Week 1

4 Ways to process ineffable

-Essence or core= AWE -Etymological-historical-language-Re-ligare -Functional--Joseph Campbell -Paradigm Case-list characteristics

Functional

1- Numinous func.- illicit felling of awe before mystery of being. 2-cosmological- how universe works and our place 3-sociological- to integrate individual with group. Model for social behavior and sense of belonging. 4-psychological- to initiate individual in mystery reality of psyche. Help them process life through birth, maturity, and death. Teaches them how to live

Paleolithic Cultures

70,000-10,000 BCE (Old stone Age) Nomadic hunters and gatherers. Animals carried the mana because they were the means of survival, they were divine. Also, beginning of steatopygous godess where woman who could have children was seen as divine--holds the mana.

What is shamanism?

Ancient tradition that began in the paleolithic era where animals were seen to be divine, and shamans were professional cultivators of the trance state. They got their powers from eating and bathing in the fluids of animals and crawling into their bodies while doing a dance. They embodied the gods.

"Mana"

Another word for the numinous, mysterium tremendom, or the "awe"

Why is religion hard to define?

Because religion is ineffable.

Religious but not spiritual

Can go to church, perform rituals, go through the motions, but not have an experience with awe--numinous

Spiritual but not religious

Can have experience with the numinous but no go to social institutions like church or be in a community of worship.

History of Religions

Founded/Ancestral: Christianity founded. Hinduism and Judaism are ancestral. soteriological: doctine of salvation. Some not salvic like judaism. Buddhism saved from own ignorance. Proselytizing: trying to convert people to their religion. i.e christians. Hinduism not like this becuase all religions are acceptable. This-World/Other worldly: Judaism, Daoism, shamanism. Christianity, Hinduism/Buddhist, shamanism. Exclusive/Inclusive: christianity, Islam, Judaism. Only 1 God, can't save yourself, don't believe go to hell. Hinduism--1 God (Brahman) essence of all exisitince, but manifests in different ways. All religions are right. Buddhism--Truth is beyond all comprehension, so it manifests in forms all people can understand. They don't believe in God because that is a comprehension of humans. IF prayer helps then pray, but it wont help you.

shaman

Orignally a religious leader that is a professional cultivator of the ecstasis state outside of yourself or conscious mind. A healer/doctor too by chasing away evil spirit or energy. Could also consume it. Also, apothecary or pharmacist to enhance the trance experience with psycho active plants. Intercessor between realm of the living and dead. "Sham" to heat oneself so somebody who has been heated by the divine animals and has their powers now to represent them on the earth.

Professions of the paleolithic

Other than hunter/gatherer 1-Chief 2-Artist 3-Shaman

Etymology of Religion

Religare-"to reconnect" with the "awe"

Freud

Religion is a crutch. As long as people are emotionally needy there will be religion. It is an illusion of what people want to hear.

Mircea Eliade

Religion is being seized by the sacred. What is the sacred though?

Religion vs Spirituality

Religion is more about social institutions; spirituality is more about the personal experience of awe--mysterium tremendom.

Rudolf Otto

Religion is the experience with the mysterium tremendum-- something that evokes awe. This points to the "ineffable" or undescribable.

Spong

Religion is the human attempt to process or define a spiritual experience. But, it is ineffable! 1

Karl Marx

Religion is the opium of the masses. Makes the numb to their real problems and vulnerable for exploitation.

Jung

Religion is when the consious is altered by the experience of the numinous.

What does religion carry?

The identity of a person. Tradition, history, culture, values, ethics, ethnicity, diversity, sense of security

Dimensions of Religion

Theology: teachings that help develop core beliefs of religious tradition. cosmology: Nature/source of the universe philosophy: challenges religious claims. What is truth? Good versus Evil. GOd or Goddess. History: how religion evolves over time Psychological experience: Jung--Wholeness, Freud emotionally needy Anthropology: religion in indigenous societies. NO society ever without religion sociology: shift of religion over time in public and private settings socio-political: how does politics affect religion Ethics: Right vs wrong Myth and Ritual Patterns: Sacred stories Religious literature: Bible Religious art: religion depicted in art and the infulence it has on society

Definition of Religion

a complex phenomenon which involves social norms, beliefs and fears, and an overarching worldview. Religious experiences are among the most profound an individual can have. The course examines religious phenomena from various perspectives, including philosophical, historical, psychological, anthropological, political, sociological, the symbolic, and ritual.