RANR - significance of the religious dimension in human history Flashcards
meaning and purpose for the individual
The search for answers
Perfection and immortality
Love and acceptance
The belief that there must be a cosmic intelligence behind the beauty of creatin the need to feel that one is not alone in the universe; the desire to escape personal problems and privitations and the wish to connect with the transcendence or infinite
the search for answers
Human beings have consistently sought answer to questions that transcend the mundane things of everyday existence
The universal questions is concerned with the meaning and purpose to life, the search for an understanding of how the world works and the place we withhold in it.
An identity is constructed through religious answers to the fundamental questions placing them into a community where guidance and support is provided
Answers to this quest for meaning have frequently been found through exploration of the religious or spiritual dimension a looking beyond the physical world to discover a deeper more profound sense of truth
perfection and immorality
Religion provides profound senses of meaning and purpose to and individuals life due to the need to seek assurances of immortality.
Animalistic or tribal societies promote the concept of immortality through ancestor worship, seeing the deceased as continuing to exist in spirit form and acting as intermediaries between human being and spiritual migration
.
Polytheistic faiths teach reincarnation, the continuing cycle of birth, death and rebirth.
Monotheistic religions generally promote belief in spiritual or physical resurrection and the existence of a eternal heavenly realm where those who gain salvation will dwell forever.
The human drive for perfection, we may be constantly disappointed by perceived imperfections or injustices observed in the world and therefore look to the divine as the only realm where perfection exists.
We may view religious experience as a way to transform ourselves into a state closer to what we view as perfect
love and acceptance
The need for unconditional love and acceptance fuelled by the inveitable failure of human relationships to live up to expectations.
Most major religions purport to provide access to loving deities
The great Hindu scripture the bhagavad gita describes the deity as the ‘lord of love’ while Christianity presents a self sacrificing god who commits the ultimate act of love by offering his son as an act of cosmic redemption
Some individuals gravitate towards particular religions systems because they feel fulfilled and secure living life according to a set prescribed rules and instructions
social cohesion
how a society remains harmonious. it’s the way in which a society maintains peace and provides structures to support its members.
Religions connect members of a society to a common past. They provide traditions and customs. They give social rituals and ceremonies. They give society a system of education, literature and the arts.
Religions are closely connected to cultures and societies. The religious dimension forms many of a culture’s key aspects – its laws, buildings, dietary observances, dress codes
Religions have been the source of social disharmony (tensions in the middle east)
Religion can provide communities with a sense of continuity and certainty in an uncertain and confusing e.g. in times of war, but has often supported unjust social practices such as slavery
THE RELIGIOUS DIMENSION CAN PROVIDE SOCIAL COHESION THROUGH THINGS SUCH AS:
Creating laws for society:
religious traditions have, in many cases, provided a society with its laws and its system of jurisprudence based on the ethical teachings found in sacred texts.
THE RELIGIOUS DIMENSION CAN PROVIDE SOCIAL COHESION THROUGH THINGS SUCH AS:
Teaching people about shared customs and practices:
religious traditions have given societies such things as dress codes, dietary laws, expectations concerning relationships
THE RELIGIOUS DIMENSION CAN PROVIDE SOCIAL COHESION THROUGH THINGS SUCH AS:
Caring for those in need:
religious traditions have provided for both their own adherents and non-adherents in a manner which assists social order
THE RELIGIOUS DIMENSION CAN PROVIDE SOCIAL COHESION THROUGH THINGS SUCH AS:
Educating adherents:
religious traditions have provided opportunities for education that contribute to the development of society
THE RELIGIOUS DIMENSION CAN PROVIDE SOCIAL COHESION THROUGH THINGS SUCH AS:
Providing political structures/government
religious traditions have, in the course of history, helped develop systems of government.
THE RELIGIOUS DIMENSION CAN PROVIDE SOCIAL COHESION THROUGH THINGS SUCH AS:
Creating literature which assists adherents to understand their role in society:
religious traditions, those who held power within that tradition did so by being the literate members of the society.
THE RELIGIOUS DIMENSION CAN PROVIDE SOCIAL COHESION THROUGH THINGS SUCH AS:
Providing themes for painting, sculptures, music and architecture based on the beliefs of the tradition:
These forms of art can be ‘read’ by adherents and as such they provide a source of shared experience
social transformation
means how a society changes and develops.
The religious dimension often acted as a means of change, but also sometimes as a system that has prevented change.
Religion can be used to uphold and preserve traditional values and practices in a society, but also as a tool for social change
eg: social justice and equality for marginalised groups by addressing issues like poverty, environmental change, global conflict and indigenous peoples’ rights. Some examples are Vinnies, Caritas and the Salvation Army
THE RELIGIOUS DIMENSION HAS CONTRIBUTED TO SOCIAL TRANSFORMATION THROUGH MEANS SUCH AS:
Contributing to social reform:
religious traditions (individuals/groups) have contributed to stability and reform by being a voice for justice
THE RELIGIOUS DIMENSION HAS CONTRIBUTED TO SOCIAL TRANSFORMATION THROUGH MEANS SUCH AS:
Waging wars to establish orthodoxy:
religious traditions have fought to defend their beliefs ands customs against other viewpoints or belief systems. Acts of violence have also occurred within religious traditions, when one variant of that tradition endeavours to establish central control of the beliefs. (Christians in Northern Ireland).
