Understanding Religious Diversity in the USA

Exclusive

My belief system is the only, true way.

Inclusive

My belief system which is the only correct one for me allows me to accept the fact that there may be truths in other religious belief systems as well.

Pluralistic

All religious belief systems lead to the same end; this attitude would be diametrically opposed to the exclusive viewpoint and is becoming more prevalent.

Religious Freedom

Ability to practice the religion of our choice as we please.

Immigration

Vast number of immigrants who come into America and bring with them their religious practices.

Denominationalism

Large number of religious groups under one faith group.

Proselytization

The effort to persuade a person to convert to your religious belief system.

Founder

Most religions can be traced back to an individual founder who establishes a religion, sometimes as a result of a vision or revelation.

Date of Founding

This is often associated with the date of the vision or revelation.

Belief in a Supreme Being

Most religions recognize one supreme being.

Sacred Text

Bible in Christianity; Koran (Qur'an) in Islam; Hebrew Scriptures (Torah) in Judaism.

Creed

Statement of faith.

Doctrine

The teachings of the religion.

Rituals

Marriage, baptism, Eucharist, Communion or Lord's Supper.

Concept of an Afterlife

What happens after you die; place of reward or Paradise or eternal punishment; others believe you are reincarnated.

Preunderstanding

The state of one's understanding of reality, with which one makes sense of one's new experiences (the existing state of our understanding before a new experience calls for interpretation).

Definition of Religion (Western World)

Religion is based on belief in and obedience to God.

Definition of Religion (Book)

Religion is a pattern of beliefs and practices that expresses and enacts what a community regards as sacred and/or ultimate about life.

Unprejudiced View

Do I have an unprejudiced view of what religion in general is? Or am I biased for or against it?

Suspend Disbelief

Can I 'suspend my disbelief' or 'suspend my belief' to encounter religious objectivity?

Study Other Religions

If I hold a religious belief, can I study other religions without feeling threatened in my own?

Encounter Unusual Practices

Can I encounter practices that seem unusual to me without getting too upset?

Humble Conclusions

Can I be humble and provisional in my conclusions?

Postpone Judgement

Can I postpone any personal judgement on a religion until I've learned more about it?

Friedrich Schleiermacher

The feeling of absolute dependence

Karl Marx

The opiate of the people

Mark Twain

A set of things which the average man thinks he believes and wishes he was certain of

Emile Durkheim

A unified system of beliefs and practices which unite into one single moral community

Rudolf Otto

What grows out of, and gives expression to, experience of the holy in its various aspects

Thomas Edison

All bunk

Sigmund Freud

An illusion deriving its strength from the fact that it falls in with our instinctual desires

Paul Tillich

The state of being grasped by an ultimate concern which itself contains the answer to the question of the meaning of our life

Robert Bellah

A set of symbolic forms and acts which relate man to the ultimate conditions of his existence

Goldie Hawn

Feeling warmer in our hearts, more connected to others, more connected to something greater, and having a sense of peace

Religion

Derived from the Latin word religio, meaning 'to bind/tie fast.'

Monotheism

Belief in one God

Polytheism

Belief in many gods

Private Religion

Pattern of belief held by only one person

Secularism

Life without religion

Effects of Secularism

Rejects religion for perceived evils of extremism, inappropriateness of religious training for children, better view of life offered by science, and lessening of religious belief and practice

Secularization Hypothesis

Idea that science and education diminish or end religion in the modern world

Cultural Intelligence

Gained by taking an academic course in world religions, creating a foundation for a successful and fulfilling career and personal growth

Cognitive Dimension

Teaches the followers what is necessary to know

Ethics Dimension

Emphasis on social ethics (the dos and don'ts) moral rules

Ritual Dimension

Symbolic action in worship, meditation, or other religious activities

Institutional Dimension

Organizational structure in religious community and the connection to wider society

Aesthetic Dimension

The sensory element (sounds, smells, spaces, holy spaces, landscapes, main symbols)

Emotional Dimension

The particular emotions and wider moods experienced in religion (awe, fear, love, etc)

Ritual

A symbolic act of worship often performed to achieve very specific goals, directed to one God, many gods, spirits, or deceased ancestors

Myth

Stories that relate basic truths of a religion

Charismatic Religious Groups

Religious groups that have arisen since the 19th century and generally with a charismatic leader

New religious movements (NRMs)

Religious groups that have arisen since the nineteenth century and now have sufficient size to merit study.

Theology

The study of God and religious truth from the 'inside' commitment to it.

Religious Studies

A new field of academic study of religion to understand all religious traditions objectively or from the 'outside'.

History

Studies the process of a religion's beginnings, growth, diversity, decline, etc. through a formal method known as the historical-critical method.

Historical-critical method

Study of the past using careful, scholarly analysis.

Psychology

Looks at religion's role in shaping human behavior.

Freud's view on religion

Saw religion as a neurotic condition that needed therapy if it persisted into adulthood, believing that the belief in God is due to a need for a divine father.

Sociology

Explains religion's role in society; has interest in beliefs mainly as background for social practices and behaviors.

Cultural Anthropology

A scientific study of human life particularly in the past focusing on texts, art, artifacts, religious specialists (e.g., shaman) and life-cycle rituals ('rites of passage').

Women's Studies

Often focuses on the nearly worldwide subordination of women to men called patriarchy.

Feminism

The movement for women's equality.

Biology

Seeks to find genetic connections of religion hypothesizing that the pervasiveness of religious beliefs could be due to genetic makeup.

Atheism

The conviction that there is no God and that religion is mostly mistaken.

New Atheists

A group of current atheists who have made sharp public attacks on religion.

Agnostics

Those who do not know if a God or gods exist.

Tolerance

Putting up with views and actions of others that are opposed to one's own, usually for the common good.

Pluralism

Recognition of religious differences and dealing with them constructively, going beyond toleration, and engaging in interfaith dialogue.

Religion and Ecological Crisis

Sees the issue of environmentalism as 'fundamentally a crisis of values'.

Cult

Smaller nontraditional religious groups (derogatory - beyond commonly accepted bounds of social behavior).

Sects

Recognized sections of a parent religion.