What is Religion?

Study Guide for Quiz #1

Fall 1997

Tremmel: Ch. 1 : A Definition
Michener: through "The Bee Eater"

Definition(s) of religion

Inclusivity / Exclusivity
G/god(s)
atheist / theist / agnostic
Functional vs. descriptive
Marx
method orientation
theological bias
Personal/experiential vs. social/cultural
beliefs vs. rituals
orthodoxy vs. orthopraxis
civil religion

The Study of Religion

'Scientific' study of religion
history of
approaches to
Religious Studies vs. Theology (=Tremmel's 'kerygmatic'
'Phenomenistic' study
Critical distance vs. imaginative sympathy

Sacrality and Transformation

Morning Glory and Otter
Presence of concept of sacred
definition of the sacred
Process of transformation
personal, cultural, ultimate
Meaning and reality
The search for meaning

extranormal experience

NDEs, ghosts, etc.
ghost belief as religion Elizabeth Kubler-Ross
Ockham's razor
(vs. parsimony)
accounts vs. folklore
experience vs. interpretation