Religion

Religion

Origins & cultural practice

Explaining the world

World and human origins

• Humans naturally want to know "why"
• Why are we here?
  • religions and founding myths usually intersect
• What is our purpose?
  • religions

Purpose of life

• a primary function of religion is to order daily life
• religion may guide
  • social structures
  • political structures
  • class, profession, and other hierarchies
    • note that the word "hierarchy" originally means "rank in the sacred order" (see heirarchy word origin (etymonline)

Reflect or reinforce social structures

• religious belief provides authenticity and legitimacy to political, social and cultural systems or structures
• ex.:
  • across human history, hereditary rule (especially monarchy) is the most stable political system
    • because the "first born" of the ruler is selected by God/gods
      • therefore the first born is legitimized by belief in that God/gods

Mitigating Uncertainty

Ritual

• burial
• sacrifice
  • purpose
  • types of sacrifice
    • animal sacrifice
    • human sacrifice

Superstition

• 13 and Friday the 13th superstitions
  • many ancient counting systems, especially Babylonian, were 12-base
    • therefore 13 marked a bad number
  • in Christianity, Judas was considered the 13th disciple at the Last Supper
    • since he betrayed Jesus, 13 is associated with him
    • it is likely that the prejudice against pre-existed the story of the Last Supper and Judas
• see:
  • [Friday the 13th (History.com)]

Prehistoric

• animism
• polytheism

Paleolithic

• conceptual thought
• spirituality
• examples
  • cave paintings
  • pictograms
  • figurines
    • Venus figurine
    • lion man
    • totemism

Neolithic

• examples
  • ritual burial
  • megaliths

Ancestor Worship

• Neolithic origins *

Organized Religions

• listed in approximate chronological order of development

Abrahamic religions

Judaism

• • Old Testament

Christianity

• • New Testament

Worldwide religiosity

Pew Research 2018 worldwide survey

• from Research: 3. HOW RELIGIOUS COMMITMENT VARIES BY COUNTRY AMONG PEOPLE OF ALL AGES

• World Religions
• Social Justice
• Ethics & Morality

Teaching religion

• Religion Pedagogy & Teaching Strategies
• Example of religious teaching: Catholic Catechism (rejoiceinmary.org)