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Explaining the Unexplainable. World Religions. Relationship with a Deity Deity – god figure Expression of Goodness Sacred Frame of Mind Moral Exchange of Power Ethical Practice Set of Beliefs and Practices. What is Religion?. Atheistic - no deity Monotheistic - one deity
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Explaining the Unexplainable World Religions
Relationship with a Deity • Deity – god figure • Expression of Goodness • Sacred Frame of Mind • Moral Exchange of Power • Ethical Practice • Set of Beliefs and Practices What is Religion?
Atheistic - no deity Monotheistic - one deity Polytheistic - multiple deities Pantheistic - everything is deity Animism – ancestors become spiritual forces Henotheism – believing in many gods, but one of them is supreme Types of Religions
Belief in Supernatural • Sacred/Secular Divide • Communal/Individual Rituals • Moral/Ethical Code • Communication with Divine • Mythical (sacred) stories • Myth – story that attempts to explain the reality of the world in which a person lives • Social Organizations • Promise of Inner Peace/Harmony • Offer future hope • Propagate themselves Attributes of Religions
Give Answers Address Morality Offer Control Provide Society, Structures, and Values Give Meaning to Existence Show guidance of how to live Function of Religion
Adherent - looking from the inside Opponent - from outside to prove against Scholar - from inside to understand Seeker- from the middle with intent to follow or not follow Perspectives of Religion
Began to view religion from outside in 1500’s • Why Religious Studies? • Understand new cultures in travel • Modernity (worldview of reason and rational explaining) • Responses to Religions: • Exclusivism– only ours is right • Inclusivism – ours is true, but others could be right too • Pluralism – every religion has truth • Universalism – all willed be “saved” History of Religious Studies
French Wars of Religion (Cath./Protest.) • French diplomat - peacemaker • Didn’t believe Christians could solve war • Wrote “Colloquium” • Best religion is closest to Adam and Eve • Earliest religion is the best religion • Concerned with the best version of Christianity Jean Bodin (1530-1596)
Lived during 30 Years War (Cath./Prot.) • Diplomat • Seek religion accepted by majority • Found common religious themes: • One God • God is Worshipped • Virtue is Key • Repent of Sins • Afterlife Consequences Edward Herbert (1582-1648)
Studied myths and rituals of other groups • “Primitive Mind” seeks to explain nature • Gods are in control • A basic mind cannot handle complexity, so a simple concept must be presented (gods) • Concludes that religion will be trumped by Science • Because religion was an attempt to explain reality, science is the ultimate way in which one explains reality Bernard Fontenelle (1657-1757)
Scottish Empiricist (no instinctual knowledge) • No spiritual realm • “Natural History of Religion” • Sources of Religion: • 1) Nature’s Power • 2) Anthropomorphism – assigning human characteristics to a deity • “No progression in religion” David Hume (1711-1776)
“Religion is the opiate of the masses” • Focused on the Economic Aspect • Have’s and Have Not’s • Divides Social Functions: • Sub-Structure - physical needs • Super Structure - arts, philosophy, religion • History Is between Workers and Owners • Religion is the Owners’ attempt to calm the Workers Karl Marx (1818-1883)
Founder of Sociology • Sociology – the study of personal interactions and the systems of those interactions • Religions based on Social Behavior • Looks at Totemism • Sacred things are related to society • Totem is unifying mark • Religions worship themselves Emile Durkheim (1858-1917)
Founder of Psychoanalytical Technique • “Totem and Taboo” • Monotheistic religion arises from mythical and primal murder of father figure • “Future of an Illusion” • Religion is a coping mechanism • Religion is illusion of wish-fulfillment • Religion forces neurosis (deal with issues) Sigmund Freud (1856-1939)
1) Naturalism 2) Animism 3) Ghost Theory 4) Totemism 4 Theories of Origins
Naturalism – the idea that worship originated with the fact that nature is unexplainable, and therefore worthy of worship • Max Muller • Humans are in awe of nature • Lightening, Rain, Fire, etc. • Religion is personification of nature Naturalism
Animism – the idea that religion originated because all things had a spirit that must be controlled • Edward Burnett Taylor • “everything is inhabited by a spirit” • Religion is interaction between human and spirit • Many spirits but few gods • Worship is control of unique spirits Animism
Ghost Theory – the idea that religion originated by seeing spirits/ghosts in a dream state, thus the people’s spirit still exists • Herbert Spencer • People are confused by Real and Dreams • You see dead people in dreams • Ghosts must be alleviated • Leads to ancestor worship • Therefore, we are surrounded Ghost Theory
Totemism – religion originated by means of communities needing to control their worlds and sacrificing to the group’s icon/mascot • W. Robertson Smith • Religion begins with sacred animal • In times of need, sacrifice the animal • Origin of sacrifice system • Tribes have different animals as unifying Totemism
Indigenous - originating locally • Traditional, aboriginal, tribal, primal, native, oral, non-literate • Common Features • Oral/Spoken Religion • Connection to the Land • Life and Sacred Connected • Time is a Circle • Seasonal and Generational Cycles • Taboo – a rule that forbids a specific behavior Indigenous Religions
Relationship to Spirits • Presence of Supreme Being • Unseen Powers (human-like, nature, ancestors) • Kinship to Creation • Everything has spirit • Earth as Mother (land is sacred) • All creatures are kin (brother bear…) Indigenous Religions
Relationship with Power • Sacred Sites • Places have higher concentration of power • Sacred Objects • Power built through sacred practices • Ritual objects retain power • Women= mysterious and dangerous Indigenous Religions
Spiritual Specialists • Storyteller - maintain oral tradition • Instrumentalist - communication with spirits • Sacred Dancers - make unseen visible (hula) • Shaman - heals phys/psych/spirit problems • Techniques: herbs, sweat bath, massage • Divination – the act of determining the past, present, and future will of the god(s) • Prayer, and chanting • Altered Consciousness (drum, sing, drink, drugs, etc.) Indigenous Religions
Group Rituals • Rites of Passage (birth, manhood, womanhood, etc.) • Rituals of Survival (hunting, feasting, etc.) • Rituals of Purification (marriage, errors, etc.) • Individual Rituals • Seek Visions • Vision Quest Indigenous Religions