Test 1 Flashcards
substantive definitions
what religion “is” The necessary, essential features of religion
functionalist definitions-
what religion “does” The roles, functions and effects of religion
religion as classification-
- Religion as a secular, academic pursuit (with no theological agenda).
Global and pluralistic.
There is no single way to classify religion.
In religious studies, religion is drawn from the humanities and social sciences from the field of art.
EB Tylor-
- (1832-1917) Religion as a product of animism.
Animism is the belief that some objects have souls. Attributing a personality to inanimate object
Tylor popularized the idea of animism
James Frazer-
-(1854-1941) Religion is a product of magic and superstition
Religion vs magic
Religion vs habit
Emile Durkhiem-
-(1858-1917) Very functionalist views.
Society as Sacred.
“A religion is a unified system of beliefs and practices relative to sacred things, that is to say, things set apart and forbidden – beliefs and practices which unite into one single moral community called a Church, all those who adhere to them.”
Karl Marx-
-(1818-1883)
Religion “secondary to a larger system of economic and political exploitation.”
Concepts of God, god, gods
s- The idea of monotheism, polytheism, henotheism, theism, and nontheism.
Personal vs non-personal gods.
The “haves” and “have-nots”.
The “haves” are placed into four main groups of Christianity, Judaism, Islam and ?
The “have-nots” are everyone else.
A hierarchy of religions and cultures.
God with a capital refers to a specific God.
god with no capital refers to a god in general, not a specific one.
Christianity, Monotheism-
Monotheism is the belief in one god or goddess
Polytheism-
- The belief in or worship one or more gods
Henotheism
adherence to one particular god out of several, especially by a family, tribe, or other group. Example (professor saying we have to believe in the same thing he does)
Atheism
Non belief in any gods or goddesses
Non-theism
Lack of belief in a god or gods.
Personal god
Personal god: a god that has physical form , spiritual “person” (name, character, emotions, body). Examples Jesus
Impersonal god
Impersonal god: a god that has no form, no definite body, shape, identity etc. examples brahman, dao
Confucianism, Heaven / tian
Confucianism (East Asia) focused on the here and now
*confucius (Kong Fuzi or “Master kong”
*551-479 BCE
* The Analects: purported record of Confucius teachings
* Emphasis on human virtues
* Believes in heaven but didn’t see it to be so important to focus on
* more philosophy than religion
Hinduism-
Understood to be a huge gap between human and divine
Brahman-
- “Impersonal” divine.
Ultimate identification with the individual self.
Atman-
The interest in collapsing the distinctions between the human and the divine.
Theravada vs. Mahayana conceptions of the Buddha
Theravada is an early form from India. Mahayana is a later form from India to Asia.
The two basic families of Buddhis,.
Theravada is generally human.
Mahayana can be both.
Shintō, Kami
Shinto (Japan)
Shinto means “The Way of the Kami”
Shin: Kami.
To: Dao which means way.
“Spirits”, “deities”, “gods”.
Examples?
Ebisu (Kami of fishermen) and Daikoku (Kami of wealth). Both are gods of luck, often paired together.
Inari (Kami of fertility, rice, and foxes). Has become the Kami of commerce and business.
Rock Kami.
Tree Kami.
Problems of definition?
The word god or deity relies on “Western conceptions of transcendental benevolent being” (textbook).
Anything that inspires awe or wonder can be considered a Kami (textbook).
“Systems of faith”.
“Belief in god(s)”.
“I’m not religious but…”.
Inari-
The Kami of fertility, rice and foxes. Has become the Kami of commerce and business and businesses leave areas for Inari to bring them good commerce.
Animism
“Religion is the belief of spiritual beings
Animism is the belief that some objects have souls. Attributing a personality to inanimate objects.
Syncretism-
- the uniting or attempted uniting of different religions, culture, or schools of thought.
dao
An important Chinese term is dao (道), which translates to “way”, “path”, “course”, and “teachings”.
Dao is not a term exclusive to Daoism, but found in most East Asian religions.
Faith and god are not always the deciding factor in religious affiliation.
E.g., “Born Shinto, Die Buddhist”.
Om
Hinduism
Yin-yang
Daoism
born Shintō, die Buddhists
An example of syncretism.
The practice of both religions, where birth and marriage followed Shintō rituals and funerals often followed Buddhist rituals.
Shangri-la
-A fictional utopia in a faraway hidden dreamland.
Ideas that the East has “ancient secrets” that the West does not have but wants.
The West viewing the East as exotic.
Eg., lululemon suggests that yoga is ancient and comes from the “exotic east”.
Orientalism
Edward Said’s book Orientalism (1978).
The study of the orient.
Shock and awe refers to the idea of the East as bad (shock) and the East as good (awe).
Concepts of the East that have been created by the West to produce an imagined division between Eastern and Western cultures
Many stereotypical aspects of Asia (eg., spiritual, exotic, ancient, peacful) exist in the Western imagination.
Theism
is the belief in the existence of god(s).
Monotheism
is the belief in one god.
born Shintō, die Buddhists
example of syncretism.
The practice of both religions, where birth and marriage followed Shintō rituals and funerals often followed Buddhist rituals.
Orientalism
Edward Said’s book Orientalism (1978).
The study of the orient.
