World Religions: A voyage of discovery Chapter 1

cosmology

The understanding of the nature of the universe.

empathy

The capacity for seeing things from another's perspective.

ethics

A dimension of religion that deals with how we are to act while living in he world.

faith

Experience of the divine or holy presence, sometimes involving intellectual belief and sometimes emphasizing personal trust.

monotheism

The belief in only one god.

myth

A story (often recorded in scripture) that tends to answer questions of origins and serves as a source of sacred truth.

pantheism

The belief that divine reality exists in everything.

polytheism

The belief in many gods.

revelation

The transmission of the divine will or knowledge to human beings, typically through myths or some form of religious experience.

ritual

Formal worship practice, often based on a reenactment of a myth.

transcendence

The overcoming of the normal limitations imposed by the human condition, whether temporarily or abidingly.

The Seven Dimensions

Used to understand all aspects of religion and its functions. The dimensions include:

1. experiential

2. mythic

3. doctrinal

4. ethical

5. ritual

6. social

7. material.

Experiential

This relates to the religious experiences of us as individuals and how people interact with their religions; sometimes passed on through other's experiences with that religion or the divine.

• one sub-aspect = faith

◦ you tend to have subjective experiences with the divine if you believe in a god (theism).

• Non theistic religions may use a "vision quest" to have experiences to become one with the divine.

Example:

- The Story of Buddha's Enlightenment -- when Gautama becomes the Buddha by sitting under the bodhi tree and becomes enlightened by religious experiences and Buddhism is born.

Mythic

When you use myths (stories passed on, sometimes orally, from religions) to explain possible sacred truths or reasonings.

Example:

- The Aztec Creation Story is one of many stories that embodies the aspects of creation and the beginnings of the universe.

Doctrinal (Doctrine)

• The teaching aspect of a religion and what causes you to believe the beliefs in one's religions (sub aspects = beliefs and teachings)

• Doctrines usually come from lived religious experiences/myths, and found in religious tests/scriptures.

Example:

• Christian's believe in the Apostle's Creed and in the Doctrine of the Trinity.

Ethical

A dimension of religion that deals with how we are to act while living in the world. Also it includes many sets of teachings based on one question: How are we to act while living in the world? Ethics is portrayed through art, texts and songs.

Example:

‌• The Ten Commandments of the Christian religion.

‌• Also incorporates more general ethical principles, such as how to use compassion, etc.

‌• ^ such as the Buddhism ideal of compassion and Christian ideal of love.

Ritual

The ritual aspect embodies a formal worship practice often based on the reenactment of a myth or sacred story.

Example:

‌• Every Muslim will make at least one pilgrimage to Mecca - the holy city of Islam.

‌• Buddhist Dance: coming together and expressing feelings by dancing, using drums, singing, costumes, etc. and celebrating a common faith together.

Social

The social aspect highlights the significance of community within a religion. It provides a sense of belonging within a given group that inspires and motivates individuals.

Example:

• Going to church

Material

This aspect includes all of the physical elements of each faith or religion. In other words the material culture refers to objects, spaces, and resources that the people can touch and learn from and use to define their religion.

Example:

• A temple is a sacred building devoted to worship and a place to explore one's own spirituality. This Buddhist temple called Royal Palace in Luang Prabang, Laos is a place where people can go to explore their religion or faith.

Spiritual Questions:

1. What is the human condition?

-Are human beings by nature good, or evil, or somewhere in between

-Suffering: important part about human condition

-Why do we suffer?

2. What is spiritual perfection?

-What does it mean to be spiritually complete or fulfilled?

-Some religions teach a form of spiritual perfection that can be attained in this life, others teach that perfection comes only in afterlife.

-Always difficult to attain spiritual perfection

3. What is our destiny?

-Where do we go after life?

4. What is the nature of the world?

-Where did the world come from?

-Answers to this question come from the study of cosmology and the answer determines the degree of interest in the natural world

-Am I in the "real world"

-Is this a reality or an illusion

5. What is ultimate reality, and how is it revealed/shown to us?

-Answers can be found through sacred stories, or myths, or types of religious experiences

6. How do we attain salvation?

-Normally answered from the differences in a religions' way of attaining salvation.

-Christianity and Islam: salvation depends on the divine

Buddhism: Nirvana