Lecture 2-3

Question 1

what are the 2 types of religion definitions

Answer 1

narrow and broad

Question 2

what is included in narrow definitions

Answer 2

Insider view and outsider view

Question 3

what is Insider view:

Answer 3

specific beliefs and practices as definitive of religion modelled on one’s own faith

Question 4

what is Outsider view:

Answer 4

specific characterizations applied to all religions

Question 5

why is Outsider view narrow

Answer 5

Narrow because the generalization said to constitute religion (gods, scriptures ,sin, afterlife, etc.) resemble worldviews of Abrahamic or theistic origin

Question 6

what is the problem with narrow definitions

Answer 6

validates specific types of religiosity

wont include religions that dont have gods but are still religions

Question 7

who is Paul Tillich

Answer 7

an insider to Protestant Christianity

Question 8

what did Paul Tillich try to do

Answer 8

aimed to provide a general definition for both outsiders and insiders to a tradition, laypeople and scholars alike

Question 9

how does Paul Tillich describe religion

Answer 9

Grasped by ultimate concern; ultimate reality. Concern with Allah=concern with attaining moksha = concern with attaining nirvana

Question 10

what is the problem with broad definitions

Answer 10

too inclusive of political ideologies, sports, or artistic practices

Question 11

what are the Important points of defining religion

Answer 11

Definition is an important tool in academic study of religion
Narrow and broad definitions while useful for identifying certain aspects of religion, necessarily fall short of capturing their complexity

Question 12

what is meant by Definition is an important tool in academic study of religion

Answer 12

Ithelpsonetoidentifythegeneralcharacteristicsandfunctionsofwhatonecalls ”religious”. (See p. 3)
• It helps those who take an interest in religion to explain why it exists and how it shapes the world around us, in good or bad ways. Commonly, people that identify as religious assume knowledge of their faith and they do so in a variety of ways, mechanically or passionately. Defining religion in that way will have different connotations and objectives when compared to the academic pursuit

Question 13

what are some general characteristics of religion

Answer 13

• religion is a concern with powers or agents deemed to exist beyond what we know through the senses;
• religious reality for believers is considered larger than the ordinary reality studied by the sciences;
• religious reality consists of things considered sacred or holy, “set apart” from non- sacred reality, eliciting behaviors different from those appropriate to non-sacred reality

Question 14

what constitutes this reality

Answer 14

• for some, it’s populated by gods, angels, demons;
• for others, such entities are precisely what clouds true perceptions about ultimate reality;
• innumerable dissensions and attitudes exist as to what is sacred about or appropriate (hence inappropriate) to entertain concerning religious reality

Question 15

in general, what are The problems surrounding definition

Answer 15

not specific to the study of religion. All fields have this issue. It’s predominately a boundary question: what sets off one one form of study from another

Question 16

what is Religious education

Answer 16

the “teaching of” the norms of a tradition—a practice performed by insiders to a tradition for those inside that tradition (p. 6)

Question 17

what traits are in Religious education

Answer 17

Exclusivist and inclusivist traits

Question 18

While in certain respects religious education can be positive to both insiders and outsiders to a tradition, it can also harbor what

Answer 18

degrees of animosity toward other traditions and different belief systems

Question 19

Religious education is fundamentally a what issue

Answer 19

an identity issue; how to impact the world, how to change the world

Question 20

what Religious studies

Answer 20

“teaching about” religion descriptively

Question 21

what traits are in religious studies

Answer 21

Pluralistic traits, if you will (contrasted with the exclusivist and inclusivist traits of religious education)

Question 22

what does religious studies have

Answer 22

Healthy measure of neutrality toward religion(s)— Or: the objectivity- isn’t-perfect-but-it’s-the-best-thing-academics-have approach!J
• “Critical, self-reflexive stance” (p. 7): a “high level of awareness” that is both empathetic and critical at the same time
• imaginative projection

Question 23

when did R.G. Collingwood live

Answer 23

(1889-1943)

Question 24

who was R.G. Collingwood

Answer 24

British philosopher and practicing archaeologist

Question 25

what is imaginative projection

Answer 25

“Imaginative projection” = R&H’s (authors) “subjective engagement”: “It is imperative for religious studies students to try to understand as much as possible about the worldview of the religions they are studying and to enter into it through a temporary suspension of disbelief in order to resonate with the experience of some of the sentiments felt by adherents of that religion” (R&H, p. 8)

Question 26

what is the distinction between religious education and religious studies

Answer 26

by contrasting theology (study of the gods) and metaphysics (study of what’s beyond physics) from religious studies

Question 27

what is Theology compared to metaphysics

Answer 27

is apologetical

Question 28

what is metaphysics in comparison to theology

Answer 28

metaphysics is speculative.

