RLST/ETST 012H Study Guide (Winter, 2026)

What is the difference between the microscopic and telescopic view of myth? (Doniger)

Microscopic: looks closely through the personal and individual

Telescopic: Looks at the big picture through the universe, cosmos, eternal, and infinite

What is the difference between a life-cycle ritual and a calendrical ritual? Give examples.

Life-Cycle: Rituals that happen throughout a person's life, such as bar mitzvahs and quinceañeras

Calendrical: Happen every year: Christmas, St. Patrick's Day, Halloween

What is the "city upon a hill" myth?

Who said it initially?

What did it justify?

How is it used today?

It is a biblical reference from the Sermon on the Mount, where the city was meant as a guiding light, a model for good deeds, behavior, and religion (tells Christians how to behave).

Initially, it was first used by the Puritan John Winthrop to describe the Puritan mission: create a City on the Hill to usher in a Christian Reformation that was sanctioned by God and tell Puritans how to behave.

Because this mission was sanctioned by God, it made the Puritans believe that all actions towards or in defense of this City on the Hill were completely justified and would improve humanity. This justification is called Manifest Destiny (sanctioned by God to capture all territories between the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans).

4) The way it's used today is to define good Americans and create national unity. In foreign policy, the US believes it's the city upon a hill, so they act as a peace-keeper or beacon of hope for countries that have values that align with the US or what it thought was the ideal of the City on the Hill.

Ex: proxy wars of Korea and Vietnam - the US involved itself and sided with South Vietnam and Korea because North Vietnam and Korea were supported by the Soviet Union, which was an evil (aka ideologically opposed communists who threatened the 'excellence' that was "US freedoms and individuality") that the US needed to stand "in the face of."

(Who were the Puritans and what were they resisting in England?)

"The Puritans were members of a religious reform movement known as Puritanism that arose within the Church of England in the late 16th century."

"The Puritans were not able to actualize their utopia at home in England. There were social and economic limitations, as well as limitations on religious freedom... They aimed to usher in a Christian Reformation that Europe and England had not yet realized."

What is civil religion? (Is it 'religion'? Is it Christian?) How has patriotism as civil religion been used in contexts where a community's belonging is challenged? (Japanese internment/Sikhs post 9/11)

A set of quasi-religious attitudes, beliefs, rituals, and symbols that tie members of a political community together... the virtues that citizens need to serve the state.

Used to reinforce assimilation ideas against Sikhs, and used against the Japanese during WWII

How does the story of Exodus from the Hebrew Bible (the story of Moses leading the Israelites from Egypt) become applied differently by the Puritans v. the African slaves in the US?

Puritans: The Puritans saw themselves as a chosen people in a new Promised Land (North America is God's new Israel), the Exodus story served as a powerful metaphor for their, "errand into the wilderness" to establish a religiously pure community in the New World and be a, "A Model of Christian Charity" or "light unto other nations."

They viewed America as a land of opportunity and freedom, akin to the biblical land of Canaan, and saw their migration as a divine mission to escape religious persecution and create a society based on their religious beliefs

African Slaves: For African slaves in the United States, the story of Exodus took on a different significance. It meant to "go north" to free states to escape to. They identified with the Israelites' struggle for liberation from bondage and oppression, finding parallels between their own experiences of enslavement and the Israelites' captivity in Egypt

How did religion (Catholicism v. Protestantism) influence the different forms of colonialism operationalized by the French (Catholics, including Ursulines, Jesuits, etc.) and the British (Puritans and Protestants)?

How did religion (Catholicism v. Protestantism) influence the different forms of colonialism operationalized by the French (Catholics, including Ursulines, Jesuits, etc.) and the British (Puritans and Protestants)?

(1.19.2024_PP Early Colonization and Erasure.pptx)

French Catholics: Much gentler than the British because the aim was assimilation. Missionaries came to "converse" and "dwell among them" to "attract" them to catholicism. Natives were even allowed to become French citizens. Of the 3 missionaries (Recollects, Jesuits, and Ursulines), Jesuits were the most effective. They believed the natives possessed innate civility and goodness which needed only to be plated and polished by Christianity to make them complete 'men.'

