The book Anatomy of the Sacred was an interesting read. I’ve learned a lot concerning the structure of religions I’ve never acknowledged or been aware of. The author, James C.
Livingston is extremely literal in his writing. You can grasp ahold of his words and gain a whole new perspective on religion. He has a very strong view on what differentiates humans from animals and how we’ve come into being homo religious. You may ask, what does it mean to be homo religious? Homo religious is defined as humans as religious beings.
In no way have I ever been affiliated with the term homo religious, probably because I’d never been educated on religion before now. For me, religion had always been like politics because I rarely discuss either. With politics I’m neither democrat or republican, I’ve remained neutral. The same applies to religion, I feel somewhat conflicted at times so I’ve chosen to be neutral only because I agree with some aspects of religion and some points I don’t.
James Livingston really breaks religion down and shows you that there isn’t one true definition of it. For instance, there are few of my favorite examples quoted from “Anatomy of the Sacred.”
• Religion is the belief in an ever-living God, that is, in a Divine Mind and Will ruling the Universe and holding moral relations with mankind. (James Martineau)
• Religion is that which grows out of, and gives expression to, experience of the holy in its various aspects. (Rudolf Otto)
• Religion
Religion is the set of beliefs, feelings, principles and practices that define the relations between human being and sacred or
Religion is defined as A set of beliefs, values, and practices based on the teachings of a spiritual being (Mifflin). It is known that many of our behaviours are determined by the presence of religion in one's life. Religion implants its principles in a person and their attitudes, personality, morals and ethics and alters it to a great extent. This
Religion is a system of several characteristics combined together to form a dynamic, living reality. These characteristics are sacred texts and writings, ethics, rituals and ceremonies and beliefs and believers. These characteristics are established in both immanent and transcendent worldviews.
Hope, J. and van Loon, B. (1995) Buddha for Beginners, New South Wales: Allen & Unwin.
Karen Armstrong, author of “Homo Religiosus,” claimed that without the physical rituals and traditions, religion morphed into a belief. Simply put, Armstrong argued that religion requires not only blind faith but also customs and practices that affect one’s physical and mental behaviors. It is through these rituals and taboos that the religions grows and forms, and yet also changes when deemed necessary. Additionally, Armstrong constantly compares religion to different art forms. She does this to convey the message that much like art, one must focus and study religion for lengthy periods of time to be properly understood. However, this connection also suggests that art and religion can perform an analogous role to humankind when required, as they both evolve and change when a society 's infrastructure does. Throughout her essay “Homo Religiosus,” Armstrong focuses on the similar role that both art and religion play in society to discuss her claim that religion is not just a belief, but rather has to do with changes in physical and mental behaviors that in return create change in society and the religion one needs.
In my life I have never had any political enforcement or strict religious influence. My parents were very lenient when it came too political preaching. I was taught to be a caring and respectful individual. My political understanding and beliefs have been molded from my early political memories and socialization experiences. As a young adult I have always strived to become knowledgeable about political ideals mainly because I was never really taught to believe in something specific. I eventually was drawn towards many different social and political perspectives, which is how I came to a logical conclusion of how I view the world politically
place. While the book is very informative, I feel like it his information was a generality. In comparison to Ellis Knox's
Given the examples I have shown I would place myself as a moderate on the political Spectrum. my opinions supports both Republican and
Huston Smith -----The World's Religions Huston Smith first wrote this book The World’s Religions with the name The Man’s Religions in 1958. Since then the book has remained a renowned literary and religiously popular among the literary as well as the religious circles. The book provides a good source of nearly all the prominent religions of the world, gives us an understanding, and insight and the point of view of these religions. His first chapter of the book is Point of Departure. In this chapter, Huston explains his journey though various religions. Though it is just an overview of his thoughts and beliefs, it gives a premise of what lay ahead. In the fist paragraph of this chapter that reads: “Traditionally, When People Wanted Answers to life's ultimate questions -- Where are we? Why are we here? What does it all mean? What, if anything, are we supposed to do? -- they looked to their revealed texts; or to their ancestral myths if they were oral peoples (it comes to the same thing). Since the rise of modern science, however, they have turned increasingly to it for answers. This is understandable, for controlled experiments enable science to prove its theses; and with those theses it has remade the world. It is a signal feature of our century's close that we recognize that this turn to science was mistaken. Not entirely mistaken, for science (and its spin-off, technology) have their place. What was mistaken was to expect science to answer ultimate questions, for its
The meaning of religion is something that scholars, along with society at large, have attempted to define for centuries. Although the term cannot truly have one solid meaning, it is clear that religion is much more than a set of beliefs and practices. In Religion: The Basics, author Mallory Nye discusses his approach to studying religion. In arguing that culture and religion strongly influence each other, he explains that those studying religion must make people and culture their focus, as variations even within the same religions exist and must be considered. Moreover, Nye explains how religion is, essentially, a universal concept, as it takes form in an array of shapes across the globe. With Nye’s argument, I have developed new insights
Eighteen options were offered as choices for this question, excluding the categories of atheist and agnostic. The responses to each category have not been captured in the survey results, owing to certain privacy concerns. However, the percentage of none as a choice was calculated from the annual survey results. Moreover, the sample for this question excluded the Californians after 1997.
argued from various perspectives or disciplines that man is a by nature a religious being. Karl
are Christian, but there is a freedom of religion so you have the right to
In the article, The Meaning and End of Religion, by Wilfred Cantwell Smith writes about his idea of the concept of religion explaining it to be a universally valid category as it is theorized but is truly a European creation. Throughout the article Smith conveys his ideas of religion. In his piece, there are several interesting ideas and most important thoughts that he tries to communicate to the reader. In response, the reader can respond to some of the important questions posited by Smith.
There are several reasons why I have the religious affiliation that I do. My membership, unlike that of so many, has very little to do with the choices my friends and family have made. My decision was based on reason and personal experiences. While some may say that these things are both easily influenced by parents and peers, in my case I have parents of different faith and therefore have less direct influence from them.