Exploring World Religions Summary PDF

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World Religion September 6, 2016 Theology- the study of God (science) A(theism)- no belief in a higher power What is religion? (group definitions) - comforting belief that there is a bigger plan/belief in a higher power - community to be involved in - a chance to be selfless and listen to/believe in a higher power - motivation to be a better person - Answers to questions Religare- to be bound together… binding of people and the Devine Ekklesia- those who are called out… religious community September 8, 2016 Understanding Problems in Religion Zunera Ishaq- Her niquab is a symbol of her religion and a part of her faith Stephan Harper- does not allow face coverings at citizenship ceremonies …these are not the views only of the overwhelming majority of Canadians, they are the views of the overwhelming majority of moderate Muslims Jason Kenney- Head coverings are cultural, not religious (Canadian Minister of Citizenship and Immigration (2008-2013)) -under 30 people in Canada wear the whole veil Eliana Marenge Quebec Judge- Anti- Hijab ruling that head coverings are religious not secular There is a contradiction between hijab being cultural or religious…. culture and religion are used as excused to benefit the side who is arguing. Defining Religion A religion is a system of symbols which acts to establish powerful, pervasive and long lasting moods and motivations in men by formulating conceptions of a general order of existence and clothing these conceptions with such an aura of factuality that the moods and motivations seem uniquely realistic - Clifford Geertz (1926-2003) Talal Asad - Professor of Anthro at Graduate Centre of the City University of New York (CUNY) - Father was Jewish, converted to Islam - Arguably the most influential Muslim scholar living today - 2 assumptions about religion: Interiority: The problem with Geertz’s definition is that it makes interiority the locus of religion. This

marginalizes those religions that are less oriented towards individual belief more oriented towards embodied practice, discipline and community. - sola fide= one is saved by faith alone - more about what they believe rather than what is practiced - you can believe what you want, therefore religious clothing and symbols aren't needed Separability: For insofar as the task of defining anything presumes a discrete object that can be identified in contradistinction to others, this implied a model of religion that emerged only with the Enlightenment. Prior to that time, even in Western Europe religion cannot be analytically or practically disarticulated from virtually all other aspects of culture. - you break things down to understand what they mean - assumes science, can be broken down to understand - the assumption that you can separate religion and culture is Western *If we consider Western understanding of secularity, we are left with a big issue: - If the majority of religions are made up of practice/embodied enactments that are a way of life their religion becomes culture - For these groups religion isn't something chosen…. so what does freedom of religion mean? - If the understanding of freedom oppresses certain groups it is not truly freedom - For many, religion can not be separated from life September 13, 2016 Indigenous Religions Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) - Engages in the healing of injustice for indigenous people Smudging- ceremonial act of purification Indigenous traditions sometimes referred to as tribal or small scale. This is obviously problematic as it undermines the expanse and complexity of indigenous religions. Sometimes Indigenous Religions are also referred to as oral or preliterate which is inaccurate… an error made of a situation of power and judgment… many paintings etc served as texts in pre colonial times. *using these terms suggests that one religion is normative and indigenous religions are not. Religious Activities vs. Spiritual Activities - Christianity in Residential Schools is a history of colonization. Survivors may describe Religion as christianity rather than indigenous traditions due to this. - Religion is arguably perceived as what was brought by the colonizer, therefore the term religion can be inaccurate. Spirituality is more fitting for some indigenous people. 7 Sacred Teachings/Grandfather Teachings -Wisdom

-Love -Respect -Bravery -Honesty -Humility -Truth September 15, 2016 Challenges with the Category of Indigenous Religions -

plurality of traditions (50 language groups) no distinction between secular and religious preliterate and tribal= problematic descriptions religion as positive term (sophistication) religion as negative term (a colonizing phenomenon)

