RS110 Lecture Notes - Lecture 1: Neurosis, Scholarly Approaches Of Mysticism, Eschatology

• School: University of Waterloo
• Department: Religious Studies
• Course: RS110
• Professor: Ricardo Gouvea

Document Summary

Lecture 1 - introduction to religions of the west. The course will be divided into the following four parts: What are the eight main attitudes (postures) on religion: radical; fundamentalist; prophetic; proselytizer, conservative; particularistic; proselytizer, devotional; utilitarian, mystical; universalist, respectful; eventual participant. Believer: may be said to be too credulous, critical, may be said to be too suspicious. Skeptic: may be said to be too impious. What are the complexities of the taxonomy: dead and alive, old and new, primal and complex, superstitious and rational, natural and supernatural, ethnic and universal or world religions , eastern and western, prophetic and mystical, abrahamic religion, quasi-religions. Substantive or essential de nitions: religion is a feeling of absolute dependence upon a higher power (friedrich. Functional de nitions: a religion is a uni ed system of beliefs and practices relative to sacred things (i. e. , set apart and forbidden) which unite people into one single moral comment (emile.