Relevant to Exam 1

Question 1

Dr. Preston’s definition of religion

Answer 1

religion is the (necessary man-made) prism through which we view and interpret the refracted light of existence and the cosmos

does not require deities but does require a cosmology, theodicy, and eschatology

religion != ideology but is experiential and organic

Question 2

4 quadrants of religion

Answer 2

2 axes
axis 1 = immanence v transcendence
axis 2 = nature v humanity

all religions can be plotted along these axes

Xtianity = transcendent/human
Quakerism = immanent/human
Daoism = transcendent AND immanent/human
animism, many modern neo-paganisms (eg Wicca), = immanent/nature

Question 3

animism

Answer 3

attribution [recognition]of a soul to non-human beings, inanimate objects, and natural phenomena

oldest and longest enduring form of human religious expression

Question 4

origin of religion in prehistory

Answer 4

humans conceived of indwelling spirit to explain their experiences when dreaming, fainting, altered consciousness, or saw others die
led to animism, totemism, ancestor veneration and thence to various conceptions of deity

Question 5

iconic

Answer 5

= loving icons (representations of deities or spirits), e.g. Hindus, Catholics, Orthodox Christians

Question 6

aniconic

Answer 6

does not use icons (Judaism, Islam, Protestants) but may employ non-representational religious symbolism (Torah in Judaism, calligraphed quotes from Qu’ran in Islam)

Question 7

iconoclastic

Answer 7

prohibition against the use icons (Islam)

Question 8

masks

Answer 8

hide/reveal, dual/multivalent, trance induction, vehicles of transcendence and transformation, metaphor - means of opening out or closing in, can be so indelibly worn that they can’t be taken off

Question 9

horse trance (Jaranan) in Java

Answer 9

trance as altered form of consciousness
spirit possession, trance inductions - in Horse trance it’s the entire container of
the ritual process and long history of cultural fluency
horse trance (Javanese) man tranced out for 3 hours, shaman helps return to normal consciousness
reenact conversion to Islam
islamic magician casts a spell convincing horse-lounted warriors that they were horses, performed acts of self-destruction
dance as trance induction
pawan = shaman
blessing invokes ancestors and tutelary spirits of field
trembling indicates onset of trance
body collapses when mind goes to blank space rather than trance
blowing in ears by pawan induces trance in horse dancer
trance dancers eat non-normal foods (stalks of raw grain, rose petals)
immunity to pain (via whipping)
seemingly irrational/impossible acts during trance
ripping open coconut w/teeth, dancing on fire (protected by faith and powers of pawan), rolls on broken glass bottles and not cut

Question 10

numinal v phenomenal worlds

Answer 10

the numinal world is that of the spirits and mysteries, the unseen and invisibles, the unknown and other, the untouchable

the phenomenal world is that of the everyday, the seen, the known, the familiar and material

Question 11

Rudolf Otto’s mysterium tremendum et fascinans

Answer 11

the experience that, in his view, underlies all religion. He calls this experience “numinous,” and says it has three components. These are often designated with a Latin phrase: mysterium tremendum et fascinans. As mysterium, the numinous is “wholly other”– entirely different from anything we experience in ordinary life. It evokes a reaction of silence. But the numinous is also a mysterium tremendum. It provokes terror because it presents itself as overwhelming power. Finally, the numinous presents itself as fascinans, as merciful and gracious.

“Mysterium tremendum et fascinans” (fearful and fascinating mystery):

"Mysterium": Wholly Other, experienced with blank wonder, stupor

"tremendum":
    awefulness, terror, demonic dread, awe, absolute unapproachability, "wrath" of God
    overpoweringness, majesty, might, sense of one's own nothingness in contrast to its power
    creature-feeling, sense of objective presence, dependence
    energy, urgency, will, vitality 

"fascinans": potent charm, attractiveness in spite of fear, terror, etc.

Question 12

religious impulse

Answer 12

understanding, entering and dissolving (the barrier between consciousness and) otherness

Question 13

Mt Athos and Greek Orthodoxy

Answer 13

the “Agion Oros” or Holy Mountain
“Garden of the Virgin”
According to the athonite tradition, the Blessed Virgin Mary was sailing accompanied by St John the Evangelist from Joppa to Cyprus to visit Lazarus. When the ship was blown off course to then pagan Athos it was forced to anchor near the port of Klement, close to the present monastery of Iviron. The Virgin walked ashore and, overwhelmed by the wonderful and wild natural beauty of the mountain, she blessed it and asked her Son for it to be her garden. A voice was heard saying “Ἔστω ὁ τόπος οὖτος κλῆρος σὸς καὶ περιβόλαιον σὸν καὶ παράδεισος, ἔτι δὲ καὶ λιμὴν σωτήριος τῶν θελόντων σωθῆναι” (Translation: “Let this place be your inheritance and your garden, a paradise and a haven of salvation for those seeking to be saved”). From that moment the mountain was consecrated as the garden of the Mother of God and was out of bounds to all other women.
certainsure monastic presence since 4th cent, poss 3rd
eastern orthodox (greek)
greek monastic community (exclusively male, no girlies for the last 1000 years)
uninterrupted prayer for over 1000 years
byzantine cross marks border between the world and the sacred mountain
simonuspetrus
tap on piece of chestnut to call monks to prayer because there were no bells when the monastery was founded
unique because of the way of life, 1000 liturgies said every day on mt athos
ora et lectora
silent but for prayer
monks are as self-sufficient as possible
orthodoxy seen by orthodox as closest possible thing to original ancient church
simonuspetrus = St Simon’s rock
monastics do not go to the funerals of their family and friends
isolate oneself from the world and let go of one’s former life, live in a state of unceasing prayer
constant recitation of the Jesus prayer “Lord Jesus, have mercy on me, a sinner” but the quote left off the “a sinner” bit
trial period can last up to 3 years
8 hour church service daily celebrating the Divine Liturgy
lovely eleisons
monks on mt athos keep byzantine time
day starts at sunset