~ Steps of colonization: ~

1) Gain the active support of the political leaders in each native group

2) supplant the native shamans as the religious leaders of native life

3) win the general native populations and the institutional and emotional support of their new converts

British Puritans/Protestants: Much harsher than the French. Unlike the Jesuits, they viewed natives as "physically uncontrollable/scattered, and wild course of life" because of their nomadism. Nomadism also meant they didn't think the natives owned the land they lived on.

This made colonization harsher; it aimed to "reduce the natives from savagery to civility". They needed to be civil to accept/be trusted with Christianity and become 'men.'

~ Steps of colonization: ~

1) Enforcing British dress through taxes

2) British (religious) Schools

3) Forced English

TLDR:

French catholicism saw the natives as already human and good; they just needed guidance using religion. The British did not see the natives as human and were not trusted with religion. They needed to be broken down and built back up to be able to accept religion.

How did Native land theft occur, and WHEN was it at its height?

Native land theft occurred primarily through a combination of coercive treaties, fraudulent land deals, military conquest, and forced displacement.

European colonizers and later American settlers frequently disregarded indigenous land rights, forcibly removing Native peoples from their ancestral lands or pressuring them into signing disadvantageous treaties

2) Height:

Indian Removal Act (1830)

Removal of the Cherokee Nation, from which the term "Trail of Tears" derives (1838)

Pres. Grant's "peace policy" (1868-1878 )

US govt. opens reservations to all Christian denominations for missionizing

Religious Crimes Codes (1884)

General Allotment (Dawes) Act (1887)

Prophet Wovoka had his vision (1889)

What was Prophet Wovoka's vision and how was it related to the Ghost Dance and Wounded Knee?

1) He had a vision that he was taken into the spirit world and showed a vision of all of the Native Americans being taken up into the sky, and the Earth swallowing all of the whites. The whites would be dead by next spring. He was shown that by dancing the round dance continuously, this dream would become a reality, and the participants would enjoy a new earth.

2) This dance was the Ghost Dance when Kicking Bear visited Wovoka and thought of himself as the Indian messiah.

3) Since the dance was criminalized by the US the police were sent to arrest Sitting Bull and the Lakota Sioux performing it to stop the dance. Sitting Bull was killed during the attempted arrest. When the Seventh Cavalry tried to stop the dance, the Wounded Knee massacre occurred.

This is because the Lakota wore Ghost shirts that they believed would protect them from bullets. When they did not work, and the expected resurrection did not happen, most believers quit the Ghost Dance.

What was President Grant's Peace Policy, and how did it impact missionary work on reservations? (broadly, what is the relation between the US 'secular' government and policy on regulating Native

religion and culture?)

1) President Grant's Peace Policy, implemented in the late 1860s, aimed to assimilate Native Americans by concentrating them onto reservations and assigning Christian missionaries/remove corrupt Indian agents to oversee their affairs.

2) This policy significantly impacted missionary work by giving religious organizations a central role in Native affairs, often leading to the erosion of indigenous cultures and the promotion of assimilationist policies

"In reality, the [peace] policy rested on the belief that Americans had the right to dispossess Native peoples of their lands, take away freedoms, and send them to reservations, where missionaries would teach them how to farm, read and write, wear Euro-American clothing, and embrace Christianity. If Indians refused to move to reservations, they would be forced off their homelands by soldiers."

What was the Religious Crimes Code, and how did it impact Native religion and the Sun Dance?

"Prosecute Indians who participate in traditional ceremonies such as the Sun Dance.

The U.S. seeks to replace these ancient spiritual practices with Christianity. The court is one of the various methods that the U.S. employs to try to restrict the cultural identity of American Indian tribes. Many political, cultural, and spiritual leaders are imprisoned."

