St Mary Star of the Sea College Wollongong Studies of Religion I Gerry Sozio

Definitions Religion – a form of belief and practise that comes from and leads to human experience of God or the ultimate reality. Transcendent – outside the created world; not limited by space, time or physical conditions. Immanent – indwelling, spreading through. Animism – the belief that natural objects, phenomena and the universe are filled with good and evil spirits.

Semitic Faiths – transcendent religious worldviews The great monotheistic faiths of the world Judaism Christianity Islam They are examples of transcendent worldviews which is a belief in a divine being or powers whose existence goes beyond human limitations Semite family of Religions – all Semitic faiths all worship the God of Abraham as the one and only God of the Universe.

Salvation – semetic religions believe in life after death Revelation – they all believe that God reveals his will and law to humanity Personal responsibility for moral actions. Rank humanity as superior to nature because they see humans as capable of transcending the physical limits of the natural world.

The transcendent dimensions of religion enables humans to surpass the limits of their creaturely existence and earthly concerns to focus on heavenly or spiritual concerns.

Indian Religions Hinduism and Buddhism are immanent worldviews that recognise a divine being or power as a constant reality. Emphasize spiritual salvation through wisdom or knowledge. Wisdom reveals the deeper reality. Indian religions move through birth, life, death, rebirth and one ideally grows in wisdom in each life until one reaches the ultimate spiritual plane.

Religion has a supernatural dimension This dimension implies a foundation on some sort of divine revelation or revealed faith. This revelation exceeds the power and capacity of human nature and any created natural religion. Cannot be explained according to natural laws or occurrences. The dimensions exceeds the ordinary limits of human existence and is sometimes described as abnormal, even miraculous.

In Judaism, Christianity and Islam, God is said to transcend (rise above) the world, that is, God is predominantly beyond the world. This is an idea common to monotheism (the worship of only one God).

Judaism, Christianity and Islam focus on the transcendent religious worldview and are called Semetic religions. They go back to Abraham, and believe in one God who created the universe. They also believe that God made himself known to us by sending us prophets (messengers) – the prophets showed and taught the will of God to the world.

Buddhism and Hinduism focus on the immanent religious worldview – they have an Indian background. Buddhist and Hindus rely on their inner-self and their experience for religious truth – they do not rely on books or people that have to be followed. They are immanent worldviews that recognise a divine being or power as a constant reality.

Two types of Religious Views The first view is a world view that holds beliefs in a divine power and/or powers beyond the human dimension. This corresponds to the world views held by Judaism, Christianity and Islam. The followers of these religious traditions believe in the One God who exists beyond the human and yet guides humanity throughout its everyday existence.

The second view maintains a belief in a divine being or powers dwelling within the individual. Such a world view is characteristic of Buddhism and Hinduism. In the case of Buddhism, for example, it is important not to look for a Buddhist equivalent of ‘God’ but for an ultimate goal or principle, such as nirvana or dhamma that gives Buddhist lives a sense of ultimate meaning.