9780131835641

For one-semester, undergraduate courses in Introduction to Religion and Comparative Religion, and more advanced courses dealing with issues in the theoretical study of religion. This comprehensive introduction to the nature and variety of religious phenomena, belief, and practice: 1) explores the issues in the study of religion, 2) examines the universal forms of religious experience, 3) offers a cross-cultural study of a broad range of classic types of religious belief and practice in terms of the seven basic concepts of a religious world view, and 4) surveys the challenges faced by religions today.

Preface

xiii

Part I The Study of Religion

1 What Is Religion? How Is It Studied?

3

(34)

Overview

3

(1)

Defining Religion

4

(7)

Why Are Humans Religious?

11

(1)

Why Study Religion?

12

(3)

The Perspective of the Student-Commitment and Objectivity

15

(4)

The Ways Religion Is Studied

19

(8)

Historiography

21

(1)

Anthropology

21

(2)

Sociology

23

(1)

Philosophy

24

(2)

Phenomenology

26

(1)

Interpreting and Explaining Religion

27

(4)

Notes

31

(1)

Key Words

32

(1)

Review Questions

32

(1)

Suggestions for Further Reading

33

(4)

Part II Universal Forms of Religious Experience and Expression

37

(126)

2 The Sacred and the Holy

39

(19)

Overview

39

(1)

The Concept of Sacred Power

40

(1)

The Ambivalence of Sacred Power

40

(2)

The Holy as Mysterium Tremendum and Fascinans

42

(4)

Sacred Space and Sacred Time

46

(8)

The Buddhist Stupa and Pagoda as Sacred Space

48

(3)

Mount Zion as Sacred Space

51

(3)

Religion as Ultimate Concern

54

(1)

Notes

55

(1)

Key Words

56

(1)

Review Questions

56

(1)

Suggestions for Further Reading

57

(1)

3 Sacred Symbol, Myth, and Doctrine

58

(22)

Overview

58

(1)

Symbolic Communication

59

(1)

Religious Symbols

60

(4)

Metaphor, Parable, and Story

64

(4)

Religious Myth

68

(6)

Functionalist Theory of Myth

70

(1)

A Psychotherapeutic Theory of Myth

71

(2)

A Phenomenological Interpretation

73

(1)

Models and Doctrines

74

(3)

Notes

77

(1)

Key Words

78

(1)

Review Questions

78

(1)

Suggestions for Further Reading

79

(1)

4 Sacred Ritual

80

(24)

Overview

80

(1)

Ritual Action

81

(3)

Types of Sacred Ritual

84

(11)

Life-Cycle Rites

85

(6)

Life-Crisis Rites: A Healing Ritual

91

(1)

Calendar or Seasonal Rituals

92

(3)

Ritual and Sacrifice

95

(4)

Rituals as Sacraments

99

(2)

Notes

101

(1)

Key Words

102

(1)

Review Questions

102

(1)

Suggestions for Further Reading

102

(2)

5 Sacred Scripture

104

(31)

Overview

104

(1)

The Pervasive Role of Sacred Scripture

105

(3)

Using the Term Scripture

108

(1)

Some Distinctive Features of Sacred Scripture

109

(3)

The Authority and Canonicity of Scripture

112

(4)

The Reception and Uses of Scripture

116

(5)

The Interpretation of Scripture

121

(11)

Buddhist Interpretation

122

(5)

Christian Biblical Interpretation

127

(5)

Notes

132

(1)

Key Words

133

(1)

Review Questions

133

(1)

Suggestions for Further Reading

134

(1)

6 Society and the Sacred: The Social Formations and Transformations of Religion

135

(28)

Overview

135

(1)

The Reciprocal Relationship Between Religion and Society

136

(1)

Types of Religious Communities

137

(3)

Natural Religious Communities

138

(2)

Voluntary Religious Communities

140

(3)

Founded Religions

141

(2)

Protest and Change in Voluntary Religious Communities

143

(4)

Reform from within the Church

144

(2)

Separation from the Church-Type Community

146

(1)

The Sect

147

(2)

