Introduction to Religion

• Religion is a search for order and personal meaning.
• Religion is a socially constructed institution shaped by historical and physical/social constraints.
• The Latin origins of the word religion: "Religare" means "to bring together" and "Relegere" means "to rehearse painstakingly, as in collective rituals".

Two Ways of Defining Religion

• Substantive: Focuses on what religion is; it involves beliefs/practices assuming the existence of supernatural beings.
• Functional: Focuses on the social consequences of religion and sociological dimensions of beliefs/practices within an organization.

Religion (Social Science View)

• Involves a system of beliefs/practices through which a group interprets and responds to what feels sacred/supernatural.
• As a social reality, religion has four aspects: collective phenomenon, concerned with ordering behavior relating to the sacred/supernatural, involves a body of beliefs/moral prescriptions, set of practices relating to the notion of sacred.

Theology, Spirituality, and Religion

• Theology entails the systematic study of the divine and religious belief and the study of God.
• Spirituality refers to belief in God and active participation in organized religion or non-religious experiences.
• Philosophy of Religion refers to the branch of philosophy that studies the origin, nature, and purpose of religion from a rational perspective, starting with reason. It covers themes, like the problem of evil, religious experience, salvation, and immortality.

Different Types of Religion

• Monotheism: Belief in a single god (Christianity, Judaism, Islam).
• Polytheism: Belief in multiple gods (Hinduism, ancient Greeks/Romans).
• Atheism: Disbelief in any deity.
• Animism: Belief in non-human beings (animals, plants, natural world).

Geographic Origins of World Religions

• Western Faiths (Middle East)
• Far East
• Western beliefs are monotheistic with humans needing an interpersonal relationship with God, morality arises from learning God's will, time is linear, the studied books include the Bible (Christianity), Torah (Judaism) or Koran (Islam).
• Eastern beliefs are polytheistic, main concern is living a good/happier life now, all creation like plants/animals have animated spirits, meditation is central, life requires balance, the holy books are less central, time is viewed in cycles, reincarnation/rebirth exists, things can be made better or worse via karma.
• Religion is universal.
• Humankind formed religion and belief systems.
• The prophet/patriarch Abraham had a major role in founding Judaism, Christianity, and Islam.

The Patriarch Abraham

• Religions descended from Abraham include Judaism (founded c.1500 BC with God YHWH, follows the 10 Commandments), Christianity (founded 1st century AD, with God YHWH as Father, Jesus as Son, and the Holy Spirit, follows the 10 commandments, trinity), and Islam (founded 7th century AD, with God Allah, follows the five pillars and believes in one God).

The Indian Mosaic

• Religions descended from the Indian sub-continent include Hinduism (founded 2300 BC and 1500 BC , follows reincarnation, Vedas), Buddhism (founded 5th Century BC, follows the Four Noble Truths and Eightfold Path, Tripitaka), Sikhism (founded 1500 CenturyCE, follows the meditation on one creator, Adi Granth), Jainism (founded 5th Century BC, follows right belief, right knowledge, and right conduct)

Judaism

• Is one of the oldest monotheistic religions.
• Traces roots to Abraham, and followers are called Hebrews, Israelites, or Jews.
• Jewish people believe God (YHWH) has a covenant with them, communicates through prophets, and rewards good deeds while punishing evil.
• Jewish worship happens in synagogues led by rabbis.
• Symbol: Six-pointed Star of David.
• Tanakh: The Hebrew Bible, has 24 books, divided into 3 parts: Torah, Nevi'im, and Ketuvim.
  • The Torah is the "Teaching or Law." Referring to the books of Moses.
  • Nevi'im refers to the ""Prophets", divided two groups: The Former Prophets contains Joshua, Judges, Samuel and Kings.
  • Ketuvim refers to the "Writings," which contains the poetic books and the remaining canonical books of the Jewish Scriptures.
• The Talmud provides sources from which Jewish Halakhah (law) is derived and it is made up of the Mishnah and the Gemara.
• The Mishnah contains the original written version of the oral law with rabbinic discussions.
• Origins are explained throughout the Torah to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.

• 1,000 years after, Moses led the Israelites out of Egypt, and God revealed the Ten Commandments at Mt. Sinai.

Jewish Principles of Faith

• God exists, is one and unique, is incorporeal and eternal.
• Prayers are to be directed to God alone.
• The prophet's words are true.
• Moses' prophecies are true, and Moses was the greatest of the prophets.
• The Written Torah and the Oral Torah were given to Moses.
• God knows thoughts/deeds, will reward good/punish wicked, the messiah will come, and the dead will be resurrected.
• The 10 Commandments: Have no other gods, no graven image, don't take God's name in vain, keep the Sabbath day holy, honor parents, don't murder, commit adultery, steal, bear false witness, or covet.

The Temples of Judaism

• Around 1000 BC, King David ruled the Jewish people while his son Solomon built the first holy Temple in Jerusalem.
• Around 931 BC, the kingdom split and the Jewish people split causing the Babylonians to destroy the temple in 587 BC.
• A second Temple was built around 516 B.C. but was eventually destroyed by the Romans in 70 A.D.
• The second Temple was destroyed meant Jewish people no longer had a primary place to worship.
• Shabbat is a day of rest/prayer from sunset Friday to nightfall Saturday commemorating the God's completion/rest after the six-day toil.

Types of Judaism

• Orthodox Judaism: the Jewish law and rituals observed are very strict.
• Reform Judaism: considered a religious and value-based religion with ethical over strict laws.
• Conservative Judaism: exists in between but honors tradition more than other modern religions.

Jewish Holidays

• Passover entails Jewish freedom from slavery in Egypt.
• Rosh Hashanah entails the birth of the universe/humanity, commonly the Jewish New Year.
• Yom Kippur entails "Day of Atonement" and is the holiest day of the year.
• High Holy Days: the 10 days starting with Rosh Hashanah/ending with Yom Kippur.
• Hanukkah commemorates the rededication of the Jewish Temple after defeating the Syrian-Greeks.
• Purim is a holiday that celebrates when Jewish people in Persia were saved from extermination.

Judaism and Persecution

• Includes the 1066 Granada Massacre where a Muslim mob killed >1,000 Jewish families; the Crusades resulted in thousands of Jews being killed/forced to convert; Spanish Expulsion entailed Jews who refused to convert to Christianity being expelled; during the Holocaust, the Nazis killed >6 million Jews.
• Antisemitism equates to prejudice/discrimination/hatred against Jewish people/institutions expressed through violence/rhetoric.
• Zionism entails self-determination/statehood for Jewish people in Israel and homeland.

Explore the functional definition and the concept of 'religare'. Learn about the origin of Western religions and the differences between the philosophy and sociology of religion, covering key aspects of religious studies.