Anatomy of the Sacred : An Introduction to Religion

by Livingston, James C.

• ISBN13: 9780131835641
• ISBN10: 0131835645
• Edition: 5th
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2005-01-01
• Publisher: Prentice Hall

Summary

For one-semester, undergraduate courses in Introduction to Religion and Comparative Religion, and more advanced courses dealing with issues in the theoretical study of religion. This comprehensive introduction to the nature and variety of religious phenomena, belief, and practice: 1) explores the issues in the study of religion, 2) examines the universal forms of religious experience, 3) offers a cross-cultural study of a broad range of classic types of religious belief and practice in terms of the seven basic concepts of a religious world view, and 4) surveys the challenges faced by religions today.

Table of Contents

Preface	xiii
Part I The Study of Religion
1 What Is Religion? How Is It Studied?	3	(34)
Overview	3	(1)
Defining Religion	4	(7)
Why Are Humans Religious?	11	(1)
Why Study Religion?	12	(3)
The Perspective of the Student-Commitment and Objectivity	15	(4)
The Ways Religion Is Studied	19	(8)
Historiography	21	(1)
Anthropology	21	(2)
Sociology	23	(1)
Philosophy	24	(2)
Phenomenology	26	(1)
Interpreting and Explaining Religion	27	(4)
Notes	31	(1)
Key Words	32	(1)
Review Questions	32	(1)
Suggestions for Further Reading	33	(4)
Part II Universal Forms of Religious Experience and Expression	37	(126)
2 The Sacred and the Holy	39	(19)
Overview	39	(1)
The Concept of Sacred Power	40	(1)
The Ambivalence of Sacred Power	40	(2)
The Holy as Mysterium Tremendum and Fascinans	42	(4)
Sacred Space and Sacred Time	46	(8)
The Buddhist Stupa and Pagoda as Sacred Space	48	(3)
Mount Zion as Sacred Space	51	(3)
Religion as Ultimate Concern	54	(1)
Notes	55	(1)
Key Words	56	(1)
Review Questions	56	(1)
Suggestions for Further Reading	57	(1)
3 Sacred Symbol, Myth, and Doctrine	58	(22)
Overview	58	(1)
Symbolic Communication	59	(1)
Religious Symbols	60	(4)
Metaphor, Parable, and Story	64	(4)
Religious Myth	68	(6)
Functionalist Theory of Myth	70	(1)
A Psychotherapeutic Theory of Myth	71	(2)
A Phenomenological Interpretation	73	(1)
Models and Doctrines	74	(3)
Notes	77	(1)
Key Words	78	(1)
Review Questions	78	(1)
Suggestions for Further Reading	79	(1)
4 Sacred Ritual	80	(24)
Overview	80	(1)
Ritual Action	81	(3)
Types of Sacred Ritual	84	(11)
Life-Cycle Rites	85	(6)
Life-Crisis Rites: A Healing Ritual	91	(1)
Calendar or Seasonal Rituals	92	(3)
Ritual and Sacrifice	95	(4)
Rituals as Sacraments	99	(2)
Notes	101	(1)
Key Words	102	(1)
Review Questions	102	(1)
Suggestions for Further Reading	102	(2)
5 Sacred Scripture	104	(31)
Overview	104	(1)
The Pervasive Role of Sacred Scripture	105	(3)
Using the Term Scripture	108	(1)
Some Distinctive Features of Sacred Scripture	109	(3)
The Authority and Canonicity of Scripture	112	(4)
The Reception and Uses of Scripture	116	(5)
The Interpretation of Scripture	121	(11)
Buddhist Interpretation	122	(5)
Christian Biblical Interpretation	127	(5)
Notes	132	(1)
Key Words	133	(1)
Review Questions	133	(1)
Suggestions for Further Reading	134	(1)
6 Society and the Sacred: The Social Formations and Transformations of Religion	135	(28)
Overview	135	(1)
The Reciprocal Relationship Between Religion and Society	136	(1)
Types of Religious Communities	137	(3)
Natural Religious Communities	138	(2)
Voluntary Religious Communities	140	(3)
Founded Religions	141	(2)
Protest and Change in Voluntary Religious Communities	143	(4)
Reform from within the Church	144	(2)
Separation from the Church-Type Community	146	(1)
The Sect	147	(2)
The Cult: New Religious Movements	149	(10)
The New Age: Toward Self Discovery	151	(5)
The Unification Church-the "Moonies"	156	(3)
Notes	159	(1)
Key Words	160	(1)
Review Questions	160	(1)
