nature of religion Flashcards
what is religion
Religion forms the way of life passed down through generations of provides an explanation of the world
what makes a religion
Belief in a supernatural being, entity or principle
Beliefs and believers
Sacred texts and writings
A system of ethics
Rituals and ceremonies
What evidence suggests prehistoric religion?
Cultic objects
Sites - Ritual landscapes
Art
Burials
Human remains
What different types of non-religious worldviews are there?
Atheism
Humanism
Existentialism
Modern Stoicism
Nihilism
Confucianism
Agnosticism
smart’s characteristics of religion
A practical and ritual dimension - worship
Experimental and emotional dimension - emotive content regarding rituals or a divine experience
Narrative or mythic dimension - sacred texts or stories of each tradition
Doctrinal and philosophical dimension - system of values, beliefs and/or laws
An ethical and legal dimension - rules have to be applied to govern behaviour or to uphold values and understandings that religion has to offer to the world
Social or institutional dimension - gathered community, organisations that constitute the religion
Material dimension - buildings, symbols, works of art
what does religion help with
Live ethically
Cope with life’s challenges
Feel a sense of belonging
Be a part of a community
Create a sense of identity
Create connections with others
Construct meaning in the world
societal contributions
Forming the moral basis of many laws
Fostering and participating in philosophical discourse
Providing structures for social cohesion
Providing calendar and dating systems
cultural contribution
Influencing art movements
Contributing to architecture
Influencing music and other forms of entertainment
Festivals and celebrations
living religion
Characteristics of religion are interwoven (sacred text, ethics, adherents, ritual)
Religion is EXPERIENCED in the daily lives of adherents
Some expressions of living religion are; daily prayer, referral to sacred text, language features (e.g inshallah), lived ethical code.
dynamic religion
Respond to changing contexts
Revise expression of religion
BUT unchanging central values and tenets
what does transcdent mean
- supernatural power of the religion is above and other to humans eg. christianity, judaism
immanent
the divine resides in the world and within things in the world - part of the divine power is within people where the goal is to find that divine power eg. hinduism, buddhism
liminal
the in between
what makes a place sacred
Connection to the supernatural beings
Anything in the religion that explains the origin of life
Resting place of the divine ones
