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WHAT IS RELIGION
a system of beliefs and worship which recognises and relates to a deity or deities or
powers beyond the human. one way humans have of ordering, celebrating and understanding life. human activity characterised by a relation to divine objects / beings. a strong belief in a supernatural power or powers that control human destiny. a framework of beliefs relating to supernatural or superhuman beings or forces that transcend the everyday material world.
the belief in the existence of a superhuman controlling power, usually expressed in worship. the quest for values of the ideal life, involving three phases; the ideal, the practices for attaining the values of the ideal and the theology or worldview relating the quest to the universe. the human sense of and search for the Other (God?) which provides a meaning of existence. a set of attitudes, beliefs and practices pertaining to supernatural power. any specific system of belief. Worship or conduct that prescribes certain responses to the existence (or non-existence) and character of God.
Religion
answers/explains questions of life a way of looking at reality Gives humans a sense of order and meaning provides a bases for ethical and moral decisions
What is life? What is the purpose of life? Do we survive death in any way? Why do we suffer? How does the universe work? Where did the universe come from? other?
Who am I? Where do I come from? Who created me? Why was I created? Who is pulling my strings? Where does the world come from? What is life? What is death? What is after death? Why do we suffer? How does the universe work? Why am I here? What am I Meant to do? Why cant I answer these questions? What gets me out of bed in the morning? Why do I love? Why am I loved? Why do people hate? Why must i die?
P3&4: Some basic features: Unity of experience: The primal world remains whole with no perceived division between the physical and the spiritual. Place: Primal religions are local to the area they are practiced, they are not replicated elsewhere (even though there may be similar groups who have similar beliefs and practices) Oral Tradition: There exists a very strong oral tradition. Beliefs, rituals and history is passed down in this way. Time: Primal time is not linear. Primal people may indeed speak of the past, but this should be understood not as chronological but causal: the past is not back then but closer to the original source of things. Ritual: Ritual and rites of passage recreate the original creative act. Creation, therefore, is not a chronological event that took place back then but an ever presentness.
Primal Religions