Download Phil 352 - Mathias Warnes

PHIL 352 – STUDY GUIDE
CHAPTER 1 – UNDERSTANDING RELIGION
Learning Objectives
After reading this chapter, the student should be able to do the following:
• Discuss the role and function of religion in human life
• Describe theories of the origin of religion
• Describe the series of characteristics used to identify a religion
• Discuss conceptions of the sacred
• Discuss the importance of symbolism in religion
• Explain the three patterns for comparing and contrasting religions
• Describe the multidisciplinary approaches to the study of religion
• Know the value and benefits of studying religion
Study Questions
1. Are religion and spirituality the same? Is it possible to be spiritual without being
religious and vice-versa?
2. Briefly explain the theories about religious beliefs of the thinkers listed below.
3. What factors contribute to the negative aspects of religious beliefs?
4. Explore the insights of Freud or Jung regarding religion, and use those insights to
examine the religious tradition with which you are most familiar. How would
Freud or Jung understand that religion?
5. Karl Marx argued that religions arise as an escape from poverty and social
oppression. Consequently he thought that when social problems were eliminated,
religions would die away. What arguments and examples would you give for and
against this position?
6. What is meant by the concept of the numinous?
Terms: Elementargedanken, superstitution, gnosis, agnostic, atheist, heretic, pantheist,
incarnation, anthropomorphism, Abrahamic, structuralism, post-structuralism,
polytheism, transcendent, dualism, immanent
People: Joseph Campbell, Carl Gustav Jung, Karl Marx, Sigmund Freud, Mircea Eliade,
Rudolf Otto, E.B. Tylor, James Frazer
CHAPTER 2 – INDIGENOUS RELIGIONS
Learning Objectives
After reading this chapter, the student should be able to do the following:
• Describe the three patterns shared by indigenous religions
• Explain the view of reality held by indigenous religions
• Describe the importance of ritual in the practice of indigenous religion
• Discuss rite of passage ceremonies
• Define the function of taboos
• Describe the role of the shaman
Study Questions
1. Your area now has, or once was home to, native peoples. Make a list of their
traditional religious sites, beliefs, and practices. Visit the available sites with friends or
classmates and make a report to your class.
2. Why do you think there has been a resurgence of interest in native religions in recent
times? What reasons make you think that the interest will last? What reasons suggest that
the interest may be short-lived?
3. Explain the difference between Paleolithic and Neolithic eras?
4. Why do humans offer sacrifices to the gods? What is sacrified? What is sacrifice?
5. What are some of the tasks of the shaman?
6. What is sacred time, sacred space? How do you differentiate it from ordinary time and
space?
Terms: Fetish, Initiation, Epiphany, Taboo, Exorcism, Cosmogony, Vision quest
Animism, Calumet, Divination, Holistic, Libation, Sympathetic Magic, Taboo.
Deities/Personages: Lame Deer, Black Elk, Pele, Amanita Muscaria, Kachinas,
CHAPTER 3 & 4 – HINDUISM AND BUDDHISM
Learning Objectives
After reading this chapter, the student should be able to do the following:
• Describe possible origins of Hinduism and key features of the Vedic and
Upanishadic periods
• Explain a monistic worldview
• Discuss concepts of karma, rebirth, and liberation
• Discuss aspects of social and personal life, such as caste, stages of life, and four
goals
• Explain the practices and goals of the yoga paths
• Describe features of devotional Hinduism practiced by the majority of Hindus
• Recall the names and characteristics of Hinduism’s most popular gods
• Describe the life story of the Buddha according to tradition
• Explain the content of the Four Noble Truths
• Discuss concepts of change and no self in Buddhism
• Discuss the spread of Buddhism from India
• Distinguish among the three major branches of Buddhism
• Discuss modern developments in Buddhism, including its emergence in the West
Study Questions
1.Investigate to see whether examples of Hindu practice exist in or near your home or
school. Visit a Hindu temple or center and attend a service if possible; write a short report
2. What are Atman and Brahman and how are they related?
3. What are varnas, or Hindu castes, and how do they relate to the concept of karma and
reincarnation?