The Cult: New Religious Movements

149

(10)

The New Age: Toward Self Discovery

151

(5)

The Unification Church-the "Moonies"

156

(3)

Notes

159

(1)

Key Words

160

(1)

Review Questions

160

(1)

Suggestions for Further Reading

161

(2)

Part III Universal Components of a Religious Worldview

163

(190)

7 Deity: Concepts of the Divine and Ultimate Reality

165

(31)

Overview

165

(1)

Polytheism and the Worship of Nature

166

(9)

Sky Gods

168

(1)

Mother Goddesses

169

(6)

Dualism

175

(4)

Chinese Yin-Yang

175

(1)

Dualism of Cosmic Struggle

176

(3)

Pantheism and Monism

179

(4)

Monotheism

183

(9)

Notes

192

(1)

Key Words

192

(1)

Review Questions

193

(1)

Suggestions for Further Reading

193

(3)

8 Cosmogony: Origins of the Natural and Social Order

196

(27)

Overview

196

(1)

The Practical Basis of Cosmogony

197

(2)

Emergence or Procreation from a Primal Substance or Being

199

(1)

The Sexual Union of a Primal Male and Female

200

(2)

Creation by Conflict and the Ordering of Chaos

202

(5)

Creation by a Divine Craftsman

207

(2)

Creation by Decree or from Nothing

209

(4)

The Rejection of Cosmogonic Speculation

213

(2)

Cosmogony Today

215

(5)

The Anthropic Principle

217

(3)

Notes

220

(1)

Key Words

221

(1)

Review Questions

221

(1)

Suggestions for Further Reading

222

(1)

9 Anthropology: The Human Problem

223

(24)

Overview

223

(1)

Modern Views of Our Human Plight

224

(2)

Stoicism

226

(3)

Christianity

229

(5)

Theravada Buddhism

234

(4)

Confucianism

238

(5)

Notes

243

(1)

Key Words

244

(1)

Review Questions

245

(1)

Suggestions for Further Reading

245

(2)

10 Theodicy: Encountering Evil

247

(26)

Overview

247

(2)

The Persistent Demand for Theodicy

249

(1)

Theodicy of "Mystical Participation"

250

(1)

A Future, This-Worldly Theodicy

251

(4)

Other-Worldly Theodicy

255

(2)

Dualism

257

(1)

The Karma-Samsara Theodicy

258

(2)

Monotheistic Theodicies

260

(10)

Suffering as Recompense for Sin

261

(1)

Suffering as a Test and as a Necessary Condition of "Soul-Making"

262

(3)

A Theodicy of Submission: The Mystery of God's Sovereignty

265

(3)

Process Theodicy

268

(1)

A Theodicy of Protest

269

(1)

Notes

270

(1)

Key Words

271

(1)

Review Questions

271

(1)

Suggestions for Further Reading

272

(1)

11 Ethics: Patterns of Moral Action

273

(28)

Overview

273

(1)

Virtues and Obligations

274

(2)

The Sources and Norms of Moral Authority

276

(21)

Cosmic or Natural Law

276

(6)

Charismatic Leaders

282

(6)

An Ethics of Divine Command

288

(9)

Notes

297

(1)

Key Words

298

(1)

Review Questions

299

(1)

Suggestions for Further Reading

299

(2)

12 Soteriology: Ways and Goals of Salvation and Liberation

301

(52)

Ways of Salvation and Liberation

301

(1)

The Way of Grace through Faith

302

(6)

Martin Luther

303

(3)

Amida Buddhism-Shinran

306

(2)

The Way of Devotion

308

(3)

The Way of Action and Obligation

311

(9)

Hinduism

312

(2)

Islam

314

(4)

Judaism

318

(2)

The Way of Meditation and Insight

320

(5)

The Yoga Techniques of Patanjali

321

(2)

Theravada Buddhism

323

(2)

Goals of Salvation and Liberation

325

(1)

Psychic Wholeness and a Healthy Social Order

326

(8)

A Messianic, or Utopian, Age

330

(1)

Ancient Israel's Messianic Hope

330

(4)

