College Level Theology

COLLEGE LEVEL

THEOLOGY

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TABLE OF CONTENTS Promo to Theology ...................................................................................... 1 Preface........................................................................................................ 2 Chapter 1: Why People believe in the Divine ................................................ 6 Why do we believe? .......................................................................................................... 6 Researching Belief in God .............................................................................................. 10 Other Thoughts on Belief from Psychology and Psychiatry .......................................... 10 The Science of Believing ................................................................................................. 11 Important Points in this Chapter................................................................................... 14 Chapter 1: Questions ...................................................................................................... 15 Chapter 2: Parts of a Religion ..................................................................... 17 Basic Components ...........................................................................................................17 Component 1 ................................................................................................................17 Component 2 .............................................................................................................. 18 Component 3 .............................................................................................................. 19 Component 4 .............................................................................................................. 19 Component 5 .............................................................................................................. 19 Component 6 .............................................................................................................. 19 Component 7 .............................................................................................................. 31 Component 8 .............................................................................................................. 32 Component 9 .............................................................................................................. 32 Component 10 ............................................................................................................ 32

Important Points in this Chapter................................................................................... 33 Chapter 2: Questions ..................................................................................................... 34 Chapter 3: Understanding Religious Concepts and Beliefs of the World's Religions...................................................................................... 36 What is the Difference between Deism and Theism? .................................................... 36 Theism Types .............................................................................................................. 36 The Major Eastern Religions ......................................................................................... 40 Important Points in this Chapter................................................................................... 43 Chapter 3: Questions and Answers................................................................................ 44 Chapter 4: What We know of the Oldest Religions ..................................... 46 Prehistoric Religions ...................................................................................................... 46 Upper Paleolithic Religion ............................................................................................. 47 Mesolithic Period ........................................................................................................... 49 Neolithic Religion ....................................................................................................... 49 Chalcolithic, Bronze, and Iron Ages .............................................................................. 50 Zoroastrianism ........................................................................................................... 52 Important Points in this Chapter................................................................................... 56 Chapter 4: Questions ..................................................................................................... 57 Chapter 5: The Major Asian Religions and their Origins ............................ 60 Shintoism ....................................................................................................................... 60 Origins of Shinto ............................................................................................................ 60 Shinto Beliefs ................................................................................................................. 61 Shinto Shrines and Priests ............................................................................................. 62 Taoism ............................................................................................................................ 63 Origins of Taoism ....................................................................................................... 64

Taoist Beliefs .............................................................................................................. 65 The Three Treasures ................................................................................................... 65 Taoist Theology .......................................................................................................... 66 Taoist Rituals .............................................................................................................. 66 Confucianism ................................................................................................................. 67 Beliefs and Practices ................................................................................................... 68 Confucian Theology .................................................................................................... 68 Sindoism......................................................................................................................... 70 Important Points in this Chapter................................................................................... 72 Chapter 5: Questions...................................................................................................... 73 Chapter 6: East Indian Religions and their Origins ................................... 75 Hinduism ....................................................................................................................... 75 History of Hinduism................................................................................................... 75 Beliefs and Practices in Hinduism ............................................................................. 76 Buddhism ....................................................................................................................... 78 Buddhist Beliefs and Practices ................................................................................... 79 Sikhism ...........................................................................................................................80 Sikh Symbols and Texts.............................................................................................. 81 Jainism ........................................................................................................................... 83 Comparing the Dharmic Religions ................................................................................ 84 Important Points in this Chapter................................................................................... 86 Chapter 6: Questions and Answers................................................................................ 87 Chapter 7: The Major Abrahamic Religions and their Origin ..................... 89 The Life of Abraham ...................................................................................................... 89

The Different Faiths as they apply to Abraham ............................................................ 91 Commonalities among the Religions ............................................................................. 92 The Concept of Messiah ................................................................................................. 92 Jerusalem: A City of Three Faiths ................................................................................. 93 Differences in the Abrahamic Religions ........................................................................ 94 Texts that Refer to Abraham.......................................................................................... 95 Eschatology of the Different Faiths ............................................................................... 96 Differences in Religious Worship and Practices ........................................................... 97 Proselytism among the different Religions ................................................................... 98 Important Points in the Chapter ................................................................................... 99 Chapter 7: Questions and Answers .............................................................................. 100 Chapter 8: The Origins and Theology of Judaism .................................... 102 Judaism Evolves from Ancient Times ......................................................................... 102 Jewish History according to Judaism.......................................................................... 104 Stories beyond the Torah ..............................................................................................110 Summary of Jewish Religious Periods ......................................................................... 111 Jewish Beliefs and Practices ......................................................................................... 112 Jewish Sects .................................................................................................................. 113 Important Points in this Chapter.................................................................................. 115 Chapter 8: Questions and Answers .............................................................................. 116 Chapter 9: Christian Theology .................................................................. 118 The Religious Climate in the Time of Christ ................................................................ 118 Jesus' Life according to Christians ............................................................................... 121 Early Christianity ......................................................................................................... 124

Ante-Nicene Period ...................................................................................................... 125 Christianity in the Middle Ages ................................................................................... 126 The Protestant Movement ............................................................................................127 Revivalism .................................................................................................................... 128 The Christian Bible ...................................................................................................... 128 Christian Beliefs and Practices .................................................................................... 128 Important Points in this Chapter................................................................................. 130 Chapter 9: Questions and Answers............................................................................... 131 Chapter 10: Islamic Theology .................................................................. 134 Basic Facts on Islam..................................................................................................... 134 Islamic Origins ............................................................................................................. 134 Islam After Muhammad............................................................................................... 135 The Sunnis versus the Shiites ...................................................................................... 138 The Quran and the Islamic calendar ........................................................................... 139 Islamic Practice and Legal System .............................................................................. 140 God and Angels in Islam .............................................................................................. 142 Islamic Eschatology ..................................................................................................... 142 Sufism........................................................................................................................... 142 Important Points in this Chapter................................................................................. 144 Chapter 10: Questions and Answers ............................................................................ 145 Chapter 11: Deism, Unitarianism, Apotheosis, and Panentheism ............ 148 What is Deism? ............................................................................................................ 148 Unitarian Universalism ............................................................................................... 150 The UUA or Unitarian Universalist Association .......................................................... 151