Key Features: - The world IS good vs it was good (ie. Eden in Adam and Eve story) - individualist vs orthodox perspective … i have heard vs I have been told - Mitakuye Oyas’in- all my relations… identifies the connectedness of things - between people and other things - little distinction between physical and spirit - gift giving as thanks and re paying debt - Impact of Residential Schools - Schools date back to 1870s (closed in 1996) - about 130 schools - Government funded, run by churches. Designed to eliminate Indigenous culture. - Aprox 150,000 children in these schools, apron 80,000 still alive. September 20, 2016 World Religions: Demographics - 5.8 billion people in the world are religiously affiliated - 1.1 billion are in the unaffiliated category - In terms of population in each belief system: - Christianity is highest with 2.2 billion affiliated (31.5% of population) - Islam is second with 1.6 billion affiliated (23.2% of population) - Unaffiliated 1.1 billion (16.3%) - Hinduism 1 billion (15%) - Buddhist 488 million (7.1%) - Folk religionists 405 million (5.9%) - Other 58 million (0.8%) - Jewish 14 million (0.2%) - 62% of the worlds unaffiliated population lives in China - 94% of Hindus live in India - 365 million out of the 405 million folk religionists are situated in Asia Minor - 60% of world population lives in Asia Minor/Pacific - Majority of Hindus and Buddhists live in this area - 70% of unaffiliated people live in this area - 62% of Muslims live in this area, only 20% of Muslims live in the Middle East and

16% live in sub-Saharan Africa - 44% of Jewish people live in North America… 41% live in the Middle East Canadian Demographics (2011) -

Christianity 67.3% Non-religious 23.9% Islam 3.2% Hinduism 1.5% Sikhism 1.4% Buddhism 1.1% Judaism 1% Other religion 0.6% The total number of Christians has stayed relatively the same in Canada even as the population grows - The number of non-religious people in Canada has been rapidly growing - Hinduism, Buddhism and Sikhism growing at same pace (aprox. 50%)

Hinduism Vedas - 33 Gods in the pentagon - 33 million Gods elsewhere (historically probably represented infinity) Trimurti - Brahman (Creator) - Vishnu (The sustainer) - Shiva (The destroyer) Vishnu is described as the protector of the cosmos (different from universe… has an order that is meaningful, often described as having a beginning and an end) Shiva is described as representing the true nature of life, represents the connection between Asceticism and erotic… the Divine Lover Ganesha -

Son of Shiva Portrayed with an elephant head Very popular Can remove obstacles, gets you what you want (first one to ask) Created by his mother to protect her while she bathes, Shiva decapitated him because he didn’t know who he was, once he finds out he re-capitates him

The Goddess Devi -

Fierce, passionate Described as a great mother Divine Destroyer, war like, aggressive Protector (if you worship her) Referred to as the great illusion

- Breaks the image of a woman being a dutiful wife… will not marry… not submissive Kali - Manifestation of Devi - Goddess of destruction and the Great Mother… giver of life - Shaktas (her worshipers) believe that she is the great protective mother Hinduism is a polytheistic belief (belief in the worship of many gods) in some sense… and yet the notion of God is one (many gods could be a manifestation of one god… multiple representations of Brahman). It is a religion stuck between polytheism and monotheism. The Great Banyan Tree -

Looks like a forrest Metaphor for Hindu tradition 1900 square meters All interconnected, indistinguishable one tree from the other, all sharing the same life one, yet many September 22, 2016 Hinduism Continued - Term comes from outside of the tradition itself - Used to describe something that wasn’t Islam - Sanatana Dharma … eternal duty, religion, tradition - Identifies that teachings have been passed on from the Vedas - Political tool for colonizing - Started out in Indus Valley - Hindu nationalists would argue that the religion is the country and what it stands for - Hinduism is the Aryan culture - Another resource says that the roots are not Aryan and that the traditions come from Aboriginal traditions and beliefs so therefore Aryans were the colonizers in India - Aryans brought s system of linguistics - Whether Aryans came from the outside or not, Hindu history as we understand it today is the History of the next 2000 years of Aryan culture pg. 170 Vedas - Collection of sacred hymns, deal with praise and worship of the divine - Discuss rituals and sacrifice as well as personal gain from these practices - Vedic religion was marked in faith in the Gods and belief that acts of commitment could influence the Gods - All recorded in Sanskrit - Contain accounts of creation, sacrifice and praise - Rig-Veda focuses on the god Agni (associated with fire…seen as a messenger) - Reference to the Cate System in the Vedas - Reflection of a vision of society… text comes after the practices Rig-Veda - Origin of the 4 Varnas - Creation Myth (10.90)

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Brahmin- Priest… born from mouth Kshatriya- Warrior… born from arms (governs and protects) Vaishya- Commoner/Merchant… born from thighs (skilled workers, economics, farmers) Shudra- Servant…. born from feet (unskilled labour)

