ROBERT E. VAN VOORST WORLD

Transcription

1 ROBERT E. VAN VOORST WORLD

2 Brief Contents 1 BEGINNING YOUR STUDY OF WORLD RELIGIONS 2 2 ENCOUNTERING INDIGENOUS RELIGIONS: WAYS TO TRIBAL L1FE 28 3 ENCOUNTERING HINDUlSM: MANY PATHS TO LIBERATION 58 4 ENCOUNTERING JAINISM: THE AUSTERE WAY TO LIBERATION 88 5 ENCOUNTERING BUDDHISM: THE MIDDLE PATH TO LIBERATION ENCOUNTERING SIKHISM: THE WAY OF GOD'S NAME ENCOUNTERING DAOISM AND CONFUCIANISM: TWO VIEWS OF THE ETERNAL WAY ENCOUNTERING SHINTO: THE WAY OF THE KAMI ENCOUNTERING ZOROASTRIANISM: THE WAY OF THE ONE WISE LORD ENCOUNTERING JUDAISM: THE WAY OF GOD'S CHOSEN PEOPLE ENCOUNTERING CHRISTIANITY: THE WAY OF SALVATION IN JESUS CHRIST ENCOUNTERING ISLAM: THE STRAIGHT PATH OF THE ONE GOD ENCOUNTERING NEW RELIGIOUS MOVEMENTS: MODERN WAYS TO ALTERNATIVE MEANINGS 324 BRIEF 111

3 Contents Your Visit to the Hsi Lai Temple in Southern California 3 What Is Religion? 4 Defining Religion 4 Notable Definitions of Religion 5 The Definition Used in This Book 5 A (loser Look: Is Religion a Dirty Word? 7 Why Study Religion? 7 Studying the Persistence of Religion in the Modern World 7 What the Academic Study of Religion Can Offer You 9 Dimensions of Religion 9 The Cognitive Dimension 9 The Ethical Dimension 9 The Ritual Dimension 10 The Institutional Dimension 11 The Aesthetic Dimension 11 The Emotional Dimension 12 Ways of Studying Religion 12 Theology and Religious Studies 12 History 13 Psychology 14 Sociology 16 Cultural Anthropology 17 Women's Studies 18 Biology 19 Conclusions 19 Special Issues in the Study of Religion Today 20 Tolerance and Intolerance 20 Violence 22 Pluralism 23 A (loser Look: Statement on Pluralism by Harvard University's Pluralism Project 24 Religion and Ecological Crisis 24 New Religious Movements 25 Coming to Grips with Your Preunderstanding of Religion 27 Wh at Is Preunderstanding? 27 Your Preunderstanding of Religion 27 IV

4 Your Visit to the Polynesian Cultural Center, Hawaii 29 N ames for This Type of Religion 30 Traditional Religion 30 Primitive Religion 30 Animism and Totemism 30 A (loser Look: Totemism in the Twilight Series 31 Manaism 32 Shamanism 32 Small-Scale Religions 32 Nature Religion 32 Indigenous Religions 33 Challenges to Study 34 Lack ofwritten Sources 34 Difficulty Discerning Continuity and Discontinuity 34 Mainstream Guilt 34 Misrepresentations in Popular Culture 35 Misuse of Indigenous Rituals 35 Common Features of Indigenous Religions 35 A (loser Look: Movements toward Indigenous Unity 37 The Importance of Place 37 Global Distribution 39 Many Gods and Spirits 40 InAuenced by Other Cultures 40 Based on Orality, Story, and Myth 41 Oriented More to Practice Than to Belief 41 In-Group Based 41 The Goodness of the World 42 The Role of Religious Specialists 42 A (loser Look: Debate on Shamanism 43 Continuing Vitality 43 A Native American Religion: Lakota 44 Name and Location 44 Basic Features of Lakota Religion 44 Lakota Rituals 47 Culture and Religion 48 V

