1. The Origin of Religion

2. Beginnings
Religion= the response to the mysteries of life that is organized, ritualized and agreed upon by a group of people
Religio: something done with attention to detail or fervor
v. Religare: to bind things closely together
Survival was key to early humans, so life and death and the rituals around these were important

3. Shelter for survival vs. shelter for worship
Whatever was needed for survival and protection was of the utmost importance
Survival- physical
Protection- Cultural
When protection is achieved, exploration (both internal and external) could be undertaken

4. Deeper questions emerged
How did we get here?
What is our purpose?
What happens to us after death?

5. Stories were created Passed on by word of mouth Sacred texts
Some purport to be the revelations of God and therefore become authority for many

6. Systems are established
Worship of nature for survival
Attempts to find answers and change outcomes for things like:
Natural disasters
Scarcity of food
Death
Established rituals, prayers, and ceremonies
Including feasts, silence, fasting, sacraments and others

7. Characteristics of Ancient Religions
Belief in spiritual realm- what are the gods like?
Close ties to geography
Prescientific worldview
Concern with survival
Systems of worship
Theology: religious belief and behavior
Scripture: religious story

8. Terminology Cosmologies: accounts of how the world began
Scripture: sacred texts (or stories) of a religion
Faith: what is affirmed in a religion is trustworthy
Ritual: the enacted language (actions of a religion) through which human hopes and fears are articulated and renewed
Secularization: the breaking of or threat to metaphorical boundaries in religion
Fundamentalism: the insistence that there are non-negotiables in a religious tradition

9. Ancient Religions Assignment
Choose one of the six religions of which to be a part of a group
Research the setting of this religion: time, place, geography, and culture in which it thrived.
Who/what are their gods?
How does the religion answer questions of creation, death, survival?
What are some of the rituals? Why do they have this in their theology?
What/where is their scripture?
Create or re-enact a ritual from this ancient religion. Half your group will preform this task and the other half will explain it.
On your blog,
include a picture and the written elements you contributed to this presentation
Your hypothesis about why this religion was so central to the civilization at the time.