1. Understandings of Sacred Reality
Terms: (These categories are not necessarily mutually exclusive)
Immanent: present in the world.
Transcendent: existing above and outside the material world
Theistic: understanding the sacred to be a personal reality
Monotheistic: ultimate reality is worshiped as a single being
Polytheistic: there are multiple attributes and forms of the divine, then it is designated.
Monistic: behind the plurality of apparent forms there is one underlying substance
Nontheistic: sacred reality is not in the form of a personal God.
Incarnations: sacred reality manifested in human form or events.
Exclusivist: there is only true deity and that all others are pagans or nonbelievers.
Universalism: it is possible different religions are talking about the same thing in different languages, or referring to different aspects of the same unknowable whole.
Atheism: there is no deity.
“New Atheism” (Dawkins): religious faith is not just wrong, but evil
Agnosticism: it is impossible for humans to know with certainty about the existence of the sacred.
Understandings of sacred reality
That which has been experienced as the sacred has many faces. Eliade helped develop comparative religion which compares religious patterns found throughout the world. Eliade used the terms sacred and profane; however, not all cultures make a clear distinction between the two.
A vocabulary exists in the study of religions to help us understand the different ways, culturally and historically, in which ultimate reality has been approached and defined.
Sacred reality can be envisioned as immanent, which means present in the world. Reality can also be conceived as transcendent, that is, as existing above and outside the material world. Religions that understand the sacred to be a personal reality and which are based on one’s relationship to the personal sacred are called theistic. In these religions, if ultimate reality is worshiped as a single being, the religion is called monotheistic. On the other hand, if a religion maintains that there are multiple attributes and forms of the divine, then it is designated polytheistic. Religions which maintain that behind the plurality of apparent forms there is one underlying substance are termed monistic. Nontheistic views assert a sacred reality that is not in the form of a personal God. Some religions believe that sacred reality can be manifested in human form or events called incarnations.
Exclusivist religious authorities claim that they worship the only true deity and that all others are pagans or nonbelievers. In contrast, universalism is the view that it is possible different religions are talking about the same thing in different languages, or referring to different aspects of the same unknowable whole.
Atheism is the belief that there is no deity. “New Atheism,” promoted by thinkers such as Richard Dawkins, argues that religious faith is not just wrong, but evil, because it can be used to support violence. Agnosticism is the view that it is impossible for humans to know with certainty about the existence of the
sacred. It is important to emphasize to students that these categories are not necessarily mutually exclusive. Religions which conceive of a personal sacred reality may think of that reality as simultaneously immanent and transcendent. It is also possible that at times some of these distinctions may blur. For example, a Hindu may be a polytheist and believe in the existence of many gods but may be somewhat monotheistic in practice when she or he places one god at the top of the pantheon. Fisher concludes this section by explaining how the book will explore, in Eliade’s term, the phenomenology of religion—its specifically sacred aspects—and also use Geertz’s “thick description” to explore not just outward behaviors but also attempt to explain what such behaviors mean to believers.

2. Three approaches to religion
“Describe the three main approaches to religion. Who are some of the most well-known proponents of each approach? How does each explain why religion exists?”

3. Why are there religions?
Three main perspectives:
Materialistic perspective
Functional perspective
Belief perspective

4. Materialistic explanation for religion
Humans invented religion.
Feuerbach
Gods are idealized projections of ourselves; by contrast we see ourselves as sinful.
Freud
Religion is a childish illusion; we imagine God protects us from the terrors of life and expects us to behave.
Marx
Religion originated to combat exploitation, but failed and was transformed into an otherworldly expression of our desire for a better life.
Religion now has become a tool for oppression.
“Man makes religion: religion does not make man....The religious world is but the reflex of the real world....Religion is the sigh of the oppressed creature, the sentiment of a heartless world, and the soul of soulless conditions. It is the opium of the people....”

5. Functional explanation for religion
Religion is useful.
Durkheim:
Religion is a glue that holds society together
Bowker:
Religion improves the chances of the biological survival of a society.
Religious people have better health
Religion transforms people into better people
Religion provides mental strength to act unselfishly
Religion provides courage in the face of difficulty and death

6. Belief explanation for religion
There actually is a supernatural reality.
Two main ways of coming to this belief:
Rational, pondering questions such as:
What is the ultimate basis of existence?
Why is there something rather than nothing?
Why do we perceive right and wrong?
Non-Rational (Wach)
Mystical experience
Enlightenment / awakening
Where do perceived miracles fit?

