| Religion |
| Religion is defined as a form of human experience and behavior, therefore, it is not just about purely "spiritual" things. Religion is not just about gods or GOD. Myth is a symbolic story about the origins and destiny of human beings and their worlds. Myths relates human beings to whatever powers they believe ultimately govern their destiny and explains to them what these powers expect of them. The myth and ritual tie and bind the life of the individual into a great cosmic drama serving the highest power that gives life meaning and purpose. Rite is defined as the ritual patterns of behavior that keep life sacred. Morality is an inherent dimension of religious experience. Religion is about what the people hold sacred and the way of life that is required. All religion is requires morality and every morality is grounded in religious experiences . Religious language is inherently symbolic. A metaphor uses things that are familiar to help us understand what is less familiar. |
| For your religion assignments you will use the following book: World Religions Today by John L. Esposito, Darrell J. Fasching, and Todd Lewis You must complete the assignments within the assigned weeks. All assignments must be completed using Microsoft Word and turned in by the last day of the assigned week. Week 1: July 17, 2006 - July 23, 2006. 1. What elicits a religious response from people and what will it inspire people to do? 2. What conveys the essential truth of life as conveyed in grand stories of origin and destiny? 3. What is the worlds oldest religious specialist? 4. What are myths and rituals tied to? Week 2: July 24, 2006 - July 30, 2006- 1. What does "the religious experience of sacredness" mean? 2. What significance does May Day have to people of the Soviet Union? 3. What do you hold as sacred? And why? 4. What is ethics? Week 3: July 31, 2006 - August 6, 2006- 1. What is one of the most challenging tasks facing anyone trying to understand the diversity of religious experience? 2. Give me 3 examples of symbolic religious language. 3. What two forms does religious language take? Describe each one and use examples of each. Week 4: Test- August 11, 2006 You will be tested over the material in the yellow box and the questions from weeks 1 - 3. |
