In “Interpreting the Sacred,” William E. Paden does not answer the what is religion question, in fact he does the opposite. Paden challenges the reader to ask why IS religion and to question how one can even define religion. It was an interesting read that discussed the difficulties in studying religion, and the challenges we all face with religion in our everyday lives. Paden poses the idea that our individual worldviews and lives shape religion, not just in the sense of how we ourselves interpret our own religions, but also how we define religion, culture, and society. Chapter 1 discusses the lens that we all view religion through.…
Religion can be considered to be the common human culture, there is a mysterious myth, it is the human spirit. The Faith is the highest embodiment of a talent human subjective response, it is the paradise of the human consciousness of the universe, the earth's history beyond the form of fate, it is of our human existence and the integrity of the relationship between the objective world, it is a kind of metaphysical…
Dualism can be defined as dividing life into two separate categories, the first being secular and the second being spiritual. Secular involves things within the physical and changing world in which humans live. Sacred includes things related to the spiritual and unchanging existence of God. Secular is evident in places/activities such as education, business, arts, sciences, government, hobbies, and entertainment. Sacred is only involved in church-related activities.…
The city of Jerusalem is a religious and holy space to many who live there or simply visit, but what about Jerusalem makes religious or holy in the first place? There are buildings with an empty meaning until it is labeled, buildings with an unacknowledged history that can or cannot be proven, and people confused with their purpose in life. Jerusalem has carried many of these characterizations and factors and yet no one truly understood how the religious and holy space was formed in the city. Space remains a mystery that goes beyond the complex unit of measurement and a simple physical area because it can change over time. Fortunately, Tweed suggests three aspects regarding space: it is differentiated, kinetic, and interrelated.…
In the “Sacred and Profane” by Eliade, he talks about the sacred being a realm of extraordinary forces. In the sacred realm it shows the values. Eliade states that all religions speak of a sacred reality beyond this world, which manifests itself in our midst to make itself known and to bring a change in our reality. There are many different religious traditions which adds to global cultural peace. All religions have sacred destinations, items, and rituals that the believer goes through in order to grow and change their own reality.…
Critical Analysis Paper # 3 Analysis of “Religion Gives Meaning to Life,” by Louis P. Pojman Introduction: In this article, “Religion Gives Meaning to Life,” Louis P. Pojman believes that religion, but mainly a theistic religion gives purpose and meaning to life. Pojman feels that, since people cannot prove that theism is true or not true, then therefore, people should live like theism is true. A world with theism, living life following a higher being would be a better world than living a life of self-governing, autonomy. Lastly, Pojman believes that living in autonomy is not really affected by having a religion or faith but instead religion may help everyone’s autonomy because they will have more purpose for their personal goals.…
“One believes things because one has conditioned to believe them,” (Huxley 158). The constant growth of technology and science is prevalent all throughout Brave New World which has caused much destruction for the citizens of World State. Advancement of technology comes off as an amazing scientific achievement but a technology and science based utopia is not a utopia, but rather the opposite. Brave New World is dominated by government with a large amount of power due to science which will later cause destruction for both the citizens living in the World State but also the government itself. In Aldous Huxley’s, Brave New World, science and technology has put an effect on the idea of family, the way religion and art is perceived, and the true…
Space seems to be a simple concept, but many people having varying ideas of what the term actually means. In the article “Space”, Thomas Tweed tackles the true definition of religious space. Tweed rejects the idea that space is “a preexisting static container isolated from other spaces” or “a void to be filled” (118). Instead, Tweed describes sacred spaces as differentiated, kinetic, and interrelated. Jerusalem holds deep significance to three of biggest religions in the world.…
According to Jeffrey Mahan, “religion includes the various ways in which human beings and their communities relate to the sacred, including their beliefs and practices and the way they have created institutions to organize and contain the sacred”…
The Role Religion has on Social Structure The Sacred Canopy by Peter Berger offers a way to gain new perspectives on how we construct different realities in society for ourselves. Berger didn’t seem to be interested in convincing us that religion is a spiritual phenomenon, but rather he offered a perspective on how religion plays a role in our social life. This is because we live in a world that places value on cultural aspects.…
The sacred secular divide can be very hard to explain it is something that puts a shadow over everything in life, what it actually is, is a false worldview and can be very bad for Christians it is basically the difference between a Christian way of thinking and a worldly way of thinking, also things like buildings even have more importance such as in the Christian worldview church’s and places like that are more important and in the worldly way of thinking it’s school’s and businesses. If anything though it’s more about the distinction you make. When it comes to our relationship with God there are more important distinctions to make, and important is what we do for God not what are job is as long as it’s not against him. The way that a Christian…
In understanding the dimensions of religion and how the rituals of each religion have been formed, it is important to recognize that each individual religion holds its own unique methods of practice and have many different levels of complex beliefs; including ways of following and practicing the cultural expectations as well as understanding the historical events that have formed each religion. Some beliefs are formed due to the exposure of the religion that has been practiced within one’s family. Others may be formed within adulthood based upon self-discovery and one’s wishes to pursue a certain lifestyle. Those who are fully knowledgeable on the many different forms of religion are more likely to be able to form more in-depth opinions that…
As the modern age has brought in a wave of secularism, one would expect the draw of sacred spaces to also dwindle. This has not appeared to be the case. Though many times we see a sacred space as being tied exclusively to religion, these are in fact any place that people or society have set aside. The word “sacred” tend to stir up images of centuries-old churches and monuments, but what each person holds as sacred can differ greatly. In modern society many issues have arisen between those who make claim to an area that they considered sacred and those who disagree with this distinction.…
Spirituality and religion are two related and yet different words linked with faith. First of all it is important to define the meaning of Spirituality and Religion. Spirituality means believing more about oneself and the existence of different spiritual paths such as material or physical things and Religion is the belief in and worship of a superhuman controlling power, especially a personal God or gods. There are many religions in the world, so often people have different meanings of religion and spirituality. The word spirituality is intellectual belief, whereas religion is a belief system.…
Why do groups of people need a religious system in order to form stable cultures and societies? In his address before the Farmington Trust, philosopher Edward Goldsmith argues the importance of religion as a control mechanism for a stable society. He discusses a philosophy in which, “(Religion) provides a goal, whose achievement must ensure the society’s stable relationship with its environment, and a means of achieving this goal, i.e. a ‘hierarchical organisation of instructions or guidelines.’” (Goldsmith) In order to illustrate this organization, provided for by religion, and vital to a stable society, aspects of Ancient Greek culture are highlighted.…