5 An African Religion: Yoruba 51 High God and Other Gods 51 Religious Specialists 53 Spirits of the Ancestors 53 An Afro-Caribbean Religion: Vodou 53 Location and Name 54 Divinities 54 Groups 55 Worship 55 A (loser look: Rev. Pat Robertson and Vodou 55 Speil and Counter-Speil Rituals 56 Politicallnfluence in Haiti 57 Your Visit to Varanasi, India 59 The Name Hinduism 61 A (loser look: Symbols of Hinduism 61 The Hindu Present as Shaped by Its Past 62 The Vedic Period ( B.CE.) 62 The Upanishadic Period ( B.CE.) 65 The Classical Period (400 B.CE.-600 CE.) 66 The Devotional Period (600 CE.-present) 67 Essential Hindu Teachings 70 Main Deities in the Three Devotional Movements 70 Hindu Doctrinal Concepts 72 A (loser look: Popular Misunderstandings of Karma, Mantra, Avatar 74 Hindu Ethics and Ways oflife 75 The Caste System 75 Guru, and The Four Stages of a Man's Life 77 The Four Goals of Life 78 A (loser look: Hindu Dress 79 The Lives of Hindu Women 80 Hindu Rituals 80 Images 81 Worship in the Temple and the Home 81 Pilgrimage 82 Funerals 83 Yoga 84 Hinduism in N orth America Today 84 VI

6 Hindu Movements in North America 85 Hindu Migration and Life in North America 85 A Closer Look: Hindu Faith and Indian Food 86 Your Visit with Jain Nuns 89 The Name Jainism 90 A Closer Look: The Symbol of Jainism 90 The Jain Present as Shaped by Its Past 91 Founding and the FirstThousand Years (600 B.C.E.-c.400 C.E.) 91 The Next Thousand Years ( ) 93 Early Modern Times through Today (1600-present) 94 Essential Jain Teachings 95 No Gods 95 Time and the World 95 Jiva and Ajiva 96 Karma and Liberation 96 Theories of Knowledge 97 Ethics: The Five Cardinal Virtues 97 Do No Harm; Speak the Truth 98 Do Not Steal; Do Not Be Possessive 98 A Closer Look: Jainism and Food 99 Be (haste 99 Jain Ritual and Worship 99 The Life of Monks and Nuns 99 Life of the Laity in Worship and Devotion 101 Two Jain Festivals 102 Jainism in N orth America Today 102 Your Visit to a Zen Retreat Center 105 The Name Buddhism 106 Buddhism Today as Shaped by Its Past 106 A Closer Look: The Symbol of Buddhism 107 Gautama's Road to Enlightenment 107 Vll

7 Achievement of Enlightenment 109 India, Sri Lanka, and Theravada 111 The Riseof Mahayana: China and Japan 112 Tibet and the Diamond Vehicle 115 A (loser Look: Koans 115 Buddhism in Modern Asia 117 Essential Buddhist Teachings 118 The Four Noble Truths 119 The Noble Eightfold Path 120 The Three Characteristics of Existence 120 A (loser Look: Popular Misunderstandings of Karma, Nirvana, and Zen 121 Buddhist Ethics for Monastics and Laypeople 122 General Buddhist Morality 122 The Five Precepts 123 Other Precepts and Moral Rules 123 Buddhist Ritual and Meditation 124 Temples 124 Images of the Buddha 125 Prayer and Meditation 125 Protective Rituals 127 Funeral Rituals 127 Buddhism in North America 128 Buddhism Comes to the Western World 128 Early Buddhist Immigration to North America 129 The Next Wave of Buddhist Immigration 130 A (loser Look: 5tealing Buddha's Dinner: A Memoir 131 Conclusion 132 Vlll

8 Your Visit to a Sikh Temple 135 The Name Sikhism 136 A Closer Look: The Symbol of Sikhism 137 Sikhism Today as Shaped by Its Past: Two Key Periods The Ten Gurus 137 Sikhism from British Rule until Today 140 Essential Sikh Teachings 142 The One God 142 A Closer Look: The Mul Mantar 142 Devotion to God 143 A Closer Look: Sikh Dress 144 Key Sikh Ethics 144 Rejection of Hindu Caste 145 Other Moral Rules 145 Sikh Ritual and Worship 146 The Gurdwara 147 The Langar 148 Sikh Life-Cycle Rituals 149 Other Festivals 150 Sikhism in North America 150 The First Wave ( ) 151 Second and Third Waves (1965-present) 152 Sikhism in Post-9i11 America 152 Your Visit to the Forbidden City in Beijing, China 155 The Names Daoism and Confucianism 157 A Closer Look: Symbols of Daoism and Confucianism 158 Daoism and Confucianism Today as Shaped by Their Past 159 China before the Birth of Confucianism and Daoism (ca B.CE.) 1 The Origins of Daoism (ca. 500 B.CE.-200 CE.) 161 A Closer Look: Religions or Philosophies? 163 Daoism from 200 CE. to 1664 CE. 163 A Closer Look: The Four Editions of the Daoist Canon (Daozang) 165 The Near-Destruction of Daoism ( ) 165 IX

