the one God
▫ The synagogue and rites
▫ Proper social relations between male and female, in
business, judicial rulings, etc.
• Thus sanctifying life, blessing it in every way.
How does Judaism sanctify life?
Life cycle celebrations:
• Bris – ritual circumcision, sign of the covenant
• Bar/Bat Mitzvah – full adult status and
responsibility within the religion
• Marriage - "Be fruitful and multiply" (Gen. 1:22)
• Death – funerals, mourning
How does Judaism sanctify time?
The Jewish Holidays
• Rosh Hashanah (Jewish New Year)
• Yom Kippur (Day of Atonement) 赎罪节
• Sukkot, the “Festival of Booths”帐篷节
• fall harvest festival 收藏节
• Simchat Torah – celebrating Torah 律法节
• Chanukah, the “Festival of Lights” 光明节
More Holy Days…
• Purim (“Lots”) – a carnival (commemorates
events told in book of Esther)
• Pesach (“Passover”) – commemorates the exodus
from Egypt (events told in Exodus)
• Shavuot (“weeks,” Pentecost) – commemorates
receipt of Torah at Sinai
• Shabbat (Sabbath, 7th day, on Saturday) – the
“Day of Rest”
How is Judaism related to Christianity?
• Judaism predates Christianity
• Jesus was Jewish, as were his followers and the
Apostles
• Jews still await their messiah
• The Jewish messiah would not be divine. He
would be a political figure who restores the
Hebrew monarchy and causes peace to reign on
Earth
• Jews are not concerned about salvation and the
“world to come”
What are Jews really concerned about?
• Tikkun Olam - “repairing this world” through
justice and righteousness; through “deed, not
creed”
• The heart of Judaism is in the home and
family, social responsibility and doing Mitzvot
(“good deeds” based on God’s
commandments)
• Through education and hard work we make
our lives, the lives of others, and the world,
what God intended it to be – Holy!
Questions
• Scriptures:
• God:
• Authority figures:
• Date founded:
• Number of believers:
Questions
• Scriptures: The Hebrew Bible (Old Testament)
(Torah – first five books of the Bible)
• God: Ywhw
• Authority figures: Abraham, Moses
• Date founded: about 1800 BCE
• Believers: 14 million
Web resources
• Judaism 101: http://jewfaq.org/
”an online encyclopedia of Judaism, covering Jewish beliefs,
people, places, things, language, scripture, holidays, practices
and customs”
• ReligiousTolerance.org on Judaism:
http://www.religioustolerance.org/judaism.htm
• This P0werpoint presentation available at:
http://www.nvcc.edu/home/lshulman/Rel232/resource/judaism.ppt
Christianity
• A diverse, 2000-year old religion followed by almost
one third of the world’s population!
• Based on the life, teachings, death and resurrection of
Jesus, believed to be the Christ (messiah, savior,
literally meaning “anoited”) by his followers (thus
called “Christians”).
What is Christianity?
• Scriptures: the Bible (46/39 books of the old Testament,
27 books of the New Testament)
• God: Trinity of God the Father, the Son and the Holy
Spirit
• Authority figures: Abraham, Moses, Mary, apostles,
pope, …
• Date founded: 33 C.E.
• Believers: 2,039 million
Who was Jesus?
• Born, bred, lived, and died a Jew in first century Roman occupied
Palestine
• Around age 30, took on a mission of preaching, teaching, and
healing
• Had a following of 12 apostles and countless followers attracted by
his miracles and words of wisdom
• A political threat to Roman and Jewish authorities, was put to
death at 33 through torturous crucifixion (a Roman punishment).
What did Jesus teach?
What did he do?
• A story telling teacher who taught through parables about the Kingdom of God (“the
Kingdom of God is like…”)
• A miracle worker and faith healer (“your faith has made you whole”)
• A religious and social reformer (love as the spirit of the law, over the letter of the law)
• Preaching forgiveness of sin over punishment for sin
• Inspirational words of wisdom:
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The “Sermon on the Mount”
The “Greatest commandment”: Love God and love others as you love yourself
The “Golden Rule”: Do unto others as you would have others do unto you.
