Comments on: 6 Unique Religions Virtually Unknown To The West

By: Goldbloom

Goldbloom — Mon, 08 Jun 2009 13:15:53 +0000

Thankyou very much for your article, it is about time recognition was given to some truly ancient religions that im sure the collective memory of which will sooner or later in our age of fast infomation evaporate. They give an indication of what life and ideologies behind them was like and interesting to see how they compare to current philosophies. I myself am half Parsi which is the nationality associated with Zoroastrianism. Few other races that i am aware of if any participate in the practice of Zoroaster and to put things into perspective of how easily this religion will go off the map is that currently in Britain there are around 5 thousand Parsis left and by 2020 there will be fewer than 25,000 in the world. This is why it is important in this world not to lose our awareness of history. Sorry to take up so much space, thanks again.

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By: Hal

Hal — Sat, 16 May 2009 16:49:01 +0000

Hi there Rebekah,

Matador’s published a lot of great material on Korea lately, much of it dealing with teaching. Check out these links:

http://matadorabroad.com/10-korean-customs-to-know-before-you-visit-korea/

http://matadorabroad.com/chaos-culture-and-kim-chi-a-korean-cafeteria/

Or, just type “korea” into the search bar at the top of this page–tons of content and many, many community members who are currently teaching in South Korea.

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By: Rebekah

Rebekah — Sat, 16 May 2009 14:14:02 +0000

Chris – very interesting article!

Have you got a personal website/blog telling of your time teaching English in S. Korea? Or perhaps another article in the works with tips and tricks for such a venture? I’m very interested to learn more about it!

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By: Valerie

Valerie — Fri, 15 May 2009 13:14:35 +0000

Wow, it’s very informative. There are really many religious sects out there that needs to be known and recognized. Sometimes, followers of these religions often receive a different feedback from those belonging to a more established religions..

Nice article!

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By: Shreya

Shreya — Thu, 14 May 2009 07:17:50 +0000

Nice post, my dad’s from a Jain family thought he doesn’t follow a strictly vegan diet, etc. However, they have some really interesting ideas about non-violence and respecting animals/nature.

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By: Dave and Deb

Dave and Deb — Wed, 13 May 2009 00:44:07 +0000

Wow, I thought that I would know some of these when I saw the title. But I only know of Mami Wata. I guess I have a lot to learn about religions. Maybe I will make a point of studying religions a little more on my adventures, since it is such a large part of all cultures. Thanks

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By: Håvard Øygård

Håvard Øygård — Fri, 08 May 2009 14:24:43 +0000

Regarding gender equality in the Baha’i Faith – the highest Baha’i administrative body, the Universal House of Justice, consists of men, and only men. Women, by Bahaullah’s express decree (or so I was told), can’t be members. To me, that doesn’t sound like giving men and women equality, and it kept me from becoming a Baha’i. Yes, the Baha’i faith gave women much more equality than was normal in the early 20th century, but I don’t think it meets modern standards of gender equality. Bahaullah’s writings are beautiful, though, particularly the “Hidden Words”.

I like the Jains, too. On a trip to India (Delhi?) I found a hospital which a group of Jains was running for sick birds. We’d do well to learn some of their compassion for other forms of life.

Thanks for this article.

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By: Patrick

Patrick — Thu, 07 May 2009 19:37:21 +0000

Also add Cao Dai to your list – centered in Viet Nam. An interesting one to research!

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By: Harlan Lang

Harlan Lang — Thu, 07 May 2009 18:43:51 +0000

I was born into a typical southern U.S. Protestant family. I encountered Baha’is in Utah in 1961 and fell in love with it. I’ve been an active Baha’i ever since. Baha’i may sound exotic, but it deals with the needs of real people and the problems of the world. It has a unique form of community life and ways of solving problems using consultation. You can get find out more at http://www.bahai.us.org or bahai.org where you can learn the basic principles and actually read the Baha’i Sacred Scriptures.

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By: Tim Patterson

Tim Patterson — Thu, 07 May 2009 12:43:34 +0000

Thanks for this – I had heard of most of the faiths before, but didn’t know any details. Solid post.

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