Chapter 1 Definitions

Question 1

Atheism

Answer 1

Perspective that denies the existence of a God or gods.

Question 2

Cosmology

Answer 2

Understanding the nature of the world that typically explains its origin and how it’s ordered.

Question 3

Empathy

Answer 3

The capacity for seeing things from another’s perspective, and an important methodlogical approach for studying religion.

Question 4

Globalization

Answer 4

The linking and intermixing of cultures; any process that moves a society towards an internalization of religious discourse.

Question 5

Henotheism

Answer 5

The belief that acknowledges a plurality of gods but elevates one of them to special status.

Question 6

Modernization

Answer 6

The general process through which societies transform economically, socially, and culturally to become more industrial, urban, and secular; any transformation of societies and cultures that leads to the abandonment of traditional religious values.

Question 7

Monism

Answer 7

The belief that all reality is ultimately one.

Question 8

Monotheism

Answer 8

The belief in only one God

Question 9

Multiculturalism

Answer 9

The coexistence of different peoples and their cultural ways in one place at one time.

Question 10

Mysterium Tremendum and Fascinans

Answer 10

The contrasting feelings of awe-inspiring mystery and overwhelming attraction that, according to Rudolf Otto, characterize the numinous experience.

Question 11

Mystical Experience

Answer 11

A general category of religious experience characterized in various ways, for example, as the union with the divine through inward contemplation or as the dissolution of the sense of individual selfhood.

Question 12

Myth

Answer 12

A story or narrative, originally conveyed orally, that sets forth basic truths of a religious tradition and that often involves events of primordial time that describe the origins of things

Question 13

Nontheistic

Answer 13

Term denoting a religion that does not maintain a belief in a God or gods.

Question 14

Numinous Experience

Answer 14

Rudolf Otto’s term for descriing an encounter with the divine; it is characterized by the two forces Mysterium Tremendum and Fascinans.

Question 15

Pantheism

Answer 15

The belief that the divine reality is identical to nature or the material world

Question 16

Polytheism

Answer 16

The belief in many gods

Question 17

Revealed Ethics

Answer 17

Truth regarding right behavior believed to be divinely established and intentionally made known to human beings

Question 18

Revelation

Answer 18

The expression of the divine will, commonly recorded in sacred texts.

Question 19

Ritual

Answer 19

Formal worship practice

Question 20

Secularization

Answer 20

The general turning away from traditional religious authority and institutions; any tendency in modern society that devalues religious worldviews or seeks to substitute scientific theories for religious beliefs.

Question 21

Theistic

Answer 21

Term denoting a religion that maintain a belief in a God or gods

Question 22

Transtheistic

Answer 22

Term denoting a theological perspective that acknowledges the existence of gods while denying that the gods are vital with regard to the most crucial religious issues, such as the quest for salvation.

Question 23

Urbanalization

Answer 23

The shift of population centers from rural agricultural areas to cities

Question 24

7 Dimensions of Religion

Answer 24

1. Doctrine
2. Mythic
3. Ethical
4. Experiential
5. Social
6. Material
7. Ritual

Question 25

Lincoln's 4 Aspects of Religion

Answer 25

1. Discourse 2. Practice 3. Community 4. Institution