World Religions Quiz

Emile Durkheim - Sociological/ Functional Definition

He viewed a religion as a unified system of beliefs relating to sacred things; he noticed how many religions will help unite a community of people together with one shared moral baseline.

What does religion do for people?

Clifford Geertz - Anthropological/ Symbolic Definition

He sees religion a lots of symbols working to invoke strong emotions in people, usually making them feel safe, connected, or at peace.

How does religion shape world view?

Mircea Eliade - Substantive/ Phenomenological Definition

He believed religions were the belief in and experience of something sacred, something that could only manifest itself as hierophanies given the profanity of the normal world.

How do religious people experience reality?

Profane

Something that is not sacred or biblical

Hierophany

The manifestation of something sacred

What makes something a religion?

A religion is a set of beliefs and practices relating to something divine or sacred, usually through worship. It presents itself as a system of ideologies and shared morals uniting people in holy places of worship, like mosques or churches.

Why would the different philosophers classify religions differently

They had different views on what specifically qualified something as a religion.

Scripture of Christianity

The Bible

Scripture of Islam

The Qur'an

Percent of world population practicing major religions

33% Christianity

22% Islam

13% Hinduism

7% Buddhism

7% Chinese religions (Like Daoism or Confucianism) 0.2% Judaism

Scripture of Buddhism

Pali Canon

Scripture of Judaism

The Tanak