Global Religious Experience Final

Provide 3 examples we’ve discussed in class where legal definitions affect the outcome of religious practices.

1. Land use disputes for the First Salmon Ceremony in which fishing rights were affected by local regulations and treaties.

2. Land use disputes with supporters of Crossbones Graveyard and London Transportation. The graveyard was transformed into a community garden to combat this.

3. Mindfulness meditation being taught in schools. In Michigan, it was decided that it was religious, but California said it was not religious.

What are some ways that the First Salmon Ceremony functions similarly to the Catholic sacrament of the Eucharist?

Each ceremony contains a willing sacrifice made by participants. Each community eats together, gives thanks to divine beings, and renews a spiritual covenant.

What is the agreed-upon “collective standard” used by African Methodist Episcopal churches to solve potential problems of interpreting spiritual activity?

The interpretations of the pastor are followed.

Why were so many people upset about the City of London wanting to build on the site known today as Cross Bones?

The site represents the outcasts of society, both in past and modern times. It is a community space of remembrance and respect that was sacralized as a burial ground for former sex workers and the marginalized, and many felt that building on it would erase their history and dignity.

In your opinion, why do material religious objects carry so much power?

They represent communities’ opinions about larger ideas. They serve as a permanent, accessible link to realities beyond the ordinary that both maintain and create the sacred.

Where did the concept of Tibetan Singing Bowls as religious objects originate?

In the seventies, traders in Nepal began taking advantage of Western tourists because the bowls played on their notions of orientalism. They were sold as a Western, commodified good.

What are some of the ways that Coptic Christians in Helbis create boundaries between themselves and their Muslim neighbors?

Copts experience subdued behaviors in public, such as not greeting others or using hushed voices, as a result of their fear or caution. This helps create a group identity through shared emotion that brings them both together and away from the rest of society. They also wear Christian jewelry and non-Muslim clothing in public to signify their membership to the Copts, not the Muslims.

Why do the creators of “Hell Houses” consider fear to be the best tactic in achieving their goal?

They believe they will disturb young people enough into giving their lives to God and going to Heaven instead of Hell. If people are scared enough of Hell, they will do anything to avoid it.

Why was Nostra Aetate such an important document for Catholicism’s relationship with other religions?

It was radical because it recognized the truth and holiness found in other religions, setting the stage for friendly religious tolerance. After the Holocaust, it also aimed to reduced antisemitism by condemning it.

What is the problem with trying to define the word “religion?”

Definitions are self-serving. They often leave parts out in order to fit the colloquial usage of the word. They put dissimilar things together, too.

What is the difference between Theology and Religious Studies?

Religious Studies is similar to anthropology/sociology and is analytical, etic, and historical. Theology takes an emic (insider) perspective, is faith-based, and is often contributed to by participants of the religion itself.

In Nancy Ammerman’s view, what is the added factor that makes a social practice into a religious practice?

It has a spiritual dimension - it deals with a non-ordinary reality.

What is secularization? Is the world becoming more secular?

Secularization is when the world becomes disenchanted from its previous (religious) way of explaining how everything works and religion loses its influence. It is not becoming more secular, only in certain regions, despite what academics believe. It is becoming more diverse, not secular.

What is the difference between an emic and an etic approach?

Etic is coming from an outside perspective and deals with Religious Studies. Emic is coming from an inside perspective and deals with Theology.

Why does the concept of “real presence” matter so much for Robert Orsi?

He believes that you cannot understand an event without allowing for the possibility of truth within the events. It does a disservice to both the event and to those involved. This combats the use of the word “superstition” when dealing with religious accounts.

Why does Tulasi Srinivas consider Vaastu to be an “indigenous critique of contemporary capitalism?”

It offers a non-Western, historically grounded balance to materialistic Western society and culture that focuses on profit and individualism. It is grounded in ancient Hindu texts that offer a perspective based on traditional Indian architectural principals that promote harmony with nature and community.

Give an example of where religion reinforced existing structures of power, and other where religion liberated people from such structures.

Reinforced: The Hindu caste system in India legitimizes the Brahim rule over other castes.

Liberated: The Haitian revolution in which vodou was a source of empowerment and unity for enslaved peoples, aiding their struggle for freedom and identity.

What is “sawm” and “salat?”

Sawm refers to fasting during the month of Ramadan observed by Muslims, while Salat refers to the ritual prayers performed five times a day, which are a fundamental practice in Islam.

Importance of style of Greek icons.

They serve a nostalgic purpose that helps the viewer connect to Greek nationalism, during a time when Greece was very powerful. A certain style must be used in order to open a window to the sacred, so that those viewing can venerate the divine.

3 Poisons in Tibetan Buddhism

Greed, ignorance, anger

Consider broader cultural context of a moral system?

Cultures differ, so they result in different morals. We should seek to understand the full context of someone’s circumstances before judging their morals.

Daniel Winchester’s 3 embodied practices.

Salat, sawm, hijab (modesty: veil for women, beard for men).

Why do non-religious people visit the Qufu temple?

The temples themselves, and the rituals that go on there, are part of a set of cultural norms that are connected to the civil service examinations from ancient China. Also, they feel it could do no harm, only offer the possibility of further success, for example in academics.

Purpose of narratives

They help provide people with an identity. Mainly, they provide coherent, comprehensive frameworks that people can use to make sense of their lives by reconciling their personal and communal experiences.

Purpose of paid birthright trips

Political and economic support, and they connect one’s own story to a physical land.

Who is the messiah of Rastafari?

Haile Selassie, the former emperor of Ethiopia. He fulfilled Marcus Garvey’s prophecy in 1916 that said : “Look to Africa for the crowning of a Black king.”