Resurrection, Immortality, and Eternal Life

334

(8)

Immortality in Ancient Egypt and Greece

336

(2)

Postbiblical Judaism and Christianity

338

(4)

Samadhi and Nirvana

342

(6)

Hindu Samadhi

343

(3)

Buddhist Nirvana 344 Notes

346

(2)

Key Words

348

(1)

Review Questions

349

(1)

Suggestions for Further Reading

350

(3)

Part IV The Sacred and the Secular in Modernity

353

(38)

13 The Sacred and the Secular in Modernity

355

(36)

Overview

355

(1)

Secularization and Pluralism

356

(2)

The Reactions of Religious Fundamentalisms Today

358

(1)

The Characteristics of Contemporary Religious Fundamentalism

359

(17)

American Protestant Fundamentalism

360

(5)

Contemporary Islamic Fundamentalism

365

(11)

The Role of Women in Modern Christianity

376

(4)

The Role of Women in Islam

380

(4)

Notes

384

(2)

Key Words

386

(1)

Review Questions

386

(1)

Suggestions for Further Reading

387

(4)

Glossary

391

(12)

Index

403

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Anatomy of the Sacredis a comprehensive introduction to the nature and variety of religious belief and practice. Designed primarily for those who have not had a previous course in religion, it provides the student with an understanding of what religion is, of the universal forms of religious experience, and of the basic concepts that make up a religious worldview. By employing a comparative analysis across a rich range of ancient and modern religious traditions, this introduction allows students to see the ways in which certain classic forms of religious life appear in different societies over time, as well as to recognize the incredible diversity of human religious expression and belief. The book is divided into four parts. Part I is concerned with such questions as the problem of defining religion, why it is important to study religion, and how one goes about the task, including the several disciplines or methods used in the study of religion. Each method is illustrated with specific examples from the work of eminent scholars in the field. Part II is an introduction to the universal forms of religious experience and expression and includes discussions of the sacred and holy; religious symbolism, myth, and doctrine; sacred ritual; sacred scripture; and the social dimensions of religion. Part III, which constitutes more than half of the book, consists of a comparative analysis of seven concepts, each one representing a fundamental structure or component of a religious worldview. A religious worldview is holistic, that is, it sees nature, human life, and the divine as interrelated and as forming a comprehensive vision of the world. A religion, therefore, includes a conception of sacred power and of an exemplary natural and social order. It offers an analysis of the breakdown or corruption of that order and of the human problem, but it also provides an answer to the ever-present threat of evil and chaos. Finally, a religious worldview affords an ethical pattern of action, a way of achieving liberation or enlightenment, and an ideal vision of the goal or end of human life. Part III thus includes analyses of such concepts as deity, cosmogony, the human problem, theodicy, ethics, the ways to salvation or liberation, and the end or goal of salvation. Again, each theme is illustrated by examples drawn from a wide variety of religious belief and behavior, ranging from primal and archaic cultures through the religions of the present. Part IV addresses the question, What impact has Modernity, that is, the immense changes that have occurred in our social, political, legal, and economic institutions, as well as the wider access to education, the influence of science, technology, and mass communications, had on religious life and institutions today? It then examines the secularization thesis and raises questions about its validity. Finally, it explores contemporary religious Fundamentalism and the changing roles of women in religion and society as two different responses to these modern challenges facing religion today and in the future. In preparing a new edition of this book I am especially aware of my debt to those teachers who were asked to evaluate the fourth edition and who offered excellent advice. I am, of course, also in the debt of many scholars whose highly specialized studies I was required to consult in updating substantive discussions in the text as well as the notes and suggestions for further reading. The important additions and revisions incorporated in this edition include an entirely new chapter on the response of religion to modernity; an extensive new discussion of the changing roles of women in religion; a new, substantive discussion of New Age religious movements and their significance; more illustrative material from contemporary religious life (e.g., an extended discussion of science and religion), and an extensive updating of the review questions and the s

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Anatomy of the Sacred : An Introduction to Religion

Anatomy of the Sacred : An Introduction to Religion

0131835645

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