REL110 Exam 1

Anselm

Archbishop of Canterbury; ontological argument for the existence of God

Confucianism vs. Daoism

Daoism is not concerned with the third realm (human society)

deism

became popular among the educated during the Enlightenment; a type of Unitarian monotheism that believes God created the universe but left it to run by its own natural laws

Why is it usually not possible to identify completely with a worldview other than one's own?

because worldviews are founded in some fundamental philosphical assumptions about reality

dualism

belief in an ultimate reality consisting of opposing or balancing forces (there is a physical aspect to the universe, and a non-physical aspect to the universe)

divine force of traditional Chinese religious beliefs

belief in divine force known as Tian - "Heaven" who is impersonal, controls all events on earth

polytheism

belief in multiple dieties; each divine being is usually associated with certain natural phenomena or a certain aspect of human life

secular humanism

belief that human beings are capable of being ethical and moral without religion or a god but does not make any assumptions about the innate "goodness" or "evil" of man; does not see man as superior to nature but acknowledges the unique responsibility facing humanity and the ethical consequences of human decisions

reductionism

belief that the explanation of religious behavior can be reduced to cultural, biological, social, psychological, and other non-religious factors (opposite of phenomenologistic view)

3 known elements of the essence of religion

beliefs, practices, organization

E.B Tylor

believed more complex religions evolved from animism

Emile Durkheim

believed totemism was the key to origin of religion and that all sacred powers (totems, gods, ancestors) are symbols for the social power of the group to control and shape the individual and because individual survival depends on survival of group all must cooperate

value bias

bias in defining religion; definitions reflect the values of those who creat them (can be corrected by removing qualifying word, like presumably)

theory bias

bias in defining religion; every definition of religion is part of a more general theory of religion; need to be aware of how theory influeces a definition

confusion of spirituality and religion

bias in defining religion; generatioed by confusion betweening spirituality and religion; two important statements: (1) a person can belong to a religion and not be religious and (2) a person can be religious and not belong to a religion

gender bias

bias in defining religion; males have historically dominated religion; traditional religious models are patriarchal; "if God is male then male if God"

afterlife in Daoism

can become immortal after life by merging with the universe

disadvantages of typology

can reveal creator's bias, obscure important features of the data, and can't always fit neatly into the types

divination

characteristic of traditional Chinese religious beliefs; foretelling the future; ex.) interpretation of hexagrams (a die is tossed six times, generates 6 lines, the patterns of broken and solid lines presents yin and yang)

atheism

claim that there is no god

anthropology of religion

concerned with religion in relation to culture

interpretation

concerned with the question "what does the data mean?"; to the insider, description imply interpretation; to the outsider meaning reflects the best understanding an outside observer can arrive at given the data, the method of interpretation, and the theories available

theoretical expression of religion

concerned with what is said by the religion

pluralism

condition in which numerous distinct religious or ethnic groups are present and tolerated within a community; is socially desirable

religious

connected with the public realm of membership in religious institutions, participation in formal rituals, and adherence to official denominational doctrines

If you are a religious person, will the academic study of religion destroy your religious faith?

could cause the religious student to question their core beliefs and commitments (however, most find that their faith is strengthened as they gain a better understanding of their traditions)

symbolism of the yin-yang

curve division represents the constant state of flux; circle of opposite color represents seeds of change

multidimensional definitions

definitions that measure multiple dimensions (ex. defining religiosity in a way that measures belief, practice, and experience)

numinous

described by Otto; the ineffable, irreducible, and non-rational experience surpassing comprehension or understanding that is responsible for human religious feeling

phenomenological approach

descriptive study of religion;do not define religion according to its essence, try to describe fundamental religious experience

Wach

developed conceptual framework for finding common threads between religion, known as the three forms of religious expression

means of experiencing the numinous

direct (must be evoked, cannot be explained), indirect (similar, naturally occuring), thorugh art (architecture, elevated music, etc.)

cause of the human condition

disconnect between humans and what is ultimately and truly real

yin

feminine force, tiger, night, earth, moisture, fall, harvest, dark, recessive

theism (humanity)

humankind is the unique and direct creation of God; humans are personal entities who are both spiritual and biological

postmodernism (humanity)

humans are the products of their various social settings and are thus nodes in a socially constructed reality; personal autonomy and free will are illusions

Why is the field of religious studies a valuable and exciting new area of academic inquiry?

