Spirituality of the 21st century

Do we need spirituality now?

Content:

The Role of Religion in a Changing World

Parallels in religious teachings

Religions should be able to develop and change

"Religion will always be relevant as long as people have a soul. At the same time, it is necessary to go beyond individual cultures and traditions. No ideology, philosophy or religion that was influential in the past can bring the peace and unity to humanity that is so necessary for the future. We need a new ideology and philosophy that goes beyond Buddhism, Christianity, and Islam. The main goal of religion is to create a world where all people live in love and harmony. The only way to achieve this is through continuous education. However, modern education is focused primarily on creating a society based on the principle of ‘no judgment of winners.’ In such a society, those who come to the finish line faster get a monopoly on happiness. We cannot teach children this. We must teach them how to create a world in which all of humanity will live and prosper together. Teachers should not instill selfishness in people, but rather instill in them the wisdom necessary to solve billions of problems in society. The role of spiritual advisors is even more important. They do not need to push complex and confusing theories on people and teach the superiority of their religion over others. Instead, they should instill in people the wisdom that will help them to love all of humanity and build peace on earth. "

The Role of Religion in a Changing World

In the 21st century, scientific knowledge is developing, human capabilities and abilities are growing, and because of this, people are increasingly denying God. This is because the religious concepts of Buddhism, Christianity, Islam, and Confucianism are not suitable for the 21st century.

We need to think about how people in society understand the religious trends of the 21st century. There is a philosopher in Korea, Kim Yong Ok. His parents were doctors, they converted to Christianity and became deeply religious. When it was time to go to university, he told his parents that he wanted to study Eastern philosophy. But his parents replied that it was not the right time to study Eastern philosophy. "If you want to study philosophy, you should study Western philosophy." After receiving this answer, young Kim was angry. But since Korea has a concept of reverence, he followed his parents' words and began to study Western philosophy, leaving Eastern philosophy behind. At the same time, he made a decision: after I finish Western philosophy, I will study Eastern philosophy and use it to help the proper formation of Western philosophy. He studied with this attitude. Thus, he studied Western and Eastern philosophy, Oriental medicine, and theology, earning doctoral degrees in various fields. He stands out among Korean philosophers for his deep philosophical knowledge. Based on his thoughts, we will talk about religious trends of the 21st century.

In his reflections, he touches on the East and the West, science and spirituality, and so his philosophy is largely reliable. His opinion on religion is as follows: there are four major religions — Christianity, Islam, Buddhism, and Confucianism. He studies two major religions: Christianity and Buddhism. He considers Christianity and Islam in unity. He evaluates Confucianism separately. He defines the concept of Christianity and the concept of Buddhism as a theoretical system centered on dogmas and canons. He calls Confucianism a religion without dogmas and its own religious doctrine. He says that in the age of science in the 21st century, the problem and limitation of these two major religions is that they cannot go beyond their dogmas, which makes it difficult to recognize them as objective.

Parallels in religious teachings

There is a lot of evidence to prove that the teachings of all religions are similar (80%). In this case, what is the problem with religions? They stopped implementing their basic teachings, they got too carried away with their doctrines, and their faith became dependent on these doctrines. The problem is that the doctrine is considered absolute, and if you go beyond it, it means death. From the perspective of the logic of medieval Christian doctrine, the doctrines of the 20th century, 19th century, 18th century are heresy. Although they changed over time, they became the unshakable tenets of their era and allowed us to realize the essence. He says that this is also a limitation of Christianity in the 21st century. The same goes for Buddhism. He says that Buddhism also faces limitations because it cannot go beyond its dogmas. But Confucianism, having no dogmas and being a political ideology and philosophy, is very flexible, so it develops to adapt to the situation. The essence of the tenets of Buddhism is that human life is suffering and that this suffering must be eliminated. The essence of the tenets of Christianity is that man is a sinner and needs to get rid of sin. They can step over these dogmas. Confucianism does not talk about sin or suffering, but about how one should follow the path of Heaven.

Kim Yong Ok says that a new religion has emerged in the 21st century. From his philosophical point of view, the new religion of the 21st century is science. Scientific theories are based on laws and principles, so science is a new religion whose doctrine is the laws of nature. There are many loose interpretations of the doctrines of Buddhism and Christianity, such as the Bible. Subjective interpretations do not allow for unity due to the lack of common principles. Therefore, doctrine is formed within a church group without objectivity and universality. This is their limitation. However, science is always relative, objective, and subject to change. It is not absolute; depending on the situation and era, it can change and develop on the basis of theory and analysis. It is constantly changing based on scientific and logical arguments. For example, Newtonian mechanics has evolved into quantum mechanics. When a new theory appears in the scientific world, it initially meets resistance, but thanks to scientific and theoretical justification, it is accepted and developed. A scientific religion has such a theoretical system.

Religions should be able to develop and change

He says that in order for religion to continue to exist in the 21st century, it should not be limited to doctrine or consider it absolute, but be able to develop and change depending on the situation and era. What about religion and scripture? Depending on the era and situation, the textbooks of truth, such as the Bible (Old Testament, New Testament), can change and develop depending on the intellectual and spiritual level of people. The bottom line is that religions in the 21st century will not be able to fulfill their role if they do not transcend their dogmas, hold on to their faith, and do not take into account the practical situation and current trends. In other words, this philosopher wants to say that in order for Christianity, Buddhism, or Confucianism to remain religions in the 21st century, they must develop their doctrines and change their logic depending on the era.

Another scholar also says that religions such as Buddhism, Confucianism, Islam, and Catholicism emerged during the agricultural system and feudalism in order to solve the problems and challenges of the time. Currently, there are four major religions left in the world. But which organization brought the most important and leading changes, contributing to the transition from an agricultural system to an industrial society? Protestantism. By switching from Catholicism to Protestantism, Christianity was able to play a leading role in the world. Protestantism managed to direct the world's culture because it taught the value of work and carried the idea of diligence. In the days of the agricultural system, all religions taught that one must have absolute faith and follow the hierarchy. But what did Christianity teach during the Industrial Revolution and how did it contribute to globalization? As you all know, with the advent of capitalism, there was a need to sell products, so Europeans went to South America. At the same time, they taught people to work hard and be happy to be paid for their labor. This is how the Protestant doctrine was established. It was well applied in the industrialization era, which helped the growth of Protestantism. Today, the industrial society is being replaced by an information society. The question arises as to what new religion will be able to fulfill its role in the 21st century. As the philosopher Kim says, the new era needs a new doctrine, but no religion has been able to provide it.

With what attitude should we enter the 21st century? We need a relationship with scientific thinking. One should not consider one's doctrine to be absolute, but should strive for peace and develop objectively through joint analysis in accordance with the situation of the era. We need to communicate based not on the logic of a particular doctrine, but on objectivity. Philosopher Kim believes that only a religion that solves problems and develops in this way will be able to survive in the 21st century.