Myth defined…

• Religious, sacred, stories that provide basis for beliefs/practices

• Origins of humanity, creation of the universe, nature of death/illness

• Lay the founding for values/morals• Can be passed down verbally or in writing• Myths help to shape a culture’s

worldview…

Worldview The collective body of ideas that members of a culture generally share concerning the

ultimate shape and substance of their reality

• Myths help to shape a culture’s worldview, the way they look at reality.– Ex: Judeo-Christian vs. Navaho worldview• Question: What do these myths say about each

religion’s worldview?

What Functions Do Religion and Spirituality Serve?

• All religions serve a number of important functions:– They reduce anxiety by explaining the

unknown and offer comfort in times of crisis. – They provide notions of right and wrong,

setting precedents for acceptable behavior.– Through ritual, religion may be used to

enhance the learning of oral traditions.

Questions…• How many of you would consider yourselves religious?

Agnostic? Atheist? What do these words mean?

• No known group of people anywhere on the face of the earth, at any time over the past 100,000 years, have been without religion.– Why?

Major Religions of the World

Supernatural Beings• Supernatural: “above the natural”– Not obeying the laws of nature as we know them.– Many times the supernatural is explained by science,

further blurring the line between religion and science.• Supernatural beings:– Major deities (gods and goddesses we mentioned

before)– Ancestral spirits– Other sorts of spirit beings(?)

Polytheism• Belief in several gods and/or goddesses (as

contrasted with monotheism–belief in one god or goddess).

• Pantheon– The several gods and goddesses of a people.

• Animism– A belief in spirit beings thought to animate nature.

(Side question: Monotheism would mean what?)

Sacred Places• Sacred: Entitled to reverence and respect

– Shrines• A shrine is an object or building that contains sacred objects or is

associated with a venerated person or deity– Ex:: Fairy Circle– Ex: Aten temple, Akhenaten (King Tut’s dad)– Ex: Synagogue, Mosque, Church

Animism• A belief in spirit beings, other than ancestors, who are

believed to animate all of nature.• These spirit beings are closer to humans than gods and

goddesses and are concerned with human activities. – Ex: Kami (traditional Japanese Shinto beliefs)

• Animism is typical of peoples who see themselves as a part of nature rather than superior to it.

Animatism is a belief that the world is animated by impersonal supernatural powers. (I.e. “The Force”)

Question

• Which of the following is an example of animism?A. a lucky baseball batB. the goddess Athena in Greek mythologyC. the god ZeusD. an ancestral spiritE. the malevolent spirit inside your baseball who

jumps erratically through the air just as you think you're about to hit a home run

Answer: E

• The malevolent spirit inside your baseball who jumps erratically through the air just as you think you're about to hit a home run is an example of animism.