Intro to World Religion Exam 1 flashcards

Minimalist

It's choosing to spend more time living out your faith, not focusing completely on it

Maximalist

religion ought to permeate all aspects of life

Monothetic

one essence

Polythetic

multiple essences, not all of them necessary

Emic

insider

Etic

outsider

Primary Source

original texts from religious traditions, unaltered

Secondary source

theoretical analysis and interpretations from academia or religious contexts (esp. theorists)

Experiential source

texts

Perennialist

proposes that call religions share something in common

Cosmogony

creation story, from chaos to orientation

Profane

ordinary, can be used in any fashion, no special rules that govern our behavior

Sacred

different and real from other spaces, orientation in the chaos

Hierophany

a breakthrough of the sacred into the word ie appearance of god, sacred land

Axis Mundi

fixed, central point that sis the focus of religious orientation

Sunni Islam

strictly opposes any belief in divine intermediates, prophet had no divine authority

Matn

the content, report, or saying in the Hadith

Isnad

the list of names who transmitted information from Muhammad in the Hadith

brahmanism

the religious and social system of orthodox Hinduism

Vedas

sacred texts of hinduism

Puja

worship/prayer/ritual

brahman

supreme bring

Ganges River

axis mundi of Hinduism

Buddha

"the awakened one" (siddartha Gautama)

Siddhartha Gautama

born the son of a king

Four Sights

old age sickness dead body ascetic

Ascetic

pertaining to or characteristic of an ascetic or the practice of rigorous self-discipline

Middle Way

not extremely ascetic and not completely ignorant, in the middle

Monotheism

One god

Tanakh

jewish scriptures/ the Hebrew bible

Torah/Pentateuch

first five books of the tanakh

Nevi'im

prophets

Kethuvim

the writings

Moses

jewish prophet, prince of Egypt

Abraham

the first of the Old Testament patriarchs and the father of Isaac; according to Genesis, God promised to give Abraham's family the land of Canaan

Covenant

a formal alliance or agreement made by God with a religious community or with humanity in general

Exile

a person who is kicked out of a home or country

Diaspora

the body of Jews outside Palestine or modern Israel

Apocalyptic

religions that associate with the world ending

Messiah

a person who would deliver Israel from foreign bondage and restore the glories of its golden age.

Synagogue

jewish sacred place of worship

Rabbinic/Rabbi

de centralized worship in synagogues, rabbi are spiritual teachers

Midrash

process of study and interpretation

Sruti

vedas

Smrti

epic poems

Dharma

basic principles of the cosmos; also: an ancient sage in Hindu mythology worshipped as a god by some lower castes

Atman

soul/self

Samsara (Hindu)

cycle of birth, death,rebirth

Karma (Hindu)

action, the things we do in this life shape the circumstances of future lives

Moksha

liberation from samsara

Varnashramadarma

the duties a Hindu should follow depending on their stage in life and their caste .

Trimurti

the triad of divinities of later Hinduism

Dukkha

suffering in buddhism

Anatta/anatman

no eternal seld, no attman

Nirvana

the beatitude that transcends the cycle of reincarnation; characterized by the extinction of desire and suffering and individual consciousness

Orthodox Judaism

historically traditional, emphasis on torah as revelation

Conservative Judaism

authority from the community rather than revelation

Reform Judaism

emphasis evolving nature of Judaism, ethical aspects over ritual

Elohim

newer term for god, reflects jewish society in exile

Yahweh

a name for the God of the Old Testament as transliterated from the Hebrew consonants YHVH

Priestly Source

a theory of the origins of the Bible, perhaps the most widely recognized source underlying the Torah

Jahweh Source

an early source that provides a strand of the Pentateuchal narrative

Jesus Christ

the son of god, and the messiah in christianity

Bible

the sacred writings of the Christian religions

New Testament

christianity/bible

Trinity

father, son, and the holy spirit

Eastern Orthodox

established in Constantinople, 220 million

Roman Catholic

established in Rome 1.3 billion

Protestant

established in Europe as a split from Roman Catholics by Martin Luther 800 million

Crucifixion

the death of Jesus by crucifixion, nailing of a person on a cross

Brahma

the Creator; one of the three major deities in the later Hindu pantheon

Shiva

hindu destroyer of worlds

Vishnu

the sustainer; a Hindu divinity worshipped as the preserver of worlds

Saktas

the cycle of birth and rebirth

Mahadevi

worships mother goddess, goddess worship

Saivites

one who worships shiva

Vaishnavites

worships vishnu

Rites of Passage

rites which accompany every change of place, state, social position, and age

Preliminaire

separation from community

Anicca

principle of impermanence (everything changes nothing tastes)

