REL 104 Study Guide - Midterm Guide: Mishnah, Talmud, Gemara

• School: University of Kansas
• Department: Religious Studies
• Course: REL 104
• Professor: All

Document Summary

Reasons why the asr is necessary/important: religion is a key element in most human cultures helps us understand other human beings. Religion has shaped the world"s history, literature, art, politics, economics, etc. by studying religion we can better understand diverse visions of self and society by studying religion you will always have something interesting to talk to people about. Term used differently or not at all in some cultures. A focus on a common essence in religions. A focus on how religion operates in life. -psychological approach (freud): the role a belief system plays on a mental or emotional life; religion pre- serves mental health in a chaotic world or furthers neuroses. -sociological approach (marx): the impact of a belief system on society or the way it is expressed socially by believers. 1) ideal sense or elite culture: culture as that which is ideal or distinguished (religious texts valued as high culture) --c)that which is in tension with elite culture.