7. Are all religions equal?
How might one evaluate a religion?
Its truth?
Is it consistent with scientific discoveries?
Is it internally consistent?
Its methods?
Does it treat people with respect?
Its effects?
Does it make better individuals?
Better in what ways? Happier (at peace)? Healthier? More free?
Does it improve society?
Does it make people less selfish? More cooperative? Less violent?
Does it contribute to the survival of the species?
Protect the environment?

8. Evolution of Religion
“Give three specific examples of how religions have changed over the centuries.”
As we study various religions, we will notice that they often change over the centuries, so that in some cases the religion that goes by their name no longer represents their founder’s teaching in some ways.
Buddhism: worshipping the Buddha; desire for personal prosperity
Confucianism: the importance of divine beings
Christianity: the use of force; following rules
Sikhism: pacifism

9. Freud What role does wishful thinking play in religious beliefs?
According to the three perspectives on religion?
In your view?

10. Marx

11. Nietzsche
What does Nietzsche mean by “God is dead”?

12. Freud, Marx, Glynn, Stenmark, & Tillich
Discuss with your neighbour:
Which approach to religion does each of these authors seem to take?
What is the role of wishful thinking in religion?
In these three approaches?
In your view?
Why, according to Marx, must religion be abolished?
Does Nietzsche present the “death of God” as a good thing or not?
Be prepared to tell the class what your discussion partner thought.

13. The encounter between science and religion
Science, like religion, searches for universal principles to explain reality.
Plato: soul is superior to body; reason superior to senses
18th century : rational knowledge more important than religious knowledge.
Darwin’s theory of evolution challenged the biblical view of creation.
More recently, scientists have:
sought to understand religious belief without rejecting it outright
questioned the nature of science itself
encountered major complexity in the universe
Intelligent design: scientific discoveries prove the existence of an Intelligent Designer.
scientific discovery itself may deepen one’s religious faith.
acknowledged the complicating factor of our own role as observers.
proposed models of the universe with affinities to some religious models
evidence of purpose or intention in the development of the universe.
Science, like religion, searches for universal principles to explain reality as we experience it. Since ancient times, the two have often gone hand-in-hand. While some of the ancient Greek nature philosophers sought to understand the world through their own perception, Plato argued that the testimony of the senses differs from that which is determined through reason. Plato considered the soul superior to the body, and reason superior to the senses, a judgment which has had profound influence on Western thought.
The eighteenth-century Enlightenment placed greater respect on rational knowledge than religious knowledge. In the nineteenth century, Darwin’s theory of evolution challenged the biblical view of creation.
More recently, however, some scientists have sought to understand religious belief without necessarily rejecting it outright, and have also questioned the nature of science itself. Scientists studying the cosmos have encountered virtually insurmountable complexity and have also acknowledged the complicating factor of our own role as observers. Some physicists have proposed models of the universe which have certain affinities with some religious models, to the extent that their work may be seen as approaching metaphysics or philosophy based on theories of subtle realities that transcend the physical world.
The conflict between science and religion is exemplified in the opposing views of creationism — religious concepts of intentional divine creation of all life forms, and Darwinism — the scientific concept of a universe evolving mechanistically. The intelligent design movement holds that scientific discoveries may be seen as proving the existence of an Intelligent Designer. Some scientists have also argued that there appears to be some evidence of purpose or intention in the development of the universe, again revealing a potential affinity with religious views of creation. Finally, some scientists find scientific discovery itself an experience which may deepen their own religious faith.
There are four general positions in the current dialogue between science and religion: the conflict model, the view that science and religion deal with separate realms, a position of dialogue in which scientists and religious believers find common ground in interpreting religious propositions as metaphors, and an integrationist position which sees an overlap between religion and science.

14. Four positions regarding science and religion
Conflict:
Science and religion are irreconcilable
The conflict between science and religion is exemplified in the opposing views of creationism — religious concepts of intentional divine creation of all life forms, and Darwinism — the scientific concept of a universe evolving mechanistically.
Contrast:
No real conflict since science and religion deal with entirely separate realms
Contact:
scientists and religious believers find common ground: ways in which science shapes religious understanding.
Confirmation:
religion supports and nourishes the entire scientific enterprise
Hubble telescope reveals star nurseries 6 trillion miles high in the Eagle Nebula.

