religious studies: approaches and insights
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RELIGIOUS STUDIES
APPROACHES AND INSIGHTS
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DEFINITIONS AND CHARACTERISTICS OF RELIGION
PART ONE
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RELIGION: TOUGH TO DEFINE• Very difficult for scholars to capture a full
definition• Latin roots of the word• Re (again)• Lig (join/connect)• Religion = to rejoin, reconnect• Reconnecting our human world
to the sacred• Connecting a community holding
common beliefs
Bound Roman tablets with magic inscriptions from late antiquity
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RELIGION: CHARACTERISTICS• Components of religion:• A belief system or comprehensive worldview• A community that shares that belief system• Central stories that articulate and dramatize the belief
system• Rituals enacted by the community• Ethics/Rules of behavior• Material expression (visual arts, music, etc.)
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RELIGION: SACRED REALITY
• All religions are concerned with the deepest levels of reality
• God is often defined by transcendence. That is, exceeding the limits of our reality
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RELIGION: TRADITIONAL VIEWS• A way to deal with our
own mortality
• Social companionship among those with a shared worldview
• An outlet for to artistic expression
• Respond to humanity’s natural wonder at the world around us
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RELIGION: MODERN IDEAS• William James in Varieties of Religious
Experience• Visible world is merely part of a spiritual
universe
• Union with the spiritual is our true destination
• Inner communion through prayer, the “law,” etc. produce effects in material world
• Adds a zestful quality to life
• Brings an assurance of safety to oneself and peaceful relations with others
William JamesNew York Review of Books
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RELIGION: INTEGRAL WITH CULTURE• Religion is the substance of culture, and culture
the form of religion. — Paul Tillich, theologian
Tao ritual in China
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APPROACHES TO STUDYING RELIGION
PART TWO
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RELIGION: APPROACHES TO STUDY• Many disciplines take on religion as a subject of
study. None capture the entire picture, but provide valuable interdisciplinary insights.
• Some disciplinary approaches• Psychology: Mental effects of religion, from mystical states
to human development• Anthropology: How religion influences and shapes world
cultures• Linguistics: How religious ideas shape how we speak and
how we define the world around us
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RELIGION: APPROACHES TO STUDY• Historic theories about religion:• “Great Founder” theory: Moses, Buddha, Muhammad, etc.
establish new tradition
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RELIGION: APPROACHES TO STUDY• Historic theories about religion:• Sociological approach: Religion emerges from social
dynamic of whole tribes and peoples
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RELIGION: APPROACHES TO STUDY• Historic theories about
religion:• Structuralism: The human
mind is pre-dispositioned to form ideas about morality, sacredness, etc.
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RELIGION: APPROACHES TO STUDY• Historic theories about religion:• Post-structuralism: Religion found in the individuality of
experience
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RELIGION: APPROACHES TO STUDY• Historic theories about religion:
• Deconstruction: Religious ideas are found in the meaning adherents assign to their sacred texts
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RELIGION: APPROACHES TO STUDY• Clifford Geertz: Pioneered phenomenological
approach: • Relies on experiential observation over a long period• Tackles both ritual and beliefs along with their meanings
to adherents for “thick description”
Illustration by Bennett Klein
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RELIGION: CRITICAL ISSUES• Can religious research capture the wide array of
perspectives within the religion itself?
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RELIGIOUS STUDIES: ISSUES AND INSIGHTS
PART THREE
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RELIGIOUS STUDIES: INSIGHTS
• Studying religion offers insight into: • Human values and creativity
• Grand patterns in human development
• The individuality of people
• The diversity of human expression
• Approaches to peaceful relationships
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RELIGIOUS STUDIES: INSIGHTS• Studying religion offers insight into: • The role of religion in everyday life
• An appreciation for the arts
• Enriched experience in travel
• One’s own religious journey
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© Walter R. Ratliff
WHAT IS RELIGION: AN APPROACH TO STUDY