Watch this two hour long video: https://youtu.be/3AE8KiV9Lq0?si=ShRydEPF49wRrfHN
Theology vs. Religious Studies– theology is studying a single religion and religious studies is
comparing and analyzing religions
Insider-Outsider Problem- Insiders know the ins and outs but could be blind to issues within the religion
Outsiders are generally more unbiased but don’t experience it the same.
Comparison/sameness/difference– both/and, often not one correct answer, basis of religious studies,
Axial Age– 900-200 BC all major world religions formed, likely combination of urbanization, social hierarchy, and mushrooms
Anthropomorphism(projection theory)– deities made to look like humans or animals so they are easier to connect with
Polytheism- any religion that says there are many gods
Diffusion theory– religious ideas in once place started elsewhere and spread out through migration, trade, war
Euhemerism- gods start as humans but become gods after human achievements
Evolutionary monotheism– historical phenomenon of polytheistic systems developing into an accompanying monotheistic system
Pantheism and Panentheism– Pantheism=God is the universe, Panentheism= God is in the universe and beyond
Revolutionary monotheism– monotheism that denies existence of all other gods rather than seeing them as expressions of own god
Max Weber, the State, and religious violence – power of a state mixed with religious motivation of revolutionary monotheisms end up with violence ie: the crusades, israel and palestine rn
Islam (meaning of the term) and inclusive/exclusive attitude toward other religions– Islam means, “submission to the will of god” only religion that named itself, Inclusive to “people of the book” the subdivisions of Islam and exclusive against “people of opinion” or everyone else. Another inclusive element of the islam religon is the concept of sepian umbrella, which follows that diversity is good and everyone should be accepted because their god accepts everyone.
“Religion” vs “ways or paths”– religion is distinct set of beliefs and ways or paths can be individualized, might lead to less violence because states would not have religious backing to support,
“Religion” vs “consciousness”– Consciouness is everything percieved through the brain that leads to individuals personal experiences. Religion is a set of beliefs, praticies, etc. Kripal thinks these two things are not mutually exclusive. They work together as in the consciousness builds on the set of beliefs(religion) and forms personal connections and thoughts.
Rico Monge Example: Macbeth, when macbeth sees the ghost of the person he killed, this is consciousness, it could have been percieved as a figure of the divine. This is example of the perception and consciousness and how that affect how he lives. (which could be an example for how it connects to religon)
Jared Diamond, “Guns, Germs, and Steel,” and relation to religion and ways/paths– refutation of “intellectual” racism, Europe could conquer due to technological advancements, spreading disease, race realist- racism repackaged, identitarian- each group keep identities separate, there is a geographical anthropological reason why this happened, through sharing ways, paths, technology humanity advanced things much further faster
Christianity, Orthodoxy and Heterodoxy, and inclusive/exclusive attitudes–
Ancient Wisdom Narrative– Not just the bible but other texts from the ancient world have wisdom about what it means to be human. Actualising our full potential and live together. Ancient Egyptian, Babylonian texts etc. Wisdom narratives telling us about ourselves. Truth outside the bible.
Mystical Humanism-p. 44 maybe
Learning about other religions and other forms of spirtuality to become the best and well rounded person you can be. Rico Monges example, take buddhism (solidfying your mind), religion that finds earth sacred and to worship it, and christainity (forgiveness and healing, etc) combine all those postive concepts that come from diverse religons/spirtuality and encompass that into your mind forming the best self you can be.
Pico della Mirandola– A philosopher that thinks humans are mirror of the divine, humans are connected to the divine, meditation is very powerful and can transform humans, No single way to be human- pushes back against fascist ideas
“Divine Humanity”– humanism, humans are mirror/connected to divine, we are god?
Reformation (and sola scriptura)—impact on study of religion-p. 47 Reformation led by scholars quickly became popular Protestant Reformation 200 years period in Europe, priests scholars began to protest, Sola Scripture- only bible, you can only learn religion by studying bible, if it wasn’t in bible it wasn’t real
Enlightenment, Immanuel Kant, and x—impact on study of religion-p. 50 deism is natural theology, god created universe then left it to function on its own, Kant- believed enlightenment is a man’s emergence from self immaturity, have courage to use your own understanding, “Dare to know”
Romantic Reversal (and William Blake)—impact on study of religion-p. 53 divine may be projection of human but human is also truly divine, god is made in image of man but man is image of god
Historical-critical method and Biblical Study–
The Historical-Critical Method is an approach used by scholars to analyze and interpret religious texts, particularly the Bible, in a historical and contextual manner. It involves examining the historical background, cultural context, literary genres, authorship, and transmission of the texts to understand their original meanings and the historical contexts in which they were written.
Max Müller and linguistics– Protestant German background, Linguistic comparison- “he who knows one language knows none”
Spirituality-p.63 we might define spirituality modern orientation to religion that locates religious authority within as opposed to outside the individual, free to pick whatever works for him or her
Karl Marx and False consciousness– religion and consciousness, founder of social science (of religion), you think you have accurate consciousness of life but you don’t, nothing you believe is actually true,
William James and Religious experience– basically founder of cognitive science of religion, looked at how sorts of people have dramatic experiences that change lives, set up question of how mediation or psychedelics alter states of consciousness
Altered states of consciousness (ASC)– moments when our usual awareness changes. This can happen during meditation, prayer, rituals, or when using drugs. People often report feeling connected to something greater, having mystical experiences, or feeling deeply spiritual during these times.
Abington School District v. Schempp (1963) and Religious Studies Departments– separation of church and state but religious studies is useful for comparing and
Aldous Huxley– “all great truths begin as heresy” New sciences usually starts out of heresy against all science until proven enough then all of a sudden it becomes the new truth. Human history has shown that what starts as minority opinion becomes majority. Human and divine are
like a mirror, it is a reversal or twist on projection theory.
History of Religions– is not history of A religion or history of a bunch of religions, study of the history of human religious experience
Both-And (Purple pill)– you can have both sides of an idea there is no real definition of each, there is just weird middleground with no set direction
Reflexivity and Consciousness– Reflexivity and consciousness is our perceptions and interpretations of religious experiences are influenced by our own consciousness, beliefs, cultural backgrounds, and personal biases. Kripal discusses this by saying everyone should understand their reflexitivty and consciousness to understand their bias on religious matters.
Kripal’s Definition of Religion and the “principle of extremity”– p.94, overlap with Geertz, principle of extremity- more interested in extreme experiences like James
The humanities as “consciousness coded in culture”– culture and environment make up your consciousness, humanities is not understandable, it is not any “thing” just your interpretation of yourself
Kripals definition (could be on test) : Put most technically, the humanities are the study of consciousness coded in culture.
Secularism– multiple forms of secularism, secularism does not mean anti-religion, ADVOCATES FOR SEPARATION OF CHURCH AND STATE
Sacred– In simple terms is “that which is set apart from the ordinary or profane”, anything that belongs to the gods that may live in sacred interior space of temples, gods and demons are both sacred, sacred is set apart then in order to worship and also to contain it from community. (related to study of idea of holy)
Religious Experience– concept refers to subjectively felt or directly perceived by person knowing it, person having an experience and person having a religion same thing which suggests meaning is different than person just knowing it
“Religious Questions” and “Ultimate Concerns– chapter 3 tough questions 1 and 2, religious questions are the deep questions asked by religions about humanity and not about personal religion or theological questions, ex. “Why are we here and what is our meaning?” They are the big existential questions about consciousness and life itself.