People to People Student Ambassadors Mini Essay 2

Prompt: Describe the way religious values are integrated into the cultural experience of
residents of one of the primary cities on your delegation itinerary.
There are 5 main types of religion spread around Beijing. One of them is Daoism, a
native born religion of China. Daoism stressed living in harmony and believed that people
should avoid interfering with nature and wanted the government to stay out of peoples life. A
part of Daoism is the belief of legalism which believed that people needed to be controlled and
if not, chaos will incur. That is why they always prepared for war. Another mainstream religion
is Buddhism which was brought to China from Central Asia during the 1
st
century. One example
of a value in Buddhism is how the Buddha believed that each person was responsible for their
own fortunes and misfortunes. Another value is the skill of how to make themselves happy and
give people benefits at the same time. Anything that results to something contrary to that is
consider kammic, evil and bad.
Another religion that was recently brought to China is Islam and Christianity. Islam
entered china from Central Asia in the 7
th
century while the first Christina missionary came to
China in the 17
th
century. Islamic values are based on the beliefs of Prophet Elijah Mohammad.
Christianity values are based off the biblical teachings of Jesus. Although there are many values
of Islam as stated in the Shariah (Islamic Law), the most important one of and especially Beijing
is family. In Christianity, an important value is the renunciation of violence and fidelity in
marriage. Despite all these major religions, the most mainstream religion in China is
Confucianism, a religion that is centered on moral philosophy. One of the most important
values of Confucianism is something called filial piety and humaneness. Filial Piety is the value
that respects ones parents and all elderly figures in society. The other value is humaneness
which is defined as the care and concern for other people than yourself.
All these religions have been infused into Beijings society as a whole. In Beijings society,
it is a mix of religions, thus making Beijing a religion unique city. For example, some values of
Daoism may be considered by everyday people of Beijing and other values like filial piety is
considered in other people of Beijing. For example, the majority of people in Beijing would
either believe in Buddhism or Confucianism. However these people may also value principles
that are seen solely in Daoism or Islam. Overall, the integration of these 5 religions would
technically affect the tourist going to China. However, it may not be apparent if one is not
aware of the values of each religion.

[Word Count: 428]