9 Confucius and the Origins of Confucianism ( B.CE.) 166 The Rise of Confucianism and Neo-Confucianism (ca. 350 B.CE CE.) 167 A Closer Look: The Confucian Four Books 167 The Modern Period of Daoism and Confucianism (1912-Present) 168 Essential Daoist and Confucian Teachings 170 AncientTeachings Common to Daoism and Confucianism 170 DaoistTeachings on the Dao 171 Chinese Traditional Deities 172 DaoistTeaching ofwu Wei 174 Daoist Views of Qi 174 The Daoist Quest for Immortality 175 A Closer Look: A Famous Conversation between Confucius and Laozi 176 Confucian Reformulations of AncientTeachings 176 Daoist and Confucian Ethics 176 Daoist Ethics 177 Confucian Ethics 177 Ritual and Worship 179 Daoist Temples and Worship 179 Confucian Temples and Worship 180 The Traditional Chinese Funeral 180 A Final Comparison of Daoism and Confucianism 182 Daoism and Confucianism in North America 182 Your Visit to Tsubaki Shinto Shrine in Granite Falls, Washington 187 Names 188 The Shinto Present as Shaped by Its Past 189 Before the Arrival of Buddhism (to 600 CE.) 189 Shinto and Buddhism Together in Japan ( ) 190 A Closer Look: The Symbol of Shinto 192 The Meiji Period ( ) 193 Shinto in RecentTimes (1945-Present) 195 A Closer Look: The Yasukuni Shrine Today 196 Shinto Teachings 196 The Kami 197 Characteristics of Other Shinto Teachings 197 Shinto Ethics 198 General Characteristics 198 Purity 198 Shinto Ritual 198 The Shinto Shrine 199 X

10 The Shinto Priesthood 199 Wish Plaques and Fortunes 200 The Wedding Ceremony 201 A Closer Look: A Shinto Prayer for the Blessing of the Crops 202 The Home Shrine 202 The Shinto Funeral 202 Shinto in North America Today 203 Your Visit to Yazd, Iran 205 N ames for Zoroastrianism and Zoroastrians 206 Zoroastrianism as Shaped by Its Past 207 A Closer Look: The Symbol of Zoroastrianism 207 The Birth of Zoroastrianism (ca B.CE.) 208 The Spread of Zoroastrianism in the Persian and Sassanian Empires (550 B.CE.-650 CE.) 208 The Coming of Islam and the Zoroastrian Dispersion (650 CE.-present) 212 Essential Zoroastrian Teachings: Monotheism and Moral Dualism 213 The One God, Ahura Mazda 214 The Spirit of Destruction, Angra Mainyu 214 A Closer Look: The Zoroastrian Creed 214 Moral Dualism 215 Supernaturallntermediaries 215 Judgment and the Final Victory of Ahura Mazda 216 Zoroastrian Ethics 216 Zoroastrian General Morality 217 A Current Ethical and Sociallssue: Marriage and Children 217 Zoroastrian Rituals 21 7 Fires in the Fire Temple 218 InteriorPlan ofthe FireTemple 218 Worship 219 Priesthood 219 Other Rituals 219 Funeral Rituals 220 Zoroastrianism in N orth America 221 A Closer Look: Thus Spoke Zarathustra 222 Xl