it "offers a unique opportunity to ask fundamental questions about religious traditions" and "experimentation with ideas from other areas of study, "constantly crossing boundaries and breaking new ground as it attempt to bring its subject into better focus"

goals of Daoism

live in harmony with the Dao, to be a part of the whole, to live in balance with nature and the inner inner-self through non-actions and living in accordance to nature

cluster definitions

looks at a cluster of characteristics that makes something part of a certain "family"

hierophany

manifestation of the sacred in the profane reality

yang

masculine force, dragon, day, brightness, spring, growth, clear, assertive

comparison

mean of interpretation; involves selecting significant examples and them looking for similarities and differences among them, but not seeking to determine with is "better"

unidimensional definitions

measures only one dimension (ex. defining religiosity as "the belief in God" measures only the belief dimension)

cults

minortiy religious groups charactersized by a the existence of a charismatic leader; combines beliefs and practices fro different sources; severs ties with those who don't belong to the cult

naturalism (reality)

the material world is all that exists; there is no spiritual reality; the universe operates deterministically, through physical laws of caus of effect; everything can be explained on the basis of natural law; God either does not exist or cannot be known; God does not intervene in the physical universe

explanation

the most theory-ladden goal of religious studies; most concerned with the question "who benefits"

postmodernism (truth)

there is no objective truth; truths are subjective social constructs meaningful only to persons who share a particular cultural paradigm; truth is not universal but is relative to one's culture

characteristic common to all worldviews (religious or not)

they are a priori metaphysical commitments (based on certain unprovable assumptions about the way things are and how we can know what we know)

characteristics of God (from comparison with the Dao)

transendecent,unchangeable, omnipotent, omnipresent, omnipowerful, can be partially known through revelation and reason

characteristics of the Dao (overview from comparison with God)

ultimate reality, ultimate truth, unnamable (ineffable), infinite, origin of all things, the way of nature, balance of yin and yang, the goal is to become with the Dao through wu-wei (nonaction) and to achieve immorality, know of it through experience

practical expression

what is expected of humans (worships, practices, beahvior), like ritual, prayer, meditation, self-denial, etc.

central experience (of religion)

where the sociological, theoretical, and practical expression of religion overlap

postmoderism vs. modernism

whereas modernism is characterized by a commitment to an objective reality and an objective view of truth that can be known through rational thought, postmodernism denies the possibility of such objectivity

animism/polytheism (reality)

world is populated by spirit beings who influence events, Gods and demons are the causess of natural occurrences, the matieral world is real, but matieral things are manifestations of underlying spiritual realities

henotheism

worship of one god but does not deny the evidence of other gods

pantheism (definition)

worship or belief in all gods; belief that god is in all things; identifying god with nature

Anselm (comparison with Dao - text)

argumentative, prayerful, discursive, reasoned conclusions

spiritual

associated with a private realm of thought and experience while the word

role of nature in traditional Chinese religious beliefs

China is a land of great mountains and rivers, earthquakes, droughts and floods, so by discovering patterns in nature, one could learn to work with it rather than against it

Dao (comparison with Anselm - language)

Chinese, metaphorical, analogic, concrete, Dao is impersonal, nameless

Laozi

attributed with the writings of Daoism; may or may not exist; translated to "old man"

Ganesha

Hindu liminal god of transitions; elephant god who is the remover of obstacles

Eliade

Romanian scholar; sacred and profane nature of religion

Western ethnocentric bias

bias in defining religion; the word "religion" itself is closely associated with the development of Western culuture (first used to distinguish true Christians from false ones)

structural explanations

describing structure, ex.) describing religious behavior in terms of class differences

Similarities between Dao (Laozi) and Anselm - social status

educated elite, speculative, bookish

creature feeling

element of the numinous; feeling as a creature submerged and overwhelmed by a sense of its own insignificance; sense of dependency

second-order evaluation

evaluating a theory by checking its explanatory power against other possible theories, like for logical consistency, compelling counterexamples, or alternative explanations

first-order evalution

evaluating religious claims themselvesl can really only be checks for logical consistency with other known aspects of that religion

profane

everyday reality experienced by humans

What did psychologist William James mean by the "oceanic feeling" that lies at the heart of religious experience?