The Varnas are a hierarchical system. Through social and religious hierarchy as well as placement in the Varnas they are classified on how close a person is to the Gods… the closer you are the more sacred your life is. Untouchables (Dalit) - Gandhi used the term Harijan (children of god) - There is resentment among the untouchables towards Gandhi because of this, he was seen as a protector and yet didn’t protect the untouchables to the best of his ability - Considered to be impure - Were not allowed to participate in Hindu society… have no Varna - Separate villages, wells, had to announce their presence around those in Varna - Religiously impure, nothing to do with hygiene - Could only marry within their social group - Could not be educated within the Vedas - Could not acquire wealth - Took on unwanted jobs that were impure (ie. handling corps, handling leather) *One’s duty is always connected to ones place in the Caste System - Untouchables soaked up all the impurity in Hindu society - Skin colour greatly defines the caste system - Everyone can move up in the caste system except for the untouchables Key Late Vedic Concepts -

All being are reincarnated into the world (samsara) over and over again The result of action (karma) are reaped in future lives The process of endless birth is characterized by suffering (dukkha) Liberation (moksha) from this suffering can be obtained by gaining spiritual knowledge Knowing ones Dharma

4 Stages of Life (upper 3 Varna) - Applied to twice born males - Student (Bramacharya) - Householder (Grihastha) - Forrest Dweller (Vanaprastha) - Renouncer (Sannyasa) eg. Gandhi Gandhi - Was first a lawyer, worse suits and studied in England - Thrown off a train for being Indian - Went back to being Sannyasan… wore only a cloth and glasses and owned only a walking

stick and a bowl *Karma in past lives determines ones present life - Dharma (duty) will determine the next lives (merit) *Performing Dharma without expectation of merit is Vaget Maheta… newer version of karma. Means that you will be lead directly to Moksha (spiritual liberation). Moksha - Means release… release from endless cycle of life, death, re-birth Monistic -

Everything is one From this perspective Brahman is the ultimate reality Brahmin is the top of the Caste System Atman is Brahman and Brahman is Atman Sep 27, 2016

Hinduism Continued - 2 different versions of ultimate reality from Vedas - Theistic-- Caste System, many gods - Upanishads  Monistic view Arjuna on one side of a battle doubts his duty to call a battle because he knows that his distant relatives are on the other side of the battlefield. He knows that the war will result in death and if that death is his fault he will have bad Karma. He considered renouncing his status in the Varnas (Caste) which would therefore renounce his Dharma. Begins conversation with Krishna (reincarnation of Vishnu) … He first tells him to do his duty and that Karma is just and if he follows his Dharma he will get what he deserves. If people die, their Atman (soul) will survive and therefore there will be no evil. However, if he abandons his Dharma he will have bad Karma for doing so. Instead of performing ones Dharma to accumulate good Karma or even in terms of divine knowledge one should perform ones Dharma out of duty/devotion to god. This is done through self-surrender, dedication and service to god so that one’s actions will result in union with god. - How one preforms their Dharma is more important than weather they do or not - Highest path is to perform Dharma out of devotion to god Bhagavad Gita - The path of Action (Dharma of caste and ritual) - The path of knowledge (overcomes Karmic world) - The path of devotion (emphasizes eternal union with God) *There is no orthodoxy (true teaching) within Hinduism The Buddha - Religion, way of life, philosophy - Different from other religions due to lack of a God

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There is a pantheon but no creator Arises from Hinduism… Buddha born into caste system time of Hinduism Axiel Age4-6th century BCE… great emergence of new culture Teachings were not collected until 400 years after he was born, monks (etc.) would pass on oral traditions/teachings - Born into Kshatriya Varna (warrior caste system)

