Untitled Flashcards Set

REAL STUDY 

What is Religion?

• All of life’s greatest mysteries, life, death, life after death, all lead back to the question of religion. 

• These questions are universal 

• Many different forms of religions and beliefs alla across the world have tried to answer these questions. 

• Religion is a distinctive response to the human search for meaning in life. 

• This at its essence is the nature of religion and beliefs. 

• The relationship between beliefs and adherents(followers) is key. 

• Essential concepts = the supernatural, transcendence, and immanence. 

• How these elements are critical components of heaps of different spiritualities. 

• Characteristics = beliefs and believers, sacred texts and writings, ethics, and rituals and ceremonies. 

• All these characteristics are related to beliefs and believers. 

• The connections between these characteristics is what creates a dynamic living religion.

• These then have a huge impact on individuals and society and culture and how meaning is found in both of these spheres.

• Expression = spiritual systems which illustrate our concepts and characteristics through which expression of religious practices and beliefs. 

• Different across beliefs and believers.  

MAIN ESSENTIAL POINTS:

• The nature of religion is the distinctive response it provides to the human search for meaning in life 

• Expression = examples of practices e.g aboriginal spirituality

• Characteristics  = beliefs and believers, sacred texts, ethics, rituals 

• Essential concepts = supernatural, transcendence, immanence. 

THE SUPERNATURAL DIMENSION:

• A worldview is a basic framework, or lens, through which people understand the world.

• Christians view the world that sees jesus christ as the saviour of mankind 

• Buddhits see the world differently as the buddha is the embodiment of the goal of enlightenment. 

• Religious worldviews are views that acknowledge the supernatural dimension. 

• Supernatural dimension is the belief in a divine being or power which exceeds the limits of the human and physical worlds. 

• This can be transcendent in nature meaning it exists outside of and beyond the physical universe.

• Or it can be immanent which means a divine force that pervades the universe and exists within it.

• Religions acknowledge the supernatural dimension through two major concepts, monotheism and polytheism. 

• Monotheistic faiths like christianity, judaism and islam, acknowledges one singular divine being, which is transcendent and exists beyond the human dimension. 

• Polytheistic faith like Hinduism and Buddhism the supernatural dimension instead acknowledges many divine beings or powers, which exist both beyond and within the natural world. Either transcendent or immanent.

• Buddhists can fulfil their search for meaning through meditating on concepts like karma, the principle of cause and effect, and through this meditative practice they can achieve a sense of ultimate meaning in their lives.

• This is an example of the supernatural dimension acting within a person’s life.

• Some belief systems can have transcendent and immanent elements at the same time

• For example the evangelical strand of christianity, people believe that jesus enters their hearts and bodies, described as a very physical thing, while jesus is the son of god and exists beyond the physical dimension by entering the hearts of evangelical christians he is also manifesting internally in the physical world so he’as at the same time an example of transcendence and immanence 

• This is often given the term pantheism, meaning the divine being is both in and outside of the physical world.

THE TRANSCENDENT WORLDVIEW:

• Religion as a worldview that has a belief in a divine being or powers beyond the human.

• The transcendent dimension consists of a divine power or being existing outside of and beyond the understanding of the physical universe.

• Divine exists completely separately from our world

• Most though not all transcendent religions are monotheistic, meaning they believe in one big man upstairs, or one divine power.

• This is mainly christianity, islam and judaism.

• There are more examples like Sikhism 25-27 million and the baha’’l’ faith = 5.6 million world wide.

• Most transcendent belief systems are monotheistic, and share features like creation, revelation, life after death and the question of what it means to be human.  

• Most transcendent belief systems see the transcendent dimensions as being responsible for the creation of the human (physical) dimension.

• Creation stories are in most religions like the famous genesis story in christianity which describes how god created the earth in just six days 

• The transcendent dimension becomes apparent when it interacts with the human dimension - this usually happens through revelation.

• The main way this happens in monotheistic religion is through revelation -  meaning that hidden holy truths have become available to humanity.

• For christianity the coming of Jesus Christ to earth is the ultimate revelation of the transcendent dimension. 

• For Judaism our main example of revelation is the holy tablets containing the ten commandments. And these were given to moses. 

• In islam, the messenger muhammed received the holy book of the Qur’an from allah

• Monotheistic beelivers gain access to the transcendent dimension after death - the afterlife is a common facet of most monotheistic faiths.

