Religion as a Worldview Flashcards
What is Religion?
a distinct response to the human search for the meaning of life.
Define the Supernatural
Belief in a divine being or power which exceeds the limits of the human and physical worlds.
What is Religion as a Worldview?
a basic framework, or lens through which people understand the world.
In which ways is the Supernatural acknowledged?
Through Monotheism and Polytheism.
Define Monotheism
Acknowledges one single define being, which is transcendent and lives beyond the human dimension.
- Islam, Judaism, Christianity
Define Polytheism
Acknowledges many divine beings
- Hinduism, Shintoism
Define the Transcendent Worldview
consists of a divine power or being existing outside of and beyond the understanding of the physical universe.
Define the Immanent Worldview
simply a term that describes the *perspectives/religious frameworks *of the people that believe in immanence
Most immanent belief systems are polytheistic
What is immanence?
- Gods, spirits or powers dwell in this universe: they are among us, even within us
1. Dwell in the physical world, the surrounding world
2. Most immanent worldviews are polytheistic
3. Animism
Animism is the belief that spirits occupy specific objects.
- myths, stories
What are the 4 aspects of the Transcendent Worldview?
- Creation
- Revelation
- Afterlife
- What it means to be human …
(1). Creation
Most transcendent belief systems see the transcendent dimesnion as reponsible for the creation of the human (physical) world.
(☪️✡️✝️)
(2). Revelation
The transcendent dimension becomes apparent when it interacts with the human dimension.
This usually happens through revelation.
(3). Afterlife
Believers gain access to the transcendent dimension after death
- The afterlife is a common facet of most monotheistic faiths.
(4). What it means to be human
The transcendent dimension informs how believers think of their own purpose in life.
-That is, what it means to be human
What are exceptions between Immanent and Transcendent Worldviews?
Some belief systems can have transcendent and immanent elements.
Transcendence and Imminance
Example: Evangelical Christianity
Further examples:
(Acknowledgement of supernatural, worldview)
- Islam: Monotheistic Transcendent worldview
- Buddhism: Polytheistic Immanent worldview
*Buddhism may be considered polytheistic due to the lack of a single divine creator, and acknowledgement of the Devas