What do Unitarian Universalists believe and practice? .............................................. 153 Panentheism ................................................................................................................ 156 Apotheosis .................................................................................................................... 156 Important Points in this Chapter................................................................................. 158 Chapter 11: Questions and Answers ............................................................................ 159 Chapter 12: Agnosticism and Atheism ...................................................... 161 What is Agnosticism? .................................................................................................... 161 Atheism ........................................................................................................................ 164 Important Points in this Chapter................................................................................. 168 Chapter 12: Questions and Answers ............................................................................ 169 Chapter 13: The Modern Practice of Traditional Belief Systems ............... 172 What Is Modern Paganism? .........................................................................................172 Differences and Similarities between Pagan Religions ............................................... 174 Some Pagan Religions ................................................................................................... 175 Wicca ......................................................................................................................... 175 Druidism ................................................................................................................... 178 Heathenry .................................................................................................................. 181 Other Practices of Neo-Paganism ................................................................................. 181 Important Points in this Chapter................................................................................. 183 Chapter 13: Questions and Answers ............................................................................ 184 Chapter 14: Religion, Spirituality, and Ethics ...........................................187 The Differences between Spirituality and Religion ..................................................... 187 Religion, Spirituality, and Mental Health ................................................................... 190 Religious Ethics and Secular Ethics ............................................................................. 191

Important Points in This Chapter................................................................................ 194 Chapter 14: Questions and Answers ............................................................................ 195 Summary ................................................................................................. 197 Course Questions and Answers ............................................................... 201 Answers to Questions .............................................................................. 242 Chapter 1 Answers........................................................................................................ 242 Chapter 2: Answers ...................................................................................................... 244 Chapter 3: Answers ...................................................................................................... 245 Chapter 4: Answers ...................................................................................................... 246 Chapter 5: Answers ...................................................................................................... 247 Chapter 6: Answers ...................................................................................................... 248 Chapter 7: Answers ...................................................................................................... 249 Chapter 8: Answers ...................................................................................................... 250 Chapter 9: Answers ...................................................................................................... 251 Chapter 10: Answers .................................................................................................... 252 Chapter 11: Answers ..................................................................................................... 253 Chapter 12: Answers .................................................................................................... 254 Chapter 13: Answers .................................................................................................... 255 Chapter 14: Answers .................................................................................................... 256 Course Answers ............................................................................................................ 258

PROMO TO THEOLOGY Can you name any religious practice outside of those you are a part of? How did your particular faith begin and are there any commonalities between what you believe and what people believe on the other side of this planet? These are a few of the things you will learn in this fascinating study of theology.

Theology is essentially the study of religion but, as you will learn, religion has many faces, some of whom involve no belief in God whatsoever. How did we humans start believing in deities or gods in the first place and why do we still believe in God in today's time when we know so much more about the scary world out there than our prehistoric ancestors? The answers as to why we believe what we do may surprise you. In this course, you will learn not only what is believed by the faithful of this planet but also the context in which many of the major religions of the world began.

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PREFACE If you were hoping to hear a course on the nuts and bolts of the world's major religions in this audiobook, you came to the wrong place. Any good anthology of Islam, Judaism, or Christianity could easily be volumes in size and might be more than a little boring to listen to. Instead, this course begins with why humans believe in anything at all and how we as a planet have evolved from traditional belief systems to the many major religions practiced in the world today.

In this course, we will try to make sense of the earliest known formed religions and the traditional belief systems we know about – many that were practiced by human beings thousands to perhaps millions of years ago. The evolution of religion is fascinating enough; we will expand on this history to explore what the major theistic religions believe today, including how they are practiced. There are many more belief systems besides the major religions. You will hopefully learn what these are and the major components of each. We will lastly discuss what it means to be religious versus spiritual and how religion factors into a person's ethical decision-making.

In chapter one of the course, you get to begin the study of theology by looking at why people believe in a divine being or beings in the first place. Is it hard-wired into us from an early age or is it taught to us in some way? At one point in our distant past, humans did not believe in anything – as far as we know, that is. Let's explore what science tells us about the purpose of having a belief in god. If there is a purpose for billions of believing people living on earth today, what might that be?

Chapter two will help you understand the evolution of belief into a religion. Is anything a person believes considered a religion or is there more to it than that? If we pick apart what is and isn't religion, what do we find as the things all or most religions have in common? You will hear much about the differences between belief systems soon enough. This chapter will help you find a common framework or lens through which we can study the different ways people practice their faith on Earth.

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In chapter three of the course, you get your feet wet in your understanding of the different world religions and will learn how the faithful in each religion perceive the world. You will see that not all religions are theistic and that, while some theistic religions share a belief in one god, this is where the similarity between them ends. By the end of the chapter, you will be able to see what defines many of the major religious organizations throughout the world.

In chapter four, you will learn what we know about the oldest known religions. You will see that this is a complex topic made more difficult by the fact that most are not practiced today nor did they leave much in the way of written record. We start the course looking at why people might believe in god in the first place. In chapter four, we talk more about prehistoric religions and Zoroastrianism, which is believed to be one of the oldest continuously-practiced religions we know of.

