Sincerity of the heart

Religion and Secularism
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I made this at the end of my search for a religion. I was just looking up the symbols, because I forget what they all are. I found this:

" Makoto is an overall basis of this religion, and it means ‘ sincerity ‘. It has no rules or codes; it simply signifies the sincerity of the good heart. This concept in Shintoism is very important since it signifies that all the rules, order, commandments and regulations are consuming other religions, if the sincerity of good heart is not there, then all those acts are completely pointless. Because of this belief in Makoto, all the morals and ethics are united with the many other main religions of the world."

The Shinto symbol is the one on the bottom left. The religion isn’t big on gathering followers, so it’s stayed mostly in Japan. Makoto is one of many beliefs, and they have gods and some of the other things that I don’t like about religions, but this one, the idea that the rules don’t matter is one that many religious leaders are claiming these days. Of course, if they really want to claim that, then why don’t they just denounce the rules of their religion?

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nice project.

What’s the one on the top right?

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Sikhism. It’s actually 3 swords with a circle, pretty hard to do with little bits of wood. I have a better bandsaw now and one day I’ll redo some of these. Sikhs say they preach using the “sword” only in self-defense, but their rituals and scripture have a lot of sword references.

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Bandsaw. :scream:
Dude

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Sorry, that was uncalled for on my part. But my son-in-law has one of those, that I got a acquainted with after we moved it into their new home, and he’s really done some fun stuff with it. Guess I couldn’t resist bragging. :wink:

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Dang, this just isn’t going to let me be a serious, I went to look up who they are, I had to do a double take on the lead image - and wind up with this

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Boris Johnson should have done his research about Sikhism before his gurdwara alcohol gaffe

You wouldn’t hear a politician giving a speech about family planning at a Catholic church or indeed about alcohol tariffs in a mosque, even if some of the congregation use contraceptives or like a drink

Jasvir Singh - May 18, 2017

World fifth largest religion, I’m surprised, I’m impressed. Oh my sheltered life.

  • Sikhism has more than 25 million adherents worldwide and a 100-plus-year history in the U.S.
  • Still, nearly two out of three Americans know “little to nothing” about the faith
  • Sikh leaders hope to reverse the trend by launching a $1.3 million awareness campaign
  • It will stress the faith’s core tenets of equality, service and religious freedom

https://www.azcentral.com/story/news/local/arizona/2017/04/14/sikhism-religion-american-we-are-sikhs-campaign-religious-discrimination/100381574/

Emphasis on equality

India’s caste system, which dictated an individual’s destiny based on class, was deeply entrenched at the time Sikhism began. Sikh leaders fought the system, believing everyone was equal in God’s eyes.

Progressive gender roles

Though gender equality has not been achieved universally among Sikhs, particularly in rural India, gender discrimination has no formal place in Sikhism. From the start, leaders promoted equal rights for men and women.

Religious freedom

Freedom of religion is an essential Sikh value. … Sikhs don’t actively look to convert others, and they welcome people of any faith to their gurdwaras.

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Although I need to admit, my interest doesn’t rise much above trivia. I can intellectually appreciate religions, I can even have a positive visceral reaction to community and caring for other’s aspect. But there it ends, it offers nothing on any substantive emotional or intellectual level for me. It’s just a lot of people still stranded within their minds, people who are tragically divorced from this biosphere and Earth that created us and that we should all be concerned with.

But no, most remain too fixated on belly button gazing and ego stroking. Yuck.