Religion as a Worldview

• Religion is a pre-established worldview consisting of formal beliefs and structured practices.
• Religion is a key aspect of human existence, assisting people in understanding the world, and addressing questions of existence and suffering.
• Major world religions include Christianity, Judaism, Islam, Hinduism, and Buddhism.
• The purpose of religion is to connect humans to what is most central and meaningful in their relationship with the transcendent.
• Religion as a worldview involves perceiving the world through a religious perspective, often involving a supernatural dimension.

Supernatural Dimension

• It involves a being or power responsible for the creation of the world, providing a moral structure for human life, and determining the ultimate destiny of humans.
• Mesoamerican (Aztecs) human sacrifices were seen as repayment for the gods' sacrifices.
• In ancient Egyptian mythology, mummification was common in preparation for the afterlife.
• Transcendent Religious Worldview: Belief in a divine power or powers existing before humans, revealing themselves to humanity, often seen as miraculous.
• Judaism, Christianity, and Islam believe in a single God who possesses all power and transcends the visible world.
• Immanent Religious Worldview: The supernatural dimension or God is part of the human person and interacts from within, e.g., Buddhism.
• Monotheism: Belief in one God, e.g., Christianity, Islam, Judaism.
• Polytheism: Belief in multiple gods, e.g., Greek, Roman, and Egyptian mythology.
• Semitic Religions: Religions founded in the Middle East, e.g., Christianity, Islam, Judaism.

Characteristics of Religion

• There are 7 characteristics of religion:
  • Beliefs and believers
  • Sacred texts and writings
  • Myths and stories
  • Ethics
  • Rituals and ceremonies
  • Sacred structure
  • Religious symbols
• The main 4 crucial to know:
  • Beliefs and believers
  • Sacred texts and writings
  • Sacred rituals and ceremonies
  • Ethics
• Dynamic Religion: Stimulates change or progress in society.
  • Depends on power, meaning + purpose, adapting to today’s society and interaction with the characteristics of a religion
• Living Religion: Practical, relevant, and meaningful to the life of the believer.
  • Full of life and immersed in everyday human experience.
• Beliefs interacting with sacred texts make religion dynamic and living, allowing ancient teachings to be understood and lived in the contemporary world.
• Sacred texts interact with rituals to create a dynamic religion, with adherents going out into the world living the life and teachings.

Contribution of Religion

• Religion contributes to the individual and society by helping people search for meaning and answers to enduring questions.
• Religion contributes to the individual by providing ethical guidance and a moral compass.
• Religion helps individuals achieve meaning in life by providing a place to belong and rituals that connect the person to the divine.
• A sense of community gives individuals a sense of belonging through similar ideas and beliefs.

Australian Aboriginal Spirituality

• Inextricable connection of the Dreaming, the land, and identity.
• The Dreaming explains the origins of the universe.
• Shapes and structures Aboriginal life by regulating kinship, ceremonial life and the relationship between male and female.
• It is a term used to describe the central concept, which underpins all beliefs and practices in Aboriginal communities.
• The Dreaming shapes the identity of Aboriginals.
• There are over 200 language groups that are diverse in nature, with some commonalities.

The Nature of the Dreaming

• Origins of the Universe:
  • Indigenous spirituality believes that all things came to be through their Ancestral Beings (mimis).
  • Metatemporal is a concept that describes The Dreaming as a past,present and future reality that exists now.
  • The Ancestral Beings created the land first, then the plants and animals and lastly the people.
• Sacred Sites:
  • All of the land is considered sacred, because the Ancestral Beings created then and now live in the land
  • Aboriginal people have a duty to perform ceremonial rituals at these sacred sites.
• Stories of the Dreaming:
  • Dreamtime stories tell about beliefs, interactions between tribal groups, and moral duties.
  • This also teaches them about good and bad behaviour
• Symbolism and Art:
  • Symbolism and art is the way Aboriginal people express the dreaming
  • Every time indigenous people draw or paint, the dreaming is recreated or comes to life
  • All art is spiritual and some is “sacred-secret”
• Diversity of the Dreaming:
  • The diversity of the dreaming exists due to the large area of Australia
  • Each language has its own dialect, as a result there are different Dreaming Stories
  • Each area has a particular plant/animal which is a totem for that group of Aboriginal people
• Importance of Dreaming for Aboriginal People:
  • It is important because it is celebrated through devotional practices
  • The Law determines their behaviour
  • Their job is to maintain that life or living system

The Dreaming and The Land

• The land is the physical link between living humans and all that is invisible.
• The dreaming helps connect the psychological bond and the relationship between humans, Ancestral beings and the natural environment
• The land is inextricably connected to the Dreaming since the Ancestral Spirits created humans and sacred sites and how to live within the land.
• It is the Aboriginal duty to cooperate with the creative cycle in order to fulfill the destiny of the land.
• Each language group or tribe has its own totem, and their responsibility is to care for the totem through experiences.

Dreaming and Identity

• The land is a backbone to all Aboriginal people
• The Dreaming is the eternal link between Ancestral Spirits and Aboriginal humanity; sustaining all life and providing totemic connections to the land and sacred sites.
• Land and Dreaming are interdependent because people share the same spiritual essence as the land; without the land, Dreaming would merely be stories.