Chapter five in the course looks at the major East Asian religions and where they came from. These include the major Chinese and Japanese religions of Shintoism, Taoism, and Confucianism as well as the lesser known Sindoism religion. This is the chapter where you get to see if and when any of these East Asian religions had similar origins.

Chapter six allows you to expand your knowledge of eastern religions by discussing the major religions in East India. These include Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism, and Sikhism. You will be able to see that several of these have influenced thinking all over the world. India is a populous country and so has more of an influence on religious thinking outside of its borders than one would expect. Billons of people consider themselves to be followers of Hinduism or Buddhism alone.

In chapter seven of the course, you will learn about the origin and timeline of the major Abrahamic religions, each of which has its origins in the life of Abraham. You will learn about the story of this man and how he influenced Judaism, Christianity, and even Islam. You will also study the major similarities and differences between these major world religions.

Chapter eight in the course teaches you more about the Jewish faith. Why and how did it start from a historical perspective? What do the Jewish people believe and where did 3

these beliefs come from? In chapter 7, you will get a basic history of Abraham and learn how the religions that came from him are the same and differ. This chapter lays out how the Jewish people have interpreted the meaning of God and the ways they worship him.

Chapter nine starts with a discussion of the religious climate in the time of Jesus Christ and talks about the life of the man who now has more people in the world worshipping him than any other person in history. We will talk about the development of Christianity from the time of his first disciples and trace the history to modern times, focusing on what Christians believe and why.

Chapter ten introduces you to the theology of Islam, which means to "submit to the will of God". This is the second largest religion in the world, with nearly 2 billion followers who base their beliefs on the concept of one God and on the revelations of Muhammad, who lived in the seventh century and who received messages from the Angel Gabriel.

You will trace the path of this religion to learn how and why the Muslims of today practice their faith.

Chapter eleven in the course is a collection of belief systems that often transcend different religions. It talks about Deism as it relates to both philosophy and religion.

Other common belief systems include panentheism, which differs slightly from pantheism or the idea that God is in everything. Apotheosis involves the worship of one's self or of a human person. Certain religions of modern times are heavily based on Deism and on spirituality rather than a specific set of rigidly defined beliefs. You will learn how each of these philosophies fits into some of the major religions of today.

In chapter twelve, you can learn about agnosticism and atheism. These are broad categories of belief systems that many individuals endorse as part of their own system of beliefs. In chapter one, you will have studied the fact that humans are essentially programmed to believe in something. Here we explore the phenomenon of having a lack of belief in God and when individuals question the existence of God in varying ways. You will also learn what it means to be apathetic about the existence of God. Chapter thirteen in the course talks about the modern practice of religions considered to be -traditional or at least not of the mainstream set of religions already discussed. There are hundreds of traditional religions practiced by a diverse group of people, including

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Africans, Native Americans, and other ethnic groups. While a complete discussion of all of these is out of the scope of this course, we will talk about contemporary or modern paganism as a good example of how older or ancient religions have been revived in modern times.

In chapter fourteen, we will finally discuss the relationship between religion, spirituality, and ethics. Does one need to have religion to be ethical, for example? What is the difference between spirituality and religion? You will learn the mental health benefits of being spiritual and whether there are advantages or disadvantages to practicing a religion.

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CHAPTER 1: WHY PEOPLE BELIEVE IN THE DIVINE In this chapter, you get to start the study of theology by looking at why people believe in a divine being or beings in the first place. Is it hard-wired into us from an early age or is it taught to us in some way? At one point in our distant past, humans did not believe in anything – as far as we know, that is. Let's explore what science tells us about the purpose of belief in god. If there is a purpose for billions of believing people living on earth today, what might that be?

WHY DO WE BELIEVE? Most people believe in god, but why? Did we always believe in something or is it a new phenomenon set apart from our human evolution? Brett Mercier, a University of California Irvine psychologist, studies the science of belief in the divine from an evolutionary perspective. He looked at two important factors in all evolved behavior: 1. What is the ultimate cause of it? The ultimate cause is the reason we have evolved to have a behavior. In most cases, the reason is because it enhances the survival of our species in some way. For example, humans have prosocial behaviors because it is an adaptation from other species that gave us some kind of survival edge. What would the edge be for having faith?

2. What is the proximate cause of it? This is the trigger for the behavior. The triggers for babies and their natural social behavior are things like having a preference for human faces and a predilection for human voice that start the process going.

Our first venture into the world as fully modern human beings happened about 250,000 years ago. Most of that time, we were hunter-gatherers who lived in small groups that lived off the land. Groups of 150 or fewer people were all that could be supported at one time so this was the maximum size of most tribes.

In contrast to other primates, we could survive well with teamwork, which was a nice added advantage for early humans over other primates and the many non-primate 6

animals that threatened our survival. We quickly learned about what is called agency, which is the sense that you can cause something to happen through your own intentions. This meant we could learn from our behaviors.

When we applied agency to the behavior of others, however, things got more interesting.

We are able to forgive a person who bumps into us accidentally but not as much if we think it was intentional. The trouble is that we are very apt to think a person is intentionally doing something to us rather than assuming it wasn't intentional at all.

We are not good at looking at another person's circumstances to link them to whatever their behavior was at the time.

Evolutionarily-speaking, it was probably a better choice to over-perceive agency or intention and have a few false alarms than it would have been to be unable to have that type of perception. Lack of awareness of agency could have been risky for our distant ancestors who needed to live and cooperate with others in order to survive as a species.

Because of this hypersensitivity to the agency of others, we also seem to be good at inferring intentionality of inanimate objects or things we see in nature. This likely led our early ancestors to have beliefs about why it stormed on any given day and to lean toward demons or ghosts as causing them. In fact, things like ghosts, demons, and even woodland sprites are ever-present features found all over the world even today.