Who was Lame Deer, and how did he become Lame Deer?

1) Lame Deer was a medicine man of the Sioux, a sacred clown or heyoka of his tribe. He participated in American Indian Movement (AIM) events. He protested the taking of the Black Hills, as sacred tribal land.

2) He became Lame Deer (learns his name) through a 4-day vision quest at 16, where he saw his great-grandmother, took her name, and became a man/medicine man.

What are the ways in which Lame Deer compares Christianity and Lakota religion?

Indian beliefs AND Christian/Jewish/Eastern religions are based on visions gotten in various ways. The difference is that white people have forgotten this/It's no longer important to them.

"It's all the same. Jesus and Wakan Tanka are the same. God and the White Buffalo Calf Woman, yes, Christ and this stone here in my medicine bundle, the light from that kerosene lamp, and the holy spirit-it's all one and the same."

Ex.1: Peyote, the herb, is their sacrament.

Ex.2: Across the Bible, we put an eagle feather-it stands for the Great Spirit, for the Holy Ghost. That holy spirit is like an eagle.

Ex.3: The Virgin Mary, or the White Buffalo Calf Woman, or our own Water Woman here with her pail, does not matter. Here comes the drum and the gourd again, the song and the fan that catches songs.

What is the founding myth behind the ritual of inipi rites?

What is the rite?:

A sacred purification ceremony of the Sioux that helps people be reborn. In a dome of tree branches and hide, people participate by sitting in a circle while a ceremonial pipe is smoked and heated rocks are placed on the center fireplace. Water is poured over them to create steam. The tent is opened 4 times to represent the 4 ages described by the White Buffalo Calf Woman.

Myth:

"The songs perpetuate the life breath of the people: as long as the songs are sung, the ceremonies can continue, carry the life breath of the ancestors, linking present and future generations with the old ones and the ancient teachings. The life breath that carries the songs today keeps alive the strength and wisdom of the ancestors and makes that strength and wisdom available to the people."

Belief:

"The songs for inipi and other Lakota sacred rites make it possible for the ceremonies to be conducted. The songs perpetuate the life breath of the people: as long as the songs are sung, the ceremonies can continue, and as long as the ceremonies continue, the people will live."

TLDR:

The myth is that singing (praying) gives you the strength and life-force to complete participation in the sweat lodge so that you leave it purified.

What is peyote religion (NAC)? And how is the peyote ritual conducted? What's its significance,

intention, etc.? Is it legal - and for whom? Since when?

Peyote is a kind of small cactus that has psychoactive alkaloids

1) In pre-Columbian times, the peyote religion had people eat peyote cactus to commune with the spirit world (lame deer himself describes his use of it on page 228) and as a medicine.

2) In NAC, the ritual begins at sundown on a Saturday and continues through the night. During the prayer, eating of peyote, peyote songs, water rituals, and contemplations occur. It ends with breakfast on Sunday.

3) Goals are: Communion with deity or spirits, acquire power, authority, guidance, harmony, and healing (emotional or physical)

4) Peyote rituals used to be illegal until the American Indian Religious Freedom Act of 1978, when Indians argued that its use should be legal under their Constitutional rights for religious practices. It was then made legal by the government, but only for Native Americans in ceremonies.

What are Ojibwe hymns? Why are they good examples of hybridity?

The community suffers from dismemberment understood in both social terms ('we need to be as one again') and in spiritual terms of alienation from its true identity as anishinaabeg ('we need to realize who we are and what West and for...the anishinaabeg are the human beings of this land').

1) For the White Earth Singers/objiwe, the hymns are a means of survival for their language, culture, and identity.

2) They are good examples of hybridity because originally the hymns were Christian hymns translated into indigenous languages, but the Ojibwe ritualized the singing to remember their own culture.

When was Christianity introduced to slaves? Why only then? Why not before?

Christianity was used as both a repressive and liberatory force for slaves.

Black churches were first founded in 1777 and first organized in 1773.