feelings is described as occurring when "everything comes together, oneself, everyone else, the world, and divinity," the "oceanic feeling"; it is comparable to the frightening, awe-inspiring feeling one gets from staring out at the infinite ocean

causal explanations

finding cuases of religious phenomenon; study of causes

types of evaluation

first-order and second-order

sociology of religion

focus on the social function of religion, particularly how religion promotes social solidarity and contributes to social change

psychology of religion

focuses on how religion expressed repressed feelings or universal psychic tendencies

functional explanations

funding an explanation of the function of relgion; study of effect

importance of interaction between yin and yang (for reality)

generates all forms of reality (Ten Thousand Things)

How can religious studies help us understand the relationships between religion and violence?

helps one to understand the relationship between religion and violence as it fosters an understanding of "why people are fighting and what they are fighting for" or "how and why someone religious might fight for peace"

the sacred in nature

hierophanies: the sky, water, earth, tree, stones, moon, sun

naturalism (humanity)

human beings and all living things are the products of the blind biological processes of evolution

animism/polytheism (humanity)

human beings, along with other creatures, are creations of gods; tribes or clan often have a speccial relationship with one or more gods, who can act to protect or to punish them

pantheism (humanity)

human beings, in their true essence, are one with ultimate reality; humans are spiritual, eternal, and impersonal; individual personhood is an illusion

objectivity

unbiased, imparitial perspective (equanimity)

Dao

unity in which all things fit together harmoniously; called the Way, Nature, Existence, God; the only lasting thing, cannot be defined, any attempt to define it diminishes it because, by definition, it is boundless

history of religion

using theories of methods to study how a religion develops (developmental studies) or focuses on comparing different religious tradition with an interest in different structures and types (comparative studies)

theism (values)

moral values are the objective expression of an absolute moral being; good and evil are seen in terms of righteousness and sinfulness

animism/polytheism (values)

moral values take the form of taboos, which are objects or behaviors that displease the spirits; one secures one's existence by appeasing the spiriting, whether good or evil, so that they will not cause harm

balance between restrictive and braod definition of religion

must be restrictive enough to identify those qualities that are specific to religion as a unique phenomenon but broad enough to include all those traditions that are commonly identified as religions

2 means of theoretical expression of religion

myth and doctrine

3 realms (of Daoism/Confucianism)

nature, inner self, human society

Are religious studies impractical and irrelevant to your preparation for a career?

no because it equips students with cross-cultural and analysis skills that are useful in a variety of careers

naturalism (values)

no objective values or moral exits; morals are individual preferences or socially useful behaviors; moral standards are subject to social evolution change

modes of description

prototype (an ideal exemplar of the type or catergory in question), typology (schemes of classification that organize data into different types)

Will religion continue to be a part of the human experiment despite the rise of science and technology?

religiousness will persist as religious traditions are adaptable in that each religious has room for skepticism, science, and the secular

4 ways the homo religiosus experiences the sacred

sacred space, sacred time, sacred in nature, human existence/life cycle

hermeneutics

science and methodology of interpretation, especially interpretation of sacred texts

worldview

the overall perspective from which one sees and interprets the world; a collection of beliefs about life and the universe held by an individual or a group

philosophy of religion

the rational attempt to formulate, understand, and answer fundamental questions about religious matters; most concerned with matters of truth

homo religiosus

the religious man

theism (truth)

truth about God is known through revelation; truth about the material world is gained through revelation and empirical knowledge in conjunction with rational thought

animism/polytheism (truth)

truth about reality is discovered withough communication with the world of spirits; the Shaman-like figure is a designated individual through whom the communication with the spiritual realm is effecct, he recieves messages from the spirits through dreams and visions

pantheism (truth)

truth is an experience of unity with the oneness of the universe; truth is beyond all rational descriptionl rational thought cannot apprehend reality

naturalism (truth)

turth is generally equated wit scientific proof, based on empirical evidence; only that which can be known empirically is accepted as real or true

What do we gain from observing religious ritual?

"a deep understanding of the way another person lives, thinks, and acts"

Spiro's definition of religion

"an insitution consisting of culturally patterned interactions with cultural postulated superhuman beings"

etymological definition of religion

"to bind together" or "to reconnect:

ganz andere

"wholly other"; element of the numinous

theism (examples)

Judaism, Christianity, Islam

3 important 20th century scholars of religion

Otto, Eliade, Wach

myth

story of origins or creation; expresses central values

postmodernism (values)

values derive from one's cultural paradigm and thus are socially constructed; since there is no objective truth or other objective standard by which to evalute them, different cultural values are equally valid; distinctions between high and low culture are the products of powerful social elites and have no objective basis

outsider viewpoint

viewpoint of someone outside a religion looking in, second-order activity, objectivity, risk of polemics (attack on other religions), ex.) religious studies

insider viewpoint

viewpoint of someone within a specific religion, first-order activity, subjectivity, risk of apologetics (defense of own religion), ex.) theology

