Religion 101 - 1:Religious Repsonses

The "clash of ignorance" is the real problem today, according to the spiritual leader of Isma'ili Shi'a Muslims,

Aga Khan.

As institutionalized religions spread the teachings of their founders, a possible danger is that

As institutionalized religions spread the teachings of their founders, a possible danger is that

The influential scholar of comparative religion who suggested that the central definition of religion provides a "means to ultimate transformation" that focuses on the relational, transformational, and political dimension is

Frederick Streng

Spiritual experience does not come from accepting a particular set of beliefs, but rather by exploring many different religious traditions to see what inspires oneself, according to

Ivy DeWitt

"The practices the mothers engage in, day in and day out—selfless service, generosity, letting go, developing love for all beings, patience, faith, and mindfulness— are the way of practice for monks and nuns of all the world's wisdom traditions" is an example of women as important spiritual actors, according to

Jacqueline Kramer.

"Religion is the sigh of the oppressed creature, the sentiment of a heartless world, and the soul of soulless conditions. It is the opium of the people," according to

Karl Marx

Portraying the personal experience of spirituality without the constraints of any particular religious traditions in a way that transcends language through art is an effective method used by contemporary artist

Lisa Bradley

One problem with the use of the term"fundamentalism" is that its origins lie within

Protestant Christianity.

Attempting to explain religions as processes rather than fixed independent entities is an understanding put forth by

Thomas A. Tweed

When it comes to religious traditions and scriptures, fundamentalists tend to be

absolutists.

Someone who resists contemporary influences and affirms what he or she perceives as the historical core of religion could be called

an absolutist.

When church and state are one, a national religion might be used

as a rallying point for wars against other nations.

Rituals differ from other attempts to express reverence by

being predictable and repeated.

The rare quality often ascribed to founders of religion is

charisma.

Influential scholar Mircea Eliade helped develop the discipline of study that tries to understand religious patterns found around the world, called

comparative religion.

Scholars have determined that the concept and definition of religion is

complex, elusive, and difficult to study.

Personal spirituality without any attachment to a particular religious tradition can be expressed outside of words in ways such as

contemporary artistic creations.

Conservative Christian communities object to the scientific theory of biological evolution, preferring to teach the concept of intentional divine creation of all life forms otherwise known as

creationism.

Intelligent design theory has been cited to support the religious concept of

creationism.

For a person who finds security in specific answers, there exist systems of doctrines proclaimed as absolutely true and accepted, otherwise known as

dogma

Religions try to help us make ethical choices in our lives and to develop a moral conscience; however, fear of sinning and punishment can be considered a(n)

exaggeration of guilt.

If a person claims to worship the only true deity and in turn labels all other religions and/or beliefs as "pagan," he or she is considered to be a(n)

exclusivist

Critical explanation or interpretation of biblical texts through non-faith-based methods is called

exegesis.

Feminists are challenging authoritarian masculine images of the divine and in sacred texts'

gender-exclusive language.

The "McDonaldization" of the world is an example of a growing phenomenon that is impacting traditional religious understanding called

globalization.

The work of Charles Darwin poses a challenge to religion because

his theory of natural selection contradicts a literal understanding of the Book of Genesis.

Post-colonial theories have been used to explore aspects of religion and

how the experience of imperialism continues to have an impact on some religions.

An approach to life that focuses on humans' responsibility to lead ethical lives and work for the good of all humanity without belief in the supernatural is called

humanism.

According to Carl Jung, the reason there are so many similarities across cultures is because

humanity as a whole shares a collective store of archetypes.

Founders of religions have, in many cases, attempted to temper cultural restraints for women; for example, Jesus

included women among his close disciples.

Religion can be studied academically through a(n)

interdisciplinary lens.

The term "fundamentalism" can be misleading because

it may not involve a return to the true basics of a faith.

Contemporary feminists challenge the exclusion of women in male-dominated religious systems by promoting change of patriarchal dominant themes, such as

masculine images of the divine and gender-exclusive language in holy texts.

The worship of and belief in one God is called

monotheistic.

Women are often relegated to the fringes of religious organizations because

most institutionalized religions are patriarchal.

To perceive truth without question, beyond the limits of human reason and blind belief, is the definition of

mysticism

Symbolic stories that communities use to explain the universe and their place within it are called

myths.

Historical-critical studies of scripture evaluate truth claims by

neither accepting nor rejecting any particular truth claim.

Rudolf Otto referred to an alternative kind of spiritual experience that brings one into contact with the "wholly other" as

numinous.

Humans resort to the use of symbols to describe ineffable experiences because

only symbols can suggest the deepest understanding.

Outside the academic study of religion, it is still important to look at

our own personal perspectives.

Posing a grave threat to life and peace, sparking political oppression, and causing environmental destruction, radicals, terrorists, and even sadists justified their causes through

religion.

Through his extensive analysis of myths, Joseph Campbell found that they have four primary functions:

sociological, psychological, mystical, and cosmological.

The materialist perspective is different from the functional and faith perspectives because

the materialist point of view states that the supernatural is imagined by humans and only the material world exists.

Women are concerned about the social ills of our times—like violence, poverty, and ecological disasters—and insist that

religions be actively engaged and life-affirming.

Science and religion are alike because both

search for universal principles that explain the facts of nature.

Experiences, beliefs, and values—the "inner dimensions of religion"—are collectively referred to as

spirituality

According to Sigmund Freud, religion closely resembles mental illness because it

springs from infantile insecurities and neurotic guilt.

Religious researchers may interpret a vertical symbol such as a mountain to be

the center of the world.

The point of view of scientific materialism is that

the supernatural does not exist and is imagined by humans.

Religions based on one's relationship to a Divine Being are called

theistic

An atheist rejects theistic beliefs because

there is little or no concrete proof God exists

The scientific theory that conceptualizes the Earth as a complex, self-regulating organism of sorts is called the

Gaia Theory.