Assignment on 2-26

Faith and Religion

as

Ways of Knowing

What is Religion?

Religions are systems of values, beliefs, ideas, feelings, and practices that provide ways of thinking about, framing, and answering some fundamental human questions.

Religions are systems of meaning

Religions are systems of knowledge

God-isms

• Theism: Belief in some kind of god

• Deism: god exists as creator, but that’s about it

• Animism: souls or spirits exists in all things

• Pantheism: the universe or nature and god are identical

• Polytheism: multiple gods

• Monotheism: one god

• Atheism: god does not exist

• Agnosticism: don’t know if god does or doesn’t exist

• Secularism: of this world, god not involved

Foundational Human Questions

• Where do I/we come from?

• What is my purpose for living?

• How should I act in the world?

• What happens when I die?

• Where can I find a community that thinks and feels like I do?

Quiz

What’s Your

Religion

Type?

Exploring Our Own

Religious Beliefs

• What name would you give to your own religion orientation?

• How would you explain your views on god?• How do you explain the origins of human life?• How would you explain the purpose or meaning

of your life?• Does your religion provide you any rules or

guidelines for living?

Examples of World Religions

• Bahai• Brahmanism• Buddhism• Christianity• Confucianism• Daoism• Hinduism• Islam

• Jainism• Judaism• Secular Humanism• Shintoism• Scientology• Sikhism• Rastafarianism• Zoroastrianism

Religion and Cultureare sometimes indistinguishable

• Polynesian (e.g., Maori)

• African (e.g., Bantu, Bush People)

• Latin America (e.g., Inca, Maya, Aztec)

• Caribbean (e.g., Voodoo, Yoruba, Shango)

LargestWorld Religions

Religions Across the Globe

Pew Forum's U.S. Religious Landscape Survey, 2007

Harris Poll of American Opinions, 2006

Does God Exist?

No, Absolutely Certain

No, Somewhat Certain

Unsure

Yes, Somewhat Certain

Yes, Absolutely Certain

Belief in an AfterlifeMost Americans (74%) believe in life after death, with an equal number saying they believe in the existence of heaven as a place where people who have led good lives are eternally rewarded. Belief in the afterlife tends to be particularly common among the Christian traditions.

But the survey also finds that roughly six-in-ten Buddhists (62%) believe in nirvana, the ultimate state transcending pain and desire in which individual consciousness ends, and about the same number of Hindus (61%) believe in reincarnation, that people will be reborn in this world again and again.

By contrast, fewer than half of the unaffiliated (48%) and only about four-in-ten Jews (39%) say they believe in an afterlife.

Receiving Answers to Prayers

A significant minority of Americans say their

prayers result in definite and specific answers

from God at least once a month (31%), with

nearly one-in-five adults (19%) saying they

receive direct answers to specific prayer requests

at least once a week.

How do We Acquire Religious Knowledge?

How do We Gain Access?

Religious

Knowledge

Faith

Is

Faiththe “key”

to religious

knowledge?

What is Faith?

Sam Harris

Criticism of Religious Faith

Part I

Part II