Studying the World’s Religions

Chapter 1

The study of religion begins in mystery

Religious experience comes out of questions

That humans experience in the face of reality

Human beings ask questions, and by our very nature,

They are religious questions.

Humans are beings with Physical, rational,

emotional capacities – but we are not merely the sum of these.

Human nature has the capacity for reflection, for conscience, for love, and for the capacity to be aware of the meaning of life and events

This is the spiritual nature of human beings

Not everyone chooses to ask these questions or to seek answers

But all of human history and tradition testifies to this deeper quality of human experience.

In every culture and religion – there is an awareness of the spiritual.

5 fundamental questions

1) What is the nature of human experience?

Are we merely physical organisms?

Do we have a soul?

Why do we suffer?

Why do we do evil to one another?

2) What does spiritual perfection mean?

Almost every religion offers the possibility of spiritual fulfillment – either in this life or the next.

Religions offer ways to approach spiritual maturity

A) Ethics – how do we live in this life?

Religions require living a just life as the basic step towards spiritual perfection

B) How do we transcend the human experience?

How do we overcome the normal limits and weaknesses of our humanity? Religions tend to insist on a brutal facing of reality which in itself allows a human being to transcend the human condition by accepting its frailties. (examples – Buddha – “Life is suffering” Christ “Carry your cross”)

C) Salvation - Spiritual maturity comes to fruition with the transcendence of the final limitation of human experience: death.

3) What is our destiny?Most religions (but not all)

answer the question of human destiny: Where are we going?

Some offer the opportunity of paradise vs condemnation.

For some it is more complex and human beings must live more than one life before the cycle of birth and death can end.

4) What is the nature of the world?

Where did the world come from?

What is the nature of our world?

This is the question of cosmology – an understanding of the nature of the universe.

Is the universe created?

Is it a benign place, or is it merely left to chance by cold, neutral forces of chemistry and physics?

All religions give some answer to the nature of the physical world.

5) What is ultimate reality, and how is it revealed?

For religions in the West – this question is about the nature of God?

Who is God? Is there one God (monotheism), or are there many gods (polytheism)?

Or does the divine nature exist in all things (pantheism)?

Some religions are nontheistic:

A concept of a god is not important for them.

Most religions teach that the ultimate reality is revealed

To human beings. This revelation usually takes place through the sacred stories and myths of the religion.

It is helpful to attempt to create a common language for

understanding different religions.

However, as in any translation,

We can never be exact and must make room for some generalities and inconsistencies.

Religions of the West, drawing heavily on Greek and Jewish concepts of God, will be very different from Eastern traditions such as Buddhism and Hinduism.

All religions in general have the same seven dimensions of religious faith.

1) Experiential

There is a revelation of some sort – normally to an individual - that brings the religion into experience

This is the “faith experience” of the individual receiving the experience

Moses and burning bush

Buddha attaining enlightenment under the Bodhi Tree

Jesus after his baptism

This experience can be one of:

A) Experiencing God as a profound “other”

B) Experiencing inner union with divine reality – mysticism

2) Mythic (Sacred Story)

“Religion is not primarily a matter of facts; it is a matter of meanings”

– Huston Smith

Religion is not trying to give factual answers to questions, but is trying to address the meaning of life’s joys and sufferings, so as to allow human beings to touch and encounter true life, eternal life, or enlightenment.

Religion uses mythic language

To understand our concrete reality.

“Myth is not factual, but it is always true.”

- Richard Rohr

Myth is often contained in the sacred stories of the religion.

The Bible

The Torah

The Koran

The Vedas

Myth lays out explanations for:

The way things came to be

The nature of the universe

The nature of human beings

3) Doctrinal

Doctrine is about what people believe.

It tries to make sense and order out of the experiences and mythology of the religion.

It is contained in creeds, doctrines, etc.

Apostles Creed

Four Noble Truths

4) Ethical

Religious faiths devote much time to ethics:How are we to live our lives?

Examples:BeatitudesKosher laws

5) Ritual

Religion is to be experienced… if there is not sight and sound it loses its credibility

Religion is often practiced in ritual

Ritual is a formal practice, very intentional in its aspects, which symbolizes, reenacts, and sometimes embodies the religious mythology and beliefs.

Sunday servicesGoing to Mecca once in a life timeMeditation

6) Social

Religion tends to be social in organization.

It creates a sense of community among the people, and also normally manifests itself in some form of leadership and hierarchy.

Religion is also an empowering force for people,

And often provides many services to the community

7) Material

Religion has always inspired sacred architecture, art, and music, as well as many other items that remind one of the religion.

Sacred Place

Whether human made or natural, religions are often associated with sacred places

Some challenges

1) Why so many?If there is one truth, one ultimate reality – is it not, by definition,

the same for everyone?

If this is so, can there be more than one true religion?

Are they saying basically the same thing, just in different ways?

Is what religion you choose simply your own personal choice?

It can often seem that there is no real answer to these questions – or not one that all people can agree on!

“The final reason for understanding another is intrinsic – to enjoy the wider angle the vision affords.

Without two eyes – binocular vision – there is no awareness of space’s third dimension. Until sight converges from more than one angle, the world looks flat as a postcard… the final reward is the deepened view of the world itself – the panoramas that unroll before us…” Huston Smith

We will approach religions in two ways:

1) Comparative methodology – as we study the many, we can become clearer about what an individual religion means.

2) We approach them from a place of empathy – the capacity to see things from another’s perspective.

“What a strange fellowship this is, the God-seekers in every land, lifting their voices in the most disparate ways imaginable to the God of all life. How does it sound from above? Like bedlam, or do the strains blend in strange, ethereal harmony? Does one faith carry the lead, or do the parts share in counterpoint and antiphony where not in full-throated chorus?”

“We cannot know. All we can do is try to listen carefully and with full attention to each voice in turn as it addresses the divine.”