Basically, we are superstitious as part of our nature.

Even the most logical and scientific person is apt to think their cell phone is intentionally glitching on them or that wearing their special jersey helped their favorite team win. They will likely keep wearing that jersey, even if they know it isn't logical to do so. We are also programmed in our nervous systems to see order when there is chaos, especially when things are particularly messy in our lives. We desperately want to make what is unpredictable at times into something we can hopefully predict or have control over.

This kind of thinking that we all have means that we are likely to believe that some supernatural agency is at work – somehow influencing the chaotic events around us.

Children naturally have this; it is called animistic thinking. It relates to the idea that

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inanimate objects have some feelings or motives. It is primarily our norms and cultures that shape this natural thought pattern into a widely practiced and organized religion.

Our world did not revolve around agriculture until about 15,000 years ago. Animals were probably domesticated before the land. We needed the land to be cultivated in part to support ourselves in terms of food and to feed our herds. Most societies were completely into the agricultural life after about 7000 to 10,000 years. The earliest perceptions of a god-like being was not likely the same moral construct we have today about who that god might be.

Life in the same small tribe was easy compared to life with a whole host of people in cities that may have numbered up to 10,000 or more as city-states were formed and grew to enormous sizes. Now, you would have been dealing mostly with strangers who may or may not have been in your clan or family. Now you would have needed a god who was more morally-minded and who could be a part of a more coercive system.

How do you get all those people to cooperate? In your tiny tribe, you would have been able to make the lazy folks and cheaters behave through punishment, while those who did well could be easily praised. In larger culture with anonymity involved, it would have been too easy for some to take advantage of others. How do you punish those you don't have direct control over? This may have been where the idea of an all-knowing god came into view. It would have been a way to ensure that people believed someone was watching.

What started as small groups of likely non-believing clansmen has resulted in a world where 80 percent of us are theists. As theists, we believe in at least one all-knowing god.

This is in contrast to atheists who do not believe in god in any form. A god is any supernatural being who governs our reality, supports or enforces human morality, and intervenes in our human affairs.

The proximate causes for the belief in god come into play more now that we live a much more technological society. There are still many who believe in one or more gods but this concept has dropped dramatically – even in the past century. How can we explain this?

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There are three factors related to the proximate causes of religious belief. These are grouped into cognitive, societal, and motivational factors. Let's break this down into the different parts: 

Societal factors – if the belief in god is valued and encouraged by society, it will be more likely to happen. In addition, if you also see people around you with a great deal of religious commitment, you will be more likely to believe in god yourself.



Motivational factors – the motivational factors for believing in god include being lonely, feeling one's own mortality, desiring a sense that someone is in control of things when life is uncontrollable, and wishing to feel better about one's belief systems in environments where believers are valued. There are some pastors who continue to be preachers even if they have doubts because they need to earn a living.



Cognitive factors – these include the phenomenon of mentalizing, where people who can read others' thoughts are more likely to perceive god's existence. On the other hand, analytical thinkers are less likely to believe in god. More intelligent people are also less likely to believe in god.

Developed countries with high standards of living have lower numbers of the faithful in their population. This in not only true of Christian parts of the world. The Japanese were once mainly Buddhist; now only 4% of Japanese people are religious to any degree.

The US is a major exception, possibly because our standard of living is not as good as it is in Europe. People in the US feel like their futures are not nearly as certain or predictable as they feel in Europe.

Those who have lost their official religiosity, however, are still quite probably spiritual in some way. There are many who believe in a divine spirit or spirits or who feel like there is a benevolent life force out there, even if they don't practice an official religion.

Egalitarian societies like the Europeans are less needful of a god who watches over them in a way that's true for more primitive societies.

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RESEARCHING BELIEF IN GOD The hardest part for researchers investigating the basic concepts around belief in god is that it is difficult to nail down what it means to believe in the first place. There are too many cultural variations to factor in. Also, there are many political and social restrictions involved in this kind of worldwide research. There is also the researcher's bias to consider. Lastly, the study of belief relies on self-reporting, which is always subjective and hard to quantify.

People who say they are atheists still often say they are spiritual or believe in a life force, even if it is not something they call God. There is also a great deal of prejudice in the world toward non-believers in a world where there are many more believers of one kind or another. Many equate belief with morality so they do not wish to disclose possibly being seen as amoral.

As a result of these factors, it is believed that the belief in god is over-reported to a great extent. When people report being church-going, this often isn't represented when the research includes actual church attendance through head counts.

Since self-reporting is so sketchy and possibly invalid at times, some researchers wonder about whether things like "people who believe in god are generally happier" are actually true. There may be the social expectation that people should be happier if they believe in god. There may be changes over time in a person's willingness to admit to belief rather than having the belief in the first place.

OTHER THOUGHTS ON BELIEF FROM PSYCHOLOGY AND PSYCHIATRY Thinkers and philosophers have long wondered about this phenomenon of religion.

Karl Marx was famous for saying that religion was the "opium of the people" and Freud believed that god was just an illusion. He equated religion with people who had childhood needs for forgiveness and security. Recently, others have suggested that there is a real neurological drive in our brains that leads to the belief in god. Religion is just a byproduct of that belief.

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Humans are adapted for human attachment; this has been clearly outlined by psychologist John Bowlby, who studied the attachment of children. Even as adults, we easily attach to our pets and even to inanimate objects. We fairly easily make the leap from inanimate objects to deities. We also have imaginations so we can imagine what a thing not directly in front of us would say or do.

The concept of cognitive decoupling is what children do when they pretend while playing. We use this same imagination to believe in something with an all-knowing mind, particularly if it is woven in biblical texts and other readings. We also are extremely likely to anthropomorphize things. We see human faces and human shapes in all sorts of inanimate objects.

