...fact that Adam was created first and must therefore be superior to Eve, or to Eve’s weak character that made her give in to temptation. However, as I will show, misogyny is not based on religion but men used religion to justify their misogyny and their persecution of women. The story of Adam and Eve is part of the Torah, the Bible and the Koran, and is therefore regarded as part of these religions. Some writers, such as Celia Kitzinger, see it as a myth created by the founding fathers of the great religions in order to take away power from women. Before Judaism, says Kitzinger, women were seen as goddesses who had the miraculous power to reproduce, a process often symbolized by a serpent who had the ability to shed their skin, or be “reborn.” The church fathers, alarmed by women’s sexuality, turned this goddess of fertility into “a shameful sinner” (Kitzinger1) who caused all women after her to suffer in childbirth. Therefore, according to Kitzinger, the church fathers were not interpreting the Holy Books correctly but “expressing their disgust at women’s bodies” (Kitzinger2), at the same time taking women’s power away so they would be able to control them more effectively. Karen Armstrong agrees with Kitzinger, stating that when the “axial faiths” took over and also the great religions established, women lost their status and prestige in the community (Amstrong1)....
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... | | |HUM/130 Version 6 | | |Religions of the World | Copyright © 2009, 2007, 2006 by University of Phoenix. All rights reserved. Course Description This course studies the major religions of the world. Topical areas include Buddhism, Christianity, Confucianism, Hinduism, Indigenous Cultures, Islam, Judaism, and Taoism. Students will be objectively studying the origins and major figures and comparing and contrasting each of the major religions. During this course each student will visit a religious site and interview a person of an unfamiliar faith. Policies Faculty and students/learners will be held responsible for understanding and adhering to all policies contained within the following two documents: University policies: You must be logged into the student website to view...
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...What did you learn in this course? “For some reason, in about 500 BCE, the world experienced a remarkable shift in its collective approach to religion. Prior to this time, human religious experience had been largely local, monistic, unreflective, and world affirming. Beginning in 500 BCE that began to change,” shares Muck. In our diverse world, there is also a diversity in what humankind believes. With that diverse belief, I have learned what individuals believe will help me to become a better witness for the sake of Christ. I have studied world religion in previous classes, and this class was a great refresher to those previous classes. Additionally, this class helped sharpen my skills of the various beliefs that we have in our society today....
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...worshipping the symbol together. Durkheim applied his ideas to the Arunta Tribe who performed rituals involving the worship of a sacred totem which was seen as the clans emblem. In Durkheim’s view, as the totem was seen as the clans emblem, they were, in fact, worshipping their society and reinforcing the collective conscious that came with it. This is important in terms of social stability as if a society does not have a strong collective conscious then the social life and cooperation within the society will be impossible. Religion, therefore, does not only perform a wider function on society by reinforcing social solidarity and the collective conscious, it also helps the individual to feel a sense of belonging which, in turn, makes them feel a part of something. In criticism of this, however, Worsely argues that there is no sharp difference between what is sacred and profane, and that totemism, whilst correct in some cultures, may not apply to all religions across the world. In addition to this, Mestrovic would argue...
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...Capstone Week 9 In what ways has learning about world religions influenced the way you think about religion? As I have studied the different religions and the beliefs of those religions. I have come to understand other religions and their dogma in a way; I was never able to before. I was forced to look at other religion, without letting my own beliefs hamper me. I let myself be curious about the why, when, where other religions developed. This class has taught me the beginnings of the major religions of the world and changed my thought process about my own religion. I also learned how the religion started, evolved, and where its believers are in the world today. It opened my eyes to the fact that many religions care for the poor, young and the old. I have learned not to close my mind when something is not of my own religion. Why is it important to learn about other peoples' beliefs and attitudes? It is very important for me to learn other’s beliefs and religions. This helps you to understand why you see a woman wearing a heading covering or a man a yamakl. This teaches you not to make snap judgments about other religions when a few people do bad things in the name of that religion. When you have an understanding of other religion’s it is easier to see the person not the religion. This has helped me to understand that not all Muslims hate American’s or that Hindu women are odd because of the dot on their forehead. When we understand another belief this may lead to peace. ...
