RELS 108 1nd Edition Lecture 3 Outline of Last Lecture I II III What is spirituality What is religion What is religious studies Outline of Current Lecture I II III IV V VI VII 1 2 3 4 5 VIII IX Homo Religiosus creature who is religious term coined by Eliade There is a sacred disposition between living in the world 88 of the world s population belongs to a religion Homosapien wisdom creature Americans are most religious The more advanced we become the less spiritual we become 5 Approaches to Understanding Religion Sacred Text interpret text as a literary object translate interpret a Permanutically engaging by learning i ex if you learn Arabic you will be able to read the Quran ii ex if you learn Greek you will be able to read the Bible Historical Method seeks to discover origin of religious spiritual tradition Comparative compares traditions form other religions has origins in missionaries encountering natives in other lands Philosophical attempts to understand the sacred provides arguments for and against religions Sociohistoric traces development of religious ideas in institutions over time Husserl says that phenomenology is interpreting all 5 of these approaches wants you to look at spirituality as objectively as possible 4 Stages of Understanding Religion 1 Gathering collecting religious data comes from certain behaviors of religious people 2 Search for pattern what are they doing 3 Intention of behavior analysis of the structure of patterns why are they doing this These notes represent a detailed interpretation of the professor s lecture GradeBuddy is best used as a supplement to your own notes not as a substitute X XI XII XIII XIV XV XVI XVII XVIII XIX XX XXI XXII XXIII XXIV 4 Generalization attempts to form a united theory about religious behavior Relationship between religion and thought Heidegger asks what type of thought There are two types 1 Calculative Thinking deliberate thinking 2 Meditative Contemplative flight from thought people don t realize they are thinking Doubt and faith are connected Why Because doubt strengthens faith Religion Feeling Numinous the power presence of the spiritual Tremendum overpowering nature of the mystery occurs when overwhelming aspect of the numinous occurs a Ex if there is a tiger in the next room you are afraid because the tiger could kill you but if there is a ghost in the next room you aren t afraid of the ghost killing you you re afraid of the spiritual that you cannot understand or control Fascinans attracts fascinates and compels a Ex that feeling that someone is watching you Action Spirituality Spiritual compels one to participate Intention behind action deals with religion values morality Religion flows from morality but where does morality originate a Discussion people said it originates from the way you grow up what you learn from parents teachers peers etc b Morality is relative Function of Religion Enables people to sustain hope in the midst of crisis a Functionalist approach reduces religion down to a coping mechanism practiced by Sigmund Freud Karl Marx etc Substance what makes religion a What makes certain responses to something religious or not b Substance approach limits range of phenomenon that are characterized as religious c Core definition that separates religious and non religious approaches to life