Comparative Religions Flashcards
Religion began on a very __________ and childlike level from which it evolved to greater and greater levels of _______
Primitive, complexity
A religion is a system of __________ and _________ that by means of its __________ directs a person toward __________ and, thus, provides __________ and coherence to a persons life
Beliefs, practices, cultures, transcendence, meaning
What is Mana
Is described as a basic feeling
Animism
Recognizes many forces, which are pictured as personal beings with distinct identities and even names
Polytheism
Recognize many gods, which are vastly superior to spirits
Henotheism
The stage where people recognize many different gods as real, but worship only one
Monotheism
The notion that there is only one God
The biggest problem with the evolutionary model of religion is that the kind of development it describes has never been ________
Observed
Virtually every religious culture carries a _______ of monotheism
Fragment
As monotheism was left behind, _______ and ________ increased
Rituals, magic
Once monotheism is abandoned, change usually __________ to occur
Continues
Religions, like living ____________, are born into history, grow and mature into living traditions, and often affect the lives of hundreds of millions of followers
Organisms
Religions seldom remain ________. They tend to change their forms and characteristics over time, space, and history.
Static
Some religions give birth to ________ movements from within.
Reformed
Other religions are formed by _________ certain features of several religions
Combining
