Prothero And Daoism Essay

Stephen Prothero defines a religion as having “a problem, solution, technique and exemplar(s).” This definition is definitely useful because it gives a brief introduction of the religion as a whole and what we need to know firsthand about it because religions are so complex and one needs time to sit down and read in detail about it to understand and come to conclusions about it. In other words, this approach of Protheros’ can also be viewed as a crash course on the various religions he talks about in his book. During the course of the semester we went over various religions from around the world and by following this approach of Protheros’, I was able to understand that each religion is different in its own way as every religion has its unique
Daoism is a spiritual tradition emphasizing on flourishing in human nature and I didn’t have any idea about it until I read Prothero. I leant that the problem in Daoism is lifelessness and social decline. Since the religion is so much connected to nature, when one does not live life authentically and does not flourish, they’re moving towards the problem. The solution to this problem is naturally to flourish and the technique or goal is to achieve union with the Dao through spiritual discipline, to always follow the Dao and find the right balance between the Ying & Yang. The exemplar is believed to be Zhuangzi. This four step approach also made it easy for me to compare Daoism with other religions because it highlights the key points. Studying using this definition also made it easy for me to understand my religion better as he explains the problem of Islam is self-sufficiency; meaning to take care of ones needs without any support. The solution is peace; in other words it is attaining paradise and the technique is following the five pillars namely Shahadah, Salah, Zakat, Swam and Hajj. If a person follows the five pillars and the teachings of the exemplar Muhammad’s, they can reach their goal easily. Prothero’s definition was helpful in studying religion as it simplified the religion for me which helped me understand them