RANR - Expression of religious dimension in human history Flashcards
The religious dimension
how humans have explored the focus or powers that could explain why the world is the way it is.
Religion expression
the way people show a belief in the powers or forces in the religious dimension
Animism
The belief that plants and other inanimate objects have souls
Animism is the belief that natural events (such as windstorms, cyclones and earthquakes) could be attributed to the actions of these spirits – animae
Animism is associated with pre-historic cultures, it still exists in some of today’s cultures; e.g. Australian Aboriginal people, some African and Polynesian communities.
an ancient belief that likely stemmed from the need for a way to determine what is alive and what isn’t. Shinto is a good example of animism – kami spirits.
animism Definition (by Tylor 1871)
Prehistoric people believed that all natural objects including living creatures had a soul or a spirit which existed separately and independently from its physical being.
prehistoric people revered and worshipped these spirits because the natural phenomena (which the spirits produced) were completely beyond normal human capabilities. i.e. nature was completely controlled solely by the spirits.
animism today
ancient animistic societies include the native Americans and the Australian aborigines.
Animist societies still exist today in various parts of Africa, Asia, Europe and the united states of America
Some anthropologists have observed signs of major revival of animism and primal religions, in part fuelled by the popularity of global environmentalism.
polytheism
The belief in and worship of many gods. Typically, these gods are distinguished by particular functions, and often take on human characteristics.
is the belief in – and worship of – multiple deities: gods and goddesses, and is generally believed to have developed from animism and then monotheism is said to have then developed from polytheism as a natural progression
The deities (gods) of polytheistic cultures have their own…
o Stories and worshipping needs
o Individual personalities
o Specialities (like the god of harvest, the god of fertility etc) and
o A position in a hierarchy of gods
o Thus the gods of polytheistic cultures have personalities, disagreements with other gods, personal likes and dislikes and wars
Hard polytheists
conceive of their gods as being distinct and separate entities; e.g. Ancient Greek gods of Mt Olympus
Soft polytheism
does not conceive of the gods being distinct or separate.
polytheism today
Many of the world cultures remain polytheistic.
Eastern polytheism includes Hinduism, Mahayana Buddhism, Taoism and Shintoism
Polytheism is also practised in Africa and the Americans
popularity of new religious movements such as new age religion polytheism has also become quite popular in the west, with the perceived flexibility and freedom offered seen as a welcome contrast to the accountability and absolutism of monotheism
monotheism
The belief in the existence of one deity or God who is the creator and sustainer of the universe. Belief in the oneness of God.
Western context: monotheism is dominated by the concept of the God of the Abrahamic faiths: Judaism, Christianity and Islam.
Deism
a form of monotheism that affirms the belief in the oneness of god but rejects the notion that god is an active agent in human history
Pantheism
acknowledges the intervention of god in human history- god is not seen as separate from nature – but as part of nature
Semitic Monotheism
Christianity, Judaism and Islam religions of “ the book” with common ancestors and belief in one creator and loving God
