World Religion Exam 1

possesion

Rituals -a person receives a spirit -not negative (not demonic -often require ritual clothing (masking cults) -communicate with ancestors -give them useful information

divination

Rituals -insight -used to interpret events -guide people's behavior -find cures -common in Christians and Muslims in Africa

sacrifice

Rituals -related to the idea of reciprocity (I do this for you, you do this for me) -blood and bloodless -offer substance to the being and in turn, they provide assistance

Cargo Cults John Navy

Syncretic Response -developed in the South Pacific -helped explain war, commerce, and European success -importance placed on ancestors -relatively new -Ancestors sent planes -planes had stuff (cargo) -had to explain why the planes went away -Europeans stole them and didn't let the ancestors send the cargo to the -most famous show devotion to deified serviceman ____ ______ -try to tell the ancestors that the wrong people were getting the cargo -____ ____ is a god, the leader of the ancestors -believe he'll come back again -integration of western culture into a religion

Black Elk

Syncretic response -born in 1863 -had a vision of at 9 and became a healer -originally interested in revitalization -converted to Catholicism in 1904 (he was acting as a healer and went to preform a healing ritual on a boy. A priest also came to perform the last rights. He told _____ _____ to leave because he had no power. he realized he was right and converted

devotion

The 3 ways of liberation -provides general amnesty from wrong doing -can wipe clean Karma

knowledge

The 3 ways of liberation -through scripture, one can achieve transforming wisdom

action

The 3 ways of liberation -unselfish duty preformed not for hope of reward or fear of punishment

Animistic theory

Tylor's theory that the natural world is inhabited by spirits. "Belief in the real presence of a spiritual being in a material object"

philosophy meditation monism Karma

Upanishads -shift from sacrifice to ________ and ______ - Brahman is a single reality (_______) -first discussion of ____ was seen here

6

Way of Knowledge -studying scripture which will lead to an experience -___ primary schools of Hindu philosophy developed -not unrelated to devotion -we'll discuss Vedanta and Yoga

1) civic 2) academic 3) theological

What are Eck's 3 voices. (must use all 3)

evolutionary phenomenological geographical

What are the 3 classifications of religion?

1)The way of action 2) the way of knowledge 3) the way of devotion

What are the 3 ways of liberation

theological conclusions generalizations

What does pathetic fallacy lead to (2 thangz)? :(

sacrifice

What was a common instrumentalist ritual in oral traditions

Freud and Jung

Whose (2 dudes) theories are universal and individualistic?

Marx and Durkheim

Whose (2 dudes) theories are universal and social?

They're personifying religions

Why are the "Clash of Civilizations" and "Religious Pluralism" wrong?

different everywhere

Why is it difficult to generalize people?

deity samadhi

Yoga -meditation on a single object -usually a ____ -through this, can develop perfect concentration which leads to _______ (absorption into union with Brahman) -different body positions will influence an experience -this ends rebirth

Patanjali

Yoga Sutras -attributed to _____ (early CE) -origins of yoga today -ancient pictures of yoga

archaeology

_____ requires a lot of interpretations

nature worship

idea of Max Müller -personification of natural forces

taboos

instrumentalist ritual in which actions, circumstances, persons, objects, etc must be avoided in order to protect an individual or group.

Tylor

man who theorized that in "primitive" culture, people wondered what made a dead person different from a living person. -***if there isn't spiritualism, then it's not a religion.

rituals

-have changed dramatically and many have died out -outlawed many practices

Midewinwin-gibwa

-healers

Ramayana (story of Rama) Bharata Sita Vishnu

-important for 2500 years -Prince Rama forced into exile -______ (Rama's bro) returns and asks Rama to return -Rama refuses -_____ (Rama's wife) is taken and Rama saves her -he's an ideal son and husband -for many he's seen as the incarnation of ______.

religious pluralism

-in a way: co-extisting -idea that all religions will "get along with each other" -bumper stickers that say"co-exist"

Ancestors good health

-kin who died in _____ _______ -care about giving us what we need -biological, adoption, marriage (related somehow) -people who died at a young age don't get to be par of this -not sick or murdered -must be prepared and buried in a certain way -often the MOST important force -devotion common among African Christians and Muslims

Orisha

-lesser deity -created by the Supreme god -created us because Orolun's son's wouldn't do it

Tricksters

-messengers -create confusion and chaos -not "evil" -often take the form of animals

lesser deities

-more often that not in ATR -differ in origin and function -go to them with our problems -focus of devotion

Aryan Religion

-not much is known -Polytheists -ritual sacrifice (nomadic)

1) difference is essential to pluralism 2) result of a necessary because of globalization -time has passed when we were isolated

what are the issues with religious pluralism? (2 thangz)