• Christianity teaches that there’s heaven and hell which people gain access too based on how good they were on earth. 

• Judaism alternatively doesn't really have fixed ideas on heaven or hell, instead it teaches that the soul goes on beyond death and will be judged after the coming of the messiah.

• In islam followers undergo the last judgment of Allah when they die. When they are judged by their sins, and based on how sinful they are, they are elt into or refused entry to paradise.

• What does it mean to be human - at the heart of it, the transcendent dimension informs how believers think of their own purpose in life - that is, what it means to be human. 

• In christianity, followers are guided and inspired by the life of Jesus Christ, who shared codes of ethics and behaviour through his teachings. 

• For jews followers gain meaning through their fulfilment of the covenant that they share with God.

• They serve God in return for his protection of them as the chosen people.

• Muslims find meaning through their submission to Allah’s will and this means that they follow alla’s teachings and serve him in their lives.

• Islam is an example of a monotheistic transcendent worldview. 

• Muslims believe their god allah created the universe, as for revelation one of ther most important islamic beliefs is that the quran was delivered to earth through the messenger muhammed. Muslims believe that in their afterlife they will undergo the last judgement, and then after that, they will go on to paradise.

• Islamic basic premise that followers should submit to the will of Allah gives ultimate meaning to the lives of followers. To be human is to submit to the transcendent power of allah. 

THE IMMANENT WORLDVIEW:

• Religion as a worldview that has a belief in divine beings or powers dwelling within the individual. 

• Immanence refers to Gods, spirits or powers which dwell in this universe, they are among us, even within us.

• Is present in all aspects of this physical dimension. 

• The divine powers pervade the universe. 

• Transcendence = outside the universe, immanence = inside the universe.

• The immanent worldview is simply a term that describes the perspectives/religious frameworks of the people that believe in immanence. 

• Most imminent belief systems are polytheistic - belief in many gods, spirits or powers.

• The main immanent worldviews are hinduism and buddhism, so hinduism has belief in multiple gods, while buddhism has belief in multiple powers 

• Popular form of the immanent worldview is the animist worldview.

• Animism is the belief that spirits occupy specific objects. 

• For example japanese shintoism or aboriginal australian spirituality. 

• You can find particular spirits in particular locations. 

• Animal = animism 

• Followers of shinto build shrines to draw spirits in and house them, so they can be more easily located and offered prayers. 

• Buddhism is an example of a polytheistic immanent worldview. 

• Buddhists aim for enlightenment through right behaviour( guided by the eightfold path)

• This means that the divine is discovered within the human. It is immanent 

• Some belief systems can have transcendent and immanent elements 

EXAM APPLICATION SKILLS:

• Short answer = discuss the supernatural dimension

• Worth 5 marks each 

• Ten marker maybe 

• Discuss = identify issues and provide points for or against using examples 

• Discuss the concepts of transcendence and immanence 

• Combine ability to define and discuss 

• Not all religions believe in a heaven e.g aboriginal people believe life and death is cyclical 

• Sample = discuss in detail how a religious worldview maintains belief in a divine power or beings dwelling within the individual.  

• Key terms discuss = provide issues and for and against 

• Specify one religion 

• 5 key points 

• Define immanence, list examples of immanent worldviews

• Introduce key example - introduce buddhism /extend key example 

• Divine power is accessed through enlightenment

• The eightfold path 

• Sum up sentence + evaluation.   

• Immanence, the belief that divine powers or beings exist within this universe, is a common characteristic of many world religions, including Buddhism, Hinduism, and animistic religions such as Japanese shintoism.

• The buddhist worldview is imminent as it maintains belief that divine powers inhabit this earth and are uncovered in the human through right behaviour. 

• While Buddhism has no belief in divine beings, abstract power is discovered on the path to enlightenment, which is the state of the divine manifesting within an individual. Enlightenment is sought after through the stages of the eightfold path which prescribes a spiritual method toward the pursuit of the enlightened state.

• In this way, Buddhism clearly illustrates how beliefs and methods support an immanent worldview and the fulfilment of divine power within the individual.  

