knowt logo

Final Exam Study Guide

Unit 1 - Introduction

  • Critical Empathy

    • Relationship with others lens

    • Critical: using our faculties like observation, judgement, understanding, and classification (asking critical questions and using proper judgement)

    • Empathy: the ability to “feel into” another’s religions tradition

    • Pillars of critical empathy

      • Mythological: stories and records of the past serve to establish and maintain tradition

      • Material: physical dimension, manifest not only in the works of people, but in the preservations of artifacts and sacred places

      • Doctrinal: leaders and scholars have sought to provide a systematic explanation of what adherents are meant to believe

      • Ethical: religious beliefs underpin a value system defined by laws that promote specific behaviors

      • Experimental: all religions are responses to certain significant experiences of their founders and followers

      • Ritual: practices to which a religious tradition adheres and which provide a spiritual awareness

      • Social: organizational structures that provide for the collective experience of adherents and identify the group within the wider society

  • Holy Envy

    • Relationship with self lens

    • Holy envy: a sentiment felt for one aspect of another tradition that is enviable

    • I feel holy envy for

      • Judaism’s sense of community

      • Buddhism and Hinduism’s emphases on letting go and being more flexible

      • Islam’s specific methods of praying

  • Nostra Aetate

    • Intellectual understanding lens

Unit 2 - Islam

  • 5 Pillars

    • Shahada: one God + prophet Muhammad

    • Prayer: 5x/day, face Mecca

    • Fasting: Self-discipline, commemorates Hirja

    • Wealth sharing: 2.5% of all possessions for those who can afford

    • Pilgrimage (hajj): Allah forgives your sin if you make the journey

  • Qu'ran & Sunna

    • Qu’ran

      • 114 suras (chapters)

      • Offers complete worldview — way of life, culture, society, governance

    • Sunna

      • Teachings of Muhammad (separate from Qu’ran)

      • Muhammad is human but revered

      • Hadith: model for being muslim

  • Life of Muhammad

    • Born 570 AD, orphaned, married Khadija

    • 610 AD: Angel Gabriel appeared, told him to “Recite / Proclaim” 3x (night of power & excellence)

    • Had to flee (hirja)

    • Made Medina and Mecca holy cities

Unit 3 - Hinduism

  • Brahman / Atman

    • Brahman: the source/essence of the universe, the grounding of all existence

      • Can be achieved differently by different people

    • We shouldn’t hurt other beings because ultimately we’re all one

  • Samsara & Moksha

    • Samsara: wheel of rebirth/reincarnation

      • Death isn’t final, everything is reincarnated

    • Moksha: infinite release; escape from reincarnation

      • Many paths to attain (marga)

  • Dharma & Karma

    • Dharma: ethical duty

      • Sacred duty, moral guidance

      • Love everyone, reject selfishness

      • Determined by gender, caste, stage of life

    • Karma: moral law of cause and effect that determines the nature of your reality

      • Explains “luck” and privilege

  • Marga (3 types)

    • Karma marga: doing the right thing because it is the right thing (not for reward, recognition, or success)

    • Jnana marga: study with many texts and teachers to become detached and see self in third person

      • Often involves yoga and meditation

    • Bhakti marga: loving devotion to one’s god or goddess

      • Focus more on gods/goddesses than needs and desires of self

      • Worship through prayers, visiting shrines, candles, offerings, incense, rituals, visiting temples

Unit 4 - Buddhism

  • Life of Buddha

    • Born around 560 BCE, died around 480 BCE

    • Warrior Class; Feudal Lord (very privileged)

    • Parents made sure he never encountered any suffering

    • Encountered suffering during the four passing sights at ~20

    • Deprived of senses, then gave into

    • Created middle way

  • Concept of self

    • Must discover self to achieve nirvana

    • Accept that not everything about self is real

  • 4 Noble Truths

    • Life is discomfort (dukka)

    • Suffering is caused by desire (tanha)

    • Suffering can stop

    • This can be done through the eightfold path

  • Nirvana

    • Enlightenment

    • Final nirvana happens at bodily death

Unit 5 - Judaism

  • Chosen People

    • God sees them as a holy nation, a treasured possession

    • God will keep his deal with Jewish people if they keep theirs with him

  • History & State of Israel

    • Very controversial

    • Jews emigrated to Israel before WWI

    • Was part of the Ottoman Empire

    • The League of Nations in 1922 recognized the need for a Jewish homeland

      • Many international treaties before and after reaffirmed this

    • This land was already occupied

    • Palestinians and Jews both claim the land as their homeland

      • Very complicated conflict

      • Many countries declared war on Israel

  • Holocaust / Sheol

    • More than exile, inquisition—anything that’s been faced before

    • Shook the faith of many Jewish people; common questions included

Final Exam Study Guide

Unit 1 - Introduction

  • Critical Empathy

    • Relationship with others lens

    • Critical: using our faculties like observation, judgement, understanding, and classification (asking critical questions and using proper judgement)

