Human religion records
Choose one of the following questions from #1 – #4
Only Sources from the Course Material used, deChant, Ellwood, Course Lectures)
1. Describe some of the problems in today’s world that seem to be involved with religion and some ways religion can help inter-group and international understanding.
2. Present the main features of hunter-gatherer religions, the worldview that lies behind them, and how that worldview is reflected in their culture and religion.
3. Explain what impact agriculture had on ancient societies, making note of the social changes caused by the rise of agriculture and how these new developments influenced “new” culture and religious expressions.
4. Summarize the main periods in the history of human religion with an understanding of the importance of the Axial Age.
5. Discuss some of the issues raised in modern day society and how religion has responded to them.
Key words and terms: For this section, reveal an understanding of at least seven of the following words and terms in your response: legitimization, disenchantment, functional, formal, substantive, Axial Age, inter-subjective, culture, society, myth, ritual, ultimate power, cosmological, transcendental, anthropological, community, neutrality, cosmological, totem, egalitarian, shaman(s), animism, pre-literate, literacy, “Patriarchal Revolution,” mana, initiations, primal, archaic, urbanization, myth, ritual, individuation, ultimate power, legitimization, literacy, urbanization, social hierarchy, ancestors/ancestral spirits.
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Choose one of the following questions from A, B, or C
No citations Answer is subjective
A. How would you describe the meaning of the word spirituality in terms if your own reflections upon human life and your own personal history?
B. What do you think is the relationship between spirituality and the fully human life?
C. What characteristics would you expect to discover if you encountered a person of profound spirituality? Are you aware of any person who represents these characteristics either personally or other awareness.