1) Christianity was introduced to slaves during the period of European colonization and the transatlantic slave trade, starting in the 15th century, coinciding with increased European contact with Africa and the Americas, facilitated by colonialism and missionary efforts

2) Before this period, there was limited interaction between Europe and Africa, making it less likely for Christianity to be introduced to African societies.

What was Nat Turner's rebellion, and what were the impacts on black congregations thereafter?

1) Nat Turner believed he was called by God to deliver his people from slavery as a result of numerous visions. He was known as "the Prophet" by other slaves. Turner used preaching to convince people to join his revolt. They first went to their master's house and killed him and his family. Then, in Southampton County, in Virginia, killing at least 55 people, until white authorities crushed the revolt. He avoided capture for 2 months before being hanged.

2) The impact was that 56 black people were accused of being part of the rebellion, and 120 were murdered by mobs. MOST importantly, Virginia voted against abolishing slavery and voted for more repressive laws for slaves.

Ex: prohibiting the education of enslaved persons, restricting rights of assembly and other civil rights for free Blacks, and requiring that white ministers be present at all worship services

What were spirituals coded messages for? And why were they important to enslaved persons?

1) songs with messages about maps, navigational strategies, and timing for slaves to escape toward freedom in the Northern States and Canada. Some songs gave directions about when, where, and how to escape, while others warned of danger along the way.

2) important because slaves were not taught to read and write, so they were the only way slaves could learn from one another how to escape (obviously bruh)

How did Christianity and the Bible align in relation to arguments for and against slavery?

For slavery: Specific biblical verses that tell masters how to treat their slaves

Against slavery: The New World was the new Egypt, "Let my people go" Myth in Exodus, and God's people being enslaved and the deliverance from slavery

Marla Fredricks uses the terms: empathy, gratitude, and righteous discontent. Define each.

1) Empathy: Empathy is the ability to understand and share the feelings of others, often accompanied by a desire to alleviate their suffering or provide support.

2) Gratitude: Gratitude is the feeling of thankfulness or appreciation, often directed towards someone or something for acts of kindness, generosity, or blessings received.

3) Righteous Discontent: Righteous discontent refers to a sense of moral indignation or dissatisfaction with injustice, inequality, or wrongdoing, coupled with a commitment to taking action to address these issues and bring about positive change.

4) Accommodation refers to a strategy of seeking acceptance and integration within existing power structures, often through non-confrontational means such as cooperation or negotiation

Resistance, on the other hand, involves challenging oppressive systems and advocating for social change through direct action, protest, and defiance

There is another option that involves engaging in dialogue and collaboration with existing power structures while simultaneously working to challenge and transform those structures from within

This approach seeks to navigate the complexities of social change by employing a combination of empathy, gratitude, and righteous discontent to address systemic injustices while fostering unity and community empowerment

The Black church is often pigeonholed as either supporting accommodation or resistance. What does that mean? And is there a third option?

Accomodation

a salve to help African Americans deal with the superstructures of institutionalized racism

focused on a better life to come in the hereafter

Criticized the Black church for its silence in African American struggles of the 19th and early 20th century

Resistance

revisionist writings that focused on how the black church had been instrumental in activating Black resistance

Inspiring slave revolts

Giving courage and conviction during anti-lynching and voting campaigns

Inspiring civil rights activism

The problem with the accommodation vs. resistance narrative is that it "does not take into consideration the work of individuals in forming productive personal lives within oppressive social structures." p 213

Third Option: As described by leaders like Miles McPherson, this approach rejects the "us vs. them" binary—whether it is white vs. black or resistor vs. accommodator. It focuses on honoring the image of God in every person, building relationships, and finding common ground to tackle issues, rather than simply choosing a political side. (according to Gemini)

WIP

What are the key features of ritual action in Black churches? What does Raboteau mean when he

says that Black religion "danced" religion?

1) Engage in a more vocal and interactive style of church worship.