4. Read a biography of the Dalai Lama or other books about Tibetan Buddhism. Prepare a
written report on how the Dalai Lama’s beliefs and actions earned him the Nobel Prize
for Peace. The Dalai Lama preaches nonviolence. Is this realistic? Give arguments.
5. Explain the Noble Eightfold Path to Liberation. What are the Four Noble Truths?
6. What is meant by “the Middle Way”? What is meant by the phrase tat tvam asi?
Terms: ahimsa, ashram, dhyana, hatha yoga, jnana yoga, kundalini yoga, mantra, Maya,
bodhisattva, dharma, lila, nirvana, samsara, moksha, chakra, prana, vedas, lingam and
yoni, karma, mandala, bhakti, puja, samadhi, upanishads, mudra, samurai, satori, zazen,
anichcha, dukka, karuna, koan, Sangha, shunyata, sutra, tathata, vajra.
Deities/Personages: Siddharta Gautama, Brahman, Vishnu/Lakshmi, Shiva/Parvati,
Krishna/Radha, Devi, Kali, Mahavira, Maitreya, Durga, Lakshmi, Amaterasu
CHAPTER 6 – DAOISM AND CONFUCIANISM
Learning Objectives
After reading this chapter, the student should be able to do the following:
• Describe the basic elements of traditional Chinese belief that appear in later
developments of Chinese religions
• Relate basic details of the lives of the key founders of Daoism and Confucianism
• Define the meaning of Dao
• Discuss Daoist values and ideals, and the images used to convey them
• Discuss the focus and goals of Confucianism, especially in terms of the Five
Great Relationships, the Confucian Virtues, and the notion of the “noble person”
• Describe how Daoism and Confucianism shaped Chinese arts
Study Questions
1. Try to describe the personality of Confucius. Do you know of any person in
recent times who has a similar character and values?
2. Describe how Daoism and Confucianism are complementary and how they are
different.
3. Do you see any contradiction between the Daoist ideal of gracefully accepting
death, suggested by the Daodejing, and the Daoist search for long life and
immortality? Can the two goals be reconciled? Please explain.
4. What are some of the characteristics of yin? Of yang?
5. According to Confucius, what are the five basic relationships of the social order?
Which one was the most basic to a harmonious social order?
Terms: I Ching, Qi (Chi), Wu-wei, ren, li, Nature, Analects, Dao, Five Classics, junzi,
Shu, xiao,
Deities/Personages: Confucius, Mencius, Lao Tze, Chuang Tzu
CHAPTER 8 – JUDAISM
Learning Objectives
After reading this chapter, the student should be able to do the following:
• Discuss developments in the four general periods of Jewish history
• Describe the three parts of the Hebrew Bible
• Retell some of the major stories in the Hebrew scriptures
• Describe Jewish religious practices
• Explain the characteristics of the major divisions within Judaism
• Discuss the history of persecution that culminated in the Holocaust
• Discuss challenges Judaism faces in the modern world
Study Questions
1. List the Ten Commandments.
2. What is meant by the word “Covenant”
3. Name the books of the Torah (Pentateuch).
4. What are the differences between Orthodox, Reform, Reconstructionist, and
Zionist Judaism?
5. Who were the Pharisee and the Sadducees?
6. Who were the Essenes? The Zealots? The Nazirenes?
7. Choose an artist, composer, or writer whose work suggests the influence of
Jewish thought and practice. Study several of that person’s works, making note of
the ways in which Judaism left its mark.
8. Jewish sacred texts, like texts in the Hindu, Christian, and Islamic traditions,
reveal a deity who commands violent actions. Read the Book of Judges as an
example of this. If you were a rabbi in today’s world, how would you treat such
texts in your teaching and preaching?