Otto

German scholar; adopted a phenomological approach to religion; "The Idea of the Holy" and the concept of the numinous experience

theism (reality)

God is eternal, infinite, and personal. God created a finite matieralworld. Reality is both material and spiritual. Time in linear, and the universe has both a beginning and an end

5 biases in defining religion

Western ethnocentric bias, value bias, theory bias, gener bias, confusion of spirituality and religion

reality (in terms of a worldview)

What is the nature of reality? What is real and what is illusory? Is there a God? What are the origins and destiny of the world?

totem

an animal that embodies the spiritual essence of a group; example of a superhuman force

elements of traditional Chinese (religious) beliefs

ancestrism, spirituality of nature, yin and yang

naturalism (examples)

atheism, agnosticism, extentialism, scientific matieralism

components of theoretical expression

basic worldview, God or ultimate reality, origin of the world, desting of humans, revelations or mediation between the ultimate and the human

sacred in the human life cycle

body (image of cosmos), human dwelling (image of cosmos), bridges or gates (used as transitions from profane to sacred), initiation rituals (passage to sacred), death (transition into sacred), sacred knowledge (mean of accessing sacred), spiritual rebirth (transition into sacred)

How can religious studies open a window to concepts and ideas that may lead to a sense of intellectual wonder?

brings forth ideas outside of normal expectation everyday concern

types of explanations

causal, functional, structural

description

involves using classification schemes to collect and present data; classifying x under a catergory according to some property (p) of x

similarities between Daoism and primal religions

sorcery, faith-healing, power objects

2 types of essence definitions of religion

substantive - says what a religion is (too narrow); functional - says what a religion does (too broad)

doctrine

teachings of a religion in the propositional form

Do you have to be a religious person to study religion?

the academic study of religion is falls under the humanities so one only must be curious and interested

theism (definition)

the belief in a god or gods, especially a God with personal characteristics who is the Creator and Ruler of the universe (monotheistic)

totemism

the belief that people are related to particular animals, plants, or natural objects by virtue of descent from common ancestral spirits

Dao De Jing

the central text of Daoism attributed to Laozi

agnosticism

the claim that humans cannot know about divine matters, in particular, whether any divine powers exist or not (belief that god's existence cannot be known)

ancestrism

the same reverence felt towards spirits was given to the spirit of deceased ancestors, ancestral spirits could be helpful if placated

sacred

the ultimate reality

Unitarianism

the view that the nature of God is an absolute unity (ex. Hinduism, Mormonism, Islam, Judaism)

trinitarianism

the view that the nature of the one and only God is a tri-unity (Father, Son, and Holy Spirit)

3 forms of religious expression

theoretical, practical, sociological

evidentialism

theory of knowledge attributed to Clifford; it is wrong to believe any statement is true on the basis on insufficient evidence

mysterium tremendum

"awesome mystery"; element of the numinous; fascinations, wonder, astonishment, awfulness, overpoweringness, and urgency

pantheism (values)

"good" and "evil" are seen in terms of "enlightenment" and "unenlightenment." wrong actions stem from a failure to grasp the unity of things

Tillich's definition of religion

"the state of being grasped by an ultimate concern, a concern which qualified all other concerns as preliminary and which it itself contains the answer to the meaning of life"

3 rules for religious understanding (Krister Stendahl)

(1) ask the adherents of that religion and not its enemies, (2) don't compare your best to their worst, and (3) leave room for "holy envy"

2 ways a religion interacts with the larger society (component of sociological expression)

(1) church - expresses normative spiritual values; reflects values of society, (2) withdrawal - separate from values of the surronding society or area, ex.) Amish

yang and yin

(1) complementary opposite principles interacting with each other in dynamic equilibrium whose (2) interaction makes the universe dynamic and keeps things in a state of flux and who (3) ideally interact in such a way as to maintain harmony and balance; (4) neither good nor bad, but both are necessary

rationale for studying religion (5 points)

(1) contextualize, (2) understand role of religion in development of culture, (3) obtain a global perspective, (4) obtain a comparative perspective, and (5) to be an education person

2 ways of defining religion

(1) describe its essence, (2) describe the features shared by all religions (clustur definitions)

4 goals and methods and studying religion

(1) description, (2) interpretation, (3) explanation, (4) evaluation

ontological argument for the existence of God

(1) our understanding of God is a being than which no greater can be conceived + (2) the idea of God exists only in the mind + (3) a being that exists both in the mind and in the reality is greater than a being that exists only in the mind + (4) if God exists only in the mind then we can conceive of a greater being - that which exists in reality + (5) we cannot be imagining something greater than God → (6) therefore, God exists

What are the two main branches of the study of religion in America today?