2) The ritual of worship includes literal dancing, standing on your feet, singing, shouting, and running. By dancing, devotees have become mediums for their god

3) call and response

What is the prosperity gospel?

The Prosperity Gospel (PG) is a fast-growing, theologically conservative movement frequently associated with Pentecostalism, evangelicalism, and charismatic Christianity that emphasizes believers' abilities to transcend poverty and/or illness through devotion and positive confession.

At worst, it is predatory and manipulative, particularly when (mega)churches or pastors require heavy tithing (from documentary, at least 10% of income)

Know the main themes from the MLK Jr. readings in Strength to Love

1) Love and Nonviolence: King emphasizes the transformative power of love and nonviolence as fundamental principles for achieving social justice and reconciliation.

2) Faith and Courage: He encourages readers to have faith in God's justice and to cultivate the courage to stand up against injustice and oppression.

3) Justice and Equality: King advocates for the pursuit of justice and equality for all people, regardless of race, religion, or socioeconomic status.

4) Beloved Community: He envisions a society built on the principles of love, brotherhood, and mutual respect, where all individuals are valued and treated with dignity.

5) Hope and Perseverance: King inspires hope and perseverance in the face of adversity, urging readers to remain steadfast in their commitment to creating a more just and compassionate world.

What was Malcolm X's position on black-white relations (pre- and post-pilgrimage to Mecca)?

Background: North, separation, poor, Islam, any means possible, nightmare

Vs MLK: South, integration, middle class, Christianity, nonviolent resistance, dream

According to PBS, Malcolm X condemned whites, whom he referred to as the "white devil," for the historical oppression of blacks. He argued for black power, black self-defense, and black economic autonomy, and encouraged racial pride.

He saw Christianity as a religion for the white man, fine-tuned to perpetuate the subjugation of the black race. He did not believe that the civil rights movement's goal of racial integration through nonviolence was realistic or moving in the right direction for black Americans. His fiery rhetoric incited fear, and critics condemned the Nation of Islam as a cult.

TLDR: He believes that by any means possible, whites and blacks should remain separated.

What was Malcolm X's relation to the Nation of Islam?

He was heavily influenced by Sunni Islam himself and viewed Christianity as a white man's religion.

The pilgrimage to Mecca had the most influence on Malcolm X. His favorite part was " The brotherhood! The people of all races, colors, from all over the world, are coming together as one! It has proved to me the power of One God."

Malcolm X diverged from the racist doctrine of Elijah Muhammad and developed his own ideology dependent on Sunni Islamic teachings.

Malcolm X officially left the Nation of Islam (NOI) in 1964. His new organization, Muslim Mosque, Inc., continued to focus on the empowerment of the Black race in America through Black nationalism, but adhered to a more orthodox version of Sunni Islam.

TLDR: He was super influenced by Sunni Islam and the Mecca journey, specifically how all different people came together. Used to follow Muhammad's teachings but diverted to orthodox Sunni Islam because Muhammad was racist.

What were the main tenets of the Nation of Islam? And which traditional form of Islam is it closest to?

NOI was influenced by Edward Blyden, Marcus Garvey, and NobleDrew Ali. They each defined their respective doctrines with what they saw as a reunification of African American cultural, ethnic, and religious identity that had been severed through slavery.

Overall, these movements represent a reclaiming of Black ancestral heritage, through which African Americans can become unified as ethnically and culturally African and religiously Muslim. This can be seen in that it demanded that disciples refrain from what he viewed as eating habits carried over from slave traditions (pork, cabbage, and junk food).

Tenants were:

1) Fard Mohammad as 'Allah' and himself as his 'Messenger.'

2) supremacy of the Black race over the white, invoking Qur'an 49:15 and 76:2 as proof texts

3) In the final hour, a 'Mothership' or 'Motherplane', which was invisible to all but Muhammad and his believers, would send obliterating bombs to earth, destroying all of the major cities.

Closest to: Sunni Islam

What was the World's Parliament of Religions in 1893? And who were some of the key figures who came to the US?

