What is Religion?

Rel 160 Fall 1997 Quiz #4 makeup 11/10/96Name:______________________

Respond to the following essay questions. Be succinct -- information is much more important than volume. This is due at the beginning of class on Wednesday, Nov. 17.

What is samsara? How does it fit into the Hindu view of the world? Do Hindus regard it positively? If so, how does one make positive use of it? If not, how does one escape from it?

Using the approach taken by either Carl Jung, Joseph Campbell, or Huston Smith, show how perennialist philosophy finds unity in the diversity of world religious traditions. What philosophical proposition underlies this way of thinking? Are there other features of the major world religions which might be embarrassing to the perennialist model?