rlg final

Question 1

Secular

Answer 1

Secular things are not religious. Anything not affiliated with a church or faith can be called secular

Question 2

Secularization

Answer 2

When something changes from being closely connected to or controlled by religion to being nonreligious

Question 3

Secularization Thesis:

Answer 3

The idea that as societies modernize and advance technologically, religious
beliefs, practices, and institutions will decline in importance

Question 4

Religious Education

Answer 4

• Subjective exercise
• strengthen adherence to religion, faith, or understanding
• Defines what makes a good follower of a specific faith
• Identifies differences from non-followers
  
  • Islam Course by Muslim Scholar
    
    • Focuses on helping Muslims be better practitioners
    • Aims to distinguish Muslims from non-Muslims

Question 5

Religious Studies in University

Answer 5

• Value-free orientation
• Examines all aspects of a religion
• Includes all sects, classes, groups, practices, texts, and historical aspects
• Strives for neutrality, positioning outside faith traditions

Question 6

Neutrality and Objectivity in Religious Studies

Answer 6

• Ideals, but challenging to achieve.
• Scholars acknowledge personal biases and limitations

Question 7

Rodriguez and Harding’s Perspective

Answer 7

• Absolute neutrality may limit experiences in studying religion
• Advocates for exploring different worldviews
• Draws parallels with experiencing fantasy worlds in literature or movies

Question 8

Understanding Others

Answer 8

• Anthropologists engage in religious life to comprehend various traditions
• Stepping outside personal limitations enhances understanding of others’ perspectives

Question 9

Theology Overview

Answer 9

• Focuses on intellectual reflections on the nature of the divine (e.g., god, gods)
• Theologians are practitioners/adherents of a faith tradition
• Reflections align with the belief system of the respective religion

Question 10

Comparison with Religious Studies

Answer 10

• Contrasts with religious education within faith traditions
• Religious Studies scholars engage in studying theology as an academic interest
• Aim is to understand diverse perspectives rather than adhering to specific beliefs

Question 11

Thematic Categories

Answer 11

• Belief
• Religious texts/words (scripture)
• Religious actions (rituals)

Question 12

Sacred

Answer 12

elements of a religion that are “special” in a religion or set apart, are holy

Question 13

Profane

Answer 13

opposite of the sacred; not special, set apart, holy

Question 14

Why the new interest in religion as an
object of study in the 19th century

Answer 14

• Challenges to the Judeo-Christian worldview through increasing diversity of knowledge and research
  
  • archeology, paleontology, anthropology, geology, science, evolutionary theory
  • Charles Darwin published The Origin of Species
• Colonialism expanded scholars’ access to diverse ways of living in other parts of the world outside of Europe
• New knowledge about various religious traditions became available to scholars

Question 15

First Phase: Religious Studies in the late
1800s to 1945

Answer 15

• “scientific” endeavour
• quest to find the origins of religion among humans from an evolutionary perspective
• Founded by Max Muller, led by European scholars, seen as a “scientific endeavor”, many scholars looking for the ‘origins’ of religion, connected to European colonialism

Question 16

Second Phase: Religious Studies Post-1945

Answer 16

• North American scholarship in this field develops rapidly
• Inherits norms of the discipline from Europe
• Increased diversification of data
• Greatest concentration of scholars can be found in the US
• Religion is considered in inter-disciplinary field rather than a single discipline
• Led by American scholars, spreads to many universities globally, recognized as a “field of study” rather than a single discipline, science of religion approach falls away, greater diversification of data and methodologies

Question 17

“Science” of Religion?

Answer 17

Falls out of fashion mid 20th century for several reasons:

1. It’s limitations
2. Cultural Relativism
3. Interdisciplinary Approaches
4. Religious Pluralism

Question 18

Third Phase: Religious Studies in the
Late 20th Century/Early 21st Century

Answer 18

• Comparative study of religions gained prominence for a global perspective
• Emphasis on studying lived religion, focusing on everyday faith practices
• Late 20th century: emergence of critical and postmodern perspectives
  