15. Worship, symbol, and myth
Worship: seeks to express reverence and request help with problems.
Rituals: Predictable and repeated worshipful actions
Compare High school graduation
Symbols: images borrowed from the material world that are similar to ineffable spiritual experiences.
similarities among symbols used in different cultures.
Jung posited a collective unconscious, which contains a store of archetypal symbols.
Allegories: narratives which use concrete symbols to convey abstract ideas.
Myths: symbolic stories that explain the universe and people’s place within it.
Rituals, sacraments, prayers, and spiritual practices:
create a sacred atmosphere or state of consciousness
bring some human control to situations normally not under human power
mark key life stages
provide spiritual instruction.
Worship, symbol, and myth
Worship seeks to express reverence and may also be used to request help with problems. Rituals, sacraments, prayers, and spiritual practices are used to create a sacred atmosphere or state of consciousness, to bring some human control to situations normally not under human power, to mark key life stages, and provide spiritual instruction. Predictable and repeated worshipful actions are known as rituals. Students should be encouraged to think about their own impressions of rituals and the functions they serve. High school graduation is a helpful example of a ritual that students most likely will have already experienced themselves, and it may be fruitfully compared to life stage religious rituals.
Symbols are images borrowed from the material world that are similar to ineffable spiritual experiences. There are many similarities among symbols used in different cultures. Jung posited a collective unconscious, which contains a store of archetypal symbols.
Also relevant are allegories, narratives which use concrete symbols to convey abstract ideas.
A set of symbols together may become the basis for myths, symbolic stories that explain the universe and people’s place within it. Joseph Campbell suggested that myths serve mystical, cosmological, sociological, and psychological functions and are thus not simply falsehoods or the work of primitive imaginations.

16. Historical-critical study of scriptures
Viewpoint of non-faith-based research (historical-critical studies):
scriptures are literary collections from particular cultural and historical contexts
Not: the absolute word of God.
Seeks to identify:
the earliest forms of scriptures
the historical aspects of scriptures in comparison to other historical data
the intended audience of scriptures
the language and meaning of the words
the literary form of scriptures
redaction or the editing and organization of scripture
contemporary relevance of scripture.
often at odds with the views of those who consider their scripture to be the product of divine revelation rather than human composition.
Non-faith-based research treats scriptures as literary collections from particular cultural and historical contexts rather than as the absolute word of God. Such research has sought to identify the earliest forms of scriptures, the historical aspects of scriptures in comparison to other historical data, the intended audience of scriptures, the language and meaning of the words, the literary form of scriptures, redaction or the editing and organization of scripture, as well as the contemporary relevance of scripture. Such historical-critical studies are often at odds with the views of those who consider their scripture to be the product of divine revelation rather than human composition.

17. Negative aspects of organized religions
Religions may:
split rather than unify humanity.
devote more energy to preserving the outer, institutional form of the religion than its inner spirit (Weber’s “routinization of charisma”).
be used to dominate and manipulate the faithful
people may put their faith in unethical or misguided spiritual leaders.
lead to an exaggeration of guilt in people with perfectionist or paranoid tendencies
become a form of escapism
be psychologically harmful to some.
be used as a rallying point for wars against other peoples or nations, since it is a potential center for political power
no religion sanctions violence against innocent people
yet battles fought in the name of religion have led to horrific violence.
Fisher indicates some key problem areas to which the reader should pay close attention:
Religions may split rather than unify humanity.
Religions may devote more energy to preserving the outer, institutional form of the religion than its inner spirit (Weber’s “routinization of charisma”).
Those in religious power have the ability to dominate and manipulate the faithful; people may put their faith in unethical or misguided spiritual leaders.
Religion may lead to an exaggeration of guilt in people with perfectionist or paranoid tendencies; religion may become a form of escapism; religion may be psychologically harmful to some.
Religion is a potential center for political power, and may be used as a rallying point for wars against other peoples or nations.
As Fisher states, no religion sanctions violence against innocent people, yet battles fought in the name of religion indeed often have led to horrific violence. Fisher concludes the chapter with a call for clear, careful, and compassionate understanding of different religions rather than an “us” and “them” dichotomy.

18. Distinguish what religion does from what religion is.
Religion provides:
Meaning to life; answers to life’s ultimate questions
Social cohesion; improved chance of a culture’s survival
A way to control people; support for political causes
A basis for morality; higher levels of altruism
Etc.
Religion is:
An organized way for people to connect to a reality beyond the natural world

19. ©2008 Pearson Education, Inc.
Key Terms
absolutist
agnosticism
allegory
atheism
awakening
charisma
comparative religion
Creationism
Darwinism
dogma
enlightenment
exclusivism
Fundamentalism
gnosis
heretic
immanent
incarnation
intelligent design
liberal
metaphysics
monotheism
mysticism
myth
orthodox
phenomenology
polytheism
profane
realization
redaction
religion
ritual
sacred
scientific materialism
spirituality
symbol
theism
transcendent
universalism
Living Religions
7th ed.
by Mary Pat Fisher
1-19
PRENTICE HALL
©2008 Pearson Education, Inc.
Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458