Suggestions for Further Reading	161	(2)
Part III Universal Components of a Religious Worldview	163	(190)
7 Deity: Concepts of the Divine and Ultimate Reality	165	(31)
Overview	165	(1)
Polytheism and the Worship of Nature	166	(9)
Sky Gods	168	(1)
Mother Goddesses	169	(6)
Dualism	175	(4)
Chinese Yin-Yang	175	(1)
Dualism of Cosmic Struggle	176	(3)
Pantheism and Monism	179	(4)
Monotheism	183	(9)
Notes	192	(1)
Key Words	192	(1)
Review Questions	193	(1)
Suggestions for Further Reading	193	(3)
8 Cosmogony: Origins of the Natural and Social Order	196	(27)
Overview	196	(1)
The Practical Basis of Cosmogony	197	(2)
Emergence or Procreation from a Primal Substance or Being	199	(1)
The Sexual Union of a Primal Male and Female	200	(2)
Creation by Conflict and the Ordering of Chaos	202	(5)
Creation by a Divine Craftsman	207	(2)
Creation by Decree or from Nothing	209	(4)
The Rejection of Cosmogonic Speculation	213	(2)
Cosmogony Today	215	(5)
The Anthropic Principle	217	(3)
Notes	220	(1)
Key Words	221	(1)
Review Questions	221	(1)
Suggestions for Further Reading	222	(1)
9 Anthropology: The Human Problem	223	(24)
Overview	223	(1)
Modern Views of Our Human Plight	224	(2)
Stoicism	226	(3)
Christianity	229	(5)
Theravada Buddhism	234	(4)
Confucianism	238	(5)
Notes	243	(1)
Key Words	244	(1)
Review Questions	245	(1)
Suggestions for Further Reading	245	(2)
10 Theodicy: Encountering Evil	247	(26)
Overview	247	(2)
The Persistent Demand for Theodicy	249	(1)
Theodicy of "Mystical Participation"	250	(1)
A Future, This-Worldly Theodicy	251	(4)
Other-Worldly Theodicy	255	(2)
Dualism	257	(1)
The Karma-Samsara Theodicy	258	(2)
Monotheistic Theodicies	260	(10)
Suffering as Recompense for Sin	261	(1)
Suffering as a Test and as a Necessary Condition of "Soul-Making"	262	(3)
A Theodicy of Submission: The Mystery of God's Sovereignty	265	(3)
Process Theodicy	268	(1)
A Theodicy of Protest	269	(1)
Notes	270	(1)
Key Words	271	(1)
Review Questions	271	(1)
Suggestions for Further Reading	272	(1)
11 Ethics: Patterns of Moral Action	273	(28)
Overview	273	(1)
Virtues and Obligations	274	(2)
The Sources and Norms of Moral Authority	276	(21)
Cosmic or Natural Law	276	(6)
Charismatic Leaders	282	(6)
An Ethics of Divine Command	288	(9)
Notes	297	(1)
Key Words	298	(1)
Review Questions	299	(1)
Suggestions for Further Reading	299	(2)
12 Soteriology: Ways and Goals of Salvation and Liberation	301	(52)
Ways of Salvation and Liberation	301	(1)
The Way of Grace through Faith	302	(6)
Martin Luther	303	(3)
Amida Buddhism-Shinran	306	(2)
The Way of Devotion	308	(3)
The Way of Action and Obligation	311	(9)
Hinduism	312	(2)
Islam	314	(4)
Judaism	318	(2)
The Way of Meditation and Insight	320	(5)
The Yoga Techniques of Patanjali	321	(2)
Theravada Buddhism	323	(2)
Goals of Salvation and Liberation	325	(1)
Psychic Wholeness and a Healthy Social Order	326	(8)
A Messianic, or Utopian, Age	330	(1)
Ancient Israel's Messianic Hope	330	(4)
Resurrection, Immortality, and Eternal Life	334	(8)
Immortality in Ancient Egypt and Greece	336	(2)
Postbiblical Judaism and Christianity	338	(4)
Samadhi and Nirvana	342	(6)
Hindu Samadhi	343	(3)
Buddhist Nirvana 344 Notes	346	(2)
Key Words	348	(1)
Review Questions	349	(1)
Suggestions for Further Reading	350	(3)
Part IV The Sacred and the Secular in Modernity	353	(38)
13 The Sacred and the Secular in Modernity	355	(36)
Overview	355	(1)
Secularization and Pluralism	356	(2)
The Reactions of Religious Fundamentalisms Today	358	(1)
The Characteristics of Contemporary Religious Fundamentalism	359	(17)
American Protestant Fundamentalism	360	(5)
Contemporary Islamic Fundamentalism	365	(11)
The Role of Women in Modern Christianity	376	(4)
The Role of Women in Islam	380	(4)
Notes	384	(2)
Key Words	386	(1)
Review Questions	386	(1)
Suggestions for Further Reading	387	(4)
Glossary	391	(12)
Index	403