11 Your Visit to the Westem Wall in Jerusalem 225 The Name Judaism and Related Terms 226 A (loser Look: Symbols of Judaism 227 The Jewish Present As Shaped by Its Past 228 From the Creation to Abraham (ca B.CE.) 228 The Emergence of Israel (ca B.CE.) 229 The FirstTemple Period ( B.CE.) 229 The Second Temple Period (539 B.CE.-70 CE.) 231 Revolts and Rabbis (70 CE.-ca. 650) 232 Jews under Islamic and Christian Rule (ca ) 234 Emancipation and Diversity ( ) 235 The Holocaust and Its Aftermath (1932-present) 237 Essential Teachings of Judaism 239 Foundation of JewishTeachings:The Tanak 239 One God 240 The Jews as God's Chosen People 241 Life after Death? 242 Essential Jewish Ethics 243 Ethics in the Image of God 244 The Torah 244 General Jewish Ethics 245 Modern Jewish Ethics 246 Jewish Worship and Ritual 246 Worship in the Synagogue 246 The Sabbath 247 Jewish Annual Festivals 248 KosherFood 248 Circumcision, the Sign of the Covenant 248 Bar Mitzvah and Bat Mitzvah 249 Marriage 250 Funeral Rituals 250 The Kabbalah 251 Judaism in North America Today Xll

12 Your Visit to St. Peter's in Rome 255 Names 256 A (loser look: Symbols of (hristianity 257 The Christian Present as Shaped by Its Past 257 The Life, Death, and Resurrection of Jesus Christ (ca. 4 ß.CE.-30 CE.) 257 The Earliest Church ( CE.) 259 The Ancient Period ( CE.) 260 ßyzantine, Medieval, and Renaissance Christianity ( ) 264 Reformation in the Western Church ( ) 266 The Early Modern Period ( ) 269 Modern Christianity (1900-present) 270 Christian Teachings As Reflected in the Nicene Creed 272 A (loser look:the Nicene-(onstantinopolitan (reed, 381 C.E. 273 God the Father 274 God the Son 274 A (loser Look:The Doctrine of the Virgin Mary 276 God the Holy Spirit 276 The Conclusion ofthe Nicene Creed: Church, ßaptism, and Christian Hope 277 Christi an Ethics: Following the Way of Jesus Christ 278 Foundations in the Ten Commandments, the Sermon on the Mount, and the Letters of Paul 278 The Enactment of Moral Life in the Church 280 Christi an Worship and Ritual 281 Christian Worship before Constantine 281 A (loser look: An Ancient (hristian Service 282 Worship after Constantine 282 Christianity in N orth America Today 285 Overview 286 The Different Churches: Roman Catholic and Protestant ENCOUNTERING ISLAM: THE STRAIGHT PATH OF THE ONE GOD Your Visit to Mecca 291 The Name Islam 293 Islam Today as Shaped by Its Past 293 X111

13 A Closer Look: The Symbol of Islam? 293 Arabia at the Time of Muhammad (500s C.E.) 294 The Life and Work of Muhammad (ca ) 294 Islam Immediately Following the Death of Muhammad ( ) 296 Islam from the Ummayads until Today (661-present) 298 Diverse Muslim Groups Today: Mainstream, Zealous, and Moderate 299 A (loser Look: IJlslamic Fundamentalism"? 304 Essential Teachings 305 God Is One 305 Angels and Spirits 306 The Qur'an 306 Prophets 307 "Peoples of the Book": Jews, Christians, and Zoroastrians 308 Final Judgment 309 Islamic Ethics 309 The Hadith 310 Shari'a 310 Diet and Other Regulations 310 Marriage and the Status ofwomen 311 A (loser Look: Muslim Dress for Women and Men 312 Jihad 312 Worship: The Five Pillars of Islam 314 Confession of Faith 314 Prayer 315 Fasting 316 Almsgiving 317 Pilgrimage 317 Islam in North America 318 The Nation of Islam and the American Muslim Mission 318 A (loser Look: Difficulties of the Hajj for Muslims in Western China 319 Muslim Migration to North America 321 Muslim Life in the United States after 9/ Your Visit to Temple Square, Salt Lake City, Utah 325 N ames for This Type of Religion 327 Common Features of New Religious Movements 328 New Religious Movements in the World Today: A Survey NRMs in the Western World 329 Asian NRMs in the West 330 XIV

14 "Scientinc" NRMs: Christian Science, UFO Groups, and Scientology 332 Nature NRMs: Neo-Paganism, Wicca, and Druidry 333 A (loser look: Druidry Gains Official Status 333 NRMs in Asia 334 An NRM from Asia: F alun Gong 336 History 337 Teaching and Practice 337 A North American NRM: The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints 338 History 338 Scripture 340 Doctrines 341 institutions, Practices, and Structure of the LDS Church 342 The Church of Scientology 343 L. Ron Hubbard's Life and Teachings 343 Organization of the Church 346 Controversy and Present Status 346