Religion Exam on Hatfield Campus

Administrative Details

• All students will be writing exams on Hatfield campus.
• The exam dates are 11 June 2024, from 15:00 to 18:00.
• The venues for the exam are Theology 1-19, Theology 1-25, Theology 1-28, and Theology 1-9.

Study Unit 3: Important Terminology

• This unit focuses on crucial terminologies and concepts in the field of religion studies.
• Themes under this unit include:
  • Religious terminologies
  • Religious concepts

Key Concepts

• Animism: The belief in powerful spirits living in all things, including rivers, trees, mountains, people, and animals.
• Deism: The belief in the existence of God, but not in God's intervention with humanity after creation.
• Dynamism: The belief in an impersonal power that governs the universe, which can be manipulated by humans through magic.
• Henotheism: The belief in many gods, but one god is superior to the others.
• Monotheism: The belief in one god.
• Panentheism: The understanding that the universe is a partial manifestation of the sacred being or deity.
• Pantheism: The belief that the universe is equivalent to the sacred being or deity.
• Polytheism: The belief in the existence of multiple deities.
• Theism: The belief in the existence of a deity or deities.
• Transcendent and Immanent: The distinction between the transcendent (reality exceeding human experience) and the immanent (reality within human experience).
• Theism, Atheism, and Agnosticism: Theism is the belief in a personal deity, Atheism is the denial of faith, and Agnosticism is the attitude of not taking into account the deity.
• Holy and Profane: The distinction between the sacred (holy) and the ordinary (profane).
• Revelation: A supernatural experience or event considered to be the bearer of a divine message.
• Good and Evil: The two concepts underlying every religion, with monism seeing good and evil as reconcilable and dualism seeing them as opposing forces.
• Time and History: The distinction between linear and cyclic views of time and history.
• Myth and Rite: Myth is a religious narrative explaining primordial truths, and Rite is a dramatized myth.
• Cult: A small religious group separated from the larger culture, requiring total commitment.
• Sect: A small group within a larger religious movement, refining its sense of distinctiveness.
• Founder Faiths: Faiths tracing their origins to founders, such as Christianity, Islam, Buddhism, and Zoroastrianism.
• Pantheon: The gods and goddesses of a particular religious tradition, and their system of inter-relations.
• Totemism: The belief in a deep relationship between humans, animals, and plants.

Study Unit 4: Secularisation

• This unit focuses on secularisation, with themes including:
  • Secular
  • Secularism
  • Secularisation
  • Origin of secularisation

Key Concepts

• Secular: The concept of the secular developed within a Euro-Western-Christian framework, and its understanding differs between Western and African/Eastern worldviews.
• The three S's: Secular, Secularism, and Secularisation are distinct concepts, with Secular referring to a reconstruction of reality, Secularism referring to a worldview and ideology, and Secularisation referring to the process of declining religious influence.
• Western vs African & Eastern: The concept of the secular is present in Western understanding, but not in African and Eastern worldviews, where there is no separation between religion and everyday life.
• Compartmentalization: The process of separating the sacred and the secular, which is a characteristic of Western understanding.
• Secularisation: The process of declining religious influence, characterised by three characteristics: decline of religious institutions, decline of social standing of religion, and decline of religious beliefs and practices.
• Theories of Secularisation: Demystification of the world through rationalisation, Stadial consciousness, Subtraction theory, and Disappearance thesis.
• Theories of Secularisation (continued): Demystification of the world through rationalisation contributed to the process of secularisation, Stadial consciousness theory contributed to the most, and the Disappearance thesis predicts the eventual decline of religion.
• Theories of Secularisation (continued): Secularisation resulted from the Protestant strand of Christianity, and the process of rationalisation is a natural human tendency that suppresses the belief in magic and causes the world to become disenchanted.### Theories of Secularisation
• Subtraction Theory: Secularisation is the process of removing religion from society, leaving only the secular behind.
  • This theory views secularisation as the erosion of religion, including the decline of institutional religion and the decrease in importance of religious symbols.
  • People no longer identify with traditional religious institutions, instead preferring personal, subjective spiritual experiences.
• Disappearance Thesis: Secularisation is the gradual decline and eventual disappearance of religion from society.
  • This theory views secularisation as a process of decline, where religion becomes less important and eventually disappears from society.
  • The Protestant Reformation is seen as a starting point for this decline, leading to individualism and the erosion of religious institutions.

New Religious Movements (NRMs)

• NRM's focus on personal development, spirituality, and self-improvement.
• Characteristics of NRM's:
  • Provision of something old (tradition), something new (innovation), and something borrowed (from other religions).
  • Emphasis on personal development and divergence from external religious authorities.
  • Often seen as alternative spiritualities, sects, or cults.
• Categories of NRM's:
  • World-Affirming (accepting societal values, but offering alternative values).
  • World-Renouncing (viewing the world as corrupt and offering a community separate from society).
  • World-Accommodating (seeing flaws in society, but recommitting to spiritual existence).

Rastafarianism

• History of Rastafarianism:

  • Originated in Jamaica in the 1930s, influenced by Marcus Garvey's Pan-Africanist movement.
  • Haile Selassie I, the Ethiopian Emperor, is revered as the messiah and symbol of African unity and liberation.

• Rastafari Messiah:

  • Haile Selassie I is seen as Jesus Christ incarnate, the Conquering Lion of the Tribe of Judah, King of Kings, and Elect of God.
  • Rastafarians believe Haile Selassie will lead the peoples of Africa and the African Diaspora to freedom.

• Rastafari Way of Life:

  • Marijuana/ganja is used for religious and medicinal purposes, and is seen as a gift from God.
  • Dreadlocks are worn as a symbol of strength, Africa, and Ethiopia, as well as a sign of African roots.
  • Rastafarian diet (Ital) consists of natural, raw foods, without chemicals or preservatives.
  • Rastafarians reject alcohol, coffee, and milk as unnatural and unhealthful.### Rastafari Sects and Orders

• There are three main sects or orders of Rastafari: Nyabinghi Order, Bobo Shanti, and Twelve Tribes of Israel.

Nyabinghi Order

• Named after Queen Nyabinghi of Uganda, who fought against colonialists in the 19th century.
• Focuses mainly on Haile Selassie, Ethiopia, and the eventual return to Africa.
• Overseen by an Assembly of Elders.

Bobo Shanti

• Name originates from "Bobo" meaning "black" and "Shanti" referring to the Ashanti tribe in Ghana.
• Believes Jamaican slaves are descended from the Ashanti tribe.
• Worships Prince Emmanuel as a reincarnation of Christ and embodiment of Jah.
• Emphasizes the return to Africa and demands monetary reimbursement for slavery.
• Members wear long robes and turbans tightly wrapped around their dreads.
• Live separately from Jamaican society and other Rastafarians, growing their own produce and selling straw hats and brooms.

Twelve Tribes of Israel

• Founded in 1968 by Dr Vernon 'Prophet Gad' Carrington.
• Most liberal of the Rastafarian orders, allowing members to worship in a church of their choosing.
• Members belong to one of the 12 Tribes (or Houses), determined by their birth month and represented by a color.

Rasta Expression 'I and I'

• Means that no individual is more privileged than another in terms of the basic truth of life.
• Everyone is equal, and Rastas often use 'I and me' instead of 'you and me' to emphasize this equality.
• Believes that all people are bound together by the one god, Jah.