Highlighted stuff are short answer question Study this guide and you know about 95 of what is on test Terms 1Monotheism the doctrine that there is only one god 2polytheism belief in more than one god 3Missionary Religions a religion that actively seeks converts Judaism Christianity and Islam 4Non Missionary Religions 5Pluralism in the context of religion the principle that all religions are equally valuable should be treated with equal respect and should have an equal opportunity to play a role in public decision making 6Secularism the principle that no religious group or institutions should receive public support or play any role in public decision making 7 Cult A system of religious veneration and devotion directed toward a particular figure or object A relatively small group of people having religious beliefs or practices regarded by others as strange or sinister Used to mean worship 8Dualism A conception of the universe that postulates two ultimate principles set in opposition to one another and more or less evenly matched these principles are usually though not always personified as a good god and an evil devil Discussion 1Pluralism vs Secularism 2Anthropology s study of Religion Most of what goes into the study of religion is anthropology Geertz said religion is a set of symbols people use to make sense of life Durkheim said religion keeps social groups together social cohesion Rudolf Otto said religion is the sense of mystery all humans feel numinous Ch1 Ch2 Terms 1Iroquois Hiawatha A confederacy of five eventually six Iroquoian speaking nations formed sometime before the arrival of Europeans that dominated the Eastern Woodlands area of North America from Quebec and New York to the Northern Great Lakes Hiawatha was a man who was devastated by the death of his family retreated into the woods as a thief and later after a visit from a god brought 5 eventually 6 nations together to form the Iroquois 2Handsome Lake religion of the Iroquois In 1799 the prophet Handsome Lake had his first vision given to him by the Creator to help the Iroquois people His subsequent visions and his teachings led many people to accept a new Iroquois religion one based upon past religious beliefs but appropriate for a new social and economic reality 1Wakan Tanka The Lakota conceived of a universe permeated by a life enhancing power called wakan Their supreme being was named Wakan Tanka 2Earth Diver Myths Myth that suggests that in the beginning all was water and without form then an animal or a god dives under the water and returns with earth to build land Iroqoius say that first two animals that attempted this were duck and fish they both failed Then a muskrat succeeded 3Axis Mundi Zuni and Hopi believed this the central point where the spiritual realms of the heavens and the underworld intersected with the earth coined by Mircea Eliade 4Sun Dance One of the most important rituals of the peoples of the Great Plains and northern Rockies the object of the sun dance is to offer personal sacrifice as a prayer for the benefit of one s family and community 5Ghost Dance Battle of Wounded Knee In 1889 a group of Lakota started the Ghost dance A young indian agent freaked and called the Calvary in They attacked and killed between 150 and 300 people 6Vision Quest important Lakota ritual following purification in sweat lodge a young man goes on a hill and awaits a vision that will shape the rest of his life 7Keepers of the Game deities that watched over hunters they verified the hunters treated the killed animals with respect 8Tricksters chaos loving deities these are forces not of evil but of disorder Discussion 1Problems with understanding indigenous religions as oral primitive Ch3 Terms 1Covenant The Mosaic covenant beginning in Exodus 19 24 contains the foundations of the written Torah and the Oral Torah In this covenant God promises to make the Israelites his treasured possession among all people Exo19 5 and a kingdom of priests and a holy nation Exo19 6 if they follow God s commandments As part of the terms of this covenant God gives Moses the Ten Commandments 2Exodus the migration of the hebrews from Egypt under the leadership of Moses later understood to mark the birth of the Isrealite nation 3Exile The deportation of Jewish leaders from Jerusalem to Mesopotamia by the conquering Babylonians in 586 BC disrupting local Isrealite ploitical ritual and agricultural institutions it marked the transition from Israelite religion to Judaism 4Diaspora Dispersal the Jewish world outside the land of ancient Israel it began with the Babylonian Exile from which not all Jews returned 5Messiah Mashiah the term messiah comes from hebrew term mashiah anointed one pouring oil over the head was a standard ritual signifying divine sanction usually of a new king 6Tanakh an acronym referring to the entire Hebrew Bible Torah or law Neviim or prophets and Ketuvim or sacred writings 7Pentateuch The first five books of the Hebrew Bible traditionally ascribed to Moses but now regarded as the product of several centuries of later literacy activity 8Documentary Hypothesis The theory 1894 that the Pentateuch was not written by Moses but was compiled from multiple sources over a long period of time 9The Maccabean Revolt seleucids had control of greek dynasty they transformed Jerusalem s temple into a cult place of Zeus a revolt by a group of fighters called the maccabees this revealed a dispute within the Jewish community those who want to be traditional or those who want to assimilate 10Temple 11Rosh Hashanah The new year festival usually celebrated in september 12Yom Kippur the day of atonement ten days after Rosh Hashannah the day for the most solemn reflection and self examination 13Passover the major spring festival of agricultural rebirth and renewal given a historical dimension of association with the hasty departure of the Israelites from Egypt under Moses leadership 14Hanukkah dates from mid second century BCE when the Maccabean Jews drove their Seleucid oppressors out of Jerusalem It celebrates the purification and re dedication hanukkah of the temple after its profanation by the seleucids 15Sabbath The seventh day of the week observed since ancient times as a day of rest from ordinary activity 16Elie Wiesel guy who wrote books about being in holocaust 17Bar Mitzvah son of the commandments the title given to a thirteen year old boy when he is initiated into adult ritual responsibilities some branches of Judaism also
View Full Document