Byzantine time is an old method of keeping time that is now mostly extinct. Hour 0:00:00 begins daily at sunset. Due to seasonal variations in the length of a day, hour zero can vary by several hours throughout the year. It is now used in only one place: the Eastern Orthodox monasteries on Mount Athos in Greece.[1] The Byzantine calendar is a related method of keeping dates.

“not a retreat but an arena of unseen warfare against the Adversary and the dark side”
“authentic life of Christ = a life of salvation”
7 hour vigil honoring Michael and Gabriel in their role defending heaving and leading god’s host”
relic = scrap of fabric belonging to the BVM
women excluded because Christ gave the peninsula to his mom and no other women are allowed in order to exclusively honor Maryam
andalsotoo? women are hottie sexkittens and monks find their soft fur distracting
icons = devotional objects, not art, part of the living liturgy of the church
invited Hitler to be personal protector of the holy mountain in order to preserve its integrity
not a single thing was taken by the Nazis
favropeti?
awesome 4 key lock, 3 ext, 1 huge internal
total union with Christ in only possible when one leaves this world
“the first thing a monk does is embrace and love death - we learn to embrace death and look joyfully to our entrance to heaven”

Question 14

numinal and phenomenal dimensions of religious experience

Answer 14

numinal world
strongly experienced via dream, hallucination, vision, etc
“river of existence”
phenomenal world
strongly experienced in meatspace
mysterium tremendum (overwhelming mystery)
et fascinans (and fascinating, attractive, compelling)
holy: non-rational
mystics experience the phenomenal world breaking open and the numinal world flowing forth
pure numinousity = madness
pure phenomenality = death
beauty and meaning is found in the intersection/play between the two (yay more crossroads!)

Question 15

akitu ritual

Answer 15

Babylonian New Year (Nisan - mid-March)

seasonal ritual to secure seasonal flow and ongoing well-being of community

historical context is that of reminding foreign king to rule wisely and well or he gonna get smote

ritual drama of Marduk v Tiamat

1. mortification
   beg Marduk for pity on d city, kng symbolically slain and Marduk “bound”
2. purgation (purification)
   rites of atonement, temple cleansed with water, incense, and scapegoat, king slapped and divested of insignia of rank
3. invigoration
   carnival of social reversal, criminal “enthroned”, ritual drama combat between Marduk and Tiamat
4. jubilation
   drama enacting Marduk’s victory, king’s triumphal procession, feast for king, priests and gods, ritual sacred marriage of king and temple slave (hetaera?), followed by more feasting and jubilation

Question 16

Hopi film

Answer 16

used as comprehensive overall view of religion as manifested in total integration of religion and culture, all encompassing, universalized
maize-based

hopi songs of the fourth world

can’t extract religion from culture

homology = parallel between 2 phemomenon

homology between woman’s body and corn stalk (corn maiden?)

master symbols = hopi = corn & katchinas (spirits of the dead that reutrn as rain)

corn, rain, and fertility (also weaving?)

organic hopi lifeway threatened by colonialism, economic pressure, “progress”, yearning for tech & modernity

homology - likeness in structure between different parts of a system (one of these things is JUST like the others!)
e.g. in Hopi culture/religion, all of the religious ideas reflected in woman’s body and cultural processes

pausumi = word that means both seed corn and nubile young woman

matrilineal

Question 17

Gaster’s 4-part pattern of seasonal rituals (based on akitu)

Answer 17

1. mortification
2. purgation (purification)
3. invigoration
4. jubilation

EG in Mass: mortification = confession,
purgation = begins w/scripture reading, just as Akitu
invigoration = eucharist
jubilation = benediction

Question 18

van Gennep’s 3 phases of Rites of Passage

Answer 18

1. separation
2. transition
3. incorporation (integration)

Question 19

Lincoln’s 3 phases of FEMALE rites of passage

Answer 19

1. enclosure
2. metamorphosis or magnification of personal powah
3. emergence

Question 20

typology of rituals

Answer 20

technological
  produce/prevent change in nature
anti/therapeutic 
ideological
  produce/prevent change in humans
salvation
revitalization
  esp of cultures/trads deemed endangered
mine = propitiation, devotion, seasonal, communion, commemoration, sacrifice, thanksgiving, etc

Question 21

5 theories of sacrifice

Answer 21

1. exchange and thanksgiving
2. substitution
3. channel and disguise violence
4. reenact primal events
5. communication between humans & myste

Question 22

different views of sacred powah

Answer 22

1. animism, totems, ancestors
2. god/desses
3. monotheism and deism
4. dualism divine
   polarized into good v evil
5. pantheism, panentheism, and monism