RELS 108 Study Guide - Fall 2018, Comprehensive Midterm Notes - Hinduism, Vishnu, Vedas
RELS 108
MIDTERM EXAM
STUDY GUIDE
Fall 2018
❖Phenomenological Study of Religion -- 4 steps outlines in text
➢Gathering religious data
➢Searching for patterns
➢Analyzing the structure of patterns
➢Suggesting generalizations
❖Definition of Religion -- in text
➢A sense of ultimate sacred reality; that is connected to our human experiences;with
impact on human culture;related to ordering and understanding our universe
❖Definition of Sacred (in text)
➢Other than ordinary;set apart from the rest
❖Sacred Reality
➢Specially distinctive, set apart from all else
➢Beyond volitional control of human beings;
■With a transcendent view of sacred reality, prayer & sacrificial ritual are attempts
to influence the sacred, but there is also recognition that the sacred is not subject
to the will or desires of human beings.
➢Prominent with respect to human welfare
■Sacred reality has an impact on human lives
➢Proper determinative of various aspects of human existence
■Order our lives in ways to consistent with sacred reality
❖Transcendent
➢Sacred reality transcends ordinary existence; beyond us, outside of us.
■Ex. judaism, christianity, islam: all knowing, all powerful god
❖Immanent
➢Sacred reality is part of / within the natural world
■N Ex. hinduism, buddhism, taoism, confucianism, zen
Short History of Religion
❖Paleolithic Period - hunting, animals, death/afterlife
➢Earliest sign of religious thought: evidence of humans intentionally burying their dead
➢Signs of ritualistic behavior
■evidence of “ritual burial” of the dead--red ochre used to stain bones
❖Neolithic Period - agriculture, earth, sky, fertility, goddesses
➢Matristic culture: goddess worship, fertility, reverence and respect for the female
➢Shift of focus from the hunt to agricultural prosperity
❖Bronze Age -- warrior, sky, sun, gods
➢Goddess figures were widely replaced with god(s), mirroring the elevation of warriors
within the developing culture.
❖Later/Current -- philosophical; spiritual essence of universe
❖Defining Feature of Religious Behavior: attention to activity that is unrelated to one’s immediate
survival or well-being
❖Oldest Surviving Religious Text: pyramid texts
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Document Summary
Phenomenological study of religion -- 4 steps outlines in text. A sense of ultimate sacred reality; that is connected to our human experiences;with impact on human culture;related to ordering and understanding our universe. Other than ordinary;set apart from the rest. Specially distinctive, set apart from all else. With a transcendent view of sacred reality, prayer & sacrificial ritual are attempts to influence the sacred, but there is also recognition that the sacred is not subject to the will or desires of human beings. Sacred reality has an impact on human lives. Proper determinative of various aspects of human existence. Order our lives in ways to consistent with sacred reality. Sacred reality transcends ordinary existence; beyond us, outside of us. Ex. judaism, christianity, islam: all knowing, all powerful god. Sacred reality is part of / within the natural world. N ex. hinduism, buddhism, taoism, confucianism, zen. Earliest sign of religious thought: evidence of humans intentionally burying their dead.