Vishnu avatars fish

-one of the most popular -blue (more often or not) -"The all-pervasive one"- "The Preserver" -one of the 3 parts -comes to Earth in Various ____ (different forms of himself; representation of himself) -1st appeared as a ___ to save primeval man (warns of flood) -he's had 8 other (9 total); 10th will come at the end of this cycle of creation -universe is also going through death and rebirth

Carl Jung

-origin of religion is psychological

way of action

-performing one's duties selflessly -not for reward of punishment -related to the Caste system

Madra seperate

-philosopher of Vedanta -Atman and Brahman are completely ______ -agree that we have to experience Brahman -but how that experience is completely different

Shankara Brahman Brahman knowledge

-philosopher of Vendata -many Hindus don't agree -reality is singular -Only reality is ______ -reincarnation is wrong and no rebirth is wrong -nothing exists except ______ -everything else is a misunderstanding -realization through experimental ________ -then you can be liberalized -must have an experience of the reality first.

Vendata

-philosophical school (tradition) -focus on monism (belief in single reality) -based on Upanishads, the Bhagavad Gita, and the Brahma Sutras -interpreted many different ways, depends on the philosopher.

medicine men

-religious healer -problems: not universally men; define medicine; spiritual healing not just medical

Mahabharta (Great sons of Bharata) Bhagavad Gita Krishna Arjuna

-second of the Sacred Books -epic (100,000 verses) -significant known for the ______ ____ (considered more important to Hindus) -written between 200BCE-300BCE -true story but not factual -story about war -conflicts of the descendants of Bharata -_______ (9th incarnation of Vishnu) refuses to fight in war -tells _______ he should fight -this discussion makes up the BG -makes the duties of one's caste-religious

Christianity

-share contact with ________ -some people adopted it -culturally and religiously -not always a neat process of conversion

Karma samsara Moksha atman Brahman

-system of reward and punishment attached to actions and/or thoughts -related to _____ [continuing cycle of death and rebirth (you don't want to be reborn)] -__________ [liberation through experimental knowledge; end of the cycle of rebirth by stopping karma; knowledge about the relationship between _____(misunderstanding) and _____ (greater reality)]

theistic

-the belief in gods

Brahma

-the creator -3 parts -relatively little attention -recognized but not worshiped exclusively

Devi Durga Kali

-the goddess -___=warrior -_____=warrior -Shiva's companion -for others, she's the supreme deity -has various names -idealized female figure (maternal and warrior)

instrumentalist

-want it to sleet tomorrow so we do a ritual and then it sleets -intertwines with the idea of no distinctions between good/evil supernatural/natural

good and evil

ATF have a complicated relationship between ____ and ____ -lead to conflict with Christian slave owners and Africans

instrumentalist

ATR tend to be _______ -do rituals to make something happen -practices bring about real world change -don't do practices for fun

truth descriptive

Academic concerned with ______ -based in empirical evidence -facts -________ (what "is" and "was") -evidence available to everyone (not faith or a feeling) -***subject to change

oral

African Traditional Religions -historically _____ (no written record; written by Europeans; focus on slave trade; dehumanize people)

theological

Eck's 3 voices -Truths -based on faith and unchanging -reworking a tradition from within -can be acting thrological but not be part of a religion -death penalty views based on the Pope but a person isn't catholic -what people SHOULD believe

civic

Eck's 3 voices -Truths -claims about what is "American" -what Americans should and shouldn't do vs what catholic should do

academic/scholarly

Eck's 3 voices -truths -based on empirical evidence -subject to change -what people DO believe

Navaratri

Practice: Festivals -differ dramatically between regions -_________ (9 night) -found throughout most of India -focused on women's importance -sometimes it's devoted to the goddess Durga -some re-enact the Rama's fight to save Sita

Deepavali

Practice: Festivals -fall -festival of lights

Holi

Practice: Festivals -throw coloured dust at each other -Krishna celebration

nomadic congregational

Practice: Temple Worship -no temples in Vedic Literature -relatively new (past 2000 years) -____ culture, so they weren't plausible -began in 7th and 8th century -gods are present in the temple -not __________ (priests are ritual specialists) -no certain days set aside for temple worship -individual, no community

Om

Religious Practice -sound is important -recited during prayer and scriptural recitation -agree that the word has power, but disagree on its meaning -the SOUND is the most important not the meaning

Samuel Huntington

Clash of civilizations -man who wrote "Series of lectures" -**** the conflict will be religious and cultural -fundamental differences make cultures incompatable

geographical

Classification of Religion -based on region of origin/practice

phenomenological

Classification of Religion -based on similarities in religious life regardless of time and place -ex: based on belief (monotheistic, polytheistic) -problem is that it doesn't have a time/place

evolutionary

Classification of Religion -categorized by how "advanced" a group of people are -assumes progression which is outdated

Earth water animal recent

Connection to Natural World -differ between groups -creation myth -dramatically different -common focus is on the ____ always being present and covered in _____, then an _____ created dry land, but humans are _____ to Earth (different from Eastern belief

humans

DON'T talk about religious texts as if they're ________.

theological conclusions

"All Buddhists teach love" -if a Buddhist doesn't teach love, then implies they're not a true Buddhist.

