The religion selected for this report is Christianity, which is one of the renown religions in the world today with an estimated following of 2.4 billion people across different countries (Donovan, 2019). However, it is essential to take note of the fact that Christianity is divided into two doctrines reflected by how scriptures governing this religion are interpreted. The two distinct categories of Christians are Catholics and Protestants. Christianity, which is viewed as an Abrahamic monotheistic religion, bases is principles and teachings based on the life and instructions associated with Jesus of Nazareth, who is considered to be an important symbol among Christian followers (Cochrane, 2015). The teachings brought out within this religion are based on the Bible, which is viewed as one of the most symbolic religious texts that govern how Christians are expected to lead their lives.
An in-depth evaluation of Christianity shows that believers are expected to adopt several beliefs that define their shared convictions from a religious point of view. Firstly, Christian believers have a crucial role in ensuring that they uphold creeds as part of their religious faith and confidence. Creeds refer to concise doctrinal statements that reflect on the firm religious beliefs for Christians, highlighting how they ought to lead their respective lives while ensuring that they make viable statements of faith (Parsons, 2017). An excellent example of a creed that Christians must believe is the Trinity, which refers to the idea of believing in God the Father, Jesus Christ, who is the Son of God, and the Holy Spirit. The basic principles of Christianity are governed by this doctrinal statement that defines one’s faith in Christianity as a religion that adopts policies that reflect on the truth.
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Secondly, Christians are also expected to believe in the concepts of death and resurrection. In the Bible, one of the notable events that have been indicated is the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, which is viewed as one of the cornerstones associated with the faith that Christians hold towards the teachings from the Bible. While considering this event, Christianity teaches of resurrection after death, whereby any person dying physically will resurrect spiritually. Christian scholars have highlighted the symbolic reference that death and resurrection tend to have on the understanding of Christianity, as individuals are expected to put their faith in God for them to have what is described as ‘eternal life’ (Hunt, Walter, & Hamilton, 2016). This shows that indeed death and resurrection are at the centre of Christian teachings, which are projected based on how persons perceive their faith.
Lastly, Christianity is reflected based on one's acceptance of salvation, which seeks to create a new kinship that ties purity and eternal life, which is guaranteed for every person or individual that accepts Jesus as his or her saviour (Cochrane, 2015). Christianity believes in the context that every human being can exercise free will but reflects on the need for each person to accept him or herself as being a sinner, which would create the need for salvation. A significant part of the teachings in Christianity seeks to highlight the value placed on salvation as one of the critical elements of one's faith and connection to religion. The Bible teaches that salvation is pre-ordained by God; thus, meaning that for an individual to be viewed as a believer, he or she must accept God’s salvation.
On the other hand, it is essential to evaluate some of the critical practices that are associated with Christianity, each of which is viewed as being necessary towards defining one's perceived faith. The crucial first practice related to the religion is communal worship where persons, within a specific community, gather once every week for purposes of worshipping God. The practice of collective worship has been enshrined within the Bible, which indicates that on the Sabbath, people must gather at a specific place of worship to praise and worship God (Parsons, 2017). Additionally, this also gives a much more viable opportunity for Christian teachers and educators, who are commonly referred to as pastors, reverends, and bishops, to educate the people on the teachings from the Bible. Teachings in Christianity highlight the importance of communal worship in seeking to ensure that every individual gives thank for every aspect of his or her life.
The second most important practice in Christianity is sacraments, which is viewed as a rite that confers grace to individual believers while seeking to ensure that they connect to the Christian faith. Although the views associated with what is meant by the act of being a sacrament tend to vary from one Christian denomination to another, the view touching on its importance is replicated within different denominations. The third most crucial practice associated with Christianity is baptism, which is a religious practice that focused on the use of holy oil as a symbol of washing away one’s sin. Initiation is used as a practice that allows for one to be admitted into a church, as it reflects on the fact that one has denounced his or her past life and accepted a new path that is defined and governed by teachings from the Bible.
Physical Layout
From the outside, it is clear that indeed this is religious building attributed to the spiritual writing all over the building, which are considered as being symbolic towards educating the people on what is expected of them from a religious point of view. When going into the church, one of the critical aspects that one takes note of is the fact that seats, which are long wooden benches that accommodate approximately five persons each, are separated into two rows on the right and left (as can be seen from the picture below). Each of the benches is arranged in a manner that all persons are expected to be facing forward where all religious activities will be taking place. One is likely to walk down a narrow aisle at the centre of the church, which runs from the door through to the very front of the church.
At the very front of the church is an altar with a massive cross at the very centre, which is one of the key symbols associated with Christianity. Additionally, the front has two podiums from where the pastors or religious teachers, involved in teaching congregants about Christianity, are expected to stand. The podiums are on either side of the alter. On the other hand, it is essential to note that on the right side of the change is another row of wooden benches that accommodates persons that are involved in the church's praise and worship team. Generally, the church’s physical design reflects on the idea of having to ensure that every person coming into the church would concentrate on happenings at the front.
