The Eastern Christian Orthodox church, which is also referred to as the Orthodox Catholic Church, is among the largest Christian churches in the world with a huge number of baptized members. There is no central doctrine governing the church as it operates under the communion structure. The church is based on the Nicene Creed, which is a key statement that is used by the Christians when undertaking different kinds of functions in the church (Bezzerides & Prodromou, 2017). The orthodox Christians are considered the true believers of the teachings of Christ considering that they focus on following the teachings of Christ. The church is based on teachings of Christ, which guides people in their day to day activities. To adhere to the teachings of Christ, the church focuses on a wide range of activities that relate to ceremonies and festivals that commemorate various different seasons as indicated in the teachings. Additionally, the church has strong leadership that comprises of the bishops and other key personnel that play a major role in educating the Christians on various aspects that concern the teachings of Christ.
Education in Eastern Christian Orthodox
In the Eastern Christian Orthodox church, education is an important aspect in society, though it has not been highly influenced by scholars. Unlike in the western world where educational theorist has played a significant role in impacting the perception of people on matters concerning education, the Eastern Christians believe that schools have a significant role in shaping the lives of an individual. The orthodox church focuses on the implementation of strategies that helps to educate the Christians on a wide range of factors that relate to religion and other aspects of life (Bezzerides & Prodromou, 2017). The leadership of the church focuses on Christian education as a significant aspect that helps to promote the literacy of people in the church. Christian education programs implemented by the church focus on ensuring that the members acquire knowledge regarding the teachings of Christ, which helps them to interact with other people effectively.
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Interplay Between Religion and Its Socio-Historical, Economic, And Political Context
Considering the value of education in the Eastern Orthodox church, the need for major reforms helped in ensuring that the Christians engage in different educational programs to boost their literacy levels. Considering that the orthodox church is based on strict values that are part of the religion, the educational reforms purposed to consider a wide range of factors such as the socio-historical, economic, and political context of the eastern Christians (Roudometof, 2013). Each of the mentioned aspect has a significant role in impacting the implementation of the educational reforms among the eastern Christians. Firstly, it is important to take note of the fact that religion is a primary cultural aspect that helps in defining different factors relating to an individual. In the eastern world, Christianity is the dominant religion where approximately 80% of the Christians belong to the Eastern Orthodox Church. In this case, the analysis of the implementation of educational reforms among the eastern Christians involves focusing on the impact on the economic, socio-historical, and political context.
In the socio-historical context of the religion, it is important to focus on the social and historical factors that relate to the eastern Christians. The most significant aspect of consideration is based on the fact that the church had to fulfill social functions and obligations relating to societal needs. Additionally, the historical aspects of the church had a significant role in impacting the educational reforms implemented for the eastern Christians to educate themselves on different aspects of society. The aspect of socio-historical context and religion mutually influence each other considering there both help in defining different aspects regarding how an eastern Christian perceived education. The leadership of the eastern orthodox church required to focus on understanding the social and historical aspects that impact the religion.
In the economic and political context, it is important to take note of the nature of influence that the two factors may have in the acceptance of educational reforms. The most important aspect to note is that the economic and political aspects of the religion may influence the perception of Christians (Bezzerides & Prodromou, 2017). Firstly, the economic context of religion helps in promoting the availability and access to education for all the Eastern Christian. Promoting easy access is a significant reform that helps in the establishment of different educational institutions that were affiliated with the Eastern Orthodox church. In the political context, the religion required to adhere to different laws and regulation defined by the state. Although Christianity is an independent religion, adherence to the state is important as it helps to promote support for the educational reforms implemented. Overall, it is important to note that religion and its socio-historical, economic, political context influence the lifestyle of the orthodox Christians and their involvement in education.
How the study of this topic helps to better understand American religious faith
The study of the educational reforms in the eastern Christian Orthodox provides an understanding of the key aspects that relate to the American religion. The first important aspect noted about the American religious faith is the impact of education on religion. The American religious faith is characterized by freedom of religion, where a majority of people have the ability to make choices regarding their desired religion. The study of the topic helps to appreciate diversities that tare found in the American religious faith. Appreciating diversities in the religion is a key aspect that helps to promotes understanding of the differences that may be present. Additionally, the ability to deal with diversities in the religion is an important aspect that promotes conflict resolution skills. The study on the educational reforms in the eastern Christian orthodox helps to provide an understanding of the cultural, economic, and political influence in the religion.
Considering that America is a diverse region, the social, historical, economic, and political aspects may have a significant influence on the perception of people regarding education in religion. The study has helped to understand the role of educational theorists and scholars in promoting education in any given religion. In the eastern world, it is important to take note of factors such as the level of engagement in education, which can be compared to the level of engagement in the western world (Krindatch, 2002). Considering that America is in the western world, the study on the educational reforms on the Eastern Christian Orthodox church may help in creating a significant comparison regarding the reforms that influenced the Americans religious faith. Additionally, the study helps to depict the role of the American scholars in impacting Christians to undertake Christian education programs.