The World's Parliament of Religions convened in Chicago as part of the 1893 World's Fair. Its goal was to bring together world religious leaders on common ground.

Swami Vivekananda (Hinduism)

Anagarika Dharmapala (Buddhism)

Soyen Shaku (Buddhism)

Virchand Gandhi (Jainism)

Mohammed Alexander Russell Webb (Islam)

Pung Quang Yu (Confucianism)

Hirai Kinzo (Buddhism)

What are the major milestones of US immigration policy in the 20th and 21st centuries? (1927, 1965, 2001)

1986 Immigration Reform Act: Attempt to enforce immigration policy and create more possibilities for those seeking legal immigration

1990 Immigration Act: increased the total level of immigration. Provided admission to immigrants from underrepresented countries

1996 Illegal immigration reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act (IIRAIRA): Increased border enforcement and penalties, and social programs like higher education for undocumented immigrants

2002, Homeland Security took over the work of immigration and naturalization

2001-present Dream Act: stops deportation of children under 18 at the time of their arrival

2012, Obama implemented DACA: deferred action of childhood arrival, a replacement of the Dream Act.

2017: Trump rescinds DACA

2020: Supreme Court upholds DACA

What is the model minority myth? How does it relate to Anti-Black racism?

In the 1960s, used to apply to people of Chinese/Japanese descent (later also to those of Indian descent). Used to contrast Asian Americans to African Americans (particularly during Civil Rights protests). Aka, used to divide and conquer minorities for whites.

The stereotype of:

1) "studious Asian American" who excels academically, often in math and science.

2) Two-person, educated, high-income households that raise children to be high achievers.

3) Asian Americans are highly educated and highly successful, a model to which other racial minorities should aspire.

Consequences of the Model:

1) additional pressures

2) anxiety

3) mental health issues

4) foment anti-black, anti-native, and anti-Latinx racism

Why are Cambodian-Americans calling for the disaggregation of the category of Asian-American on the US census?

Because lumping all Asian ethnic groups together under a single category obscures the disparities and experiences of smaller, less well-known communities like Cambodian-Americans, disaggregating the data would allow for more accurate representation and targeted support for specific ethnic groups within the broader Asian-American population.

Ex of struggles: Cambodians have the highest % of adults who haven't attended college (65.8%)

What are the different forms of Buddhism? And their key distinctions?

Theravada: commonly found in Sri Lanka, Thailand, Myanmar, Laos, and Cambodia. Theravada Buddhism focuses on individual liberation through the practice of meditation, moral discipline, and the pursuit of wisdom (insight into the true nature of reality).

Mahayana: "Zen," "Pure Land" Buddhism, China, Japan, South Korea, Vietnam, Tibet. Mahayana emphasizes compassion, wisdom, and the aspiration to attain Buddhahood for the benefit of all sentient beings.

Vajrayana: Nepal, Bhutan, Mongolia, and certain regions of China. Vajrayana emphasizes the direct path to enlightenment through the skillful use of tantric techniques, aiming to attain Buddhahood in one lifetime.

Define the key terms/ideas that are common to Buddhism and Hinduism (karma, dharma, samsara, nirvana/moksha)? How are they different?

The religions of India developed and grew together and diverged in their understandings of these concepts as part of their arguments against each other. Terms should be generalized and not limited to any specific religion

Karma: Action. Good actions and bad actions have an effect. Can affect lives that come after, or they can be believed to be karmic particles that weigh your soul down, and the more karmic actions you do, the more you can't ascend out of the cycle of rebirth.

Dharma: law, duty, path of knowledge, "right way of living", and "path of rightness".

Samsara: The cycle of birth, life, and death is more commonly known as reincarnation.

Moksha: The breaking away from the cycle of Samsara

Nirvana: The point of escape and being free from the cycle of samsara

Ahimsa: Nonviolence. Total avoidance of harming any living creature by deeds, words, and thoughts.