  • Deconstruction of traditional categories and challenging prevailing narratives
  • Race and class– how inequality built into scholarship itself as well as social institutions
  • Feminist and gender studies brought attention to power dynamics in religious traditions
• Increased focus on religion in social and political contexts, examining impact on human rights, globalization, and conflict
• Scholars critically examined reciprocal influence between religion and societal forces
• Critiques grow of older perspectives, theories; growth of research with new questions, increasing diversification of
  scholars and perspectives

Question 19

World Religions’ three common
meanings:

Answer 19

1. Broad Usage: used broadly to refer to all religions that have existed or currently exist in the world; “living religions” or “living faiths”
2. Major Religions: refers to a select group of religions often termed “the major religions of the world”
3. In Academia: signals that subject matter goes beyond Christianity to include multiple religions (where Christianity is just one among many)

Question 20

Buddha

Answer 20

awakened one
enlightened one.

Question 21

Tomoko Masuzawa’s examination and
deconstruction of the term “world religions” was important for several reasons

Answer 21

• Questioning Assumptions: Challenged long-standing assumptions about “world religions” and forced reevaluation
• Highlighting Eurocentrism: Shed light on biases and overlooked complexity of non-Western traditions
• Emphasizing Historical and Cultural Context: Encouraged nuanced understanding through
  considering context when studying religions
• Fostering Critical Thinking: Prompted critical exploration of terms, definitions, and methodologies

Question 22

Protestant-Christian Assumptions in the Study of Religion

Answer 22

• Protestantism influenced the early academic study of religion due to the background of many scholars (Europe and North America)
• Protestantism’s prominence in these regions shaped scholars’ perspectives and
  research interests in religious studies.
• These methods became foundational to the study of religion, further solidifying Protestantism’s influence on the early academic exploration of religious phenomena.
• Problem arises when assumptions distort knowledge of other non-Christian traditions
• One of these influences: Focus on Doctrine and Belief

Question 23

Carl Olson (a scholar of religion) defines

Answer 23

convictions, assertions, and habitually accepted unquestioning viewpoints
that define

• a religious culture’s worldview,
• its way of life,
• its social structure,
• the nature of human existence and its problems,
• the solution to the problems of life,
• and an often concise statement of the fundamental agreed upon religious
  claims.

Question 24

General Conclusions about Religious Beliefs vs. Non-Religious Beliefs

Answer 24

Content and Object of Belief:
- Focuses on the divine, supernatural, or transcendent realms, such as beliefs in gods, spirits, afterlife, or sacred texts.

Context and Function:
- Embedded within a religious framework or community, often serving as a foundation for rituals, practices, moral codes, and identity formation.

Sacredness:
- Typically considered sacred, immutable, and fundamental to one’s worldview and understanding of existence.

Community and Tradition:
- Often shared within a religious community and passed down through generations as part of tradition and collective identity.

Role in Ritual and Worship:
-Integral to religious rituals, ceremonies, prayers, and worship practices aimed at connecting with the divine or seeking spiritual fulfillment.

Question 25

Bhuddism 4 nobel truths

Answer 25

1. Suffering: The first truth acknowledges the existence of suffering or dissatisfaction in life. 2. Origin of Suffering: The second truth explores the causes or origins of suffering. It teaches that attachment, desire, and clinging to impermanent things are the root causes of suffering. 3. Cessation of Suffering: The third truth points to the possibility of ending suffering. It suggests that by eliminating the root causes of suffering – attachment and desire – one can achieve liberation and experience the cessation of suffering. 4. Path to the Cessation of Suffering: The fourth truth outlines the Noble Eightfold Path, which is the practical guide to achieving the cessation of suffering. This path consists of eight interconnected principles or practices, including right understanding, right intention, right speech, right action, right livelihood, right effort, right mindfulness, and right concentration. Following this path is believed to lead to enlightenment and the ultimate end of suffering.