    • Empathy: the ability to “feel into” another’s religions tradition

    • Pillars of critical empathy

      • Mythological: stories and records of the past serve to establish and maintain tradition

      • Material: physical dimension, manifest not only in the works of people, but in the preservations of artifacts and sacred places

      • Doctrinal: leaders and scholars have sought to provide a systematic explanation of what adherents are meant to believe

      • Ethical: religious beliefs underpin a value system defined by laws that promote specific behaviors

      • Experimental: all religions are responses to certain significant experiences of their founders and followers

      • Ritual: practices to which a religious tradition adheres and which provide a spiritual awareness

      • Social: organizational structures that provide for the collective experience of adherents and identify the group within the wider society

  • Holy Envy

    • Relationship with self lens

    • Holy envy: a sentiment felt for one aspect of another tradition that is enviable

    • I feel holy envy for

      • Judaism’s sense of community

      • Buddhism and Hinduism’s emphases on letting go and being more flexible

      • Islam’s specific methods of praying

  • Nostra Aetate

    • Intellectual understanding lens

Unit 2 - Islam

  • 5 Pillars

    • Shahada: one God + prophet Muhammad

    • Prayer: 5x/day, face Mecca

    • Fasting: Self-discipline, commemorates Hirja

    • Wealth sharing: 2.5% of all possessions for those who can afford

    • Pilgrimage (hajj): Allah forgives your sin if you make the journey

  • Qu'ran & Sunna

    • Qu’ran

      • 114 suras (chapters)

      • Offers complete worldview — way of life, culture, society, governance

    • Sunna

      • Teachings of Muhammad (separate from Qu’ran)

      • Muhammad is human but revered

      • Hadith: model for being muslim

  • Life of Muhammad

    • Born 570 AD, orphaned, married Khadija

    • 610 AD: Angel Gabriel appeared, told him to “Recite / Proclaim” 3x (night of power & excellence)

    • Had to flee (hirja)

    • Made Medina and Mecca holy cities

Unit 3 - Hinduism

  • Brahman / Atman

    • Brahman: the source/essence of the universe, the grounding of all existence

      • Can be achieved differently by different people

    • We shouldn’t hurt other beings because ultimately we’re all one

  • Samsara & Moksha

    • Samsara: wheel of rebirth/reincarnation

      • Death isn’t final, everything is reincarnated

    • Moksha: infinite release; escape from reincarnation

      • Many paths to attain (marga)

  • Dharma & Karma

    • Dharma: ethical duty

      • Sacred duty, moral guidance

      • Love everyone, reject selfishness

      • Determined by gender, caste, stage of life

    • Karma: moral law of cause and effect that determines the nature of your reality

      • Explains “luck” and privilege

  • Marga (3 types)

    • Karma marga: doing the right thing because it is the right thing (not for reward, recognition, or success)

    • Jnana marga: study with many texts and teachers to become detached and see self in third person

      • Often involves yoga and meditation

    • Bhakti marga: loving devotion to one’s god or goddess

      • Focus more on gods/goddesses than needs and desires of self

      • Worship through prayers, visiting shrines, candles, offerings, incense, rituals, visiting temples

Unit 4 - Buddhism

  • Life of Buddha

    • Born around 560 BCE, died around 480 BCE

    • Warrior Class; Feudal Lord (very privileged)

    • Parents made sure he never encountered any suffering

    • Encountered suffering during the four passing sights at ~20

    • Deprived of senses, then gave into

    • Created middle way

  • Concept of self

    • Must discover self to achieve nirvana

    • Accept that not everything about self is real

  • 4 Noble Truths

    • Life is discomfort (dukka)

    • Suffering is caused by desire (tanha)

    • Suffering can stop

    • This can be done through the eightfold path

  • Nirvana

    • Enlightenment

    • Final nirvana happens at bodily death

Unit 5 - Judaism

  • Chosen People

    • God sees them as a holy nation, a treasured possession

    • God will keep his deal with Jewish people if they keep theirs with him

  • History & State of Israel

    • Very controversial

    • Jews emigrated to Israel before WWI

    • Was part of the Ottoman Empire

    • The League of Nations in 1922 recognized the need for a Jewish homeland

      • Many international treaties before and after reaffirmed this

    • This land was already occupied

    • Palestinians and Jews both claim the land as their homeland

      • Very complicated conflict

      • Many countries declared war on Israel

  • Holocaust / Sheol

    • More than exile, inquisition—anything that’s been faced before

    • Shook the faith of many Jewish people; common questions included

robot