Assignment on 2-23
Faith and Religion
What is religion?
Wikipedia
A religion is an organized collection of beliefs,
cultural systems, and world views that relate
humanity to an order of existence. Many religions
have narratives, symbols, and sacred histories that
aim to explain the meaning of life and/or to explain
the origin of life or the Universe. From their beliefs
about the cosmos and human nature, people may
derive morality, ethics, religious laws or a preferred
lifestyle. According to some estimates, there are
roughly 4,200 religions in the world
What is religion?
Dictionary
Religion is a set of beliefs concerning the cause,
nature, and purpose of the universe, especially when
considered as the creation of a superhuman agency
or agencies, usually involving devotional and ritual
observances, and often containing a moral code
governing the conduct of human affairs.
What is religion?
Karen Armstrong
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, systems of
knowledge
Religion is a relationship with the spiritual
that inspires compassion and love in our
lives
God-isms
• Theism: Belief in some kind of god
• Atheism: god does not exist
• Deism: god exists as creator/designer, but that’s about it
• Monotheism: one god
• Polytheism: multiple gods
• Animism: souls or spirits exists in all things
• Pantheism: the universe or nature and god are identical
• Agnosticism: don’t know if god does or doesn’t exist
• Secularism: of this world, god not involved
Foundational Human Questions
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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?
HCOM 301
Spring 2015
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
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Bahai
Brahmanism
Buddhism
Christianity
Confucianism
Daoism
Hinduism
Islam
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Jainism
Judaism
Secular Humanism
Shintoism
Scientology
Sikhism
Rastafarianism
Zoroastrianism
Religion and Culture
are sometimes indistinguishable
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Polynesian (e.g., Maori)
African (e.g., Bantu, Bush People)
Latin America (e.g., Inca, Maya, Aztec)
Caribbean (e.g., Voodoo, Yoruba, Shango)
• Hasidic Jews?
• Amish People?
Largest
World 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 Afterlife
Most 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
Faith
the “key”
to religious
knowledge?
What is Faith?
Sam Harris
Criticism of Religious Faith
Part I
Part II