RELS 108 Study Guide - Midterm Guide: Bhakti Yoga, Tat Tvam Asi, Rigveda

• School: VCU
• Department: Religious Studies
• Course: RELS 108
• Professor: Jan P.Hatcher

Document Summary

Introduction, chapters 1 & 2, power of myth material. Phenomenological study of religion 4 steps outlined in text: gathering religious data, searching for patterns, analyzing the structure of patterns, suggesting generalizations. Definition of religion (in text: generally involves a set of beliefs, including a moral code, often includes a focus on god or a group of gods. Definition of sacred (in text) (cid:862)other tha(cid:374) the ordi(cid:374)ar(cid:455)(cid:863) (cid:894)e(cid:454)traordi(cid:374)ar(cid:455)(cid:895) Sacred reality: specially distinctive, beyond volitional control of humans, prominent with respect to human welfare, properly determinative of various aspects of human existence. Transcendent sacred reality transcends ordinary existence; it is beyond or outside of us (judaism, christianity, islam) Immanent sacred reality is part of/within the natural world (hinduism, buddhism, taoism, confucianism) Stone age - paleolithic period hunting, animals, death/afterlife. Neolithic period agriculture, earth, sky, fertility, goddesses. Defining feature of religious behavior attention to activity that is unrelated to one"s immediate survival or well-being. Trimurti - brahma, vishnu, shiva three main hindu gods.