BELIEFS AND BELIEVERS:

• Beliefs refer to the doctrinal or philosophical aspect of religion 

• Doctrine = a set of ideas taught by a group 

• Philosophy = a system of thought based on ideas

• Beliefs form a paradigm

• A paradigm is the central core belief of a worldview, religious or otherwise 

• All other characteristics and secondary beliefs grow out of the core paradigm

• Believers of the same religion can end up having differences in their beliefs, based on a number of factors. 

• In Islam the core paradigm is the belief in submission to the will of Allah 

• They disagree with the beliefs that grow out of that paradigm

• This causes the religion to split and be divided into two major sects 

• The sunni islam and the Shi’ite Islam 

• In the islamic case, Muslims disagree over the history of Islam, so who should have inherited Islam from the prophet Muhammed when he died

• These two branches of Islam agree on the core paradigm of submission, but disagree on the History of islam's development.

• Up to 90% of the worlds 1.8 billion muslims are Sunni 

• This happens in every religion, for example the difference between orthodox and reformed jews, or catholic and protestant christians 

• This depends on things like age gender devoutness and where they live in the world 

• Individuals or communities can reinterpret beliefs to better fit with their own life experience. 

• Beliefs and believers in judaism = paradigm is the covenant 

• All jews believe they are in a covenant (binding agreement) with God.

• Jewish people serve God in return for his protection over them and blessing of them as the chosen people. 

• Put into three major strands, reform, conservative and orthodox judaism

• Core belief is constant, changes depending on the believers 

SACRED TEXTS AND WRITINGS:

• Extremely important characteristics of the world’s 5 major religions

• Christianity = the bible 

• Judaism = the torah 

• Islam = the quran 

• Buddhism = the sutras 

• Hinduism = The Bhagavad Gita 

• All sacred writings 

• Some sacred texts are considered really significant because they are the result of a revelation from the supernatural dimension.

• These texts have been gifted to humanity by god or another divine power ( the bible, the quran, the torah 

• Sacred texts that are the result of revelation are given extra special respect

• In judaism, Torah scrolls are kept in a special place(the ark) in the synagogue

• Some are decorated elaborately, and considered a sacred object. 

• The main content of a sacred text is the core paradigm: the central belief of a worldview.

• Sacred texts are where these core paradigms originate, and where they are summarised. 

• Believers better understand and learn about the core paradigm through sacred texts, so they work like instruction manuals 

• Most describe the lives of significant figures (e.g jesus, mohammed, the buddha), but some are more metaphorical

• Sacred texts in practice = Islam = The major sacred text is the Quran which is believed to be a revelation from Allah received by the prophet Muhammed

• It is forbidden to visually depict Muhammed. 

• The quran is supposed to be especially sacred because it is the literal word of Allah. 

• Passed on to humanity through muhammed, who used it to establish the faith 

• Contains the core paradigm of submissions. 

• Ethics, prophecies and wisdom for followers. = organised into chapters called Surahs 

• The secondary Islamic sacred text is the Hadith 

• It is the collection of the sayings of the prophet muhammed, recorded by his followers over time. 

• Some religious systems don’t have any sacred writingsL instead, they mainly rely on oral tradition (word of mouth)

•  Ancient Greek and Roman mythology = ancient religions mainly relied on oral histories and myths to communicate their beliefs. The stories were memorised by storytellers, and recited. 

• They were not written down for hundreds of years

• Aboriginal australian spirituality

• Myths were never written down: Dreaming stories are communicated orally, or represented through art

• Represented through art such as cave paintings 

ETHICS: 

• Ethical teachings put the beliefs of a religion into practice. 

• Ethics are codes of behaviour which dictate right or wrong

• They give people direction for how they should act

• Ethics are practical:they affect decisions and behaviour 

• Ethics mainly come from the sacred texts of a religion 

• Core paradigm = ethical paradigm - the covenant gives rise to the ethical paradigm which follows the laws of the covenant.

• For example, the law of eating Kosher food 

• People follow ethics to live in line with their beliefs, and because they believe they will be judged for their behaviour after death

• Ethics are treated as obligations which have to be fulfilled in order to be rewarded after death 

• Obligated to abide by the prescribed ethical teachings, judgment after death is dependent on how ethical a person was in life. 

• Ethical teachings are mainly built up through hierarchical structures

• A process of interpretation occurs within a hierarchical structure, like a pyramid which builds from the most important authority on ethics up to the least.

• Sacred texts = other sources of ethical guidance.

