Transcript Chapter 6 part 1

Religion
Chapter 1
Religion
“a system of beliefs and practices that attempts
to order life in terms of culturally perceived
ultimate priorities.”
- Stoddard and Prorak
“perceived ultimate priorities” often translate
into a list of things a follower “should” do and
ways a follower “should” behave.
• Religion lies at the heart
of nationalism-e.g.
Middle East, Northern
Ireland, Bosnia, Kashmir,
Afghanistan, etc.
• Religion in many nonwestern areas practically
constitutes culture.
• Religious cultural
landscapes-churches,
temples, mosques,
shrines, cemeteries,
statues, veils, turbans,
beards and scars
Key Characteristics of Religion
• Set of doctrines or beliefs
relating to a god or gods.
• Structure or hierarchy of
officials
• Rituals for:
–
–
–
–
–
–
Birth
Death
Reaching adulthood
Marriage
Prayer
Routine services on a Fri,
Sat. or Sun.
• Impact of religioncalendars, holidays,
architecture, place names,
slogans on coins or flags.
• A major forces in
combating social ills and
promoting
– Education
– Medicine and health care
– The arts
• But also
–
–
–
–
Blocked scientific study
Oppressed dissidents
Supported imperialism
Kept women inferior
Religions are divided into
• Branches-a large and fundamental division within a
religion-such as Catholic, Protestant and Orthodox
branches of Christianity.
• Denomination-a division or a branch that unites a number
of local congregations into a single administrative bodyBaptist, Lutheran, Methodist denominations of
Protestantism
• Sect-has several meanings– A relatively small group that broke away from an bigger group
or
– An organized ecclesiastical body or
– A dissenting or schismatic religious body or
– A religious denomination-such as sects of Islam
Classifications of Religions
• Universalizing religions – religions that
actively seek converts because members believe
they offer belief systems of universal
appropriateness and appeal.
• Ethnic religions – religions whose adherents
are born into the faith and whose members do
not actively seek converts.
Classifications of Religions
• Monotheistic religions – worship a single deity.
• Polytheistic religions – worship more than one
deity, even thousands.
• Animistic religions – belief that inanimate
objects posses spirits and should be revered.
Religious Typology
• Monotheistic-belief in 1 god
• Polytheistic-belief in many
• Animistic-objects have
spirits-trees, mountains,
rivers
• Global or Universal-found
all over the world-seek
converts-aim to be universal
• Evangelical-religions that
seek new converts
• Cultural religion-limited to a
national culture or a single
region-Shinto, Daoism, etc.
Religions of the World
• Shamanism –
a community faith tradition in which people follow
their shaman, a religious leader, teacher, healer, and
visionary.
Shamanism & Traditional Religions
• Community faith and
traditional religion which
centers around a shamanreligious leader, healer,
visionary.
• Small isolated groups in
Africa, SE Asia, East
Asia and Native America
• Traditional religions in
Africa believe in a god
creator and provider as
well as spirits and an
afterlife.
Where did the Major Religions
of the World Originate, and
How do Religions Diffuse?
Sacred Sites and Pilgrimage
• Sacred Sites
places or spaces people infuse with
religious meaning.
• Pilgrimage
purposeful travel to a religious site to pay
respects or participate in a ritual at the site.
From the Hearth of South Asia
• Hinduism –
originated in Indus River Valley over 4000
years ago.
* ritual bathing, karma, reincarnation
sacred text: Vedas
sacred sites: Ganges River
social manifestation: caste system
diffusion: through South Asia and into
Southeast Asia
Hinduism
• Ranks next in size after
Islam, but it the oldest
organized religion.
• No bureaucracy-but does
have holy men.
• Vedas or stories, but not a
book like the Qu’ran, Bible
or Torah.
• Concentrated in South Asian
hearth.
• Polytheistic-thousands of
gods-many cults-much
fragmentation.
Sacred Landscapes of Hinduism
Hinduism – pilgrimages follow prescribed routes, and
rituals are followed by millions.
Varanasi,
India on the
Ganges River
where Hindus
perform
morning
rituals.
• The Ganges is a sacred river to Hindus, a symbol of life
without end. Pilgrims come from all over to bathe in its holy
waters.
