<< Chapter < Page Chapter >> Page >

By now you should have a solid understanding of the major religions of the world, where and when they started, where they are found today and how popular they are both in the world and in a specific country or region. But there is still more to religion than this. Next, we will explore religion from a different angle – the search for patterns common to many religious traditions. Think of the religions as threads lying roughly parallel to each other.

Note that the historical threads are not all of equal length: the religions did not all start at the same time, and some of them have ceased to exist. Some have been around for thousands for years, others only for a few decades.

Now you will learn how to tie them together. Think of a number of horizontal threads lying across the vertical ones above:

This series of lines refer to those things that occur across religions. All religions seem to have them. In later chapters they will be studied in greater depth. But let's mention them now anyway:

  • views concerning divinity, the cosmos, humanity, knowledge, the good and the beautiful
  • sacred and normative tradition
  • narrative and myth
  • ethics
  • ritual
  • symbol
  • spiritual experience/spirituality
  • faith
  • organisation

The vertical threads may be compared to the warp of a woven piece of cloth; the horizontal ones, to the woof sometimes called the weft). Or to use another metaphor: a football field needs both sidelines along the sides of the field, and centre– and scoring lines going across.

In the following chapters you will therefore learn how to relate various religions. This calls for high order thinking skills, including analysing, contrasting, comparing, synthesising, interpreting and reflecting. these chapters will help you with developing those skills. In addition, you will develop further the ability to accept, in the civic context, the ways in which fellow citizens of your country and the world are religious.

Obviously, an excellent starting point to explore cross–religious phenomena is the word "religion" itself. Think for a moment: if we say that Hinduism, Zoroastrianism, Shinto, Taoism and so on are all "religions", we are saying that the word "religion" may be used for all of them, regardless of the many differences that are to be found among them.

In this chapter we shall address the following issues:

  • what does a definition do?
  • a comparative look at various definitions of religion
  • your own definition of "religion"
  • how the word "religion" relate to other words that seem to be quite similar to it

Questions & Answers

how does Neisseria cause meningitis
Nyibol Reply
what is microbiologist
Muhammad Reply
what is errata
Muhammad
is the branch of biology that deals with the study of microorganisms.
Ntefuni Reply
What is microbiology
Mercy Reply
studies of microbes
Louisiaste
when we takee the specimen which lumbar,spin,
Ziyad Reply
How bacteria create energy to survive?
Muhamad Reply
Bacteria doesn't produce energy they are dependent upon their substrate in case of lack of nutrients they are able to make spores which helps them to sustain in harsh environments
_Adnan
But not all bacteria make spores, l mean Eukaryotic cells have Mitochondria which acts as powerhouse for them, since bacteria don't have it, what is the substitution for it?
Muhamad
they make spores
Louisiaste
what is sporadic nd endemic, epidemic
Aminu Reply
the significance of food webs for disease transmission
Abreham
food webs brings about an infection as an individual depends on number of diseased foods or carriers dully.
Mark
explain assimilatory nitrate reduction
Esinniobiwa Reply
Assimilatory nitrate reduction is a process that occurs in some microorganisms, such as bacteria and archaea, in which nitrate (NO3-) is reduced to nitrite (NO2-), and then further reduced to ammonia (NH3).
Elkana
This process is called assimilatory nitrate reduction because the nitrogen that is produced is incorporated in the cells of microorganisms where it can be used in the synthesis of amino acids and other nitrogen products
Elkana
Examples of thermophilic organisms
Shu Reply
Give Examples of thermophilic organisms
Shu
advantages of normal Flora to the host
Micheal Reply
Prevent foreign microbes to the host
Abubakar
they provide healthier benefits to their hosts
ayesha
They are friends to host only when Host immune system is strong and become enemies when the host immune system is weakened . very bad relationship!
Mark
what is cell
faisal Reply
cell is the smallest unit of life
Fauziya
cell is the smallest unit of life
Akanni
ok
Innocent
cell is the structural and functional unit of life
Hasan
is the fundamental units of Life
Musa
what are emergency diseases
Micheal Reply
There are nothing like emergency disease but there are some common medical emergency which can occur simultaneously like Bleeding,heart attack,Breathing difficulties,severe pain heart stock.Hope you will get my point .Have a nice day ❣️
_Adnan
define infection ,prevention and control
Innocent
I think infection prevention and control is the avoidance of all things we do that gives out break of infections and promotion of health practices that promote life
Lubega
Heyy Lubega hussein where are u from?
_Adnan
en français
Adama
which site have a normal flora
ESTHER Reply
Many sites of the body have it Skin Nasal cavity Oral cavity Gastro intestinal tract
Safaa
skin
Asiina
skin,Oral,Nasal,GIt
Sadik
How can Commensal can Bacteria change into pathogen?
Sadik
How can Commensal Bacteria change into pathogen?
Sadik
all
Tesfaye
by fussion
Asiina
what are the advantages of normal Flora to the host
Micheal
what are the ways of control and prevention of nosocomial infection in the hospital
Micheal
what is inflammation
Shelly Reply
part of a tissue or an organ being wounded or bruised.
Wilfred
what term is used to name and classify microorganisms?
Micheal Reply
Binomial nomenclature
adeolu
Got questions? Join the online conversation and get instant answers!
Jobilize.com Reply

Get Jobilize Job Search Mobile App in your pocket Now!

Get it on Google Play Download on the App Store Now




Source:  OpenStax, Learning about religion. OpenStax CNX. Apr 18, 2015 Download for free at https://legacy.cnx.org/content/col11780/1.1
Google Play and the Google Play logo are trademarks of Google Inc.

Notification Switch

Would you like to follow the 'Learning about religion' conversation and receive update notifications?

Ask