Non-Vedic Literature smrti epics, ancient stories, codes of law

-began in 500 BCE -Human origins: called _____ -important: sometimes more important than Vedas -includes _____, ______ _____, and ____ ___ _____.

insider vs. outsider debate

-debate of who should study religions -are people from the outside more objective? -are people from the outside too critical? -missing something if not part of the religion -can anyone be "objective"? -always realize that we're people studying in a university (etc) and all these things help influence our understanding

Shiva

-destroyer deity -"The Destroyer" -not believed to manifest himself (according to most) -also known as "Divine Paradox" -incompatible characteristics -both creator and destroyer (at the same time) -warrior and Yogi -rebirth is a paradox bc death and birth happen at the same time -he's the physical embodiment of reincarnation

Karl Marx

-dude -Human creation meant to alleviate feelings of alienation -social creation to make people feel better -Elite people trying to control the masses -"the opium of the people"

Sigmund Freud

-dude -Oedipal origins -mass delusion/paranoid wish fulfillment -humans are scared of dying so we develop a being who can save us from death. -idea of psychological features that play a large role is religion

Müller

-dude -based his theories of religion on the study of Hinduism -humans create beliefs to deal with natural world.

Emile Durkheim

-dude -similar to Marx but more positive -social cohesion -sacred objects and practices distinguish one group from another -God is society

Vedas Seers

-earliest surviving texts associated with Hinduism -_____ transmitted mantras (2000 BCE-400BCE) -considered sacred texts, but few know about them -disagreement with their origins -weren't written by humans

Pathetic Fallacy

-giving human characteristics to objects, feelings, or ideas -the "tone of things" -ex: music is sad, smart phones, gloomy day, love is blind, Christianity preaches love

1) unwritten accounts 2) European biased recording of NA culture

**Native American Religions** 2 difficulties we encounter when trying to study NA religions

Black Elk Speaks

-1932 "_____ _____ ______" published -disturbed by his so called "catholic" faith -in 1934, he affirmed his faith -still did some of his Lakota traditions -continued to pray to the 6 Grandfathers while actively converting people to Catholicism.

Buffalo Bill

-Black Elk traveled across Europe with ______ ____ -When he came back, it changed him -talked about how lots of Europeans had wealth and weapons -he saw how big the European numbers were and thought it was better to give in to them. -he realized NA were outnumbered by the palefaces

Wounded Knee Sitting Bull

-NA massacre -police arrested ____ _____ (1890) -military led group -mass confusion -over 300 Lakota Killed, 25-40 military killed

revitalization movements

-Some joined ___________ __________ -seek to reform and give new life to indigenous traditions

Olorun

-High god -male -didn't create the universe, he created the deities that created the world -ignored -he's far too important to be bothered by us (if you have a problem, you don't talk to the president, you go to the beings that care about you)

25%

-Prior to 1900, ATR was nearly universal in Sub-Saharan Africa -by 2000, only about ___% practice AT -mostly Christian or Muslim

Xhosa sacrifice Nongqawuse

-South American Revitalization movement -group killed most of their cattle bc of a prophetic vision by _________(1856) -directions given to her by the ancestors -wanted Europeans to go away -many of them killed all of their cattle as sacrifice -massive famine but Europeans had supplies -forced to convert in order to get food -they were desperate -big effect needed a big cause -Instrumentalist society -not everyone sacrificed their cattle and were blamed for why it didn't work

1) Brahma 2) Shiva 3) Vishnu

3 deities popular among devotional Hindus

syncretic

-Some developed ______ forms of religion -combining beliefs and practices from different traditions

Ramanuja devotion Atman Brahman

-South Indian philosopher of Vendanta -importance of _____ to Vishnu will lead you to liberation -_____ and _____ aren't the same, but they're inextricably connected -one can't exist without the other, but not the same being

generalizations

-all people don't do the same thing in reality -"Christianity teaches love." (not all Christians do) -but if you say, "Christians preach love" it becomes clear that it's untrue

gods, ethnics, etc

-The definition of Religion has been debated for years -not all religions have ____, _____, etc..

