1.
Creation Stories

2. Academic approach to the study of religion
RELS2001
Academic approach to the study of religion
4 “virtues” of the academic study of religion
Bracketing our assumptions
Informed Empathy
Historical / Contextual imperative
Symbolic sensitivity

3. Creation stories
Mircea Eliade
Perennialist - proposes that religions all share something in common
argues that people are instinctually wired to make sense of the world through religions — otherwise we are distressed
translation: Modern people, without myth and ritual, have existential problem; no sacred space, so no meaning

4. They “Orient” us Tell us where our world came from, how it came to be
Creation stories
They “Orient” us
Tell us where our world came from, how it came to be
ex: order out of chaos
Tell us why the world is the way it is
Gives humans a place in the cosmos

5. What happens if we don’t have a creation story?

6. Distinguish between sacred space and profane space
creation stories
Distinguish between sacred space and profane space
Profane space: ordinary, one can use in any fashion, no special rules to govern behavior
Sacred space: A hierophany or theophany has occurred; the divine reality have broken into the ordinary, mundane world
The break changes and alters the space; it is now closer to the divine
Communication with divine now possible at location of hierophany
Requires special behavior, attitude, dress, etc

7. Axis Mundi (World center)
Creation stories
Axis Mundi (World center)
Vertical structure that connects the higher divine realm with the lower, ordinary realm
Height relates to symbolic power; typically the holiest site in religious tradition
Allows for communication between the divine and humans

8. Consecration of sacred space
Creation Stories
Consecration of sacred space
The creation of sacred space recapitulates the world of the gods and the creation of the cosmos
Translation: process of ceremonies and rituals (water, fire, sacrifice) create sacred space, despite the lack of divine appearance or miracles

9. Religious Man vs. Modern Man
Eliade & Creation Stories
Religious Man vs. Modern Man
Religious Man - In pre-modern societies, humans lived in a “sacralized world”; their worldview was completely enmeshed with each communities’ specific mythology
not anxious about “life’s meaning” because mythological systems “oriented” them completely
Eliade argues that humans cannot really live in an un-sacralized world
Modern Man (secular thinkers) - Modern humans have grown skeptical about the truth of the mythologies handed down to them
without creation myths they are “disoriented,” with no sense of identity or meaning

10. Do Creation stories matter today?

11. “Three Classical Creation Stories”
“Creation stories not only reflect current science, that is, the assumptions about the nature of the world, physical processes, and their relationships; but they are also blueprints for society. They reflect the assumptions about how the divine and the mortal, the mental and the physical, human and other humans, male and female, humans, plants, animals, land, waters, and stars are related to each other. They both reflect the worldview of the culture and mandate that worldview on its ongoing heirs.”
Rosemary Ruether
“Three Classical Creation Stories”

12. Creation Stories
Rosemary Ruether ( )
American feminist scholar and Catholic theologian
Explores relationship of gender, power and religion
Relationship between religion and culture; argues that religious stories provide “blueprints for society”
ex: What social blueprints concerning gender and power do religious stories, especially creation stories, give us?

13. Ruether on creation stories
Broadens the scope of creation stories:
tell of origin of existence,
reflect on the broader cultural values of the time, and
effectively mandate those values for future generations

14. Can we apply Ruether’s ideas to other “creation stories”?
Applying Ruether