Religion in Charlotte Bronte’s Jane Eyre

Charlotte Bronte addresses the theme of Religion in the novel Jane Eyre using many characters as symbols. Bronte states, “Conventionality is not morality. Self-righteousness is not religion” (preface v). In Jane Eyre, Bronte supports the theme that customary actions are not always moral through the conventional personalities of Mrs. Reed, Mr. Brocklehurst, and St. John…

Shintoism: Religion, History, Beliefs

The Shinto religion was started in the Tokugawa period (1600-1868) of Japanese history.  The Tokugawa Enlightenment inspired a group of people who studied kokugaku, which roughly translated means nativism, Japanese Studies, or Native Studies.  Kokugakus intent was to recover Japanese character to what it was before the early influences of foreigners, especially the Chinese. Some…

Monasticism (Monarchism): Religion & Community

Monasticism, also commonly called Monarchism, is a special form of religious community life where the people separate themselves from normal the ways of life to pursue an idea of perfection or a higher religious experience. Monasticism entails Asceticism, the practice of disciplined self-denial. This asceticism may include fasting, silence, a prohibition against personal ownership, and…

Earliest Civilization: the Fertile Crescent & Mesopotamia

Categorized as the earliest of all civilizations as people formed permanent settlements Mesopotamia is a Greek word that means “between the rivers” Specifically, the area between the Tigris River and Euphrates River (present day Iraq) Mesopotamia is not within the “Fertile crescent“, it is in the more desert area that the “Fertile crescent” arcs around…

What is Cultural Anthropology

Cultural anthropology is the study of how culture shapes human ideas and learned behaviours.  It examines how cultures have developed and compares similarities and differences among them. Cultural anthropologists base their knowledge on observation.  They try to be objective and draw conclusions from data, without imposing their own personal judgments. Many times anthropologists are faced…