Mormon Buddhists or Buddhist Mormons?

Authors

J. Sawat Selway, Brigham Young University
Dr. James A. Toronto, Brigham Young University

Keywords

Mormon Buddhists, Buddhist Mormons, culture, religion, Mormon studies

College

Humanities

Department

Asian and Near Eastern Languages

Abstract

Culture affects every religion. Mexican Catholics are different from Italian Catholics in their liturgy; Iranian Muslims are much stricter than Albanian Muslims in their attitude toward women; and Japanese Buddhists emphasize meditation more than Indian Buddhists. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is not exempt from such terrestrial influences. As the Church spans across the world, and penetrates deep-rooted cultures, how immune to culture are the Church’s teachings and practices? Further, how defined are the Church’s teachings, concerning the different beliefs and practices that other religions teach? First, the beliefs of members change amongst different cultural groups within the Church. Second, if the Church has definite teachings regarding issues it has encountered from mixing with other highly religious cultures, it has not communicated its standing clearly on them.

Recommended Citation

Selway, J. Sawat and Toronto, Dr. James A. (2013) "Mormon Buddhists or Buddhist Mormons?," Journal of Undergraduate Research: Vol. 2013: Iss. 1, Article 651.
Available at: https://scholarsarchive.byu.edu/jur/vol2013/iss1/651