The “Lord’s Prayer” (“Our Father who art in heaven…”)
Scriptural sources
• Old Testament (the Hebrew Bible)
• New Testament (written after Jesus’ death, by his followers, during the first century; not
canonized until the 4th century)
▫ Four gospels (“good words”) about the birth, life, teaching, acts, death, and resurrection
of Jesus
▫ The Book of Acts of the apostles – earliest history of the developing church
▫ Epistles (“letters”) of Paul and other evangelists addressed to the churches they founded
and led throughout the Mediterranean
▫ The Book of Revelation – a vision of the future, the ultimate destiny of mankind, the
culmination of God’s plan for humanity
What do Christians believe?
“Who do men say that I am?”
• The “Christ” - born of a virgin in fulfillment of Jewish messianic expectation to
be “king of the Jews”
• The “Son of God” – fully divine and fully human
• The savior of humanity – saving us from sin through his sacrifice on the cross
• Risen from the dead (resurrection) “on the third day” – overcoming death so
that we too may have “eternal life”
• Ascended into heaven, residing with God “the father” to intervene on our
behalf
• Will come again at the “end of days” to judge the living and the dead
What do Christians believe? –
The Trinity
• God the Father residing in heaven (same God worshiped by
Jews and Muslims)
• God the Son (Jesus, the Christ) who “came down from heaven”
to dwell among us, as one of us
• God the Holy Spirit (“Holy Ghost”)
▫ The spirit of God residing within everyone who accepts the sacrifice of
Christ and thus becomes a Christian
Communion with God the Father is through the Son and the
Holy Spirit
What else do Christians believe?
• Original sin: all humanity is inherently separated from God
• The sacrifice of Jesus – a sinless representative of humanity (a
“scapegoat”) - as the ultimate atonement for the sins of
humanity
• Heaven and Hell
• Three theological virtues: faith, hope, and charity.
Who are Christians?
• 33,800 different denominations worldwide.
• The Eastern church: Orthodox Christianity
▫ Greek, Russian, Coptic, and other national churches of Eastern Europe, North
Africa, and Asia
• The Western church: Roman Catholicism
(Latin Rite)
▫ unified under the Pope (bishop of Rome)
▫ found throughout western Europe and the Americas
▫ Over 900 million (half of all Christians worldwide)
These two original church bodies officially broke from each other in 1054
CE
What about the Protestants?
• Broke from Catholic church beginning in 16th century
• Diverse denominations, and independent churches of European
background:
▫ Lutheran (early 16th century)
▫ Church of England (Anglican) (16th century)
▫ “Reformed” churches: Presbyterian, Congregational, etc. (16th century,
based on teachings of John Calvin)
• Anabaptist and other sectarian churches broke away from these
original (“mainline”) churches:
▫ Baptist, Methodist, Puritan, Quaker, etc.
How do Christians practice their faith? – in church
•
•
Sacraments:
1. Baptism
2. Communion (Eucharist, Mass, the Lord’s Supper)
3. Confirmation
4. Confession of sins, penance, atonement
5. Marriage (“Holy Matrimony”)
6. Ordination (“Holy Orders”)
7. Healing (anointing, “Holy Unction”, “Last rites”)
Sabbath celebrated on Sunday with mass, prayer, scripture readings, singing of
hymns, a sermon or lesson from the priest/pastor, recitation of creedal statement,
confession of sins, communion (format varies from church to church)
What are some Christian
holy days?
Two major holy days in the Christian calendar:
• Christmas – celebrating the birth of Jesus
• Easter – commemorating the resurrection of Christ
• Christmas:
▫ Advent (four weeks leading up to Christmas day)
▫ Christmas Day (December 25th)
▫ Epiphany (the “twelfth day of Christmas”)
More Christian holy days:
• Easter: (early spring, date varies)
▫ Ash Wednesday and lent (40 days before Easter, a period of sacrifice and
spiritual renewal in preparation for Easter)
▫ Holy Week including:
 Palm Sunday (Jesus’ triumphant entry into Jerusalem)
 Maundy Thursday (inauguration of the communion meal)
 Good Friday (Jesus’ Passion and crucifixion)
 Easter Sunday (celebrating the resurrection)
• Pentecost: the 50th day (seven weeks) after Easter (commemorating the
coming of the Holy Spirit upon the apostles)
How do Christians live their faith?
