1. Introduction to Religion

2. Identity Forming Questions Who am I? Why am I here? Where did I come from? What happens when I die?

3. What is Religion? Religion answers identity forming questions. Religions give people understandable models that guide behavior in relationships towards:  God or the ultimate being  Nature  Other human beings  Death, suffering, change  Rites of passage

4. Religion In Latin “religio”  “re” means again  “ligio” means to bind Sacred – “sacer” Profane – “profanus”

5. Binding Profane to Sacred Who bridges the gap between profane and sacred?  Priests, prophets, mystics, shamans, strange creatures, etc. Where do humans go to bridge the gap?  Temples, churches, mosques, synagogues, shrines, sweat lodges, etc.

6. Religion is… 1. Sacred 2. Pervasive 3. Symbolic 4. The answer to identity forming questions

7. Ninian Smart’s Six Dimensions of Religion Inward  Experience  Myth  Ritual Outward  Doctrine  Ethics  Society

8. Inward Dimensions Experience Myth Ritual

9. Mr. Kelly’s Religious Experience

10. Outward Dimensions Doctrine  Faith Ethics Society