Physical Layout of the Church
Ritual/Religious Description
My Observation
The church visited is St John’s Church, which is church affiliated with the more abundant Anglican Church in the United Kingdom. The church visited is located at Lansdowne Cres, Notting Hill, London W11 2NN. I visited this church on Wednesday, 27 th November 2019, where I attended a baptism ceremony being conducted in the church. The specific service had been organized with the specific aim of having to ensure that children and adults that were to be admitted into the church are baptized. At this particular ceremony, the focus was on baptizing a child, which meant that the child was to be accompanied by the parents and godparents, who will then take a pledge to show their commitment to raising the child according to the teachings and doctrines according to the church.
Preliminary Information
The head bishop at the church was the officiating leader at the baptism, which was witnessed by other church leaders. One of the main things that I noted during the baptism ceremony is the fact that the holy oil was in a font, which is at the very front of the church, which is an architecture that is symbolic to the church ceremony. The head bishop is expected to use the holy oil to sign the forehead of the child involved in the service after which the parent or the godparent is then expected to pour water into the font, which is then used for purposes of baptizing the child by pouring it on his/her head. Different Christian denominations engage in baptism differently depending on their interpretation of the teaching whereby some prefer to pour water on one’s head while other preferring to dip one into water (Coster, 2017).
Activity Description
In the ceremony, I took note of the several steps that were involved were before the actual baptism process, the parents, who had children being baptized, were expected to make a series of promises. After the guarantees are made, it is then that the children can be baptized, as this would be symbolic of their understanding of the Christian faith. After the ceremony, the head bishop then lights a candle, which is then given to the parents as a way of symbolizing the connection of the child with Christianity. Rouwhorst (2019) indicates that the act of lighting a candle is essential to show that the individual being baptized promises to follow teachings associated with Christianity, specifically the denomination within which one is baptized.
My Analysis
The kind of ritual that I observed was nonperiodic, considering that it is a ceremony that is held in the event that one is to be admitted into the church. Additionally, the ritual can also be defined as being situational, as well as ideological considering that it reflects on the ideologies associated with Christianity. The Bible teaches about baptism, which is one of the ways through which believers are able to show their faith in God and considers it as one of the critical pillars of having to extend one's salvation and connection to God (Gabriel, Stewart, & Shanahan, 2016). From a worldview, the act of baptism can only be viewed as being the real idea of having to pour water on one’s head or amercing one into water.
The main symbol that was used as part of the ritual is water. Carswell (2018) indicates that water is symbolic of one’s dirty sinful self, which is then washed by the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ to give individuals a new religious front. In this specific ceremony, the head bishop used holy oil and water, each of which plays a crucial role in defining the importance of this ceremony as it relates to the Christian faith. Regarding the specialists that are involved, it is essential to take note of the fact that ordained men and women of God, who include pastors, apostles, bishops, and reverends among others, are given the authority to conduct baptism ceremonies. The men and women of God are taken through theological teachings that build on their understanding of baptism while providing them with the knowledge and information that would allow them to conduct such ceremonies (Wilson, 2016). Although this was a religious ceremony being undertaken in the context of the church, there was no evidence of an altered state of consciousness.
The worldview associated with Christianity reflects on the fact that it is viewed as more or less a way through which to define how people are expected to lead their lives. Christianity, similar to other faiths and religions, describes the duties of believers while seeking to highlight how believers would live a life that is reflective of the teachings from the Bible (Methuen, Spicer, & Ditchfield, 2017). Personally, my view of this ritual was that it was somewhat symbolic taking into account that it allows parents, in the case of children, or adults to reflect on how they ought to live a life that reflects on what is expected from God. The underlying projection is that this will bring out a clear sense of connection with God in every aspect of a believer’s life.
References
Carswell, W. J. (2018). New directions in adult baptism: Baptism in a secular culture. Theology , 121 (6), 430-436.
Cochrane, C. N. (2015). Christianity and classical culture . Ravenio Books.
Coster, W. (2017). Baptism and spiritual kinship in early modern England . Routledge.
Donovan, V. J. (2019). Christianity rediscovered . Orbis Books.
Gabriel, A. K., Stewart, A., & Shanahan, K. (2016). Changing Conceptions of Speaking in Tongues and Spirit Baptism Among Canadian Pentecostal Clergy. Canadian Journal of Pentecostal-Charismatic Christianity , 7 (1), 1-24.
Hunt, S. J., Walter, T., & Hamilton, M. (Eds.). (2016). Charismatic Christianity: Sociological Perspectives . Springer.
Methuen, C., Spicer, A., & Ditchfield, S. (2017). Translating Christianity (Vol. 53). Cambridge University Press.
Parsons, T. (2017). Christianity and modern industrial society. In Sociological theory, values, and sociocultural change (pp. 33-70). Routledge.
Rouwhorst, G. (2019). Initiation by Circumcision and Water Baptism in Early Judaism and Early Christianity. In Ritual Dynamics in Jewish and Christian Contexts (pp. 165-189). Brill.
Wilson, S. H. (2016). Water Baptism and Spirit Baptism in Luke-Acts: Another Reading of the Evidence. Pneuma , 38 (4), 476-501.