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...Response • Recognize ways in which organized religion influences people’s lives. • Define common terms related to the study of religion. Week Two: Indigenous Sacred Ways • Describe the importance of relationships to indigenous religions. • Identify examples of roles and observances held sacred by indigenous peoples. Week Three: Hinduism • Describe the Hindu philosophical systems and forms of worship. • Explain the origins of Hinduism. Week Four: Buddhism • Explain the origins of Buddhism. • Describe Buddhism’s theological foundations and spiritual practices. Week Five: Daoism, Confucianism, and Judaism • Compare and contrast the theological foundations and spiritual practices of Daoism, Confucianism, Hinduism, and Buddhism. • Explain the origins of Judaism. • Describe Judaism’s theological foundations and spiritual practices. Week Six: Christianity and Islam • Explain the origins of Christianity. • Explain the origins of Islam. Week Seven: Monotheistic Religions • Compare and contrast the theological foundations and spiritual practices of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. Week Eight: New Religious Movements & Religion in the 21st Century • Compare and contrast new religious movements with well established religions. • Estimate the impact of religious pluralism and the interfaith movement on the future of organized religion. Week Nine: Making Connections • Communicate with people of different religions about their beliefs and practices. Course...
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...Chart Writing Assignment Tranel Hill-Barrett Strayer University Rel 212: World Religions Prepared for: Dr. Darryl Claybon September 7, 2014 I would first like to start off by saying that this class has opened my eyes to a lot as far as different religions are concerns, I love learning of the history and origin of the varies religions. For my final paper, I have decided to focus on the category of "view of the afterlife". The reason I selected this category is due to the fact that they are all almost closely related. We are all here to live our lives, although we may worship different Gods, or practice different religions, I feel as though we all have the same questions at the end of the day. What will happen to me once I past? What will happen to my earthly body? After several weeks of reaches I expanded my knowledge of such world religions. Within my finding, I discovered that almost all the religions believe in some form or heaven and hell or that the soul of a person continues to live in some shape or form. For example within Hinduism and Jainism, moksha, is the ultimate salvation. The individual is absorbed into the ocean. To me this is kind of a form of being cremated and released into the ocean. I know that I have heard of some people wanting this to be done to them so that they may be one with the earth. Next we have Buddhism within this religion the view on the afterlife is that one is reincarnated to a different body. I can say that...
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...Unit 3 Sociology; Beliefs in Society Different theories of Ideology, Science and Religion An Ideology is a closed set of beliefs that reject other views. A Belief is a framework of ideas through which an individual makes sense of the world. They are generally connected to a religion and based on faith with no evidence needed. Science is based on evidence, factual, objective and regarded as the truth. Religion is based on faith, not truth. It is a fixed view of how the world is and claims to be the truth. Theories of ideology Marxists believe that the ideas that people hold are formed by their position in society, and ideology is seen as the ideas of particular social groups reflecting their interests. The Marxist view is associated with the view that there is a Dominant Ideology (the set of ideas and beliefs of the most powerful groups in society – ruling class). Althusser suggested the dominant ideology was spread through a series of Ideological State Apparatuses (agencies [media, religion, education etc] that spread the dominant ideology and justify the power of the dominant social class). Gramsci developed the concept Hegemony (dominance in society of the ruling class’s set of ideas over others, and acceptance of and consent to them by the rest of society). Pluralism is a view that sees power in society spread among a wide variety of interest groups and individuals, with no single one having a monopoly on power. A Pluralist Ideology is the set of ideas reflecting...
