2. Introduction  Ghosts, ancestors, and vampires used to be human  But gods and spirits are supernatural beings that may not have human origins  Gods tend to have individual personalities and names and spirits are more less powerful and more localized

3. Gods and Spirits  Spirits can be individual (spirit guide, ancestor, shaman’s helper) or communal  Gods tend to live in specific location outside of the earth while spirits live in the human world and interact with humans  Can offer protection or punishment  Offerings, rituals, sacrifices are meant to appease them  The site of these rituals are at shrines

4. Example: Vision Quest  In Native American cultures, the vision quest is an individualistic ritual in which a person finds his or her spirit guide through ASC  The Ojibwa tribe has a boy at puberty sit on a tall platform and fast until he has a vision  This vision guide shows what path his life will take  A successful vision ushers him in to adulthood  The berdache were given their position in this way or in a dream

5. Example: Jinn  Islamic  In the Qur’an, there are three types of beings: humans (clay), angels (light), and jinns (fire)  Can have human or animal form, or be invisible  They have lives (born, marry, die)  Can have special relationship with a human and can have special powers, but they can also be troublemakers  The genie in Aladdin is a jinn

6. Example: Sudan  Spirit possession  Type of jinn called a zar, who causes illness and is associated with blood and fertility  Through spirit possession it can enter a woman’s body  Women in this culture are very anxious about their fertility because it determines their place in society  Problems with fertility are blamed in zar and rituals help draw them out of those possessed

7. Angels and Demons  These appear in Christianity, Judaism, and Islam  They are mediators between God and humans  Angels come not from the Bible but from Saint Dionysus, who had a hierarchy of angels

8. Angels and Demons

9.  While angels are good beings that help God, demons are evil beings that are associated with the devil  Involved in temptation and human evil  68% of Americans in 2007 said they believe that angels and demons are real  According to the Bible, Satan was once an angel who fell from Heaven  Between 15 th -17 th centuries demonology was extremely popular  Incubus and succubus were male and female demons that have sex with humans while they sleep

10. Angels and Demons

11. Exorcism  This is a Christian practice in which religious specialists cure a demonic possession  In the Catholic Church, the priest is told to be skeptical and look for other causes of behavior (mental illness)  Exorcisms are rare and have become part of pop culture from the 1970s The Exorcist movies

12. Gods  Gods are more powerful than spirits  Control nature  Wind, rain, fertility…  In cultures there can be one god up to more than 1000 gods

13. Gods  They are anthropomorphic and take on human form and personalities  They can be influenced by offerings and sacrifices  Behavior of humans is controlled by commandments from the god(s)

14. Types of Gods  The gods in a religious system is called a pantheon, which usually has a hierarchy with a supreme god at the top  Specialized gods are attribute gods who control that specific thing  Creator gods create the physical earth and living things on it  Otiose gods are not directly involved in humans’ lives and therefore rituals are rarely performed to them

17. Gods and Society  Gods serve important role in society  Take on social statuses such as mother, father, sister, son, etc.  We relate to them and learn from their actions  They model correct human behavior

18. Gods and Society  They also show status in the community  Status can be ascribed (given based on family) or achieved (given based on achievement)  Gods help people understand their place in society and can also help people accept their current status and work hard for a better afterlife or new life

19. Goddesses  Some scholars say that early human religions focused on fertility and therefore focused on goddess worship  Early statues can Venus figures show exaggerated fertility  As monotheism took hold, goddess worship declined

20. Goddesses: Example  Ishtar (Near East)  Worldview: nature represented violent relationships between gods  Ishtar had power over fate  Sexuality and marriage were symbolic of her  Connected to fertility of land

21. Goddesses: Example  Isis (Egypt)  “Great Mother” and “Queen of Heaven”  Represented family, motherhood  Originally associated with royalty, she later was associated with nature  300 BCE began the Isis mystery religion (secret rites)

22. Goddesses: Example  Kali (Hindu)  Associated with creativity and nature  “Black One,” fierce, blood-thirsty  But not evil: she is creation and destruction  Represents transformation

23. Goddesses: Example  Mary (Catholic)  Medieval periods she was set above saints and second to God  “Queen of Heaven”  Bore the son of God  Protector and sustainer

24. Monotheism  Most religions in the world and through history were polytheistic  Three major world religions are monotheistic : Judaism, Christianity, and Islam  All believe in one God who is omnipotent (all- powerful), omniscient (all-knowing), and omnibenevolent (all-good)

25. Judaism  Believes the Jews have been chosen by God as having a special relationship with him  This may have developed from a polytheistic religion  Some say the many different names for God in the Hebrew Bible are actually names of different gods  Moses made a covenant with God through the Ten Commandments  The commandment “though shalt not worship false idols” or “though shalt not have other gods before me” may also point to polytheism

26. Judaism  God is very anthropomorphic but can also appear in non-human form (burning bush)  He is often cruel and violent and also forgiving and compassionate  God is seen as a subjective and private path for the individual to discover

27. Christianity  Branched out of Judaism  People were expecting a human Messiah  Jesus never claimed to be divine and it was not until the Council of Nicea in the 4 th century that he was voted as divine and was God in a human form  Jesus is mediator between God and humans and will lead people back to God  Therefore, he is salvation

28. Christianity  Idea of the Trinity  God (Father, creator), Jesus (Son, also God), Holy Ghost (spirit of God after Jesus’ death)  The concept of the Trinity causes problems for some Christians because it seems polytheistic

29. Islam  Centered on prophet Mohammad, in Mecca (also location of Kaaba, a mysterious, huge cubed shrine said to have been built by Abraham and Ishmael)  Allah (God) is identical to Jewish and Christian God  Islam sought to restore authentic monotheism, which the other two religions had strayed from  Mohammad is the way to do this

30. Islam  Mohammad was given the word of God to recite from an angel and this became the Qur’an  People are encouraged to look for signs of God’s goodness and power in the world  Humans can find peace by surrendering completely to God

31. Atheism  Historically this meant not accepting the current conception or religious practice of God  Scientific developments in the 17 th -18 th centuries led people to question how the world worked and how their religious beliefs did not seem to be valid to explain this  Many atheists also do not condemn the idea of God, only the idea of a cruel, punishing God or the horrible things people do in the name of religion  Many people identify as agnostic, which says the existence of God is unprovable

32. HW #4  Select two events connected to religion (next slide) and discuss how fundamentalist religious beliefs can be dangerous. Give details and examples.  Select three of the religious views presented in lecture and identify common themes they share. How would seeing similarities in religions help make the world a more peaceful place?

33. HW #4  The Holocaust  September 11 th/ Suicide bombers  The Crusades  Bombing of abortion clinics  Spanish Inquisition