What is Religion?

1. What is Religion? Re-lig-ion • “bind/tie back,” “bind together” (to be bound) (“Yoga” = to Unite) • “re-connect” • To a Higher Power • To other people, in community • To the world around us • With ourselves

2. Three Dimensions of Religion Intellectual - Emotional - Physical Intellectual Religion is a way of thinking about: • Origins (where did we come from?) • Purpose/meaning (why are we here?) • Destiny (where are we going? what happens when we die?) • Who we are (the nature of human nature) • Who/what God is (the nature of Ultimate Reality) The basis for our beliefs & doctrine, expressed through myth, scripture, philosophy, theology

3. Most Religions Involve… • Belief in something sacred (for example, gods or other supernatural beings). • A distinction between sacred and profane objects. • Ritual acts focused on sacred objects. • A moral code often believed to have a sacred or supernatural basis. • Feelings (awe, sense of mystery, sense of guilt, adoration), which tend to be aroused in the presence of sacred objects and during the practice of ritual.

4. Most religions involve… • Prayer and other forms of communication with the supernatural. • A world view, or a general picture of the world as a whole and the place of the individual therein. What’s the purpose of exitence. • Organization of one’s life based on the world view. • A social group bound together by the above.

5. Three Dimensions of ReligionEmotional Religion is a way of feeling: rejoicing faith bliss peace appreciation love awe guilt joy ecstasy fear reverence gratitude hope

6. Three Dimensions of ReligionPhysical Religion is a way of acting, of living, a social system: • Spiritual practices: meditation,chanting, prayer, ritual • Physical forms: art and architecture,ritual objects, statues, icons, etc. • Communal celebrations:rites of passage, holidays

7. Religion as a way of acting (continued) • Social regulation: morals & ethics, prohibitions & taboos • Institutions/organizations/communities: • Leaders (gurus/priests/ministers) & followers (disciples, laity) • Hierarchies, obedience & discipline (monastic communities) • History

8. Religion as a Way of Thinking • Bible study • Rabbinical discourse

9. Reflection Thinking about the religion you are most familiar with (likely your own or, if you are non-religious, that you have observed among family, friends, or neighbors)… Identify several examples of each dimension of religion. Why do you identify these examples as you do?

10. Examples • The church building, as a physical structure, is obviously part of the physical dimension of religion. • Celebration of Passover, as a holiday observed in community with family and friends, commemorating an ancient event in the history of the Jewish community, is an example of the practice & social sub-dimensions of the physical dimension of religion. • I feel uplifted (feeling dimension) when we (social/physical dimension) sing songs (practice/ physical dimension) of praise (feeling dimension) • When the preacher gives her sermon (practice/physical) I use my intellect to try to understand (intellectual dimension) the message and how it relates to my life.