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...College of Humanities HUM/130 Version 5 Religions of the World | Copyright © 2009, 2007, 2006 by University of Phoenix. All rights reserved. Course Description This course studies the major religions of the world. Topical areas include Buddhism, Christianity, Confucianism, Hinduism, Indigenous Cultures, Islam, Judaism, and Taoism. Students will be objectively studying the origins and major figures and comparing and contrasting each of the major religions. During this course each student will visit a religious site and interview a person of an unfamiliar faith. Policies Faculty and students/learners will be held responsible for understanding and adhering to all policies contained within the following two documents: University policies: You must be logged into the student website to view this document. Instructor policies: This document is posted in the Course Materials forum. University policies are subject to change. Be sure to read the policies at the beginning of each class. Policies may be slightly different depending on the modality in which you attend class. If you have recently changed modalities, read the policies governing your current class modality. Note: All assignments (not discussions) must be submitted along with a Certificate of Originality (COO). The COO is in the Course Materials and is an Attachment to the COO post in the Main section. Course Materials Fisher, M. P. (2005). Living religions (6th ed.). New Jersey: Prentice-Hall...
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...anomie; civil religions * Marxism: religion as ideology, legitimating social inequality, disguising exploitation etc * Weber: religion as a force for social change: theodicies, the Protestant ethic * Neo-Marxism: religion used by those opposing the ruling class, liberation theology * Feminism: religious beliefs supporting patriarchy * Fundamentalist beliefs: rejecting change by reverting to supposed traditional values and practices. Religious organisations, including cults, sects, denominations, churches and New Age movements, and their relationship to religious and spiritual belief and practice * Typologies of religious organisations: churches, denominations, sects and cults, with examples of each New Religious Movements and typologies of NRMs eg world rejecting/accommodating/affirming; millenarian beliefs, with examples of each * New Age movements and spirituality, with examples * The relationship of these organisations to religious and spiritual belief and practice. The relationship between different social groups and religious/spiritual organisations and movements, beliefs and practices * Reasons why people join NRMs, NAMs and other organisations * Gender and religion: women: women’s greater participation, women in religious organisations including NRMs; men’s participation and organisational roles in religions; sexuality and religion; images of gender in religions * Ethnicity and religion: religion and ethnic...
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...was the Spanish colonization of Latin America during 1519 – 1521. The motivation behind the conquest was all for exploration, driven by god, glory, and greed. The Spaniards wanted to spread their religion, spread their nationalism, expand their power, and fulfill their desires for gold and glory. This all began when Cortez had tricked the Mexica into believing that he was Quetzalcoatl; a prophecy that stated the return of Quetzalcoatl to the Mexica people. Soon after, the Spanish invaded the Mexica on a night that is now known as “La Noche Triste”. This was the night that the Spanish took over the Mexica temple along with its people. With the conquest, the Spaniards brought along with them their culture, beliefs, and customs; this greatly affected the Indigenous people’s culture by changing their religious beliefs, language, and social class. La conquista altered Indigenous culture in the aspect of religion by converting many indigenous people to Christianity. Cortez had ordered his soldiers to destroy all of the religious symbols and writings that belonged to the indigenous people. In 1524, Franciscans were brought to Latin America in order to begin the religious conversion. These methods were sometimes forceful and executed by means of torture. These methods were called “Religion Conversion Programs” (Covarrubias & Gamboa, Lecture 10/5/15). In 1531, many Indigenous people were converting to Christianity more easily because of the encounter between Juan Diego and Tonantzin...