People also thrive on ritual, mostly because it is so predictable. As far as we know, our ancestors used medicinals and tribal rituals to achieve trance-like states. The Sentinelese people were known for this behavior; you will still see it today in aboriginal societies and ceremonies. These are social events that improve the feel-good chemicals in our brain.

Oddly, while we encourage kids to challenge other pretend things, like Santa Claus or the Easter bunny, it is considered sinful in some faiths to challenge or criticize one's pastor. This social oddity has made religion thrive from childhood onward, when the Easter bunny does not.

THE SCIENCE OF BELIEVING Children old enough to talk will say things that show how easy it is to believe in order and intentional design. Ask a child why trees are so tall and you might hear an answer something like this: "So we can climb high enough to see everything". It's as though they believe the trees exist only for us and that they have benevolent intentions toward us.

Children and adults alike also easily see patterns even in randomness. If you show people random collections of dots, many will see something in them, even if it isn't the same pattern seen in every one of us. This expands to our need for meaning, even when none is intended. We want to know what something means, especially under stress or in adverse or uncertain times.

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Lastly, we seem to be primed toward supernatural thinking. Preschoolers will talk about their life before birth and will have some preordained thinking about an immortal "God", even without prior teaching. Some will talk about life after death without being taught specifically about that.

One interesting oddity related likely to our brain wiring is that we are more likely to remember things that are slightly "out there" or counterintuitive. In other words, if you were told a story about a sleeping cat versus one about a swimming cat, you would remember the swimming cat story better over time. But, if the story is too far out to believe – like a potted plant-like cat story, for example – you might not remember that.

If you can't put a visual on it, you won't remember it.

Stories people remembered back when oral tradition was important were those most often passed on to the group as a whole. A good religion needs a solid vehicle for keeping the flock informed. This concept is very important when you think of how religions grew and spread through the generations.

It turns out that there is a particular part of our brain that lights up when God is spoken about in positive ways or when people pray. It is the same place that lights up when we think of an authority figure in our life we feel positively about and is the part we use when trying to think about how others are feeling. This part of our brain is more firmly wired in people who regularly pray or meditate.

More interesting work was done by researchers who studied the anterior cingulate cortex of the brain, which spikes brain waves when we make a mistake. If you feel anxious when you make a mistake, this is the part of your brain firing. People who believe in God more strongly are less anxious when making a mistake; this part of the brain fires less under pressure. Religion seems to help lower this cortical brain response, helping people be less anxious.

This research on brain anatomy and physiology may explain why spiritual beliefs lower the tendency toward anxiety and depression. It also may explain the longer lives of spiritual people who do not drink, smoke, or have other dangerous vices compared to nonspiritual people.

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Finally, religion supports healthy social systems. Unrelated people are more likely to "play nice" if religion is involved in the society. Religious people are more charitable toward one another, which helps move the society along further and in safer ways.

Religion and morality evolved and grew at the same time and are interdependent in many ways. The five basic moral foundations are essentially the same in all religions.

These are to play fair, do no harm, respect authority, be loyal to your group, and live a pure life. Through these foundations, certain rituals were developed to unite individuals under a common and safe tent.

As we will discuss later, religion itself is something that can also sow deep division between people. The more that your religion represents your social in-group, the less trust you will have toward your out-group – those who do not believe as you do. But, even if religion is one of the major sources of social divide and violence, abolishing belief altogether is not something our brains may be able to do, simply because of how we are wired.

In summary, we need to ask ourselves if the tendency to believe is mostly neurological, environmental, social, evolutionary, or cultural? In this chapter, you have seen evidence of each of these. Culture probably plays the least role in the actual tendency to believe and the most in what we choose to believe. The belief in god crosses almost all cultures, so culture itself isn't the real issue. Instead, there appears to be more evidence that belief is related to the way the human nervous system is wired and how we have adapted to our environment as we have evolved as social human beings.

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IMPORTANT POINTS IN THIS CHAPTER 

The tendency to believe in god at all is multifactorial.

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You need to consider why it is important for humans as a species to believe when other primates presumably do not believe in god.

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There are evolutionary, social, cultural, environmental, and even neurological factors that make us more or less likely to believe in god.

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The belief in god is very prevalent on earth with more than 80 percent of us being believers.

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Simply trying to research the belief in god is challenging because so much of it is based on self-reporting.

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CHAPTER 1: QUESTIONS 1.

What is the best description of the concept of agency? a. We understand the laws of physics intuitively b. We are programmed to work hard c. We understand that we can intentionally make things happen d. We know how easy it is to make a mistake

2.

The idea that non-living objects can somehow shape things in our world through their own agency is called what? a. Animism b. Wishful thinking c. Superstition d. Faith

3.

What is not included in the definition of god? a. One who is behind human behavior b. One who supports or enforces human morality c. One who is supernatural d. One who intervenes on human activities

4.

When was it likely that the god-concept evolved to have more moral features? a. Likely at the dawn of humanity with the hunter-gatherers b. With the rise of the city-states c. With the globalization of humankind d. In the Victorian age

5.

What factor most confounds the information you would get from people when researching belief in god? a. People do not understand what it means to believe in god b. People do not want to be seen as immoral c. People are uneducated about god d. People do not want to confess to believing in god 15

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What aspect of religion dates back to our innate desire for order? a. Ritual b. Common faith c. Omnipotent gods d. Morality teaching

7.

What does research say about spirituality and our risks for disease and death? a. Spirituality increases the risk of depression b. Spirituality increases the risk of anxiety c. Spiritual people live longer than nonspiritual people d. Spirituality has little to do with brain structure

8.

Religion and morality developed and evolved in humans at the same time.