What are the key deities, rituals, in Hinduism referenced in this class (Shiva, Ganesha, Vishnu, Krishna, Rama/puja, homa, pilgrimage)?

Shiva: Within the Hindu Trimurti, he is the destroyer of the universe who dances the world to dissolution, following the work of Brahma, the creator and Vishnu, the preserver (serpent/crescent moon/trident)

Ganesha: elephant-headed Hindu god of beginnings, who is traditionally worshipped before any major enterprise and is the patron of intellectuals, bankers, scribes, and authors.

Vishnu: Vishnu combines many lesser divine figures and local heroes, chiefly through his avatars, particularly Rama and Krishna; the ten primary avatars of Vishnu are called the Dashavatara. (several arms, elaborate headdress) preserver/protector of the universe

Krishna: worshipped as the eighth incarnation (avatar, or avatara) of the Hindu god Vishnu and also as a supreme god in his own right. (Often has a flute and is blue)

Rama: Ramachandra, the seventh incarnation (avatar) of Vishnu, is considered the epitome of moral virtue and royal conduct.

puja: ritual worship, at home and in temples

Atman: the universal self, identical with the eternal core of the personality that, after death, either transmigrates to a new life or attains release (moksha) from the bonds of existence.

Brahman: the supreme existence or absolute reality. Eternal, conscious, irreducible, infinite, omnipresent, and the spiritual core of the universe of finiteness and change

Pilgrimage: the practice of journeying to sites where religious powers, knowledge, or experience are deemed especially accessible.

What is the life story of the historical Buddha? Why is it important that he was a prince?

In Kapilavastu, a prince who was prophesied to be a great king or a great ascetic was born. His father wanted him to become a great king, so he restricted him to life within the palace walls.

He grew up protected in the palace, married, and had a beautiful wife and a newborn son. He defies his father and leaves the palace, where he sees: an old man, a sick man, a dead man, and an ascetic.

Decides to leave for good to find the solution to human suffering. Becomes an ascetic and almost dies of starvation.

Sits beneath a (later called a bodhi) tree and is tormented by Māra, the god of death, but attains enlightenment. He gains the knowledge of the Four Noble Truths and the Eightfold Path and shares it with the world out of compassion.

TLDR: Prince was born and could either be a great ascetic or a great king. Daddy was like "nuh uh" and locked bro up. He lives hella privileged but says "f**k u dad" and dips. In town, he sees an old, sick, and dead ascetic man, which traumatizes him into going, "it's not a phase, Dad," and he becomes an ascetic. While resting under a bodhi tree and dying of starvation, he is tormented by Mara, literally death, but is like "nuh uh" and gets enlightened abt the 4 nobles truths and the eight-fold path. He is a homie, so he shares this knowledge with the world.

What are the key tenets of Buddhism (4 noble truths)?

Duhkha: There is the fact of suffering or unsatisfactoriness

Tanha: There is an origin of suffering (based on desire or literally thirst)

Nirvana: There is the cessation of suffering

The eightfold path: the means to achieve the cessation of suffering

TLDR: There will always be suffering because of SOMETHING, but there may be an end to it in the eightfold path

What is assimilation v. multiculturalism?

Multiculturalism and assimilation can be distinguished from each other by the way in which equality and social cohesion are achieved, that is, by reducing differences (i.e., assimilation) or by the recognition and valorization of those differences (i.e., multiculturalism)

TLDR: We are all the same vs We are all different but still equally important

What is Islamophobia, and how was it amplified post-9/11? Whom does it impact?

1) fear, hatred, and discrimination against practitioners of Islam or the Islamic religion as a whole.

2) Post 9/11, the Patriot Act and Homeland Security Act authorized surveillance of US citizens. Led to extra suspicion/hate for the Muslim-American community, who were placed under surveillance, for "counterterrorism." FBI targeted mosques and student groups, using undercover agents and informants to conduct intelligence-gathering and "sting" operations

3) Not only impacts Muslims, but also Jews due to the Palestine/Israel conflict. Hate crimes doubled since 2014, 1/10 of which in schools.

