RG ST 71 Study Guide - Midterm Guide: Jediism, Bhagat Singh Thind, Melting Pot
Two types of definitions of religion used by scholars
➔Functional
◆Positive: religion is instrumental and functions within groups and individuals
● Melford Spiro
○ Tried to create a religious definition that could encompass all
religious beliefs
○ Culturally-patterned interactions with culturally-postulated
superhuman beings
◆Ritual actions valued by a certain community
● Emile Durkheim 4 C’s of Religion
○ Creed: encapsulation of core beliefs
◆Bill of Rights
○ Code: moral and ethical guidelines (acceptable ways to behave)
◆Voting
○ Cultus: ritual action
◆Presidential Inauguration
○ Community: people
◆Being a US citizen
◆Negative: religion is irrational
● Karl Marx
○ Religion is the opium of the people
◆Masked true suffering: exploitation by the upper class
● Sigmund Freud
○ Our notion of the father comes from the oedipus complex
◆Need for a strong father figure
○ Religion distorts picture of the real world
◆Doesn’t allow a person to contribute to the economy and
leaves them vulnerable to capitalist exploitation
➔Substantive: contain the content and essence of religion
◆Rudolf Otto
● Religion offers an explanation for the universe in something other than
scientific terms
● Das ganz andere = wholly other = completely beyond rational
understanding
● Mysterium tremendum et fascinas
○ Mysterium: wholly other invokes silence
○ Tremendum: invokes terror because it is overwhelming
○ Fascinas: merciful and gracious
◆Mircea Eliade
● Sui generis = the sacred
● We are compelled to gravitate towards religion because it is not created
by humans
● Hierophany: appearance of the sacred
○ Represents mysterium tremendum et fascinas
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○ Moses and the burning bush
◆Jesse Bering
● Sensation that there is a sacred presence can be created in the brain
○ How cultures understands these circumstances allows them to
interpret the sensation as a presence
◆Daniele Hervieu-Leger
● Religion is an ideological and symbolic system maintained through stories
passed down
● Not about the existence of God
○ Emotional bond with community through heritage and tradition
◆James L. Cox
● Religion = identifiable communities that base their beliefs on a tradition
transmitted through generations of authorities
○ There are non-falsifiable realities (Heaven)
Polly Bemis and how she demonstrates counter-disciplinarity
➔Polly Bemis’ photo is interpreted through a certain lens
◆Her hand is assumed to be resting on a Bible → Christian
◆She is wearing nice clothes → story of a successful immigrant
◆Polly Bemis’ true self can only be understood when religious and Asian American
biases are denied
● Lalu Naloy is a Muslim Mongolian
Robert Bellah’s argument about the American Civil Religion (define it)
➔In the US, exists a nonsectarian religion with traditions based in history
➔Sources:
◆The Bible (covenant, chosenness, American exceptionalism)
◆Puritanism
● Predestination: people lived controlled lives to earn salvation
○ Led to a people who were accountable to each other
● Work ethic
○ Capitalism helped by frugality
○ Success in business became the legacy of Puritan ascetic
practices
◆Enlightenment
● Power of religion as explanatory for the world eroded
◆Roman republicanism
● Virtuous citizen
American exceptionalism / the error of it
➔Americans are ready to accept the chosen aspect of exceptionalism
➔Forget the covenant part where Americans are held accountable for their actions
“Chosenness” / covenant
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➔Chosenness: Just as God chose the Hebrew people to go to the promised land, God
chose the Puritans to go to the promised land of America
◆Led to American exceptionalism
➔Covenant: God’s contract with the people for them to obey him and be blessed
Iwamura’s argument about the function of the oriental monk
➔Americans used the Dalai Lama to contain orientalism
◆The east serves as a spiritual remedy for the west
➔Asian characters are portrayed in a way to reflect American views
➔Bridge figure
◆The east is incapable of defining itself so it is the west’s responsibility to bring the
message of the east back to the west
Edward Said’s contribution to the study of Asian American religion
➔Theory of orientalism
◆The west’s representation of the east is a projection of its fears and fantasies
◆Everything that the west is not is projected
● Irrational vs rational
● Traditional vs modern
● Mystical vs realistic
➔Orientalism represents
◆Justification for colonialism
◆The west’s assumption that the east is incapable of defining itself
◆Relates to US v Bhagat Singh Thind
● US ruled that he was not white in the eyes of the common man, even
though race science classified him as white
Secondary orientalism / tertiary orientalism
➔Secondary orientalism
◆Asian Buddhist learns Buddhism from a Westerner
● D.T. Suzuki learned from Paul Carus
➔Tertiary orientalism
◆Asian Americans go to a Western-influenced Buddhist who represents the
oriental Buddhist
● Going to D.T. Suzuki to learn about Buddhism even though his Buddhism
is western-influenced
Naturalization Act of 1790
➔immigrants had to be: white, male, and of good character to gain citizenship
McCreary Amendment (1893)
➔Required ID photos for Chinese
1921 Emergency Quota Act
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Document Summary
Two types of definitions of religion used by scholars. Positive: religion is instrumental and functions within groups and individuals. Tried to create a religious definition that could encompass all religious beliefs. Ritual actions valued by a certain community. Code: moral and ethical guidelines (acceptable ways to behave) Religion is the opium of the people. Masked true suffering: exploitation by the upper class. Our notion of the father comes from the oedipus complex. Religion distorts picture of the real world. Doesn"t allow a person to contribute to the economy and leaves them vulnerable to capitalist exploitation. Substantive: contain the content and essence of religion. Religion offers an explanation for the universe in something other than scientific terms. Das ganz andere = wholly other = completely beyond rational understanding. Tremendum: invokes terror because it is overwhelming. We are compelled to gravitate towards religion because it is not created by humans.