Yoga moral,

-another school of philosophy -more dualistic -separation of gods and selves -_____, ____, and _______discipline

Ramayana Mahabharata

2 epics called the "sacred books" -Non-Vedic Literature

Native Americans and ATR

2 religious groups that are instrumentalists

Hymns Directions Forest Treatises Upanishads

4 Vedic collections -Each Vedas has 4 sections 1) _______ to deities 2) ______ for rituals 3) ________ _______ (compositions for the forest) 4) ___________(philosophical works) -600 BCE -one of the MOST important texts

1) priestly class 2) ruling/warrior class 3) merchants 4) servant class

4 classes of the Caste system

animism, magic, divination, taboo, sacrifice, myth, rituals, rites of passage (etc)

8 features of "basic" religions

priestly class

Caste System -Brahmins -teach and learn the Vedas -only people permitted to teach the Vedas -financially stable because of the community's money

ruling/warrior class

Caste System -Kshatrya -supposed to protect their people -allowed to study Vedas under priests -can't teach Vedas

servant class

Caste System -Shudras -can't study Vedas -not permitted to accumulate wealth

merchants

Caste System -Vaisyas -commercial transactions and agriculture -economic issues -can study Vedas but can't teach it

outcasts untouchables

Caste System -born and die in caste -no mobility -also "_____" or "________" -they aren't part of the system -hold jobs associated with pollution (dead bodies) -born into it -position held by people who try to move up or down in the Caste System (through marriage)

"Hymn to the Supreme Person" Manu

Caste System -comes from the Vedic "_____ __ ____ ________ ______" -described as the law of ____. -dates back to when Aryans invaded India; they wanted to keep power -4 castes -born into your caste -each includes it's own rituals, dietary rules, and dialects -solidified in the 1st century -more fluid before colonization -British influences -now they're becoming less influenced

1) traditionally oral 2) theistic traditions 3) Animistic 4) No stark distinctions between (super)natural or good/evil 5) Instrumentalist

Generalizations of NA Religions (5) 1) difficult to know about pre-encounter traditions -prescense of diverse humans on an entire continent. -not connected prior to European 2) believe in gods -more often than not-polytheistic 3) everything has a spirit 4) no separation; a being isn't all bad or all good 5) certain practices or beliefs that bring a real-life change

Africa settle

Generalizations: -colonization in North America was different that in ____ -people went to Africa to trade not to ________ -Europeans brought diseases to NA -African diseases killed Europeans in Africa

Hinduism indigenous and Aryan

Gerneralizations: -hard to find common themes -80% of India -fusion of ______ and ____ traditions -Vedic tradition began 1500 BCE

shamanism

Healing -________ is common -people who survived severe illness -people with healing power from near death experience -a way to deal with devastation of disease -some travel to supernatural realm -not a plant or a practice that heals, it's the healer -can't pass down healing ways or inherit it

Karma impacts Samara and Moksha and that justifies it. If you're an outcast, you didn't do good things in your past life -you deserve your caste -can skip castes if performing your duties -all castes are essential

How does the Caste System relate to Karma, samsara, and moksha?

outlawed grew declined

On the decline -certain practices began to be ______ -population ____ - number of people identified as ATR _______.

The high god

The Supernatural -nearly universal in African religions -hierarchy of beings -not strictly goods or evil -can me male, female, or androgynous (more common for it to be male) -role in creating the world differs between traditions (sometimes it had no direct role) -sometimes worshiped, sometimes ignored, but recognized

Truth normative

Theological concerned with ______ -based in "faith" or "feeling" NOT in face -_________ (what should be) -*****unchanging

collective conscious

Theory of Carl Jung that religion is innate. -inherently "known" -hardwired into our brains -in moments of conflict and struggle, our minds are open to religion. -helps us deal with problems

Ghost Dance Wovoka Lakota

______ ______ -NA Revitalization Movement -______ (____ prophet) -had a vision of a deity and ancestors telling him to bring back Indian life and integrate Christian traditions in some things -stop drinking, no polygamy, no self mutilation -he saw a ritual dance -traditional dance was very common -circular dance with drumming and chanting -carried bows and arrows and protective shirts (protect against gunfire) -if they stopped doing these things and did the dance, the Europeans would leave and ancestors would return -the buffalo would return

Krishna

______ isn't part of the warrior caste but Arjuna is -turns caste into a religious duty -describes 3 ways to liberation (escape the punishment of rebirth) -this is the goal of Hindus

Rama Krishna Buddha Krishna

______, ______ and _______ (for many) are all believed to be reincarnates of Vishnu -_____ was very popular in the west but not India