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