The study also plays a central role in highlighting the diverse nature of the American religious faith, which appreciates and accepts multiple religions. The American religious environment is one of the most diverse when compared to any other country in the world (Williams, 2002). By evaluating the educational reforms that occurred in the Eastern Christian Orthodox, what is most notable is that the reforms have introduced new structures to support religious diversity. That is the same approach that the American religious faith has adopted to ensure that people from multiple religions coexist within the same space or environment without conflict. The reforms also helped in highlighting how the American religious environment supports the growth and development of other religions that go beyond the realm of Christianity. For example, the United States has one of the highest number Jews when compared to most of the developed countries in the west.
The study associated with educational reforms in the Eastern Christian Orthodox also helped in understanding the American religious faith based on the factors promoting overall growth of the religions. The study of the educational reforms played a central role in highlighting how the American society has become one of the societies that represents religious objectivity but does not push any religion on the American people (Williams, 2002). In other words, the American people have the authority to make their own decisions on the specific religions that they consider or appreciate regardless of the views from religious scholars. Understanding educational reforms has helped in appreciating the extent to which the American religious environment is supportive of creating a multi-religious front. The reforms also helped in highlighting some of the key contributors to the establishment of the freedom of religion, which is one of the most important aspects in the First Amendment to the United States Constitution.
Correlation between the Topic and Contemporary American Religious Experiences
The correlation between educational reforms in the Eastern Christian Orthodox and contemporary American religious experiences cannot be ignored considering that the reforms have helped in shaping the religious experiences. One key area of focus for the educational reforms has been advocating for human rights with the view that every person must be accorded specific rights as a human being. Similarly, the contemporary American religion views human rights as a basic principle, which can be considered as part of the “golden rule.” What is most notable is the influence that the educational reforms occurring in the Eastern Christian Orthodox have had pushing for the incorporation of human rights as a key religious experience. Roudometof (2013) argues that human rights is a shared principle across all major belief systems with the focus being on ensuring that the religious community embraces others. That is a concept that was supported significantly through educational reforms aimed at appreciating the importance of promoting human rights.
Another key aspect to note when examining the correlation between the educational reforms Eastern Christian Orthodox and contemporary American religious experiences is that they both highlight the need to engage in peacemaking and conflict prevention. The educational reforms helped in projecting religion as being at the very core of conflicts in different parts of the world appreciating the fact that reforms would help in changing this notion (Clendenin, 2003). The reforms helped in establishing a powerful and positive force that was solely focused on advancing prevention, management, and resolution of conflicts in an amicable manner. In that same way, the contemporary American religious experiences are hinged on creating a sustainable environment that appreciates the existence of conflicts while promoting the need for tolerance, respect, understanding, and reconciliation. In other words, the religious experiences occur in an environment that is peaceful; thus, pushing for the need to change how people view conflicts as part of their underlying experiences.
The educational reforms in the Eastern Christian Orthodox and contemporary American religious experiences also correlate on the fact that they push for the need for communities to legitimize social values. The American religious environment serves as a representation of the global religious entity that defines shared values that influence the way of life for the people involved. The educational reforms considered in the Eastern Christian Orthodox focused on defining the living interconnection between religious and cultural values (Krindatch, 2002). The overall objective was to cast light on the dynamic ways that religion would be shaped by societal values and vice versa. It can be argued that the educational reforms have helped in pushing the need for societies to look beyond the nuanced understanding of societal values, which is biased. Instead, the reforms appreciate the need for the society to ensure that people respond to improved values defined based on the religious experiences.
Lastly, the educational reforms in the Eastern Christian Orthodox and contemporary American religious experiences correlate based on their influence on business ethics. The educational reforms helped towards introducing new business ethics that the people appreciate as part of maximizing their value to society (Clendenin, 2003). On the other hand, the religious experiences that people have within the American religious environment reflects on the need to embrace ethical ideas and moral systems. That highlights the correlation between the topic and the religious experiences, which play a central role in shaping the perceptions that people appreciate as part of their positions in the society. The correlation on business ethics has also helped in defining the social responsibilities for financial institutions and individuals within the same social system. The view is that this would not only help in promoting economic growth but would also help in creating religious sustainability.
Conclusion
The Eastern Christian Orthodox church is among the largest Christian churches in the world with a huge number of baptized members. In the Eastern Christian Orthodox church, education is an important aspect in society, though it has not been highly influenced by scholars. Considering the value of education in the Eastern Orthodox church, the need for major reforms helped in ensuring that the Christians engage in different educational programs to boost their literacy levels. The most significant aspect of consideration is based on the fact that the church had to fulfill social functions and obligations relating to societal needs. The economic context of religion helps in promoting the availability and access to education for all the Eastern Christian. In the eastern world, it is important to take note of factors such as the level of engagement in education, which can be compared to the level of engagement in the western world.
References
Bezzerides, A. M., & Prodromou, E. H. (Eds.). (2017). Eastern Orthodox Christianity and American Higher Education: Theological, Historical, and Contemporary Reflections . University of Notre Dame Press.
Clendenin, D. B. (2003). Eastern Orthodox Christianity: A Western Perspective . Baker Academic.
Krindatch, A. D. (2002). Orthodox (eastern Christian) churches in the United States at the beginning of a new millennium: Questions of nature, identity, and mission. Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion , 41 (3), 533-563.
Roudometof, V. (2013). Globalization and Orthodox Christianity: The transformations of a religious tradition . Routledge.
Williams, P. W. (2002). America's religions: From their origins to the twenty-first century . University of Illinois Press.