Question 26

Oral Traditions

Answer 26

1. Oral Stories and Myths 2. Oral Prayers and Chants 3. Oral Sermons and Teachings 4. Oral Histories

Question 27

Written Traditions

Answer 27

1. Scriptures and Holy Books - Examples include the Bible in Christianity, the Quran in Islam, the Bhagavad Gita in Hinduism. 2. Religious Text Commentaries 3. Religious Law Codes: Examples include the Ten Commandments in Judaism and Christianity or the Sharia in Islam. 4. Religious Poetry and Hymns: Examples include the Psalms in the Bible and the hymns in Sikhism's Guru Granth Sahib. 5. Religious Texts on Rituals and Practices 6. Religious Literature

Question 28

myths

Answer 28

- are narratives or stories that contain important knowledge and wisdom about significant events and characters - are seen as their sacred history and the reason for current personal and social conditions - serve as models for how people should behave in religious rituals, cover various aspects of life, hold valuable knowledge and ways of understanding world

Question 29

Mythology

Answer 29

refers to all the myths within a specific religious tradition

Question 30

Scripture

Answer 30

- Texts that have been given high regard in a religion, often considered sacred (that which is special, set apart, holy) - Can contain lessons about life, laws and rules, ethical and moral codes, stories, worldview - Canon = officially sanctioned texts by orthodox authorities - Non-canonical religious literature = religious texts, writings, or scriptures that are not considered part of the official, recognized, or authoritative canon

Question 31

Difficulty in defining 'scripture'

Answer 31

- Oral vs. written text - Some "scripture-like" books not typically included - Distinguishing primary sacred texts from secondary

Question 32

Words and Power

Answer 32

- Both spoken and written words considered powerful in human perception - Not just symbols, but actions (ie, the words themselves are meant to do something in the world) - Can evoke a power beyond the everyday (sacred, spiritual, divine power)

Question 33

Types of Religious Actions

Answer 33

- Prayer - Charitable Acts - Study and Reflection - Pilgrimage - Ethical Living - Fasting and Abstinence - Community Building

Question 34

Ethics

Answer 34

Moral guidelines for behaviour - Differentiate right from wrong. - Religious ethics refers to the moral principles and guidelines derived from religious teachings and beliefs. - Guide behaviour within a specific religion - Specific rules - Can show devotion

Question 35

symbol

Answer 35

Symbols, in the context of understanding rituals, are things—either material or non-material—that represent more than just their physical characteristics. - Symbols = culturally determined - Example: The Eucharist, also known as Holy Communion or the Lord's Supper, is a ritual in Christian traditions involving consumption of bread and wine

Question 36

Rituals and Rites of Passage

Answer 36

- Rituals have transformative power - Some rituals can transform a participant's view of the world or themselves; confer new status, title; change social status, group membership - Happens in significant times of life (eg. birth, adulthood, death, graduation, communion, wedding, university, learning to drive) - Main participants are transformed into a new state with a different lifestyle, identity, and social group - Two notable scholars are Victor Turner and Arnold van Gennep

Question 37

What is the meaning of non-canonical

Answer 37

Outside the recognized or accepted sacred scriptures of a religious tradition

Question 38

Which of the following options is a characteristic of the second period of the Academic Study of Religion (Post WWII)?

Answer 38

- The American Universities, which inherited the European scholarly tradition, gain more prominence as centres for the Study of Religion. - Scholars like Mircea Eliade and Wilfred Cantwell Smith played important roles in establishing Religious Studies in North America

Question 39

Arnold van Gennep: Rites of Passage

Answer 39

Rites of passage consist of three crucial stages: separation, liminality, and incorporation - Participants initially undergo separation (pre-liminal stage), detaching from their usual world, roles, and obligations - The transition or liminal stage is marked by crossing a symbolic threshold and is a vital part of the transformative process - The final incorporation or post-liminal stage signifies the participants' return as transformed individuals with new roles - Van Gennep emphasized the variability of these stages, with no fixed duration

Question 40

Orthodoxy

Answer 40

The term orthodoxy is derived from the terms ortho (which means correct) and dox (which means doctrine)

Question 41

Lived religion

Answer 41

- framework developed in religious studies for understanding the religion as it is practiced by ordinary people in the contexts of everyday life, including domestic, work, commercial, community, and institutional religious settings.

Question 42

Adherent

Answer 42

those who adhere to a particular tradition

Question 43

Non-adherent

Answer 43

those who do not adhere to a particular tradition

Question 44

Assumption

Answer 44

we take adherents to mean those who adhere to the orthodox view or the orthopraxis (which is the religiously sanctioned action)

Question 45

Religious Sympathizers

Answer 45

Do not self-identify with a tradition, but "dabble" by adopting parts of a religion