Birth & Life - Mother dreamt that she was taken up the mountains by spirits and met Future Buddha (in form of a white elephant). He had been rebirthed many times and came back out of compassion for others. He entered into his mother’s womb. - His large ears are a sign of wisdom - It was predicted that he would become King of India or a renouncer. His father wanted him to be King because of the riches so he made his life as comfortable as possible - Buddha found life in the palace unfulfilling and wanted a more spiritual journey. He left the palace grounds and saw 4 sights (up until this point he had never seen suffering before) - Meets old man- first encounter with old age - Meets sick man- life is transient, fleeting - Meets corpse- life is transient, fleeting - Meets renouncient- a person who wanders seeking enlightenment - Renouncient inspires him, it seems like an answer to what he wants - Flees family - 6 years learning ascetic practices (renouncing)… self-denial, nakedness, extreme heat/cold, holding breath, starvation, laying on thorns…. Nothing worked for him. - Gave up life of extreme renouncient for the Middle Way (between life in the palace and renouncient) - Years later while sitting under an enlightenment tree decides to be a renouncient, meditates all night and then becomes the Buddha. Discovers the true nature of the world, human and retains information to overcomes suffering. Doctrine of Impermanence - Everything is changing, things in the moments may seem important but really they aren’t Anatman - No self… no permanent unchanging core/soul Dukkha - Pain suffering, source of suffering was desiring things in life… one reincarnates due to desire 4 Noble Truths -

Everything is suffering (The Truth of Dukkha) Dukkha is caused by desire (Truth of Origin) Eliminate desire and thus eliminate Dukkha Follow the Eightfold Noble Path to overcome suffering by overcoming desire to reach Narvana (extinction) September 29, 2016 Buddhism- The Sangha (Buddhist Community) - Unlike other sages at that time period, the Buddha didn’t spend much time talking about

ultimate reality, life after death or karma - He said that questions about teachings are like a man who was shot with a poison arrow and refuses to pull the arrow out before he knows who his killer is through asking questions… and then dies as a result Dhammapada- a collection of sayings of the Buddha in verse form. - Being religious and following Dhamma (Dharma) has nothing to do with the understanding of the world because everything is there regardless - I am concerned with the extinction of this - The 4 Noble Truths and 3 Jewels are most important in Buddhism Sangha - Buddhism has always been a proselytizing religion - The Buddha wandered and spread the word - Ashoka the Indian Emperor created a fairly large empire in India and then converted to Buddhism for help… Multiple variations of Buddhism spread through India as a result Major Schools of Buddhism Theravada - Way of the elders… older tradition, practiced mostly in East Asia Mahayana - Large/Great Vehicle… largest, practiced mostly in East Asia Vajrayana - Diamond Vehicle…. Associated with Tibet and the Dalai Lama - Mahayana and Theravada agree on many things: - 4 Nobel Truths - 4Th truth - Karma as a teaching - Narvana as a teaching Differences: - Theravada: - Described as conservative traditions - Study early scriptures (pali cannon) - Honour life of renunciation - Follow mindful meditation teachings - Wisdom is crucial - Important for monistic (monks, nuns) - Common person is devotional in practice - 500 elders who studied with the Buddha had compiled practices and monistic expectations after his death - Renounced the world to learn Buddhist teachings such as Dharma Monks -

Typically shave their heads, dress in robes and only own a few things. Don’t eat after noon, practice celibacy and rely on the non-monistic community for survival (eg. Clothing, food and medical attention. Each morning they go into town with a bowl and receive food from the lay

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community In return good karma is passed on and the lay people receive spiritual advice, blessings, spiritual education and council Monastery is located in the center of the community as they rely on the community for survival Open to the public, seen as models of self-control, kindness and religion * Historically there were monistic women who lived similarly to monks in separate locations. In Theravada traditions Narvana is the goal Arhat/Arhant is the idea through practices of wisdoms Rare, conquer desire and reach highest meditative state Infinitely more reachable as a monk (not by lay people) Able to achieve Narvana to leave Sansara (leave cycle) ** The Buddha is only superior to Arhat because he came to these understandings on his own. Other people can be as enlightened as him.

- Mahayana: - Great vehicle… universalizing emphasis… more people can be saved - Don’t have to be in monistic community - Virtue of Karuna (Compassion) - Dedicates itself to well-being of the world - Goal is to save other sentient (conscious being that is able to suffer) overcome suffering Bodhisattva -

Achieves Narvana and then out of compassion for others returns to samsara to help lead others to Narvana (eg. Dali Lama) Returns and befriends people, leads with compassion… teaching path of liberation As bodhisattva becomes more prominent in Mahayana the historical importance of the Buddha shifts more towards being a spiritual being (theistic) Teaches how through Narvana Buddha passes into celestial realm without cutting himself off from the world, meaning he’s still out there teaching Buddhists start practices of devotion (prayers, worship) in Mahayana vs. where in Theravada the Buddha is a historical ...