• Evangelism and missions – sharing the faith, spreading the message
• Charity and social service (“what you do unto the least of these you do to me”)
• Moral principles ranging from conservative to liberal (abortion, homosexuality and
other sexual issues, drinking, smoking, dancing, dress, makeup, etc.)
• Political and social involvement may be active or aloof
• Monasticism (Catholic and Orthodox) and retreats for spiritual renewal
• Personal and small group prayer and Bible study
• Family values
What is the bare essence of Christianity?
• A faith and life based on the person and teachings of Jesus as savior, model,
or inspiration
• Use of the New Testament to inform faith and practice
Questions
• 1. Trinity
• 2. Original sin
• 3. Three theological virtues
Christianity on the Web:
• ReligiousTolerance.org Christianity menu:
http://www.religioustolerance.org/christ.htm a jumping off
point for the basics on Christianity, including the Bible, important
personalities (Jesus, Mary, saints, etc.), history, beliefs, practices, trends,
denominations.
• The Spiritual Sanctuary Christianity page:
http://www.thespiritualsanctuary.org/Christianity/Christiani
ty1.html provides basic information on major Christian groups and
distinctive movements with links to official denomination websites.
• Orthodox Christianity:
http://www.kosovo.com/orthodoxy.html
Basic introduction, history, doctrine and links to other Orthodox sites.
• Catholic Online: http://www.catholic.org an inside look at
Catholic concerns and life; includes a nice section on saints and angels.
• Protestantism: (from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Protestantism the basics, with links
to details about a variety of Protestant denominations.
Islam
Introducing Islam
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•
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Scriptures: Quran / Koran
God: Allah
Authority: Muhammad
Date founded: 622 CE
Believers: 1,570 million
(80% outside the Arab world. The fastest growing religion)
• Islam means submission to the will of God. A Muslim is one who
submits. Man’s purpose is to serve the will of God.
Six Articles
Tawhid – the oneness or unity of Allah 信安拉
Prophecy – Adam, Noah, Abraham, Moses,
and Jesus. Jesus was the second to last
prophet, who foretold the coming of
Muhammad. 信先知
Revelation – God revealed scriptures to
humanity as guidance for them. The Quran is
the final word. 信经典
Six Articles
Angelic Agency – Angels are everywhere; they come to
people’s help in every thought and action. 信天使
Last Judgment and Afterlife – the pictures of Heaven
and Hell. 信后世
Predestination – or divine preordainment. God has full
knowledge and control over all that occurs. Man
possesses free will in that he has the faculty to choose
between right and wrong, and is thus responsible for his
actions. 信前定
Five Pillars 五功
• Shahada—Declaring your faith 承认信仰
“There is no God but Allah, and Muhammad
is the Prophet of Allah.”
• Salat—Five daily prayers and one
communal on Friday 礼拜
• Zakat—Almsgiving 课功
• Sawm—Fasting one month every year,
the holy month of Ramadan 斋月
• Hajj—Pilgrimage to Mecca in Saudi
Arabia once in a life time 麦加朝圣
Jihad—Holy War
• Two meanings:
▫ Inner Jihad, the struggle with oneself,
mastering one’s passions and leading to a
virtuous life
▫ Outer Jihad, all activities like defending
Islamic faith or Muslim lands
The Prophet
His background
• An orphan of a noble, but not well-to-do, family
that lived in Mecca.
• His father died before his birth. His mother
died when he was six. His uncle raised him.
• He was known for being honest and truthful
before prophethood.
• Worked as a shepherd and later as a trader.
• Married his first wife Khadija, and the mother
of his surviving children, when he was 25. She
was 40.
The Prophet
His prophethood
• In 610, he received his first revelation at 43.
These revelations were compiled later into the
Quran
• The nobles of Mecca refused his call, ostracized
and persecuted him and his followers.
