ANTH205 11 7 RELIGION What is religion o IS a shared belief system of the world that tends to include 1 Supernatural beliefs held by faith not evidence Deities spirits that have human characteristics Spirituality often placed as a contrast to organize religion most generalized supernatural belief Magic the belief that certain actions thoughts can have an affect on future outcomes through supernatural mechanisms Superstition simple form of magic is the belief that an object action will have an effect on outcomes Witchcraft Sorcery magic use for bad purposes to do bad things 2 Moral codes prescribed rules regarding behavior particularly with regards to others differs from philosophical treatments based on belief 3 Ritual Is structured repetitive activities at defined locations and times EX Midnight Yell Church Service Designed to connect with supernatural world Church Service Prayers Offerings Often done to influence events maintain good standings 4 Sacred VS Profane Divine VS Material Designation of higher status and great respect The cross Churches Often associated with worship of deities Major Categories of Religions o Agnosticism Atheism Agnosticism the absence of belief there s no way to know so not even going to try Atheism is the belief of absence there is nothing o Animism Belief system that objects and animals have spirits Common among foragers o Totemism A particular group associates themselves with a particular spirit o Ancestor Worship Relatives can continue to have an impact on lives of the living even after death the living have to live in a way to keep their ancestors happy o Monotheism Belief in one powerful deity o Polytheism Belief in many powerful deities History of Religion o First possible signs of intentional burial around 100 000 years ago o Practiced by homo sapiens and Neanderthals o Becomes more elaborate with upper Paleolithic around 40 000 years ago Western Abrahamic Religions o Judaism o Christianity o Islam o Abraham considered father of three major western religions Son Isaac Son Ishmael Monotheistic all three worship the same God Religious Texts Prophets o Judaism 13 2 million adherents Progenitor to other western religions Some 4 000 yrs old Tanakh religious text consisting of 3 books Monotheistic Religion Stresses living a good moral life based on religious moral teachings No single figure head history of study and varying interpretations o Christianity 1 5 2 Billion Adherents Based on Judaism holds Jesus Christ to be the foretold Jewish messiah Son of the father who sacrificed himself to save humanity Holy trinity Salvation is to achieve through acceptance of Christ Three major divisions Roman Catholicism Eastern Orthodoxy Protestantism o Islam 1 5 Billion adherents Based on teachings of Prophet Muhammad 7th century Arab Received revelations from God which formed the Qu ran Considered final prophet Include Jewish and Christian prophets Five Pillars 1 Belief in God and Muhammad 2 Ritual Prayer 5 times a day 3 Giving of Charity 4 Fast during Ramadan 5 Pilgrimage to Mecca Eastern Religions in eastern religions they tend to take more of a philosophical approach o Chinese Folk Religion 400 Million adherents Mixture of ancestor worship Many Gods and Goddesses o Taoism o Shintoism Japanese religious belief system Focuses on purity o Confucianism More of a philosophical system Indian Religions o Hinduism 1 Billion Adherents Ancient religion Multiple deities Widely variable with many sects focusing on different aspects deities Multiple texts Vedas Upanishads Brahma Infinite everything transcendent reality indescribable Karma action cause and effect Good things in past become good things in future Samsara Cycle of birth death rebirth Moksha liberation from Samsara Nirvana Buddhism look in lecture notes for more o 300 million adherents o Based on teachings of Siddharta Gautama 400 B C E o Belief that suffering is caused by attachment and craving o Goal is to eliminate attachment and hence suffering by achieving enlightenment 11 07 2013 11 07 2013