Intro To Religion Midterm Exam

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Agnosticism

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The belief that knowledge of God's existence is not possible.

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Animism

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The belief that all or most things are animated by a soul or spirit.

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Dao (Tao)

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Translated as "the Way" and refers, in the Chinese religion of Daoism, to the ultimate truth, the sourceof all reality, and the Way of Nature.

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Anthropology of religion

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A social scientific approach to the study of religion that uses standard anthropological methods to understand how religion is related to culture.

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Deism

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The belief that God created the universe but does not intervene in its operation.

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Anthropomorphic

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Literally means "in human form" and refers to the tendency of many religions to picture gods in human form.

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Demons

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Superhuman beings midway between humans and gods, often descirbed as evil and harmful, but also can be good and helpful.

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Ascetic

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A person who lives an austere life of self denial, often involving physical derivations such as fasting, in order to intensify devotion or enhance spirituality by becoming independent of physical needs and desires.

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Ecstatic

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Those experiences in which individuals enter altered states of consciousness when they may be overwhelmed by intense feelings of joy, raptures, and trance states.

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Canon

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Literally meaning "rule" or "standard" and is used as a general term for any authoritative set of sacred or secular writings.

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Eschatology

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Ideas about "last things," or the end of time. This end may be thoguht of as otherwordly or this worldly and is often associated with judgement, punishment, and reward.

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Five Pillars of Islam

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The core of the Muslim faith and practice consisting of:
-witnessing that there is no God but Allah and that Muhammad is his Prophet
-formal prayer
-giving to the poor
-fasting during Ramadan
-pilgrimage to Mecca

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History of religions

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Developmental and comparative studies using historical and linuistic techniques to understand religions.

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Four Noble Truths

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The core of Buddhist teaching: there is suffering, it's cause is desire; there is release from suffering, and practicing the eightfold path will lead to release.

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Ideology

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Any set of doctrines or beliefs that form the basis of a political, economic, or religious system.

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Henotheism

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The belief that many gods may exist, but people should worship only the one that shows special concern for them and their interests.

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Inclusivism

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Position that doesn't deny the idea of truth in all relgions, but still asserts the superiority of one religion as containing the most complete truth that includes the truth found in other religions.

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Hermeneutics

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Method for interpreting information, particularly textual information, that pays close attention to th context and struture of a text.

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Insider’s viewpoint

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The view of a religious participant who seeks understanding in order to increase faith.

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Hierophanic

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Term derived from hierophany- literally a manifestation or revelation of the sacred.

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Jihad

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An individual's striving for spiritual self-perfection.
Islam. A Muslim holy war or spiritual struggle against infidels.

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Mantra

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Sacred sounds chanted for purposes of meditation and prayer.

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Monotheism

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The belief that there is only one God.

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Millenarianism

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First used to refer to the thousand year reign of Christ mentioned in Revelations, but has been generalized by scholars to refer to any movement that expects a utopian age.

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Morality

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Set of norms designed to regulate and govern the conduct of humans with one another, other living creatures, and the environment.

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Mysticism

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Movements, religions, or ideas deriving from mystical experiences- anything from union with God to deep insight into the nature of reality.

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Myth

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Sacred story.

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Numinous

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From the Latin word for spirit, refers to experiences of awe, mystery, dread, and finiteness beore a majestic overwhelming power that is wholly other and hence beyond humn reason.

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Nirvana

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A Buddhist term meaning extinction of suffering and release from the cycle of rebirth.

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Outsider’s viewpoint

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Academic study of religion that sees understanding from an objective, nonsectarian viewpoint.

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Pantheism

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The view that the essence of the universe is divine.

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Pantheon

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A collection of gods and goddesses organized as a family tree.

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Phenomenology of religion

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History of religions, but a particular theory and comparative method that assumes religions to be manifestations of the sacred. Opposes casual explanations that reduce religion, claiming religion is "of its own kind."

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Philosophy of religion

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Part of the field of religious studies that uses rational, philosophical argument to formulate, understand, and answer fundamental questions about religious matters.

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Pluralism

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1 meaning- There exist different and what appear to be conflicting religious truth claims.

2 meaning- a philosophical or theological position that asserts there are many genuine paths to salvation in many different religions of the world.

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Polytheism

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Belief in and worship of many gods.

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Psychology of religion

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Use of psychological methods and techniques to explore the relationship between human psychology and religious matters
Ex: impact of religion on moral developement

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Secularization

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Diminishing role of religion as a serious social influence in the modern and postmodern stage.
Change in religion that emphasizes individual spirituality and choice along w/ the view that religion is a private matter.

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Religious experience

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Any kind of experience, from visions and voices to intense feelings of love and devotion that the person having the experience believes to to be religiously significant.

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Shaman

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Religious functionary usually found in tribal societies who engages in healing, divining, and other functions important to the community through the means of ecstatic trances or visions.

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Rites of passage

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Rituals and ceremonies marking the passages/ transitions of life such as birth, puberty, marriage, illness, and death.

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Sociology of religion

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Area of religious studies, applies standard sociological theories of human social behavior to relgion in an attempt to uncover the way social factors influence religious beliefs and practices.

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Ritual

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Stylized, symbolic gestures and actions, repeated in specified ways on occasions of significance and in special contexts usually involving what participants take to be sacred presences.

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Spirituality vs. religion

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Developement of spirituality is the goal of many religions, but many believe it is not necessary to belong to a religious organization in order to pursue spiritual developement.

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Sacred

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Latin- "that which is done within the temple" (sacrifice)
Set apart, extraordinary, and totally different from the profane (done outside the temple)

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Symbolic theory

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Theory of myth in religion that claims meaning is symbolic, hence hidden beneath the literal surface.

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Taboo

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Restriction or prohibition common to a religion or culture intended to protect the sacred and prevent pollution by profane.

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Totem

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Most often a sacred animal or plant representing the power of a social group often thought of a the first ancestor.

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Theocracy

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Government of a state guided by immediate divine guidance or by officials who are regarded as divinely guided

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YHWH

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Yahweh- Name of God revealed to Moses by a voice in a burning bush, considered by the Jews too holy to speak. "I am who I am"

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Theodicy

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any proposed solution to the problem of evil that reconciles the existence of an all-good and all-powerful Godwith the evil that exists in the world that such a God created and guides.

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Theology

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Talk about God, the study of God. an activity of insiders who seek to articulate coherent and systematic accounts of ideas central to their religious tradition.

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Torah

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Hebrew word with multiple meanings:
The first five books of the Bible, a scroll containing divine law, revelation in general, th essence of the divine law, and the source of salvation.