• Islam quran is the sourcebook of ethical teachings - foundational sacred text 

• Next expanded on by hadith, secondary textual source = the good example of muhammed 

• The hadith is also called the sunnah of the prophet 

• Qiyas analogical reasoning = islamic system of legal precedence 

• Forbids wine drinking, precedence, qiyas extends this to cover all types of intoxication, of alcohol and drugs 

• Ljma consensus = agreement of a community of scholars 

• The hierarchy forms the structure of sharia law 

• Religions can’t rely on sacred texts alone to give followers ethical guidance 

• New issues = abortion, global warming, nuclear weapons, and contraception 

• Ethics in practice = christianity = core paradigm is jesus’s commandment of love - beliefs from the bible 

• Matthew 22:37-40 reads thou shalt love the lord thy god with all thy heart, and with all thy soul and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment and the second is like unto it, thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.

• This is the belief that acts as the basis of christian ethics

• This forms the ethical paradigm of christianity which is to act toward other with love 

•  Foundation of the christian hierarchy is the Bible 

• This is where the core paradigm comes from as well as many other core teachings like the ten commandments 

• Ruling of individual denominations known as church authority. 

• Last level of the hierarchy is logic, inspiration of the holy spirit 

• God has given us intelligence and a conscious and be guided by this to act ethically 

RITUALS AND CEREMONIES 

• Rituals are practical and experiential expressions of religious belief 

• Rituals are the lived expression of a religion, how beliefs are experienced by people in the real world. 

• Rituals bring an experiential element to a person’s life 

• Rituals allow an individual to experience being part of their religion in a real, tangible way

• They are also socially experiential; they bring the community together. 

• Most rituals come from descriptions in the sacred texts 

• Often based on significant moments in the lives of figures

• Or significant historic events described in the texts 

• Ceremonies are less formal rituals which may take place in local and varied contexts.

• Possessions such as the christians stations of the cross, blessings re enactments of important religious events.

• Outside the formal structures of the religion( ceremonies), and are therefore less important. 

• Religious rituals and ceremonies can broadly be divided into two categories: public and private rituals

• Public rituals = formal event, strictly organised structure, actions, symbols

• Experiential for the community 

• Reinforces core beliefs 

• Private rituals = informal activity, individually performed or within a family home, experiential for the individual, also reinforces core beliefs. 

• Rituals and ceremonies in judaism 

• Judaism public ritual = bar/bat mitzvah = marks the coming of age of young jews(a rite of initiation, boys age 13 girls age 12  involves the entire community coming together in the synagogue, they often recite a blessing from the torah to the community in the synagogue,

• Significant collectively as everyone comes together in the synagogue to celebrate a member of the community.

• Judaism private ritual = shabbat = the weekly day of rest, marked by a meal shared in the family home 

• This meal is held on a friday evening 

• Focuses on family prayer and reading of the scripture 

• It is significant for the individual because of the connection it gives to the family history and the history of Judaism as a whole.

• The shabbat is mandated by god in the Torah 

THE NATURE OF THE DREAMING

• The dreaming is the belief system of the Aboriginal Australian culture, it underpins all beliefs and practices. Connects Aboriginal people to their ancestors, tribe and land. 

• There are over 900 aboriginal language groups in Australia

• Dreaming is knowledge, time and relationships, responsibilities 

• Dreaming closely linked to the land 

• Aboriginal culture thinks of time in a different way: it is a cycle, or a circle with no distinct beginning or end. 

• Western view is that time is one big straight line. Past present and future 

• Aboriginal view = time is cyclical, no absolute beginning in the universe, one complete reality which has always existed and always will.

• A critical component of dreaming is its description of the origins of the universe. The origins of the universe are usually addressed through specific dreaming stories, which explain how the physical universe came into being. 

• Example = the rainbow serpent = no singular story, but the standard version is held by many mainland aboriginal tribes, such as the gagudju people. 

• The serpent was lying on the ground, when the time came the serpent pushed upwards creating crevices and mountains in the earth's surface.

• The serpent traveled around the land, leaving ridges and hills, she threw water into the ridges, forming rivers and creeks,and as she travelled around the serpent also created the sky, the sun and the clouds. 

• Called the animals to come out from their slumber.

• A variation of the story is the jawoyn people of the Katherine region believe the rainbow serpent moved around, regularly falling asleep, and as she was sleeping her body made the crevices and mountains of the earth. 