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...Functionalist View That Religion Benefits Both Society as a Whole and Its Individual Members (18 Marks)" Many functionalists argue that religion benefits both society as a whole as well as its individual members however other sociologists may oppose this view and claim that those who do actually benefit from religion this is at the expense of others, this in itself contradicts many of the beliefs set out in religions themselves. The consensus view as posed by functionalists presents religion in a far more positive light in comparison to that put forward by Marxists and feminists for example. As in Item A, stating that religion integrates individuals into a community by instilling into them a set of shared beliefs that gives them a feeling of belonging and common identity supporting the view that religion does benefit society as a whole. On the other hand it can be viewed that those who benefit from religion is in fact at the expense of others, as stated in Item A line 5. This contradicts the positive view towards religion and poses it in a much more negative light. From a functionalist perspective, Emile Derkheim defines religion in terms of the contribution it makes to social integration, rather than any specific belief in God or the supernatural. However this can be counter-argued in that just because an institution helps integrate individuals into groups this does not mean it is a religion. To try and come to a conclusion as to whether religion does actually benefit society...
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...“Religion today is more about believing than belonging.” Assess this view. Beliefs – religiosity, do you have to attend a place of worship to believe? Grace Davie – you can believe without attending a place of worship Religious organisations – some religious organisations are happy for people to follow without belonging - NRMs membership is increasing scientology, televangelism, NAM’s- crystal therapy, tarot card readings etc Believing: (people are believing, their practices have changed, not necessarily secular) • Decreasing church attendance – however people have private practice (David Voas) Grace Davie • Religious education • Laws are based on 10 commandments • NRM’s – people believe but don’t necessarily go for formal worship. Wallis • Rise in world faiths – their attendance stats aren’t considered • Postmodernist – religion is changing – televangelism, spiritual shopping, jesus in Disneyland, supply led religion, civil religion eg USA • Methodological evaluation of church stats – are they valid indicator of secularisation? Belonging: (secularisation is happening) • Wilson – secularisation – religious beliefs, practices and institutions are declining • Brierly • Bruce • Attendance, membership, age, women, social class • Rationalisation • Disengagement • Technological worldview – Weber • Structural differentiation – parsons • Social and cultural diversity • Religious diversity ...
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...‘Religion today helps societies to remain stable and avoid conflict.’ The role of religion in today’s society has been the subject of many arguments between sociologists from different theoretical perspectives. Functionalists believe that religion helps today’s societies to remain stable as they define religion in terms of the social and psychological functions it performs for individuals in societies. They see religion as mainly a conservative force, promoting social harmony, social integration and social solidarity through reinforcement of the value consensus. Emile Durkheim defines religion in terms of the contribution it makes to social integration, instead of a specific believe in God or the supernatural. He believes that religion provides answers to ultimate questions about life and after life, avoiding conflict by believing in what they have. Similar to Durkheim, Malinowski saw religion as reinforcing social norms and values and promoting social solidarity. However he also saw religion as an explanation for events that were hard to provide answers for. Religion fulfils a need for emotional security and relieves situations of emotional stress which threaten social stability and solidarity. Although Functionalists believe that religion today helps societies to remains stable and avoid conflict, historically religion seems to have played a far greater role in dividing people than uniting them. It is seen as the stronger the religious belief, the stronger the sense that...
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...Essay On Religion in Public Schools Everyone knows that something needs to be done about safety in public schools. Whether it’s metal detectors at the doors, or policemen in the halls, something needs to be done. I think that we could solve all of the hate and anger problems quite easily by adding a “Religion Class”. This “Religion Class” could be and extracurricular reminder of what is right and what is wrong. Not only would it unite our schools and districts, but also it would bring more peace to the classrooms. These are just a few things that bringing religion into our schools would do for us. It’s a pretty easy and simple change for all the benefits it would bring, don’t you think? First of all, this minor step wouldn’t even need to change how the schools operate. The ‘Religion Classes’, could be extracurricular. This means that the classes would be either before or after school. The teachers would need no new training because these classes could be student lead. We currently have a weekly lunchtime religion/prayer group called First Priority, but having a daily class would allow us to learn and study religion more deeply. Neither moving nor shuffling of classes would need to take place this way (Swomly P. 38). Sure, some people may not want to have these types of classes due to the differences in beliefs; however, there would be a variety of classes taught on a variety of different religions. This would be done to insure no group would be left out. Also these classes...
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