Question 29

Religious education is often theological and metaphysical, which in your text tends to mean what

Answer 29

not as critically self-reflexive or as methodologically pluralistic as religious studies

Question 30

what is the professor’s beef with this segment; Your text further sizes up the distinction between religious education and religious studies by contrasting theology (study of the gods) and metaphysics (study of what’s beyond physics) from religious studies. Theology, they conclude, is apologetical and metaphysics is speculative. Religious education is often theological and metaphysical, which in your text tends to mean: not as critically self-reflexive or as methodologically pluralistic as religious studies

Answer 30

The text portrays theology in rather polarizing ways as defensive and speculative.I t’s simplistic to think theology is merely an exercise in apologetics (p. 10). Theologians can be highly self-critical and disruptive of the values and norms of their tradition.
• Religious studies as “imaginative projection”and“self-reflexive” is itself an apology for a worldview advocated by academics, a model based on the values and norms of the Enlightenment and western liberal democracy

Question 31

what is religious education

Answer 31

the “teaching of” the norms of a tradition

Question 32

who does religion education

Answer 32

a practice performed by insiders to a tradition for those inside that tradition

Question 33

what traits does religious education have

Answer 33

Exclusivist and inclusivist traits

Question 34

Religious education is fundamentally a what

Answer 34

an identity issue, how to impact the world, how to change the world

Question 35

While in certain respects religious education can be positive to both insiders and outsiders to a tradition, it can also harbor degrees of what

Answer 35

While in certain respects religious education can be positive to both insiders and outsiders to a tradition, it can also harbor degrees of animosity toward other traditions and different belief systems

Question 36

what is Religious studies

Answer 36

“teaching about” religion descriptively

Question 37

what kind of traits does Religious studies have

Answer 37

Pluralistic traits, if you will (contrasted with the exclusivist and inclusivist traits of religious education)

Question 38

what should you have in religious studies

Answer 38

Healthy measure of neutrality toward religion(s)—Or: the objectivity- isn’t-perfect-but-it’s-the-best-thing-academics-have approach!J
• “Critical, self-reflexive stance” (p. 7): a “high level of awareness” that is both empathetic and critical at the same time
• Imaginative projection

Question 39

religious studies strive to examine what

Answer 39

all aspects of a religion or religions

Question 40

who is R.G Collingwood

Answer 40

British philosopher and practicing archaeologist, came up wth imaginative projection

Question 41

what is imaginitive projection

Answer 41

Imaginitive projection; a type of objectivity that people in the social sciences and humanities try to embody
comes from british philosopher mentioned below

“Imaginative projection” = R&H’s “subjective engagement”: “It is imperative for religious studies students to try to understand as much as possible about the worldview of the religions they are studying and to enter into it through a temporary suspension of disbelief in order to resonate with the experience of some of the sentiments felt by adherents of that religion” (R&H, p. 8).

you basically project this empathy into what you are analysisng an trying to withhold your personal views

Question 42

what is another example of imaginative projection

Answer 42

In assessing a religion there is merit in imagining what it would be like (or what it is like) to hold the religious beliefs and to adopt the religious life that is being studied … [F]or one who is committed to exploring a religion in depth it is useful to try to see matters from the inside. [In order to do this effectively] … one must also see a religion from the outside

see; the basis of all definitions is that it is not completely possible, you can just attempt to enter a near-state where you distance yourself and just try to describe other beliefs

Question 43

what is Religionswissenschaft

Answer 43

Science of Religion

Question 44

define “imaginative projection”

Answer 44

is a subjective element for being “objective” in religious studies. As such, it qualifies the view that studying religion is purely objective, is “science” as commonly understood

Question 45

is the science of religion a science

Answer 45

yes

Question 46

is the scientific method a good method for religion

Answer 46

[T]he ‘scientific method’ is not the most appropriate approach to the subject, and so the term [Religionswissenschaft] has had limited appeal … [T]here has been, and continues to be, a wide assortment of perspectives and approaches with which to study human religiosity

Question 47

are human culture and physical properties the same (when trying to interpret them)

Answer 47

Interpreting human culture is not the same thing as trying to explain the physical properties of nature, human and/or nonhuman

Question 48

what is the “right” way to study religion

Answer 48

there is not one

Question 49

when we look at traditions, how do we look at them

Answer 49

Itemizing religions as monoliths, “Hinduism,” “Buddhism,” “Daoism,” “Judaism,” “Christianity,” “Islam,” etc. is a matter of convenience

Question 50

if “Itemizing religions as monoliths, “Hinduism,” “Buddhism,” “Daoism,” “Judaism,” “Christianity,” “Islam,” etc. is a matter of convenience” os true, what is the reality

Answer 50

The true nature of religion is far more complex

Question 51

Scholars prefer to categorize religions by what

Answer 51

region rather than tradition, e.g., Japanese religions, East or South Asian religions, which can be an amalgam of different traditions: “in parts of East Asia, Confucianism, Daoism, and Buddhism can be deeply intertwined”

In religious studies religions are studied in terms of their locale, not in terms of isolated beliefs and practices as in religious education

Question 52

what is the problem with labelling things like “Eastern” and “Western” religions

Answer 52

The vast majority of so-called Western religions (the Abrahamic traditions) are practiced in Eastern countries and even originated in the Middle East

Question 53

what is a problem with studying traditions

Answer 53

What to include or exclude
• Existing religions? Past or dead religions?
• Understanding Sikhism without knowledge of Islam and Hinduism; Christianity without Judaism, Islam without both? etc. etc

Innumerable sects and subgroups
• Sunnis and Shi’ites (etc.); Catholics, Orthodox, Protestants, Latter Day Saints; Hasidim, Reform, Conservative; Mahayana, Theravada, etc. etc. etc.

Question 54

what is monolith

Answer 54

singular

Question 55

what is Rodrigues and Harding’s pragmatism

Answer 55

Religions boil down to individual beliefs and practices, which is impossible to categorize. However, to avoid categories would be to render the study of religion itself— anything for that matter—impossible

Question 56

what is the solution?

Answer 56

Critical and self-reflexive search for broad categories with distinct, if minimal research objectives