SIGNIFICANT LIFE EXPERIENCE G3.3 Flashcards

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1
Q

Significant Life Experience (SLE)

A
  • Dramatic / intense / powerful event
  • Turning point that evokes change in person’s beliefs, practise and faith → transformative
  • It has informed, reinforced or changed the person’s understanding and expression of the meaning of their religious beliefs. This occurs through questioning and reassessment, examination and reflection
  • Life altering
  • Change can be positive or negative
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2
Q

Types of experiences

A

Joy, wonder, suffering, major life choices, love

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3
Q

Joy

A

→ The delight, pleasure, happiness and even elation that can be found in an experience or a relationship.
→ Joy can give purpose to ones life (answers to big q)
→ It may emerge from difficult situations
→ Some people may find fulfilment in bringing joy to others
→ Religious acts of devotion assist adherents to experience joy
→ Experience of joy can strengthen a person’s beliefs
→ Can strengthen belief as it provides evidence of UR

Examples → birth, baptism, bar/bat mitzvah, graduation, marriage

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4
Q

Wonder

A

→ An individual struck with astonishment, awe and admiration
→ Can be derived from a discovery from within oneself or through a new understanding resulting from a SLE
→ Arise from experiences that have an anticipated or unexpected impact on a person’s feelings, beliefs and spirituality
→ Can strengthen understanding of UR

Examples → marvel at the birth of new life, rituals, worship, music, festivals

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5
Q

Suffering

A

→ The experience of physical, mental, emotional or spiritual anguish
→ Suffering can be inflicted by external forces beyond an individual’s control
→ Suffering can also be inflicted by people upon each other, either individually or communally
→ Lead people to question religious beliefs and experience a weakening of them or even a loss of faith. Other people can find affirmation and a strengthening of their beliefs, leading to a renewed spirituality and greater commitment to their faith
→ Can raise q, reject beliefs

Examples → external: natural disaster, individual or loved one contracting an incurable illness
Examples → internal: wars, political suppression, economic deprivation, bullying, neglect

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6
Q

Major life choices

A

→ Daily choices may seem insignificant in the scheme of things but can have far reaching implications for future relationships, faith, career or life story
→ Sometimes these implications are only revealed in hindsight, while at other times we are forced to make difficult decisions that cause heartache and soul searching
→ Sometimes religious beliefs will offer guidance, while it may make others to question their faith

Examples → deciding to have a child, finding new job, moving countries

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7
Q

Love

A

→ Feeling affection, displaying passion and adoration or being devoted to another
→ It may not always be reciprocated
→ The capacity to love brings people closer to one another, physically and emotionally
→ In religious traditions, love extends to our relationship with the ultimate reality
→ For adherents, their love of God or their ethical values distinctly direct them to show love for all humanity, even in the least loveable

Examples → partner, child, ultimate reality

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8
Q

SLE in SFM

A
  • Confirming the answers to the questions which therefore reaffirms purpose and meaning in one’s life
  • Can enhance understanding of existence
  • Can undermine one’s perception/ understanding of existence
  • Can destroy one’s perception/ understanding of existence
  • Raising the questions with no answers
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9
Q

Belief

A
  • Ideas
  • Statements
  • Ideology
  • Teachings of the religion
  • Product of the mind
  • Believing the belief → accepts as true, based on the teachings of the religion, educated by leaders or family
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10
Q

Faith

A
  • Acceptance of religious beliefs
  • Complete trust, confidence in, accepted of, commitment
  • Engage in expressions
  • Reliance, dependence on
  • Product of spirit, heart
  • Implies devotion, internalised, emotional connection
  • Deeper, stronger than believing in belief
  • Level of personal intensity/ meaning of faith may vary greatly
    Faith in belief → conscious choice, commitment, trust
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11
Q

Belief and faith

A

→ Belief is truth held in the mind; faith is in the heart (complete trust, confidence and devotion)
→ Beliefs are statements and ideas accepted as true by the religious tradition. Whereas faith is more personal
 and having confidence in the beliefs and relying on them

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12
Q

Adherence to (belief)

A

→ relates the degree to which beliefs are lived out in a person’s life
→ follow accept beliefs, daily life
→ May show public display of acceptance of religious beliefs such as: wearing of religious garments, symbols, participating in actions, being present at rituals.
→ People who adhere to religious beliefs may vary greatly in level of faith
→ Engagement with expression in rituals may be at a superficial level-a public display to fit in with a community, at a social level though through a religious ceremony.

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13
Q

Understanding of

A

→ relates to the teaching/ meaning/interpretation of the beliefs
→ make sense of the belief in the contexts of one’s life
- May be very basic with little or no understanding right through to a highly academic analysis of the subtlety of beliefs and their connections
- Understanding of religious beliefs may be restricted or encouraged by family, village or country historical context, authority of structures of the religion/or the wider society, scientific, philosophical and theological developments

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14
Q

Engagement with (expression)

A

→ represents the level of commitment or devotion to religious beliefs through practice
→ deep commitment and devotion to expression

May involve:
- Participating in regular rituals - private and communal
- Having religious artefacts in homes
- Wearing religious symbols
- Reading, studying and meditating on texts
- Applying ethical principles and moral values to human behaviour
- Complying with the social structure and expectations of the tradition

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15
Q

Significant life experience → beliefs, expressions, faith

A
  • Disorientation. Confusion
  • Weaken - change
  • Strengthen - reinforce
  • Reinterpretation - inform
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16
Q

Disorientation. Confusion

A
  • Distress, despair
  • Contradicts
  • Creates doubt
  • Leads to painful questions, venting of anger, placing of blame
  • Test of faith
  • Existential questions become more urgent
17
Q

Weaken - change

A
  • Loss of faith
  • Weaken commitment
  • Reduce involvement and practice
  • Beliefs rejected
  • Stop believing / practising
  • Look to a different religion or denomination within the religion
18
Q

Strengthen - reinforce

A
  • Beliefs confirmed as true
  • Removed doubts
  • make the mystery of the belief acceptable
  • Recommitment
19
Q

Reinterpretation - inform

A
  • Deepend, broadened, enhanced, elevate belief
  • Increased awareness of the value of the belief
  • Reinterpretation, understanding, insight, perspective, of the belief
  • Increased devotion, reliance on belief.
  • Grow in spirituality, finding meaning in belief, increase faith and inspiration
20
Q

Beliefs, expressions, faith → significant life experience

A
  • Framework to understand, interpet SLE
  • Guide
  • Cope, offer emotional and intellectual support
  • Find the strength
21
Q

Framework to understand, interpet SLE

A
  • Explain
  • Give insight
  • Find meaning
  • Make sense
  • Provide answers
  • Beliefs may determine how significant the experience is
22
Q

Guide

A
  • Direction, help deal with the situation
  • Find personal meaning
  • Develop identity
23
Q

Cope, offer emotional and intellectual support

A
  • Source of comfort, solace, help, make bearable
  • Manage anguish better
  • Expressions - concrete ways to engage with emotion. Eg prayer, rituals, torah reading
24
Q

Find the strength

A
  • Find new insight, possibilities
  • Create enthusiasm and courage to live the belief
  • Encourage and give motivation to undertake the SLE
  • A particular belief/set of beliefs/faith may enable the belief to undergo the journey
  • Trigger a spiritual journey