Hindu Temple –
Angkor Wat, Cambodia. This temple suffers from neglect
and destruction now, as Buddhism has supplanted Hinduism
in most of Cambodia.
Disposition of the Deceased Each religion approaches the disposition of the deceased in
different ways, and cultural landscapes reflect the religious
traditions.
Hindu
crematorium
in
Mombasa,
Kenya
• As Shiva destroys the Universe with fire,
Hindus cremate their dead.
From the Hearth of South Asia
• Buddhism –
splintered from Hinduism 2500 years ago.
Originated in a region from Nepal south to the
Ganges River area.
* anyone can achieve salvation, reach
enlightenment
founder: Siddartha Gautama (the Buddha)
sacred sites: stupas
diffusion: most strongly into Tibet in the
north and into East Asia
Buddhism
• Originated in India as a
reform movement of
Hinduism.
• Founded by Siddhartha
Gautama or the Buddha in
5th cent. BC.
• A strongly regional faith-it
remains strong in SE Asia,
China and Japan, but died
out in India.
• Four Noble Truths and
the Eight Fold Path are
the guiding principles.
Buddhism
is mixed with local religions in some places. In Japan,
Buddhism is mixed with the local religion, Shintoism.
Shinto Shrine
In Kyoto, Japan,
this Shinto shrine
is visible after
walking through a
torii – a gateway
usually formed by
two wooden posts
and topped by two
horizontal beams.
Buddhist Stupas 72 stupas, each containing a sculpture of the Buddha in
meditation were built around 800 CE and still stand in
Borobudur, Indonesia.
Sacred
Landscapes of
Buddhism
Swedogon Pagodo in
Yangon, Myanmar
Eight hairs of the
Buddha are preserved
under the dome (chedi)
• Buddhism came to Tibet
from India in the 8th
century. Tibetan
Buddhism is a mixture of
Tantric and other
Mahayana teachings
developed further by
spiritual leaders or monks
called lamas.
• A prayer wheel contains a
mantra, a prayer or chant
that is repeated many
times. Each turn of the
wheel counts as a prayer
said and merit gained.
Shintoism
• A Japanese ethnic religion
based on animism and
shamanism.
• Was modified by
introduction of Buddhismclosely related today-many
Japanese practice both.
• Reverence for nature and the
land-emperor seen as divine.
• Belief in kami or spirits
• Used by militants as a
nationalistic religion in
1930s to unify the country in
war time.
From the Hearth of Huang He (Yellow)
River Valley
• Taoism –
originated in China more than 2500 years ago
* oneness of humanity and nature
founder: Lao-Tsu
sacred text: “Book of the Way”
social manifestation: Feng Shui
diffusion: East Asia
Chinese Religions
• Confucianism-mainly a
philosophy of life founded
by K’ung Fu-tze in 6th
cent. BC
• Became a state religion of
China-emphasized duty,
social order and respect of
others
• Daoism or Taoism “the
Way” founded by Lao Zi,
a reverence and harmony
with nature-easily coexisted with Confucianism
and Buddhism
From the Hearth of the
Eastern Mediterranean
• Judaism –
originated in Southwest Asia about 4000 years ago.
* first major monotheistic religion, covenant
between God (one God) and Abraham (the chosen
people) sacred text: Torah founder: Abraham
sacred sites: Jerusalem (Western Wall), land
between the Mediterranean and the Jordan River
social manifestation: Zionism diffusion: into
European cities during the diaspora,
into N. America during WWII, into Israel over
last 50 years
Judaism
• One of the world’s oldest
religions
• Monotheistic religion that
evolved in Southwest Asia
• 3 branches-Orthodox,
Conservative and Reformed
• Not evangelical-does not seek
converts
• Concentrated in Israel, but
widely scattered in Middle
East, North Africa, Russia,
Ukraine, Europe and the
Americas
Sacred Sites of Jerusalem
Jerusalem is sacred to three major religions:
Judaism (Western Wall)
Christianity (Church of the Holy Sepulchre)
Islam (Dome of the Rock)
Jewish neighborhoods in European Cities
the Old Jewish Cemetery in Prague, the Czech Republic