• After 12 difficult years, he immigrated in 622 to
Medina whose people welcomed him.
• In Medina, he was a prophet and a statesman.
• In 633, he died at 63
• His personality revolves around the traits of
mercy, generosity and forgiveness.
The Prophet
The message
• The oneness of God, the creator of the whole
universe.
• Islam is the continuation of divine messages
that God sent to humanity through prophets
like Abraham, Isaac, Moses, and Jesus.
• The moral principles of the ten
commandments are reflected in the message
of Muhammad.
• It acknowledges the diversity of the human
race and freedom of religions.
The Quran
• The revelation of God to
Muhammad
• It has been preserved as
revealed 14 centuries ago.
• It consists of 114 chapters
of various lengths. In
Arabic, it numbers about
604 pages.
• The translation of its
meaning is available in
English, Chinese and most
of the world’s languages.
The Quran
• Appeals to the mind to
reflect on creations and the
creator
• Glad tidings for the
believers
• Admonitions to the nonbelievers
• Stories of previous
messengers of God such as
Noah, Abraham, Isaac,
Moses, Jesus, Mary, etc.
• Rulings on social and
commercial issues.
What the Quran says about
• Moses: And we sent Moses with our signs; get
your people from darkness to light and remind
them of the miracles of Allah. For in it are signs
for the thankful (14:5)
• Mary: The angels said. “O Mary! Allah has chosen,
purified and chosen you among the women of this
world. Mary, worship your Lord devoutly:
Prostrate and bow with those who bow
down.(3:42-43)
• Jesus: The angels said, “O Mary! Allah brings you
good news; a word from Him whose name will be
Christ Jesus, the son of Mary, held in honour in
this world and the hereafter and of those nearest
to Allah. (3:45-46)
The Muslim legal code “Shari’a”
 Consists of the following
components:
• Rulings mentioned in the Quran
• Precedents in the life of Muhammad
as it explains and complements the
Quran in more details
• Opinions (fatwa) of Muhammad’s
prominent companions.
• Opinions of previous jurisprudents
• Opinions of contemporary scholars
• Importance of majority and
consensus
The Mosque
• The Muslim’s house of God,
where they pray.
• The Imam (religious leader)
leads the prayers and
delivers sermons.
• Persons entering the mosque
are supposed to have
cleansed themselves.
• Non-Muslims should seek
permission before entering
the mosque.
Islamic Foundation, Scarborough
Friday sermon &
prayers
The Muslims of the world
• Sects: Sunni (the majority), Shia 7%,
• Homogenous when it comes to core beliefs
and essential practices of Islam like daily
prayers, fasting, etc
The Muslim Women
 The first to accept Muhammad’s message was his wife Khadija.
Many of his followers were women who embraced Islam before their
spouses or fathers.
 Islam gave women the following rights, 1400 years ago:
 The right to decide their future Muslim husbands.
 The right to a definite share of the estate of a father, husband or
children. A will cannot take away or abrogate this right.
 The right to own property independently of their husbands or
children.
 The right to education.
 The right to conduct their own commercial business.
 The right to participate in politics.
Communicating with Muslims
Muslims take their religion, and its symbols, very
seriously.
Muslims invoke prayers frequently in their daily
chores.
Muslim women are required to dress modestly and
not to show their beauty except to near family.
Muslims are not supposed to sit or meet alone with
members of the opposite sex.
Muslims are respectful of elders, women and persons
of authority. Out of respect they may not look at you
in the eye, not because they are avoiding you.
Muslims have dietary restriction; mainly they are not
allowed to eat pork, wild animals or animals
slaughtered improperly. Islam forbids alcoholic
beverages and drugs.
Winning the Muslims
 Know them better: their religion and
culture(s).
 Communicate with leaders and
institutions to build trust and
cooperation.
 Solicit advice from leaders on handling
issues and situations.
 Show respect and understanding: soft
approach works better than hard one.
We have covered
Judaism
Christianity
Islam
Questions
1. How important is religion to your life?
2. Do you think that differences in religion are
good? Why or why not?
Thank you!