1. What are the two main ways we will be talking about religion in this class?

   • The way of Faith and Devotion (way ppl talk about Judaism or Christianity in Sunday School, or how Hindus sing of their love of Krishna…basically the nonreligious study of religion) INSIDERS VIEW

   • A nondevotional and nontheological way (way of religious studies. Aim is not to DO religion but to study it) OUTSIDERS VIEW

2. What is the problem of essentialism?

Essentialism is the act of reducing particular religious traditions to hard-and-fast things. It’s the view that the things we see in the world express unchanging forms. This happened because religious studies scholars didn’t account sufficiently for either change over time, or internal diversity. The truth is that not every Muslim prays five times a day; and some Mormons take a sip of caffeinated cola now and then. The problem with this bad generalization is that religion is actually internally diverse. Religion evolves and changes over time, and religious influences are embedded in all dimensions of culture.

3. What is perennialism?

   • The belief that there’s one religion underlying what appears to be many religions. That all religions are one. (The other in the book says that while they were in school, they were told that the world’s religions were different paths up the same mountain).

   • the problem with perennialism: those who affirm it cannot agree who or what resides on their mountaintops, even though they believe all religion connect at the peak

4. What is the four-part model the author of the textbook employs in studying religions? How does it work?

The four-part model of the world’s religions is: Problem, Solution, Techniques, Exemplars. This four-part model of the world’s religions examines:

• An analysis of the human problem

• A solution to that problem

• Techniques for achieving that goal

• Exemplars who chart the path toward the goal (saints, gurus, medicine men who chart the path from the religious illness to the religious cure)

5. What are the dimensions/domains of religion (according to Ninian Smart and/or Bruce Lincoln)?

Ninian Smart has referred to seven dimensions of religion:

• The ritual dimension (rites and ceremonies)

• The narrative or mythic dimension (myths and other stories related to sacred things)

• The experiential or emotional dimension (experience of awe, guilt, bliss)

• The social or institutional dimension (religious organizations)

• The ethical or legal dimension (laws and moral codes)

• The doctrinal or philosophical dimension (creeds, theologies)

• The material dimension (prayer beads, icons, temple architecture)

Bruce Lincoln’s 4 Essential Domains of Religion:

• Discourse (written or oral) that concerns issues transcendent to the contingent, finite human world

• A set of practices whose purpose is to produce a proper world (or proper human character)

• A community whose members construct their identity with reference to such discourses and practices

• An institution that regulates religious discourse, practices, and community (with the goal of reproducing this into the future)

6. What is the main difference between a functional vs. a substantive definition (or approach) to religious study?

Substantive definitions focus on what religion is, while functional definitions focus on what religion does. Substantive looks at the content and essence of religion. Functional looks at how it operates in society (if they are sociological), or in the human mind (if they are psychological).

Other Non-Key Concepts Worth Noting

• Secularization Theory: predicts that as societies modernize, they will become less religious

• Religions are stories/storytellers

• Religious Literacy is the ability to engage in public conversations about religion, and requires:

  • Knowledge about the world’s religions

  • Empathetic understanding

  • Critical engagement

  • A comparative approach

    • To balance empathy and criticism requires using a comparative approach

• How to address Essentialism:

  • Be suspicious of the categories we use to think about the world’s religions

  • Avoid bad generalizations

  • Acknowledge ourselves and others that the generalizations we make are just generalizations

• Problem with substantive and functional definitions:

  • Substantive: they exclude too much

  • Functional: include too much