Unit 3 Unit 3 ReligionReligion

History of Religion Part 2History of Religion Part 2

Mr. YoungMr. Young

SociologySociology

I CAN:I CAN:

1. Explain the basic structure of Religion

2. Analyze the 4 major categories of Religion

3. Evaluate the 4 major religious organizations

Definition of ReligionDefinition of Religion

• A Unified system of beliefs and practices concerned with sacred things

What Religion sets apartWhat Religion sets apart

Sacred• Things set apart from

daily life

Profane• Nonsacred, everyday

aspects of life

1) Religious Experience1) Religious Experience

• A sudden awareness of the supernatural or a feeling of coming into contact with God

• Example: born again- in Christianity when a person has undergone a life-transforming religious experience and feel as if they are a new person

2) Belief2) Belief

• Ideas that people believe to be true

• Includes values (how people ought to live) and cosmology (a unified picture of the world)

3) Faith3) Faith• One of the most

important aspects of religion is faith- unquestioning belief that does not require proof or scientific evidence

• Sacred- refers to those aspects of life that are extraordinary or supernatural

• Profane- the everyday, secular “worldly” aspects of life

4) Rituals 4) Rituals

• Rituals- regularly repeated and carefully prescribed forms of behaviors that symbolize a cherished value or belief

• This can include The Lord’s Supper, Muslims bowing toward Mecca

Rituals videosRituals videos

• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YgYEuJ5u1K0

• Monty Python Monk Video

SymbolsSymbols

• Symbols- helps to provide identity with a particular religion

• Usually sacred emblems that evoke feelings of awe and reverence

Symbols VideoSymbols Video

• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oFhJVy7TLio

• Multiple Meanings of Symbols Part 1

• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3fiVkfQn8Jo

• Multiple Meanings of Symbols Part 2

CommunityCommunity

• All of the others lead to this

• Feel a close bond with one another because their faith and beliefs are usually the same

• Usually refer to one another as brother or sister, fosters a sense of family

• Usually very powerful and can help people that need structure

DoctrineDoctrine

• A particular principle, position, or policy taught or advocated, as of religion or government

• Simply put teachings that a certain religion is founded upon

4 major categories4 major categories

• Religion is based on 4 major categories

1. Simple supernaturalism

2. Animism

3. Theism

4. Nontheistic Religion

1) Simple Supernaturalism1) Simple Supernaturalism

• The belief that supernatural forces affect people’s lives either positively or negatively

• This type of religion does not acknowledge specific gods or supernatural spirits but focuses instead on impersonal forces that may exist in people or natural objects

2) Animism2) Animism• Belief that plants, animals,

or other elements of the natural world are endowed with spirits or life forces that have an impact on events in society

• Example: Native American hunting rituals

• Everyday life is not necessarily separated from the elements of the natural world

TheismTheism

• Belief in a god or gods

• Christianity, Islam, Greeks, Egyptians

A) MonotheismA) Monotheism1. a belief in a single,

supreme being or god who is responsible for significant events such as the creation of the world

• Worlds major religions, Christianity, Judaism, and Islam, believe this way

B) PolytheismB) Polytheism

1. a belief in more than one god

• Hinduism, Shinto, and many African religions

4) Nontheistic Religion4) Nontheistic Religion

• Religion based on a belief in divine spiritual forces such as sacred principles of thought and conduct, rather than a god or gods

• Similar to Buddhism

Types of Religious OrganizationsTypes of Religious Organizations

• Four major types of religious organizations

1. Cult

2. Sect

3. Church (Denomination)

4. Ecclesia

Videos on CultsVideos on Cults

• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yXYb3zItEdU

• 3D dialogue on Cults

• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nvvSuvSA3EI

• What is a cult video (2 min)

1) Cult1) Cult• A new, loosely organized

religious group, with few followers, with practices and teachings outside the dominant cultural and religious traditions of a society

• All major religions began as a cult

• Jim Jones and Jonestown, Heaven’s Gate and Hale-Bopp Comet

Characteristics of a CultCharacteristics of a Cult

• Charismatic Leader- someone who exerts extraordinary appeal to a group of followers

• Members antagonize the majority because they believe they have found the truth

• Demands intense commitment, usually a sense of close community among the followers

Top 10 CultsTop 10 Cults

• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KNOSm9wvf5o

• (6 min)

2) Sect2) Sect

• Relatively small religious group that has broken away from another religious organization to renew what it views as the original version of the faith

• Typically appeal to those who might be characterized as lower class

• Loosely organized and fairly smaller

Sect Cont.Sect Cont.

• Stress evangelism- the active recruitment of new members

• If sects grow they can tend to gradually make peace with society, move up in socio-economic status, and can become a church

A) DenominationA) Denomination

• Midway between church and sect

• A large organized religion characterized by accommodation to society but frequently lacking in ability or intention to dominate society

• Approximately 38,000 Christian denominations in the world

3) Church3) Church

• A large, bureaucratically organized religious organization that tends to seek accommodations with the larger society in order to maintain some degree of control over it

• Church membership largely based on birth

• Religious services highly ritualized

• Examples: Lutheran and Episcopal church

4) Ecclesia4) Ecclesia

• A religious organization that is so integrated into the dominant culture that it claims as its membership all members of a society

• Also known as state religion• Examples: Church of England, Lutheran

Church in Sweden and Denmark, Roman Catholic Church in Italy and Spain, and Islam in Iraq and Iran