• The dreaming is communicated through dreaming stories which carry on the aboriginal culture through the generations.

• The learning and sharing of dreaming stories is a lifelong process, which connects aboriginal people to their tradition. 

• Physical universe, landmarks, animals, plants and ancestor spirits.

• Dreaming stories are different across tribes, but all dreaming stories are focused on explaining how the world around them came to be. 

• Teaches people how to live in harmony with the land 

• Dreaming stories are intergenerational 

• Connection to land 

• Connection to tradition 

The Nature of the Dreaming: Sites, Symbolism and Art

• Sacred sites are the land that is an incredibly important part of Aboriginal spirituality, it is a medium through which dreaming is communicated. 

• It is a way that the abstract concept of dreaming becomes practical. 

• This is through things like rituals, dreaming stories, art.

• They are landmarks for two reasons, they are connected to specific stories, especially associated with the creation of the universe.

• Connected to specific dreaming stories and events

• Places where ancestor spirits live 

• Sacred sites are given extra importance because they are connected to an event in the dreaming or because they are places where ancestor spirits reside.

• Balance rites and ceremonies are the active behaviours associated with sacred sites 

• Balance rites are ritual behaviours such as symbolic dance 

• They ensure the harmony of the natural world 

• Ceremonies = often focuses on totems 

• Totems are specific objects in nature which are considered to house an ancestor spirit.

• Special values e.g. restrictions on the hunting and eating of totemic animals. 

• Animism the divine is within a living thing 

• Special responsibilities to care for the land expressed through ceremonies 

• Ceremonies are held to hold a good relationship with the land 

• Example is uluru = balance rites and ceremonies are still held by the traditional owners of the land: The yankunytjatjara and Pitjantjatjara people. 

• Uluru was formed by the Ancestral spirits, and the spirits shape the crevices of the surface of the rock. 

• Smoking ceremony held at the site to acknowledge dreamtime activity.

• Huge controversy to rock climb on the site due to sacredness 

• Disrespectful to the spiritual significance of the site 

• Balance rites and ceremonies are the active behaviours associated with sacred sites

• Symbolism and art = are ways that the dreaming becomes a part of a person’s life, and carries on through the generations 

• Symbolism in art is important way to explain big spiritual concepts like creation of universe, laws and taboos, kinship relationships and the dreaming 

• Symbolism of these concepts is deeply embedded in aboriginal art.

• Art is a representation of the metaphysical origins of the universe 

• Symbolic art creates maps of the land, allusions of how you should behave on that piece of land.

• Isn’t always in paintings but can be represented in drawings in the sand, body painting, also like songs and symbolic dance and ritual.

• These are all important for how it is passed on for generations 

Dreaming, Land and Identity: The Importance of the Dreaming

• All aspects of Aboriginal life are connected to the land in some way.

• Dreaming stories, origins of the universe, sacred sites and symbolism and art are all inextricably connected to the land. 

• Inextricable connection means that the links between things are so strong, they cannot be separated, therefore they are inextricable. 

• Without the land there is no dreaming, without the dreaming there is no land. 

• Elder Bob Randall is a well respected member of the Yankunytatjara tribe, one of the traditional owners of the land surrounding and including Uluru. 

• “We do not own the land, the land owns us.”

• Aboriginal people have a responsibility to maintain the land

• It is through connection with the dreaming and the land that the aboriginal identity is created.

• The dreaming and the land can’t be separated, the aboriginal identity emerges out of the structure, so it also can’t exist without the connection to the dreaming and the land 

• The dreaming and the land prescribe all aspects of aboriginal society:

• Including all family, relationships and kinship ties, language as well as the special rules which teach us how to behave in relation to food sources, rituals and ancestor spirits which is unique to particular tribes in particular locations. 

• All of this is key to the continuing aboriginal identity 

• These connections form a triangle for the dreaming the land and identity 

• Aboriginal society is held together by the connections between the dreaming, land and identity:

• This is why dreaming is of utmost importance in the life of an aboriginal person. 

• This is another example of how the aboriginal worldview is cyclical, everything is connected. 

• The connections are significantly damaged 

• The loss of aboriginal land through dispossession has extremely negatively impacted aboriginal peoples connection to the dreaming, and therefore to their identity.