What is not one of the five foundations of morality? a. Achieve your goals b. Respect authority c. Harm no one d. Play fair

9.

Which aspect of belief in god is most linked to the human need to reduce anxiety? a. Environment b. Culture c. Neurology d. Evolution

10.

Which aspect of belief in god is most related to the tendency to feel threatened when we hear a noise in the dark, even if the sound was just the wind blowing? a. Environment b. Culture c. Neurology d. Evolution 16

CHAPTER 2: PARTS OF A RELIGION This chapter will help you understand the evolution of belief into a religion. Is anything a person believes considered a religion or is there more to it than that? If we pick apart what is and isn't religion, what do we find as the things all or most religions have in common? You will hear much about the differences between belief systems soon enough. This chapter will help you find a common framework or lens through which we can study the different ways people on Earth practice their faith.

BASIC COMPONENTS The word "religion" comes from two terms that together mean to "gather and bind". It is defined as a belief in a supernatural power, but it could also mean a practice that binds humans together. It isn't just "what a person believes". There must be more to a belief or belief system to call it a true religion.

There are different ways to define the basic parts of a religion. One way is to categorize the components is like this:

COMPONENT 1 A belief that there is a supernatural power of some kind. You will hear later about things like monotheism versus polytheism. In monotheistic religions, there is just one supernatural being; in a polytheistic religion, there is more than one. You will learn which religions are which in one of the next few chapters. The supernatural powers are things man cannot do and influence life on earth.

Besides the belief in a power, religions often have specific beliefs, such as the presence of angels, Doom's day or a day of salvation, or the belief in several named gods that followers know about and recognize by name. Most religions have a specific and not a generalized sense of a god or gods. Spirituality alone is not common in a defined religion.

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Some scholars divide the different belief systems by what it is they believe. The different religions categorized this way include these: 

Monotheistic religions – these include Christianity, Islam, and Judaism. They define a single god or deity and do not necessarily name him.



Polytheistic religions – these include Hinduism, the Ancient Romans, and the Ancient Greeks. The idea is that there is more than one god, most of whom are named.



Atheistic religions – there are even religions in which no specific deity is named or identified. Buddhism, Atheism, and Taoism are practiced belief systems with no divine being.



Animism – these are religions where the practitioners recognize the divine in nonhuman beings. These include indigenous peoples, those who see the divine in natural things, and Shintoism. In Shintoism, the belief is in the kami, which is divine power in all living things. In that sense, it could be polytheistic but there are no named gods.

COMPONENT 2 Besides belief alone, a good and stable religion needs to be organized. The beliefs need to be stable over time and organized into a pattern that followers can recognize.

Structure can be built around specific beliefs, emotions, or rituals that are part of an entire system. As we study further, you will see how the belief and rituals are organized in the different religions.

The organization in religions is often centered around the religious leaders. Priests are seen in Catholicism; you would call the priest Father. Imams are seen in Islam and Shaman are seen in the Shinto religion. Ministers are the religious leaders of most protestant faiths and Rabbis are the leaders in the Jewish faith.

Most religions have a creed, which is their belief system or set of beliefs. In Christianity, for example, there are three separate creeds. Not all of these are accepted by the different Christian churches. These are the Nicene Creed, the Apostle's creed, and the

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Athanasian creed. The basis of each of these is the belief in God, in Jesus as God's son, and in the Holy Ghost or Holy Spirit. The Jewish creed recognizes one indivisible god who has no physical body.

COMPONENT 3 Humankind is dependent on this supernatural power, leading to the concept of some ritual or prayer necessary. In most cases, it is sinful or unacceptable to fail to perform these rituals routinely. Muslim prayer is particularly strict with regard to how and when it is done, while others are not as strict.

COMPONENT 4 Religions have a set list of what is right or wrong. Christians call what is wrong "sinful" but not all use this exact terminology. Things defined as not sacred or perhaps sinful ruin our harmony and relationship with god.

COMPONENT 5 A way toward salvation is seen in most religions. It might be called Nirvana versus salvation and it usually involves the removal of guilt or absence of bondage. It is what you want to aim for in any religion.

COMPONENT 6 Holy things in the religion are common. In Christianity, it might be the chalice holding the blood of Christ. In Hinduism, cows are very sacred animals. There are idols, sacred rivers, the Bible or Quran, and sacred symbols linked to most religions. Symbols can also be words, such as the word "Azan" in Islam, which identifies a time of prayer in Islam.

Symbols are a main feature of all religions. Humankind has used symbols since we could draw on stone or wood. We may never know the oldest religious symbols and their meaning. The following is a list of those we are most familiar with today along with what we know about religious symbology, dating from ancient times: 19



The Ankh – this is an ancient Egyptian symbol you can see in figure 1:

Figure 1.

This also known as the Key of Life; you can see it on many types of ancient Egyptian writings. The symbol is supposed to represent the male and female reproductive organs and is a representation of life. When it is placed on a person's sarcophagus, it is meant to indicate resurrection.

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

Owl of Athena – this is a common Ancient Greek symbol you can see in figure 2:

Figure 2.

This is likely an homage to Athena and probably means knowledge or enlightenment. This symbol is possibly the reason why we think owls are wise and perceptive. 

Mandala – the mandala is linked to the Buddhist tradition. It is represented as a circle with various geometric patterns on it. It is meant to represent the universe as a whole and to show a representation of the enlightened mind. The idea is that the mind itself is divine. There are inner and outer rings that mean various things.

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

Raven – this bird is actually a symbol in many different religions. It wasn't always considered a scavenger bird but was believed to be able to tell the future.

It was also a symbolic bird representing high mental acuity, high energy, and wisdom. You might see it in Norse mythology and in some Native American cultures. The raven was thought to create the ground by dropping rocks into the sea to make islands. Even the Greeks used ravens symbolically.



