Introduction to Religion What is Religion?
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Introduction to Religion
What is Religion?
Images of Religious Life
Symbols
Images of Religious Life
Religion
Religare Latin root Re plus ligare To bind, to tie fast
Religia Latin – obligation or bond
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 fascinansa mysterious something that draws you in and inspires both awe and fear
Mysticism key here- Intuitive- Beyond reason
Experiential or Emotional
Narrative or Mythic Dimension
Myth a vehicle that relates a truth defying
normal expression and sets pattern for human behaviors
Usually considered poetry (metaphors!) rather than prose
Narrative or Mythic Dimension
Symbolsomething that stands for or suggests
something else by reason of relationship, association, convention, or accidental resemblance
Roses = romance Lion = bravery
Narrative or Mythic Dimension
Metaphora word or phrase for one thing that is
used to refer to another thing in order to show or suggest that they are similar
Broken Heart Wounded King Achilles Heel
Narrative or Mythic Dimension
Cosmogony Accounts of the creation of the world Cosmology is different (the nature and structure
of the universe – can be scientific, too)
Eschatology Accounts/Beliefs about the end of the world
Morality Tale How to behave in relation to others; your
code
Joseph Campbell’s Work
MythologistComparative Religions/Mythologies
MonomythOne single great storyTemplate/Model
All of the great myths have a common pattern; Famous example – Hero Tales
Video
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 Multiple relationship
with a divine being; apparent forms of the divine; there is one ultimate reality
Monotheistic – The Divine in a
Singular form
Polytheistic – Multiple forms of the divine 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.
Why Study Religions ?
• To assist in your own religious quest. Summed up simply: we can learn from others who do not practice as we do.
• To appreciate everyday 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
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