Impacts:

Sikhs and Muslims

What was the trajectory of Mexican immigration to the US in the 20th and 21st centuries (from the Bracero program to ICE)?

The Bracero program, initiated during World War II to address labor shortages, brought millions of Mexican guest workers to the US.

Despite the end, demand for labor continues, resulting in consistent undocumented immigration because Mexican laborers know there is demand for labor in the US.

The Hart-Cellar Act led to Mexicans competing with all other countries for entry into the US.

IRCA (Immigration Reform and Control Act) granted amnesty to 2.3 million Mexicans living illegally in the US, but also began a process of border fortification and militarization.

The

Clinton Administration introduced the idea of building a wall: it changed what were patterns of circular migration into patterns of permanent settlement (swelling the number of undocumented Mexicans in the US)

Changes in immigration policies, such as the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1965 and the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), also led to increased undocumented immigration from Mexico.

The establishment of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in 2003 resulted in intensified enforcement measures, deportations, and border security efforts aimed at curbing unauthorized migration.

What was significant about how the Virgin of Guadalupe appeared in Mexico? How does she represent mestiza identity? What is mestiza identity?

1) Her appearance symbolized the religious syncretism that would come to mark Mexican Catholicism and facilitated the conversion of the Aztecs and divine favor towards the indigenous people.

2) The Virgin of Guadalupe is seen as a symbol of mestizaje, or the blending of indigenous and Spanish cultures, as she is depicted as a mestiza woman, with features reflecting both indigenous and European ancestry

3) Mestizaje identity refers to the cultural, ethnic, and racial mixing that occurred during the colonial period in Latin America, resulting in a diverse and hybrid identity that reflects the complex history of colonization and indigenous resistance

How is Second Tepeyac different from Tepeyac? (Why is it so important to have a Second Tepeyac at all?)

Tepeyac: the Mexico City site where the worship of Guadalupe is happening.

Second Tepeyac: Des Plaines, Illinois. Second Tepeyac allows people to make the pilgrimage there instead of crossing the border. A level of Mexican heritage but American citizenship.

*Two different sites of veneration for Guadalupe*

The point of traveling to Tepeyac should not be to see Guadalupe but to actively seek out Jesus.

Expressing devotion to her is acceptable, but she must remain a vehicle, a mode of communication toward a deeper understanding of God and the church, not the ostensible reason.

What are some of the non-religious services that 'immigrant' churches provide?

Food

housing

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legal/documentation aid

Education/English courses

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What does devotion to the Virgin of Guadalupe look like? What are some key practices? What is the role of devotional labor? Pain?

1) Devotion to the Virgin of Guadalupe often involves a range of practices, including pilgrimages to her shrine at the Basilica of Our Lady of Guadalupe in Mexico City, prayers, processions, and offerings of flowers, candles, and ex-votos

2) Devotional labor refers to the physical and emotional effort expended by devotees in fulfilling religious obligations and expressing their devotion, such as volunteering at the Basilica or participating in rituals

3) Each ampoya [blister] they get during the walk is a sin. To get many blisters is a positive thing; It means that they are truly repenting for their sins.

Why are increasing numbers of people attracted to Pentecostalism? What are the services like?

Pentecostalism is when the disciples were filled with the Holy Spirit and started speaking in tongues. Gifts of the Spirit. Pentecostalism is one of three systems that share a belief in signs and wonders, miracles, healing, prophecy (an immanent God's presence in the world).

1) They increased because Charismatic churches/Pentecostalism are harbors for immigrant communities. They are therapeutic spaces of communal solidarity, escape from persecution, and refuge.

2) They employ music and exuberant preaching styles to create emotive experiences of God among their followers. Focus on Biblical Christianity and Jesus' teachings. Lots of praise/worship songs, clapping/hand raising, invitations for prayer, invitations to sermons to reflect.