The Mjolnir or Hammer of Thor – this is a powerful Norse symbol to indicate Thor's ability to smash mountains. The Vikings used this symbol in amulets and in rituals to ensure the community's well-being.

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Horned God – this is an ancient symbol used today in the Wicca religion. It has been seen in artwork from the paleolithic times in Europe. It is linked to masculinity as well as wealth, hunting and virility. The Greeks also use this image, which is of a circle with a moon shape sitting on top of it.



Scarab symbol – this is a symbol most commonly seen in Ancient Egyptian artwork. It is essentially the artistic representation of a dung beetle. The idea here was to represent the rebirth of the sun each morning. They were designed to protect the wearer from danger. They were also placed on a mummified person's remains to convince the goddess of truth that the person's soul was pure or innocent.



Anubis – this is a common Egyptian symbol representing the patron god of lost souls and helpless individuals. It also is a good representation of the afterlife. You will recognize it as a standing man with the head of a jackal holding a staff.

Anubis was an individual who helped in judging the recently deceased; he both protects and causes curses. It is seen in Egyptian burial places and represents power.



Dove – this bird has been symbolic for as long as we can see with Early Bronze age depictions found. The dove has not always represented peace and was once meant to mean sexuality. The goddess of love in Greek mythology was linked with these birds. It is a symbol we also see as part of the old testament and European folklore.

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

Triple moon – this is a symbol seen in the Wicca culture, used to symbolize the moon goddess. You can see this symbol in figure 3:

Figure 3.

Her symbol is often seen on images to suggest the opposite of the horned god.

The three moon phases describe the three stages a woman goes through, which are the maiden, the mother, and the crone. The same image is seen in Celtic and Greek imagery. 

Pentagram – the pentagram is a five-pointed star and a circle around it. It has been seen in archeological digs dating from 3000 BC in Mesopotamia. It is a representation of perfection or what’s called the Golden ratio in ancient Greek art but in Babylonia, it meant the five known planets of the time besides Earth. It was probably always meant as a protection against evil except in Hebrew scripts, 23

where it means truth. Christians and Druids also use the pentagram. It is part of faith in the Wicca tradition in modern times. 

The Triquetra – this is also called the trinity knot; the symbol you see in image 4 was adopted into Christianity but was part of Celtic lore first:

Figure 4.

It once represented the Triple Goddess in Celtic mythology or to indicate earth, water, and air or life, death, and rebirth or resurrection. In Christianity, it represents the holy trinity. 

The Caduceus – this medical symbol in modern times actually dates back to Ancient Greece. It is meant to represent the staff of the winged messenger Hermes along with two intertwined snakes. It is also seen in Roman mythology.

In actuality, it is not the same as the ancient medical symbol, which contained a single snake and a staff without wings.

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

Yin and yang – this is a commonly seen symbol originally from Ancient China.

It is a circle with white and black comma-shaped figures that are each said to have the seed of its opposite. In Taoism, the black shape or Yin represents the female or negative force while the white shape or Yang is the male or positive force. It also means to indicate the interplay of male and female creative energies.

The seed within each shape is meant to show they can transform into one another and that they are dependent on one another.



The Fleur de Lis – this is a lily-shaped figure seen in figure 5:

Figure 5.

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You will see this in France, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and the UK but also in many pieces of Catholic imagery. The figure represents life, light, and perfection. The symbol is not new to these countries and is seen in ancient Mesopotamian cultures. 

The Eye of Horus – this is an ancient Egyptian symbol showing an eye with a teardrop and a curly eyelash. You can see this in figure 6:

Figure 6.

It represents healing, sacrifice, wholeness, or regeneration. It is often seen carved in Egyptian amulets to indicate prosperity or greater wisdom. It's dimensions were magical to Egyptian, representing fractions from ½ to 1/64th.

All added together, you do not get a whole but instead 63/64th of a whole, which indicates that life isn't perfect.

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

Tree of Life – this symbol comes from the Celts and means energy or renewal.

It dates from at least 4000 years ago when trees were more linked to the supernatural. Oak trees, in particular, were a doorway to the Underworld.



Ouroboros – this is a symbol seen in several religions, originating perhaps in Ancient Egypt. It's essentially a snake eating its own tail, used to represent the cycle of life and death. It is a symbol used to indicate fertility and the mathematical infinity symbol. You can see its image in figure 7:

Figure 7.



The Phoenix – this is an ancient symbol used in many religions. It was seen in ancient Greek and Egyptian artistry, meant to describe rebirth. It was once a living bird that was said to be brightly-colored. It is said that the cry of the phoenix identified the beginning of all time.

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

The Dragon – this image has been associated with many different religions.

They can be seen with or without wings. The Chinese use these to indicate power or strength, while others link them to water and say they control the rain. They are especially prominent in Asian cultures.



The Star of David – this is a major part of the Jewish religion. It is a hexagram made from two equilateral triangles. You will see it date back at least as far as 200-300 CE. It may represent the duality of humankind and its relationship with God or the cardinal directions plus up and down to make all the possible directions in the universe.



The Eye of Providence – this has multiple origins and represents the allseeing eye. It represents Satan to some people but to others, it means omniscience and God watching over us in a kind of benevolent way. You will see it in Buddhism and Caodaism, where believers say the eye is the image of God.



The Lotus Flower – this is seen in many different religions, including Buddhism and Ancient Egyptian cultures. It symbolizes both the creation and one's rebirth in it, based on a story of this flower emerging at the dawn of creation. In Buddhism, it also means that, like the flower, mankind should seek to break free from the attachments of earth.