Theravada

Monastic branch of buddhism, mainly in south east Asia

Mahayana

a major school of Buddhism teaching social concern and universal salvation; China; Japan; Tibet; Nepal; Korea

Vajrayana

latest development as an offshoot of Mahayana, buddhahood can be attained within one lifetime

Monastic

religious practitioners who seclude themself from everyday life

Resurrection

the rising of Christ on the third day after the Crucifixion

Gospels

"good news"

Paul

his letters make up 13/21 books in the New Testament

Dualism

mind of body; invisible and visible world

Canon

New Testament (bible) scriptures

Orthodox

conforming to traditionally accepted views or what is agreed to be true/correct (Christian canon)

Heterodox

different from the acknowledged standard or tradition

Gnosticism

a collection of early (secret) religious ideas about christ. reject material world/body

Qur'an

holy writings of islam

Muhammad

messenger of Allah and founder of islam

Hadith

accounts of prophet's sunna- life practices and biography

Shari'a

body of law

Muslim

a believer in or follower of Islam

Mahdi

a messianic leader who will appear before the end of the world and restore justice and religion

Shi'a Islam

leadership passed to imams, descended from the prophets

Postliminaire

re joining of person with community

Liminality

between and betwixt, place of transformation, no clear social status

Communitas

group of people wo arena the same liminal state, generic bond

Mestiza Consciousness

a site of ambiguity speaks to our common identity and mixed bloods

Nepantla

nahuatl term for middle/in-between-ness

Borderlands

the area between the US and Mexican border

Laity

ordinary everyday population of religious adherents (buddhism)

Sangha

the entire buddhist community, and monks/nuns (bikkhu/bikkhuni)

Disenchantment

with age community members lose sense of wonder with rituals

Evangelical Christianity

second great awakening, short bibles become focus of message. focuses on the "good news"

Born Again

suddenly conversion, emotional/spiritual experience

Karma (Buddhist)

good and bad actions cause reactions in the next life

Samsara (Buddhist)

cycle of birth and rebirth

sufi islam

started from sunni, became more ascetic

sunyata (buddhism)

principle of emptiness

4 virtues of academic study of religion

1. bracketing assumptions, 2. informed empathy, 3. historical/ contextual imperative, 4. symbolic sensitivity

four functions of ritual

1. Orients participants to sacred space & time 2. Connects participants to divine 3. Connects participants to a larger community 4. Includes the body as an instrument for religion

varnashramadarma

Brahmin – priests • Kshatriya – warriors • Vaisya – Merchants • Shudra – Artisans/laborers • Dalit – outcasts

four noble truths

1. Life involves suffering (dukkha) 2. Suffering is caused by desires 3. Suffering will cease if all desires cease 4. The way to cease desire is through the Eightfold Path

the noble eight fold path

1. Right understanding • comprehending reality correctly through 4 noble truths 2. Right thoughts or motives • to uncover any unwholesome emotional roots behind our thinking 3. Right Speech • Avoid the tendency to lie, gossip, speak harshly; should speak to ourselves and others in positive way 4. Right action • 5 basic precepts for moral conduct: avoid destroying life, stealing, sexual misconduct, lying, and intoxicants 5. Right livelihood • vocation should not violate the 5 precepts 6. Right Effort • Always striving to cut off unwholesome states in the past, present and future 7. Right mindfulness • disciplining the mind – being aware in every moment 8. Right meditation • mental discipline to quieting of the mind.

five pillars of islam

1. Shahadah – testifying to belief in Allah and that Muhammad is His Prophet “There is no God but God, and Muhammad is the Messenger of God” 2. Salah – performing regular daily prayers 3. Sawm – fasting during the Islamic calendar month of Ramadan 4. Zakah – giving alms to the poor 5. Hajj – making a pilgrimage to Mecca

3 kinds of ritual

1. calendar2. special occasion 3. life cycle

Hebrew creation story

genesis 1-2:4 7 days, earth and heavens, animals, man and woman same time. genesis 2:5-25 earth and heavens, man from dirt, eden, animals, woman from man

Themes of North American indigenous religious traditions

Experience of colonialism Land Animism/Spirit Memory Ancestors Storytelling/Oral history

five precepts (buddhism )

Refrain from taking life. Not killing any living being. Refrain from taking what is not given. Not stealing from anyone. Refrain from the misuse of the senses. Not having too much sensual pleasure. Refrain from wrong speech. Refrain from intoxicants that cloud the mind.