Excerpts

Anatomy of the Sacredis a comprehensive introduction to the nature and variety of religious belief and practice. Designed primarily for those who have not had a previous course in religion, it provides the student with an understanding of what religion is, of the universal forms of religious experience, and of the basic concepts that make up a religious worldview. By employing a comparative analysis across a rich range of ancient and modern religious traditions, this introduction allows students to see the ways in which certain classic forms of religious life appear in different societies over time, as well as to recognize the incredible diversity of human religious expression and belief. The book is divided into four parts. Part I is concerned with such questions as the problem of defining religion, why it is important to study religion, and how one goes about the task, including the several disciplines or methods used in the study of religion. Each method is illustrated with specific examples from the work of eminent scholars in the field. Part II is an introduction to the universal forms of religious experience and expression and includes discussions of the sacred and holy; religious symbolism, myth, and doctrine; sacred ritual; sacred scripture; and the social dimensions of religion. Part III, which constitutes more than half of the book, consists of a comparative analysis of seven concepts, each one representing a fundamental structure or component of a religious worldview. A religious worldview is holistic, that is, it sees nature, human life, and the divine as interrelated and as forming a comprehensive vision of the world. A religion, therefore, includes a conception of sacred power and of an exemplary natural and social order. It offers an analysis of the breakdown or corruption of that order and of the human problem, but it also provides an answer to the ever-present threat of evil and chaos. Finally, a religious worldview affords an ethical pattern of action, a way of achieving liberation or enlightenment, and an ideal vision of the goal or end of human life. Part III thus includes analyses of such concepts as deity, cosmogony, the human problem, theodicy, ethics, the ways to salvation or liberation, and the end or goal of salvation. Again, each theme is illustrated by examples drawn from a wide variety of religious belief and behavior, ranging from primal and archaic cultures through the religions of the present. Part IV addresses the question, What impact has Modernity, that is, the immense changes that have occurred in our social, political, legal, and economic institutions, as well as the wider access to education, the influence of science, technology, and mass communications, had on religious life and institutions today? It then examines the secularization thesis and raises questions about its validity. Finally, it explores contemporary religious Fundamentalism and the changing roles of women in religion and society as two different responses to these modern challenges facing religion today and in the future. In preparing a new edition of this book I am especially aware of my debt to those teachers who were asked to evaluate the fourth edition and who offered excellent advice. I am, of course, also in the debt of many scholars whose highly specialized studies I was required to consult in updating substantive discussions in the text as well as the notes and suggestions for further reading. The important additions and revisions incorporated in this edition include an entirely new chapter on the response of religion to modernity; an extensive new discussion of the changing roles of women in religion; a new, substantive discussion of New Age religious movements and their significance; more illustrative material from contemporary religious life (e.g., an extended discussion of science and religion), and an extensive updating of the review questions and the s