Drew Langdon

2600: Intro to Religion

Dr. K

10 October 2017

Research Proposal: Ganges River

I chose to do the Ganges as the object for my research project, The Ganges river is found

in India and has religious ties to the Hindu religion. Ganga river is the Hindu name for the river

and the river is personified as a Devi Goddess. If a person of the Hindus religion bathes in the

river it is said to grant forgiveness for their religion and helps the person attain salvation. People

from distant lands also come to the river for forgiveness. Also, it is common for people to take

the ashes from their dead family or family relatives, they would dump their ashes into the river to

give the deceased soul a route to heaven. Also, in the Hindus religion it is also said that ones life

is incomplete if they do not bathe in Ganga river. There are many more religious practices

related toward this sacred river. Although the river has great prominence for the Hindus religion

an issue arises which is pollution, the land near the Ganga river is becoming overpopulated with

people and overpopulation leads to pollution. People worship this river for holy purposes but the

river is becoming a great problem for the well-beings of these peoples worshiping the river.

Pollution is invading the Ganga river at an alarming rate bringing unsanitary conditions

to the area such as undrinkable water. The river is considered one of the holiest rivers but the

pollution doesnt reflect the religious beauty the people describe it as. Dead corpses and ashes

from deceased people fill the river bringing great toxicity in the river, there are also urban

industries dumping their sewage into the river causing pollution. People are worshiping their
gods but I think the people in the religion are degrading the beauty by allowing the pollution to

destroy a holy river.

My question I have is that how could this river be one of the holiest on the planet but The

river is bringing the people poor living conditions by having undrinkable water, and diseases into

the water which could get a lot of people sick. How do these people still worship the river the

same and not try to bring the river back to its healthy state so the river not only supports their

religious beliefs but also there a healthy lifestyle by ending the pollution being brought into the

river.

I want to be able to identify where the Hindu religion creates problems for the well-being

of their health and use my findings to determine how religion could diminish natural beauty of

sacred areas. I want to bring awareness to the field of religious studies to show how some

religious practices may cast a shadow on religion and pull people away from worshiping a God

or Gods.

I found an e-journal about the ganga river and it explains the religious practices people

use the river for and I found this journal to fit into my research. I want to identify the problems

the Hindu religion is bringing to the people surrounding the river. I read that India launched a

plan called the Ganga Action Plan and the Plan was introduced in 1986 to protect the health of

the river so it wouldnt become polluted but now the river is considered to be a deadly river, and

this holy river isnt reflecting the worship being done In the river because the river is supposed to

help people attain their salvation but the Ganga river is harming the peoples health but yet they

still view it as one of the holiest rivers on earth. This source will allow me to show a relationship

toward the Hindu religion and the pollution that occurs.

 Bibliography

Cohn, Silvia. THE GANGA RIVER: HOLY BUT NOT SO PURE. The Ganga River: Holy

but Not so Pure |, intlpollution.commons.gc.cuny.edu/the-ganga-river-holy-but-not-so-pure/.

The Ganges Is Too Toxic to Be Holy Anymore. Fair Observer, 6 Sept. 2016,

www.fairobserver.com/region/central_south_asia/the-ganges-is-too-toxic-to-be-holy-anymore-

23304/.

Religious Importance of Ganga River. IndiaNetzone.com,

www.indianetzone.com/29/religious_importance_ganga_river.htm.