Terms: Torah, Sabbath, Monotheism, Talmud, Diaspora, gentiles, Ashkenzim,
Sephardim, bar mitzvah, biblical Judaism, rabbinical Judaism, Hanukkah, Holocaust,
Kabbalah, Ketuvim, kosher, Nevi’im, Orthodox Judaism, Passover, prophet, rabbi,
Sabbath, Zionism
Deities/ Personages: Jehovah/Yaweh/Elohim/Adonai, Abraham, Moses, the Messiah
CHAPTER 9 – CHRISTIANITY
Learning Objectives
After reading this chapter, the student should be able to do the following:
• Summarize the life and teachings of Jesus, especially in the context of his times
• Describe the structure and content of the New Testament
• Explain Christian doctrines and practices
• Discuss the growth of Christianity
• Describe medieval and modern developments
• Explain the origins of the major branches of Christianity
• Assess the impact Christianity has had on the arts
Study Questions
1. What are the major differences between Catholicism and the Protestant religions?
2. What is meant by the doctrine of “original Sin”? What are its implications?
3. In what languages were the Old and the New Testament written? Explain/explore.
4. Which emperor legalized Christianity? When? Which emperor made Christianity
official state religion? When?
5. What was the nature of the dispute between Arius and Athenasius? How as it
resolved and what were the consequences for the losers?
6. What is the doctrine of the Holy Trinity? How and when did it originate?
7. Assume you have been offered an all-expenses-paid, one-month trip to Europe—
if you are willing to guide a tour to cities/sites that played major roles in the
spread of Christianity. Do research in choosing an itinerary. Write a script of what
you would visit and study at each of the sites you chose.
8. See if there are any Christian nuns in your area. Arrange to visit their convent if
possible, or interview several nuns. Try to uncover the stories of their choices,
their joys, and their hopes. Write up your report.
Terms: Manichaeism, Pentecost, Eucharist, fundamentalism, Gnosticism,
transubstantiation, liturgy, Deism, sacrament, apocalypticism, apostle, baptism, bishop,
ecumenism, evangelical, gospel, icon, incarnation, indulgence, original sin, Orthodoxy,
patriarch, pope, redemption, righteousness, Trinity
Personages: Saul/Paul, Arius, Constantine, Ambrose, Cyrus, Augustine, Ignatius Loyola,
Galileo Galilei, Martin Luther, John Calvin
CHAPTER 10 – ISLAM
Learning Objectives
After reading this chapter, the student should be able to do the following:
• Describe Muhammad’s life and the major events that shaped Islam
• Describe the Muslim view of God
• Describe the Five Pillars of Islam
• Discuss the significance and content of the Qur’an for Muslims
• Explain the differences between the Sunni and Shiite branches of Islam
• Describe the belief and practices of Islam’s mystics
• Discuss Islam’s influence on the arts
Study Questions
1. Discuss differences in attitudes toward women in Islam, Protestant Christianity,
and Hinduism.
2. Do research on the differences that you see in the way that death is viewed and
treated in Islam and Hinduism.
3. Islam is becoming an important presence in Europe and North America. Discuss
what kind of contributions Islam might make. Explain Islamophobia?
4. Make a list of mosques in your geographical region. Visit one and if possible,
experience Friday public prayer there. Please describe what you experienced.
5. What features does Islam share with Judaism & Christianity? How does it differ?
6. What was the Hegira (Hijra)?
7. What are some of the characteristic of Sufism?
8. What are the differences between Shia and Sunni Muslims?
9. What are the Five Pillars of Islam?
10. Why did the Islamic world lose its predominant position in medicine, astronomy,
and other sciences?
Terms: caliph, fana, imam, Kabah, Shari’ah, Apostasy, Mecca, Islam, madrasa, minaret,
mihrab, Hadith, Ramadan, sura, Qur’an, mosque, muezzin, jihad
Deities/personages: Allah, Mohammed, Al-Ghazzai, Averroes, Avicenna, Rumi, Hafez