Religious Studies: Key Concepts and Definitions in Theology and Mythology

Theology

The academic and intellectual study of religion and the divine, examining religious thought, beliefs, and traditions through various lenses like scripture, history, and ethics

Religious Studies

An interdisciplinary field that academically and objectively examines religions as cultural, historical, and social phenomena, focusing on their beliefs, practices, impact, and human experiences

Revealed Religion

Revealed through a prophet or a divine beings

Natural Religion

Involves things on earth and no prophet

Animism

the belief in a supreme being or creator who established the universe and its natural law but does not intervene in its affairs of the lives of people

Substantive definition of religion

Focuses on the specific content or "substance" of a belief system, typically emphasizing the belief in supernatural or spiritual beings, forces, or the "sacred:

Functional definition of religion

focuses on the roles or functions religion serves for individuals and society, rather than its specific content or beliefs

Interpretive definition of religion

Cultural system of symbols, beliefs, and practices that provides meaning and motivation by framing individuals' lives within a larger cosmic order, which is seen as fundamentally real and significant

Sacred

a connection with the spirit

Profane

Relating or devoted to that which is not sacred, secular

Phenomenological definition or religion

focuses on describing the lived, conscious experiences of religious believers from their own perspectives, rather than imposing external sociological or theological explanations

irruption

a sudden, forcful that significantly alters the existing state of relgious thought, practice, or community, often from outside the established orders

Theopanic irruption

a sudden and forceful manifestation of the duty into the human world, disrupting normal reality and revealing divine presence, the sacred into the profane world, fundamentally transforming the nature of place time, or object

Hierophany irruption

dramatic and violent manifestation of the sacred into the profane

Kratophany Irruption

a "manifestation of power", specfically of the sacred, which evokes a powerful, duel emotional response of fascination and fear

Epic

A foundational that tells sotries of heors, gods, and significant historical or mythological events, often revealin cultural, spiritual, and moral lessons

Cosmongony

a symbolic narrative, or creation, myth, explaining the origin, the world, and the gods, often addressing questions about why things are the way they are

Archtype

Universal, symbolic forms and images that arise from the collective unconscious to represent fundamental human experiences and spiritual concepts

In ilo tempore

signaling that a biblical or mythical event is being recounted in a sacred, present moment, not just a history, but as a living reality

Homo religious

the inherent, existential human drive for transcendence, connection with the sacred, and the creation of meaning, rather than a specific religious belief system

Cyclical time

Views time as a series of repeating cycles and patterns, in contrast to a linear progression, and is often rooted in observation of natural cycles like seasons, day/night, life, and death

Historical Time

encompasses the study of the origins, development, and changes in religious beliefs, practices, and institutions over human history from pre-written record to the modern era

Sui generis

a phenomenon that is unique, peculiar, and of its own kind, distinct from other phenomena and not reducible to other categories

Khoomei

throat singing

Sygyt

a style of throat singing used in the Shamanistic and Buddhist traditions of the Tuvan people of Siberia

Kargyraa

A style throat singing that is used to connect with different spiritual realms. It deep, resonant sound is believed to hold special power for spiritual communication and ritual process

Sayan

A mountain range in southern siberia

Alltai

A mountanious religion and its indigenous Tunk people

Yenisei

A river that holds spiritual value