HOW DO WE EVEN TALK ABOUT RELIGION WEEK 2

WHAT IS “ TRUTH ”? “True” vs. “Factual” Objective Truth vs. Truth of Opinions (data) Authenticity Truth through Monologue v. Truth through Dialogue

“THE SACRED” – SO VERY ESOTERIC? Sacer – Lat. (adj) dedicated, consecrated, devoted, “set apart.” Sacrum – Lat. (n) Something made sacred, a holy thing, sacred vessel, sanctuary. Sanctus – Lat. (part.) Consecrated, established as inviolable. Sancio – Lat. (vb) To make sacred, render inviolable, fix unalterably, establish, appoint, decree.

SACRED – MYSTERY, DEEP, REVERENCE Otto: “The Holy”– Mysterium Tremendum et Fascinans King: The “Depth Dimensions” of Experience “ A push … toward some sort of ultimacy and transcendence that will provide norms and power for the rest of life.” Something toward which we humans have a particular orientation

SACRED VS. PROFANE Emile Durkheim – “The Elementary Forms of Religious Life” Clans and Tribes Totem animals (or vegetables) Totem restrictions Totem organization Totemic display: when clans come together Our “duplex” nature Mirceau Eliade Finish this

IS THIS A SACRED PLACE What elements might make you think so?

WHAT IS THE DISTINCTION BETWEEN GOD & RELIGION Personal vs. communal Return to our Ted Talk woman from Week 1: Do you believe God loves you? Do you feel God loves you Does belief or feeling “go with” God? Does belief or feeling “go with” organized religion

WHAT ARE ‘MYTHS’ ? Sacred stories with non-factual, non-historical truth value. Stories that shape cultural identity, value systems, & ways to interpret the world The non-factual, non-historical myths of “Honest Abe” and “George Washington and the Cherry Tree” tell us: A) the value of honesty in American culture B) the esteem to which Americans hold these two presidents C) that Lincoln and Washington are role models for young people to emulate

WHAT IS COMMUNITY It is our primary source of identity The US in US vs. THEM The group(s) you belong to; … one can belong to many groups  Primary vs. Secondary Communities  Q FOR YOU: Which community helps me understand my place in the world? My relationship to deep concerns? My understanding of the Sacred?  Community of Birth vs. Community of Affiliation vs. Community of Initiation  Communities of Geography vs. Communities of Belief

THE SACRED CREATES COMMUNITY

COMMUNITY FORMS AROUND A SHARED UNDERSTANDING OF THE SACRED – IT IS A SHARED UNDERSTANDING OF THE SACRED Patterns: Earthly Community reflects Cosmic Order Understanding of the “Essential” & “Meaning” … leads to a view of how humans should live in groups: social organization Who has authority? Who does what tasks? What are the boundaries of the community? How is order enforced and how is disorder punished?

… SO WHEN WE SAY RELIGION …. a wide variety of human experiences It may or may not shape, define, restrict your relation with “God” It is a way to “be” in the world A lens; a “worldview” A way to define “The Sacred” A way to define and organize Community A way to contemplate Truth

LET’S DO BETTER THAN THIS “Religion is the organization of life around the depth dimensions of experience—varied in form, completeness, and clarity in accordance with the environing culture.”

TWO MODELS OF WHAT IS “ESSENTIAL” “Essential” Humans Spiritual Life Fate & Time Physical Reality Spiritual Life Humans Physical Reality Fate & time

WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO BE HUMAN ? “MEANING” VS. “FACTS” We can describe humans with anthropology, psychology, biology, but those do not tell us what human life means: The goal of any science is NOT meaning! SCIENCE CANNOT TOUCH MEANING! Meaning comes through understanding the relationships between things and the purpose of those relationships But we give them purpose Religion or “God” posits descriptions of those relationships and how and why they came about. We make meaning

INTERACTING WITH THE SACRED IS NOT UNDERSTANDING IT – ORIENTATION OF REVERENCE Transcendent Wholly “Other” Part of the Natural Order The eternal shares the “Space” with Humans Communication Prayers Trances Ecstatic experiences Sacrifice

CULTIVATING A STANCE BEFORE THE WORLD’S VERSIONS OF THE SACRED Self-conscious to allow us to identify our assumptions and biases E.g. “Religion is all about ancient books.” E.g. “Religion is just a bunch of made up stories.” E.g. “There are many different religions because of the Tower of Babel.” E.g. “Religion makes people good.” or “Religion makes people crazy.” Compare assumptions against evidence Defamiliarize to get insight into ordinary things: remove the haze of habituation from our gaze. E.g You do not notice interesting events and behaviors at Starbucks, because you are so familiar with the space. Your scrapbooks may defamiliarize scenes Empathy to see “as an insider sees.”

RATHER THAN JUDGE “FROM OUTSIDE” …. MOVE  Insider experience Insider reflection Academic analysis YOUR integrative view

SCHOLARS OF RELIGION PROVIDE CONCEPTS & LABELS TO FRAME WHAT WE SEE. IT’S NOT AS IF PARTICIPANTS WOULD USE THESE WORDS. Ritual Stereotypical actions with > practical significance to the participants Meaning depends upon a religious or mythic framework. Order/Standardization – an ordered symbol system Meticulous Performance …. Accuracy and faithfulness Metaphor Communitas Sacred - SACRAMENTAL: They put the participants in contact with the Divine

DOCTRINES OF A PARTICULAR RELIGIOUS TRADITION: explicit statements outlining the “correct” beliefs and reflective of the Truth Not all religions have doctrines! This is a Christian assumption! Doctrines are not necessarily a measure of membership in a community Orthodoxy

MORALITY (NOT “IS” BUT “OUGHT”) What defines “right” and “wrong”? – Who decides? How is “wrong” punished? Does it get you kicked out? How is “right” acknowledged? How do right and wrong relate to the Sacred? Greco-Roman Religion: What if the Gods themselves are immoral ?!?! Judaism, Christianity, Islam, Sikhism, Hinduism: God is source of all moral standards What is virtue? What does it mean to be a good person? How does virtue relate to the community, belonging?

HOW DOES THE SACRED FEEL? How is this feeling described? How do religious people represent this feeling? Evoke it? Extraordinary (“mystical”) vs. Mundane (eating, dying, even getting married) How does religion change the meaning of regular experiences and make them “Sacred”? Public Death  Martyrdom Restricting Food  Fasting Painting a Picture  “Writing” an Icon Following the Rules  Living the “holy life”

TERMINOLOGY Sacred Ritual Doctrine Community Profane Rites Totem Clan and tribe Facts Meaning Morality Truth Orthodoxy Symbols – symbol system