(1) theology - studies religion from the insider perspective and (2) religious studies - the academic study of religion that "aims to treat all religious traditions even-handedly," or seeks to examine religions objectively from the outsider perspective.

naturalism (definition)

(scientific materialism) a worldview in which ultimate reality is equated with the natural world; there is no spiritual reality

cui bono

Latin for "to whose benefit?" or "who gains?"

numen

Latin word for diety

Anselm (comparison with Dao - language)

Latin, theological, philosophical, abstract, God is nameless and personal

What are some examples mentioned on the web site of great art, architecture, and music that have been inspired by religion?

Michelangelo's Sistine Chapel, Handel's Messiah, European cathedrals, Tibetan tapestries, statue Bahubali of the Jain religion near Mysore, India, and the Buddhist temple Borobudur in Java, Indonesia

types of monotheism

Unitarianism, trinitarianism, and deism

truth (in terms of a worldview)

What constitutes truth? How is it known, discovered, received, experienced or constructed? How is it proven or demonstrated? How is knowledge/experience of truth transmitted or taught?

humanity (in terms of a worldview)

What is the nature, origin, and destiny of human beings? What is the relationship between human beings, the spiritual world, and the natural world? What is the human situation, and what is the purpose of human existence?

values (in terms of a worldview)

What is the source of human moral values? Do moral values have any objective basis? What constitutes desirable and undesirable, good and bad, knowledge and ignorance, enlightenment and unenlightenment?

essence

a universal quality or set of qualities that makes something what it is and what it is not

animism (definition)

a worldview in which everything in nature is animated by spirit beings, who influence events; nature itself is sacred

postmodernism (definition)

a worldview that has arisen in recent decades as a reaction to modernism and is characterized by an extreme skepticism about all dogmatic claims to knowledge

sociological expression

asks what kind of groups are formed and how religion is socially expression; looks at major social instiutions (how the religion is set to preserve and implement its teaching aand practice; kinds of leadership; how it interacts with the larger society)

religious vs. nonreligious worldviews

nonreligious worldviews are homogenous (only one reality) whereas religious worldviews have two realities (the sacred and the profane)

Dao (comparison with Anselm - text)

not argumentative, poetic, evocative, proverbial, aphoristic

postmodernism (reality)

objective reality does not exist or cannot be known; reality must be interpreted through our linguistic and cultural paradigms; therefore, reality is a subjective social construct

pantheism (reality)

only the spiritual dimension exists, all else in illusory; ultimate reality is eternal, impersonal, and unknowable; time is cyclical, and the universe experiences a series of births, deaths, and rebirths; god is in everything, and everything is a part of god

5 qualities needed to study religion

openness, honesty, critical intelligence, careful observing/reading/listening, and critical tolerance

pantheism (examples)

philosophical Hinduism, Daoism, Zen Buddhism

What skills does training in religious studies help to develop?

prepares students for graduate school and teaches skills highly sought after by employers such as direct observation, critical thinking, and cross-cultural understanding

animism/polytheism (examples)

primal religions and ancient religions

critical tolerance

quality needed to study religion; a culturally approved, public virtue that allows for harmony among religions; endorses freedom of religion but is not permissive of everything

openness

quality needed to study religion; a refusal to draw conclusions, instead believing that religious views are tenatative and that more evidence is always needed

critical intelligence

quality needed to study religion; an effort involving syntehsis and analysis made in order to see things critically so that judgement can be made fairly; motivated by the pursuit of truth and the ability to question

careful observing, reading, and listening

quality needed to study religion; must have a symapthetic understanding of other religion's beliefs; understanding religious texts can be interpreted differently

primary purpose of all religions

re-establish the connection with what it conceives to be the ultimate reality or Ground of Being

4 catergories of beliefs of a worldview

reality, humanity, truth, values

monism

related to pantheism; belief that reality is ultimately made up of only one essence (unity of God and creation)

sects

religious groups related to a mainstream religion but characteriszed by a more intense and faithul adherence to the religion's beliefs and practices