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

The Angel Moroni – this is of an angel blowing a trumpet. It is linked to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints or t he Mormon Church. The angel usually faces the East. Figure 8 shows this image:

Figure 8.

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

Patriarchal Cross – this was seen first in the Byzantine Empire in the 9th Century. It was originally a political symbol and was used by the Knights Templar. The typical Christian cross has one crossbar, while the patriarchal cross has two and the papal cross has three. There are variations on crosses everywhere, such as the Eastern Orthodox cross and others you can see in image 9:

Figure 9.



Star and Crescent – this is seen from things dating from ancient Israel, when it was linked to the Moabites in 14th century through the 6th century BC. It also represented the Ottoman Empire in the 19th century. It is seen in Islamic tradition and is used on the flag of Turkey. It symbolizes the beginning and end of Ramadan.

There are other symbols of religions all over the world. You can see how these were adopted and readopted from one culture to the next and how the meaning of many symbols changed over time.

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COMPONENT 7 Many religions have sects, which are smaller groups within the whole. Christians have large sects, such as Catholics or Protestants of different types. Sects in Islam are also seen, including the Sunnis, Shias, and Wahabies. Some sects live peaceably with one another, while others are not nearly as tolerant of each other. Religion and politics are often interwoven, even when we think they aren’t. There is religious influence in the laws of nearly every country on this planet.

You will hear about the major branches or denominations of Christianity and the different denominations within these. The three main Christian denominations are Catholicism, Eastern Orthodox, and Protestantism. Among the protestants, there are numerous sects as well. A few of these are Episcopalian, Baptist, Methodist, Evangelical, Lutheran, and Presbyterian. You will learn more in the next chapter about the specific differences between them.

Sects often break away from a much larger group, often in an effort to bring the flock closer to the perception of what the religion was intended to be like. Most are small initially and run without a lot of organization. Often, new sects are more emotionally charged and interesting to the faithful, which is partly what wins people over. As more people are recruited, a sect will get bigger and more bureaucratic. Most of the protestant denominations were once sects.

Cults are different from sects, usually because their beliefs are much more at odds with the mainstream. They do not break off from a larger group but originate de novo. There is more secretiveness in a cult with leadership that grows through charismatic individuals at the helm. The cult leader often exhibits what followers think are extraordinary powers or qualities. While there are well-known examples of mass suicide, most groups are not violent. All of the world's major religions now began as cults.

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COMPONENT 8 Rituals or procedures are seen in every religion. In Catholicism, it is easily seen in the Catholic Mass and involves all of the things said and done in the practice of the Mass.

Making the sign of the cross is another Catholic ritual. All other major religions have similar rituals and/or procedures everyone in the religion is familiar with. Fasting, Ablution, and the recitation of the Bible or Quran are all examples of rituals performed in religions. In Islam, a common ritual involves making a pilgrimage to Mecca.

Rituals are helpful in calming people and is one reason why people feel a reduction in anxiety after going to church or being visited by a religious leader. Rituals are seen in tribal cultures, especially when they are faced with adversity and even when religion isn't involved. Rituals are easy ways to reinforce the teachings of a religious group or to elicit strong emotions. Rites of passage like baptisms and Bar Mitzvahs are also common in religions.

COMPONENT 9 Religions are by nature very emotion-provoking. Religious zeal is an extreme example of the emotions seen in religion. Humility, reverence for one's god, fear, and hope are all emotional aspects of religion. It is usually this emotional aspect that leads to clashes between religious people who do not agree with one another. Emotions in religion can also lead to positive effects, such as when religious organizations help the poor or those who have been in a natural disaster.

COMPONENT 10 Religions have a place of worship as well. It might be an established synagogue, church, or temple. The church is the religious place for Christians. Jewish people have their synagogues. Temples are the place of worship for Buddhists. Muslim people practice their faith in mosques. In general, the term "temple" can refer to any of these places as this term is most linked generically to houses of worship.

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IMPORTANT POINTS IN THIS CHAPTER 

There are specific parts we see in all religions that define something besides belief in a higher power.



Rituals and places for rituals and worship are part of every religion.

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There are numerous symbols that span centuries and have meaning for the different religions.



Denominations and sects are each aspects of most religions; they often represent an attempt by some followers to get back to what they think the religion is all about.

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Cults have specific features that separate them from sects; most have charismatic leaders and arise out of new thinking rather than extensions of older religious thought.

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CHAPTER 2: QUESTIONS 1.

What religion has the Azan terminology to indicate a time of prayer? a. Catholicism b. Jehovah's Witness c. Buddhism d. Islam

2.

Which religion carries the belief that cows are sacred? a. Hinduism b. Buddhism c. Islam d. Judaism

3.

What is the best definition of atheism? a. These are people who do not like god. b. These are people who do not have any deities. c. These are people who have no organized religion. d. These are people who do not have ethics.

4.

Which religion would be considered atheistic? a. Shintoism b. Taoism c. Islam d. Hinduism

5.

Which religious faith would use a synagogue to pray? a. Hinduism b. Judaism c. Islam d. Buddhism

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6.

What term would you use to generically name a house of religious worship? a. Synagogue b. Church c. Mosque d. Temple

7.

What does the phoenix represent in ancient religions and cultures? a. Strength and power b. End of life c. Family d. Rebirth

8.

Which symbol is more linked to Western than Eastern religions? a. Mandala b. Yin and yang c. Angel Moroni d. Lotus flower

9.

Which religious symbol was based on the golden ratio? a. Pentagram b. Triquetra c. Eye of Horus d. Ankh

10.

What is considered the main purpose of having a ritual in a religion? a. It keeps the faithful in line b. It reduces anxiety among the faithful c. It defines the difference between what is sinful and what isn't d. It reduces people's anxiety

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