module 3 Flashcards
juggernaut
metaphorical
huge force or an object with enormous (yet sometimes
destructive) power to crush anything that will hinder
its movement or flow
juggernaut is derived from
jagannath (a form of the god vishnu that presides over a massive temple in India)
universality of religion was accounted for in whos work and what
Durkheim’s work on totemism. (a totem being personification and deifying of anything
that represents a clan)
As a universal phenomenon, religion remains a ____ in
contemporary societies
juggernaut
The extent to which religion can be universal will depend on
the
extent to which people and contexts are the same or not the same
Diversity is the flipside of
universality
Religious diversity allows for
creativity/innovations, multiple
methods, the proliferation of new practices, and different kinds of
religious emergencies
Diversity breeds
syncretism
Religious Syncretism
This is process by which religion is adapted/appropriated to
meet specific needs in a blended manner
Nikolai Wenzel and religious syncretism
contemporary
religious practice increasingly involves syncretism, as
religious consumers borrow from different faiths and
denominations to find their own comfort blend” - this is
analogous to a cafeteria menu as opposed to the set menu
Postmodernism, theoretically, is a
historical phase
characterized by meta-narratives (multiple stories) as against
dominant worldviews of preceding eras
contemporary religious
practices fit into
postmodern analytical framings.
postmodernism, a shift from
‘how to conform’ to ‘how to choose’. people are
now religious consumers rather than being glued or committed to
religions
inevitable fallout of consumer mindset to religion (pick and choose)
religious fundamentalism:
A form of backlash on perceived decline in religion or religious
emptiness.
Religious cultural blending is triggered through
- Simulacra – hyperreality of things
- Othering – treating religion as an exclusive phenomenon
- Secularization – departure from religion
- Desacralization and re-sacralization
- Humanism – humanity over other things
- Transcendence – a search for superior logic
- Renaissance – religious rebirth
An incredulity towards meta-narratives as proposed by Lyotard (1981)
signaled….
a departure from monolithic traditional religions where only
one view of truth was made accessible/acceptable through
institutionalization
The ascendance of ‘Christophobic’ ideas in Europe to pave the way
for
‘neutralism’ and ‘humanism’ created a new genre of religiosity
The movement from institution to individualism is
idealized
The conviction that to be free to express self, it is imperative to
develop sophisticated, radical, and increasingly secular ideas of the
world
Steep decline in traditional church or Christianity to accommodate religious
pluralism in most Western countries, including Canada – the right of
citizens to
worship whatever they want is protected in the Canadian
constitution.
New trend in Islam favours
statelessness and a rebirth of pre-
modern values in the religion.
criticism of superfluity leveled against postmodernism
fragile
The view that social, ecological, philosophical, and other kinds
of upward trends portend a downward appreciation of religion
is dubitable as
re-sacralization is a common place in today’s lifeworld.
- Despite the pitfalls in postmodern ideologies, individuals and
institutions of the world
consciously and unconsciously embrace the
tenets of postmodernism
Gendered discussions are an evidence of
a new shift in religion and
religiosity, both in traditional and new religions.
Religion is still a very powerful force in
contemporary social, political
and economic spaces.
* Arguably, religion is both universal and diverse
Today’s religious world is pluralistic, responding to
increasing diversity of needs
