RSM 120-122 Study Material: Key Vocabulary Flashcards

A focused set of vocabulary flashcards covering origins of religion, definitions, major theories, phenomenology, material religion, and key theorists mentioned in the notes.

Religio (Latin root for religion)

Origin of the word religion; possible roots include re-ligare (to connect) and religere (to follow closely), among others.

Re-ligare (Latin root)

Lit. 'to connect'—one proposed origin of the word religion indicating connection between humans and the divine.

Religere (Latin root)

Lit. 'to follow closely'—one proposed origin of religion indicating cultic fidelity or adherence.

Relegere (Latin root)

Lit. 'to engage again'—one proposed origin reflecting interaction between humans and the supernatural.

Religion (current understanding)

A complex system of beliefs, practices, and experiences related to the sacred and transcendent; historically interpreted and defined in multiple ways.

Sacred vs. Profane

Categories often treated as distinct; Asad notes that premodern writings did not always separate sacred from profane.

Hierophany

Manifestation of the sacred in the world; ordinary objects or events become vehicles for the sacred (Mircea Eliade).

Sui generis

Latin for unique or of its own kind; religion as something incomparable in its own nature (Eliade).

Minimal definition of religion

Religion is the worship of gods; excludes some traditions (e.g., Buddhism) by definition.

Maximal definition of religion

Religion is a broad set of convictions by which people live; very wide in scope (can include non-traditional systems like Communism).

Substantive definition of religion

Definitions that use terms and concepts used by religious communities themselves; emphasizes religious experience (knowledge, meditation, rituals, etc.).

Functional definition of religion

Definition focusing on what religion does (worldview, ethics, social role) rather than what it is.

Ethnic religion

Religions belonging to a specific culture or ethnicity.

Universal/World religion

Religions found across many cultures and regions (e.g., Christianity, Islam).

Natural/Primal/Primitive religion

Early forms of religion, often connected to nature, with animistic worldviews; not tied to one civilization.

Animism

Belief that spiritual powers or souls inhabit natural objects and phenomena.

Revelation

Divine communication or disclosure that forms the basis for a religion (e.g., in Christianity and Islam).

Mystical

Dimension of religion focused on inner experience, direct encounter with the sacred; contrasted with revelation.

Founder (of a religion)

Origin traced to a specific person (e.g., Buddha, Jesus, Muhammad).

Celestial vs. Earth-bound deities

Celestial gods reside in heavens, often male; Earth-bound deities linked to fertility/agriculture and land, often female.

Credo Mutwa (African perspective)

African worldview with spoke of a spiritual realm, dual spheres, Ena ancestors, and a holistic view where religion is part of identity.

4 Broad categories of definitions (religion)

Minimal, Maximal, Substantive, Functional—showing range of how religion can be defined.

No definitions are possible (Western Construct)

View that defining religion is biased by Western culture; religion is a modern/colonial construction rather than universal.

Conditional definitions (Hall-Pilgrim-Cavanaugh)

Religion as varied symbolic expression of what people value; response to transcendence, without initial transcendental understanding.

Theo Sundermeier (comprehensive definition)

Religion as communal answer to transcendence, expressed in rites and ethics; rooted in social behavior; transcendence presumed.

Intentionality

The mind's directedness toward objects or experiences in the world.

Inter-subjectivity

Shared understanding arising from the interaction of multiple conscious subjects.

Hierophany (in material religion)

Sacred manifestations revealed through material forms and cultural practices.

Monotheism

Belief in a single, all-powerful deity.

Polytheism

Belief in multiple gods.

Henotheism

Belief that many gods exist but only one is supreme or primary.

Pantheism

Doctrine that identifies God with the universe or natural forces.

Panentheism

Belief that God interpenetrates and extends beyond the universe.

Deism

Belief in a creator who does not intervene in the universe after creation.

Karl Marx on religion

Religion as a by-product of social class structures; used to pacify the oppressed ('drugs the soul').

Emile Durkheim on religion

Religion as a social by-product that unites the community and maintains society.

Auguste Comte on religion

Religion as a social phenomenon integral to human behavior.

Peter Berger on religion

Religion as a human means of making sense of reality; a framework for understanding the world.

Immanuel Kant on God

Existence of God is ethically significant; God provides ethical grounding.

Rudolf Otto on religion

The numinous: a sense of the holy that inspires both fear and wonder.

Mircea Eliade on religion

Sacred and profane are distinct spheres; hierophanies reveal the sacred.

Carl Jung on religion

Religion as a product of archetypes in the collective unconscious; meaning and harmony.