World Religions:
A Voyage of Discovery
Chapter 1
Studying
the
World’s Religions
Assignments
• (due Weds., 1/28) Read pp. 11-15,
search web pages, newsfeeds,
papers, magazines, etc. for at least 3
stories that mention religion. Answer
these questions:
– Which of the 5 “Religious Questions”
are reflected?
– What response to that question/those
questions is given?
Assignments
•(due Thurs., 1/29) Prep for “Newscast”
•(due Fri., 1/30) Read 15-18; do 18G (focus on
Loyola campus and how it expresses some of our
deep beliefs)
•(due Mon., 2/2) Read 18-19; do 18 H
Assignments
• (due Thur., 2/5) Essay on “What Do You
Believe?” (2 pg. typed; use any questions from
handout)
•(due Fri., 2/6) Watch zazen video and read
“Meditation Practice” doc (NetClassroom);
after practicing a bit, write a brief reflection on
your experience.
•(Tues., 2/10) TEST: Chapter 1
What do you see???
What do you see???
What do you see???
The Nature of a
Religious Tradition
• Religion begins in mystery
• “Life is a mystery to be lived, not a
problem to be solved.” –Gabriel Marcel
• Asking questions:
– “problem” questions > solutions
– “mystery” questions > wonder, awe, wisdom,
insight… LIFE!
“Letters to a Young Poet”
• Be patient toward all that is unsolved in your heart and
try to love the questions themselves, like locked rooms
and like books that are now written in a very foreign
tongue. Do not now seek the answers, which cannot be
given you because you would not be able to live them.
And the point is, to live everything. Live the questions
now. Perhaps you will then gradually, without noticing it,
live along some distant day into the answer.
• Letter Four (16 July 1903)
What are “religious” questions?
• What is the human
condition? (What
does it mean to “be
human”?)
What are “religious” questions?
• What is the human condition?
• What is spiritual perfection?
– What does it mean to be
spiritually complete or fulfilled?
– How should I be? What should I
do or not do? (ethical)
– How can I be “saved” from this
incompleteness?
What are “religious” questions?
• What is the human condition?
• What is spiritual perfection?
• What is our destiny? (Where
are we ultimately headed, and
therefore, where do we want
to be headed here…now?)
What are “religious” questions?
• What is the human condition?
• What is spiritual perfection?
• What is our destiny?
• What is the nature of the
world?
– Am I in the “real world”?
– Reality or illusion?
– Material or spiritual?… or both?
What are “religious” questions?
• What is the human condition?
• What is spiritual perfection?
• What is our destiny?
• What is the nature of the world?
• What is ultimate reality, and how is it
revealed/shown to us?
For group
discussion:
• What
photos/images/etc.
did you choose?
• What were you able
to “pick up” about
those religions just
from the images,
etc.?
7 Dimensions of Religion
1. Experience:
• events at the origins of a religion
• Faith or mystical experiences of members of
a religion
7 Dimensions of Religion
1. Experience
2. Myth:
– Stories re: origins & other sacred truths
7 Dimensions of Religion
1. Experience
2. Myth
3. Doctrine:
– More
specific
beliefs,
teachings,
doctrines
7 Dimensions of Religion
1.
2.
3.
4.
Experience
Myth
Doctrine
Ethics:
– How we are to act
in the world
7 Dimensions of Religion
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Experience
Myth
Doctrine
Ethics
Ritual:
– Formal worship/sacred actions
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7 Dimensions of Religion
Experience
Myth
Doctrine
Ethics
Ritual
Community:
– Social identity;
sense of belonging
7 Dimensions of Religion
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
•
Experience
Myth
Doctrine
Ethics
Ritual
Community
Material:
Sacred
objects
Test Ch. 1: What to study?
• P. 19 Review Questions
• P. 19 Glossary
• PowerPoint notes
Test Ch. 1 Format
•
•
•
•
Multiple Choice 1-12
Matching (7 Dimensions) 13-22
True/False 23-30
Short Essay
Test Ch. 1
• SHORT ESSAY: On looseleaf paper, respond
in writing to each of the following set of directions ( 24
points)
1. In three columns, list, briefly explain and give an example
of each of the seven dimensions of Religion (the
examples must be different from the ones listed above
in the “Matching” section. (14 points; 1 point per
explanation/example)
2. In two columns, list and give two examples of the five
types of religious questions (question on the left; two
examples on the right (10 points; 1 per question, 1 per 2
examples)