Studies of Religion 1 Unit Notes Essay Example
RELIGION STUDY NOTES
Nature of Religion
Nature of Religion
* Supernatural Dimension: Beyond the natural, measurable world. It acknowledges the existence of a deeper reality beyond surface appearances. * Transcendent: A spiritual presence that is not confined by time or space. Exists in a realm outside human understanding. * Immanent: Presence of a spiritual being within the individual and in every aspect of one’s life. * Characteristics: Beliefs and believers Sacred texts/ writings Ethics Rituals/ ceremonies * Contribution: * Individual- find true meaning/ place in life, discover fulfilment of life, source of hope/comfort, explain key questions e.g. suffering and evil, provides an ethical system * Society- sense of community and belonging from joint purpose, creation of relationships
Aboriginal Spirituality
* Nature of the Dreaming * Background: * The Dreaming is the essence of Aboriginal spirituality. It encompasses the spiritual and physical reality, establishes a code of morals and rules, incorporates the spirit ancestors and their creative activity in forming the world, and is the continuing and sacred relationship with the land. * The Dreaming does not exist in the world of ordinary space and time; instead, it completely surrounds, contains and sustains the physical world, it is not the past, present or future, but transcends time. * The Dreaming integrates all these aspects into one idea; however, it is not vague or surreal as the name may suggest, it is a reality. * Origins: * Before time, the land was believed to be featureless, a mass of matter like a bare plain. It was then that the Dreaming began; the spirit ancestors rose from their eternal sleep and assumed a variety of forms, both human and creature. * It was these spirit ancestors who created the earth through an intense burst of creative action. They shaped the physical
Nature of Religion
Nature of Religion
* Supernatural Dimension: Beyond the natural, measurable world. It acknowledges the existence of a deeper reality beyond surface appearances. * Transcendent: A spiritual presence that is not confined by time or space. Exists in a realm outside human understanding. * Immanent: Presence of a spiritual being within the individual and in every aspect of one’s life. * Characteristics: Beliefs and believers Sacred texts/ writings Ethics Rituals/ ceremonies * Contribution: * Individual- find true meaning/ place in life, discover fulfilment of life, source of hope/comfort, explain key questions e.g. suffering and evil, provides an ethical system * Society- sense of community and belonging from joint purpose, creation of relationships
Aboriginal Spirituality
* Nature of the Dreaming * Background: * The Dreaming is the essence of Aboriginal spirituality. It encompasses the spiritual and physical reality, establishes a code of morals and rules, incorporates the spirit ancestors and their creative activity in forming the world, and is the continuing and sacred relationship with the land. * The Dreaming does not exist in the world of ordinary space and time; instead, it completely surrounds, contains and sustains the physical world, it is not the past, present or future, but transcends time. * The Dreaming integrates all these aspects into one idea; however, it is not vague or surreal as the name may suggest, it is a reality. * Origins: * Before time, the land was believed to be featureless, a mass of matter like a bare plain. It was then that the Dreaming began; the spirit ancestors rose from their eternal sleep and assumed a variety of forms, both human and creature. * It was these spirit ancestors who created the earth through an intense burst of creative action. They shaped the physical