Lecture Notes Review: Core Concepts, Thinkers, and Study Methods in Religion

Flashcards covering core concepts, key thinkers, definitions, etymology, and study methods related to the academic study of religion.

What is agnosticism?

A position of uncertainty about supernatural beings, withholding belief, distinct from atheism.

How is atheism defined?

Denial or disbelief in the existence of gods or supernatural beings.

What is anthropology's emphasis concerning religion?

Description and analysis of human cultures and behaviors in relation to religion, rather than truth claims.

How do anthropocentric approaches define religion?

In terms of human activity and behavior, not metaphysical essence.

What are the common requirements for academic definitions of religion?

Must be empirically observable, cross-culturally applicable, non-evaluative, and useful in a public context.

What is essentialism (substantive) in defining religion?

Defining religion by its content or essence, such as belief in spiritual beings, the sacred, or ultimate concern.

How does functionalism define religion?

By its role in society, such as uniting communities, relieving suffering, or explaining phenomena.

What is reductionism in the study of religion?

Explaining religion as reducible to another phenomenon, like economics or psychology.

What is the nature of a normative/prescriptive approach to religion?

An insider or theological approach that prescribes how religion ought to be.

Who was Cicero, and how did he connect 'religio'?

Roman statesman who connected 'religio' with ancestral ritual and 'traditio' (tradition).

Who was Edmund B. Tylor, and how did he define religion?

English anthropologist and founder of cultural anthropology, who defined religion as 'belief in spiritual beings'.

What concept did Rudolf Otto emphasize regarding religious experience?

'The mysterium tremendum et fascinans' (mystery that is terrifying and fascinating).

How did Paul Tillich define religion?

As 'ultimate concern'—what one values most absolutely.

What was Mircea Eliade's focus in the study of religion?

The distinction between 'the sacred' and the profane, and how myths and rituals connect humans to sacred realities.

According to Karl Marx, what is the role of religion in society?

Religion is 'opium of the people,' soothing suffering but preventing social change.

How did Sigmund Freud view religion?

As an obsessive neurosis, with rituals similar to OCD and myths expressing repressed desires like dreams.

How did Emile Durkheim define religion?

As 'a unified system of beliefs and practices relative to sacred things' that unites a moral community.

Who was Max Müller, and what was his contribution to comparative religion?

German philologist and pioneer of comparative religion, who advocated the study of sacred texts and classified 'world religions'.

What theory did Ludwig Wittgenstein propose regarding the definition of religion?

'Family resemblance' theory, meaning religion is defined not by a single essence but by overlapping traits.

What was Jonathan Z. Smith's argument about religion?

Religion is a scholarly construct with no independent existence outside academic comparison.

What are some etymological roots of the word 'religion'?

Latin 'religare' ('to bind'), 'religere' ('to read carefully'), and 'religio' ('ancestral ritual').

When was the 'World Religions Concept' coined, and what was its impact?

Coined in 1827 and expanded by Cornelius Tiele in 1876, shifting the focus from 'ours vs. theirs' to 'universal vs. ethnic' categories.

What is ethnocentrism in the context of studying religion?

Judging other traditions by one's own cultural norms.

What does 'cosmogony' refer to?

Myths or stories about the origins of the universe.

Who coined the terms 'emic' and 'etic', and what do they represent?

Kenneth Pike coined 'emic' (insider's perspective) and 'etic' (outsider's analytic framework).

According to Wilfred Cantwell Smith, when are a scholar's statements about a religion valid?

Only if believers accept them.

How did Clifford Geertz characterize the insider/outsider problem?

As a spectrum, distinguishing between 'experience-near' (emic) and 'experience-distant' (etic) categories.

What kind of approach is required for the publicly funded study of religion?

A descriptive, non-confessional approach suitable for diverse classrooms.

What is 'The Pizza Effect'?

A religious or cultural practice modified abroad and then re-imported as 'authentic' (e.g., yoga, Buddhism in the West).