Introduction to Religion What is religion?
Dec 30, 2015
Introduction to Religion
What is religion?
Some Images
Religion
Religare – Latin root– Re plus ligare– ‘again’ combined with ‘to
bind’ meaning ‘to tie fast’ Religia
– Latin – ‘obligation’ or ‘bond’
Religian– Old French
Gary Comstock
that part of some people’s lives which involves rituals, beliefs, organizations, ethical values, historical traditions and personal habits or choices – some of which refer to the transcendent.
Mircea Eliade
“The sacred always manifests itself as a reality of a wholly different order from ‘natural’ realities. ...The first possible definition of the sacred is that it is the opposite of the profane.”
sacred: Set apart for worship of a deity or as worthy of worship.
profane: Nonreligious. Outside the sphere of religion.
Ninian Smart
Seven Dimensions of Religion.
Not a definition, but identifying features that help us understand the way academics think about the topic.
Practical or Ritual
Formal or informal Temporal and spatial
Experiential or Emotional
Rudolf Otto– Mysterium tremendum
fascinans – a mysterious something that draws you in and inspires both awe and fear
Bernini, GianlorenzoEcstasy of St. Teresa1647-52Santa Maria della Vittoria, Rome
Mysticism key here- Intuitive- Beyond reason
Narrative or Mythic Dimension
Myth – a vehicle that relates a truth defying normal expression and sets pattern for human behaviors
– Cosmogony Accounts of creation of
the world– Eschatology
Accounts/Beliefs about the end of the world
Scriptural or canonical (kanon is Greek for measuring rod)
Doctrinal or Philosophical Dimension
The principles of a tradition
Typically explain complex ideas
May or may not be familiar to the average believer, but is part of the scholarly tradition
Ethical or Legal Dimension
The things required of a believer
Social and Institutional Dimension
Material Dimension
Artifacts– Buildings– Art– Music – Symbols– Natural World
Why do religions exist?
Religions help us deal with a variety of human needs. For example:
– Give us a way to think about our own mortality
– Help us to find security in an insecure world
– Organize us socially– Assist the poorest and the
weakest with survival– Stimulate artistic production
Sigmund Freud
1856-1939
Religion is about projecting our childhood experiences with our parents onto a God or gods
Carl Jung
1875-1961
Individuation or personal fulfillment
Symbols particularly important
Some Key Terms
Theistic– Religions based on a
relationship with a divine being
Monotheistic– The Divine in a Singular
form Polytheistic
– Multiple forms of the divine
Monistic– Beneath multiple
apparent forms of the divine there is one ultimate reality
Atheism– Non-belief in any deity
Agnosticism– No knowledge if the
divine exists or can be known
Why Study Religions
Insight into other cultures and into the lives of other people. Religion is a key to the way many people live. Understanding religious practice helps us to better understand others’ lives and hopefully, to be tolerant of people not like us.
Improve your appreciation of new places because you can understand what you see and hear and experience more fully.
To assist in your own religious quest. Summed up simply: we can learn from others who do not practice as we do.
To appreciate every day life more fully. You cannot see a movie, read a book, hear a song, listen to a Presidential debate without some mention of religion it seems. Knowing more is a positive.
To make you a better citizen of the world