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Introducing World Religions Flashcards for Comprehensive Word Lists (Grouped by Chapter) Chapter 1 Approaching religious traditions (and Preface) TERMS (40) agency Leeuw, Gerardus van der anno Domini liminal beings anno Hegirae McCutcheon, Russell T. axis mundi mysterium fascinans Common Era mysterium tremendum creative imagination orientalism cultural imperialism Otto, Rudolph definition of religion phenomenology East-West diptych play Eliade, Mircea postcolonial turn European colonialism reductionist European Enlightenment religionist existential value Religious Impression expressive tradition Religious Subject hierophanic history religious symbol hierophany subtle erasure homo religiosus sui generis imaginal realm thick description insider-outsider challenge ultimate principle kratophany vision quest DEFINITIONS (40) Term used by social scientists to emphasize the element of agency will (or political deprivation of will) in the lives of human actors who comprise and create society. anno Domini Words abbreviated by AD used after dates. anno Hegirae Words abbreviated by AH used after dates. axis mundi World pole. Common Era Words abbreviated by CE used after dates. Humans use this to perceive beings or forms of the creative imagination imaginal realm. The domination that results from the spread of cultural cultural imperialism values and customs from a politically or economically powerful nation or civilization. definition of religion “A dynamic cultural complex with positive or negative impacts that stake a claim to legitimacy based on a foundational connection to reports of hierophany.” A metaphor that emphasizes the orientalist view of the East-West diptych world as divided into two opposing flat plates. (1907–1986) Historian of religions who used the term homo religiosus to describe the fundamentally religious nature of human beings; he also referred to human beings Eliade, Mircea as homo symbolicus because he felt that they have an innate propensity to manufacture cultural meaning through symbols. Refers to Europeans in modern times (sixteenth to European colonialism twentieth centuries) taking political and economic control of foreign territories to gain control of maritime trade. A European cultural movement spanning the late 1600s to European Enlightenment the late 1700s. The intellectual or emotional weight of an experience that existential value bears on a person's very existence. (Term from existentialist philosophy.) Performance-based traditions that rely on oral expressive traditions transmission of sacred lore, and many non-verbal expressions to build religious meaning. Term for an account of religious experiences of hierophanic history hierophany, as opposed to an account based in conventional history. hierophany Manifestation of the sacred. homo religiosus Term meaning "man the religious." The a-historical realm of "reality" where immaterial imaginal realm beings abide. The challenge for people to adopt both inside and outside positions in their study of religions. This means to insider-outsider challenge empathize with a religious worldview while maintaining a critical (analytic, not hostile) perspective. Manifestation of power that has yet to be counted as kratophany sacred, such as a tsunami storm. Phenomenologist of religions (1890–1950) who spoke of the human tendency of people to become Religious Leeuw, Gerardus van der Subjects in response to their perception of objects that carry spiritual meaning for them (i.e., Religious Objects). Beings that move betwixt-and-between two realms of liminal beings existence or experience (i.e., players in the drama of world religions that inhabit the imaginal realm). Contemporary reductionist scholar of religions who calls upon students of religions to be "culture critics" who do McCutcheon, Russell T. not fall into the trap of trying to nurture, enhance, or criticize the communities they study. mysterium fascinans A mystery that draws people toward it because it evoked the emotion of religious fascination. A mystery that frightens people away, because it evoked mysterium tremendum the emotion of religious awe. A racist attitude that lumps all peoples of the "orient" orientalism (East) together without distinguishing their specific characteristics. (Edward Said's term.) (1869–1937) Christian theologian who developed the Otto, Rudolph notions of mysterium tremendum and mysterium fascinans with reference to a person's experience of the Holy. A philosophical school that originated in the early 1900s phenomenology with Edmund Husserl in Germany. Term used by anthropologists with reference to the play activity of homo ludens whose creative, spontaneous activity is central to the creation of culture. Phase of modern cultural criticism that can involve a wide range of issues including challenging western postcolonial turn ethnocentrism, exposing the nation state mentality established by colonialists for ease of subjugation, and deconstructing feminine identity in light of colonialism. Term for a scholar of religious studies who rejects the sui generis view of religions, and explains religious data reductionist without presuming the existence of anything irreducibly religious. (Robert A. Segal's term.) Term for a scholar in religious studies who holds a sui religionist generis view of religions, and claims that something irreducibly religious exists. (Robert A. Segal's term.) The experience of a Religious Subject that gives rise to a Religious Impression creative act. A person who attains religious faith or understanding Religious Subject through an encounter with something experienced as sacred. (Gerardus van der Leeuw's term.) Object that represents, or reconstitutes a sacred entity, religious symbol acting as a stand-in for a hierophany. Term referring to the cultural phenomenon of a culture or people becoming "invisible" due to factors such as cultural subtle erasure imperialism, political, religious, or economic domination, and racism. sui generis Belonging to its own kind. Complex description that suggests the significance of an thick description action or thing, as opposed to the "thin" portrayal of its obvious outward aspect. (Gilbert Ryle's term.) Term for what in the words of Christian saint Anselm is ultimate principle "that greater than which nothing can be conceived." A way of prayer used by Native Americans in which an vision quest individual spends time alone, fasting, in an isolated place. Chapter 2 Expressive traditions of Oceania, America, and Africa TERMS (40) aboriginal moko babalawô native Black Elk orisha Candomblé Orisha Child Cortés, Martín Paz, Octavio Cuauhtémoc People divination Somé, Malidoma DRESTAT functions Soyinka, Wole Eternal Beings of the Dreaming Sun Dance Fá symbol griot syncretism hogan tapu homology taytu Ifá ten elements of performance indigenous peoples three aspects of meaning La Chingada towosi Mali trickster mantic vodú mestizo Wakan-Tanka Moctezuma Wounded Knee Creek DEFINITIONS (40) Term literally meaning "from the beginning;" used with aboriginal reference to indigenous peoples. babalawô Father of the secret; a priest of Ifá divination. A holy man of the Oglala Sioux People who helped many Black Elk non-native Americans understand the Sun Dance and other aspects of his culture. A Yoruba-based tradition in Brazil, related to other Candomblé African diaspora traditions including Santería, Umbanda, Vodún and others. The first mestizo, according to traditional Mexican Cortés, Martín memory. The hero, known as "young grandfather," whose Cuauhtémoc resurrection is awaited by Mexicans expecting the redemption of history through him. Fortelling future events or interpreting current circumstances through ritual methods that make use of divination signs and frequently involve supernatural communications. DRESTAT functions Term used by our author for seven activities found in ritual and other cultural "performances," namely, donation, restoration, enactment, symbolization, transformation, accession, and transmission. Eternal Beings of the Supernatural beings discussed in the sacred lore of the Dreaming Australian Aboriginal peoples. Fon term for the orisha associated with divination, who is Fá known also as Ifá. A storyteller or oral historian among the Dogon people of griot Mali in West Africa. hogan A Native American ceremonial lodge. A likeness between two or more things that have the same homology structure. A system of divination that originated among the Yoruba Ifá peoples of West Africa. Early inhabitants of a place who have a longstanding indigenous peoples cultural association to their geographical region prior to its colonization or annexation as a modern nation-state. Culturally-packed (nearly unspeakable) term meaning the violated woman, used by Mexicans with reference to La La Chingada Malincha, the mother of Martín Cortés (sixteenth century CE) who is considered to be the first mestizo. Name of country in West Africa that was the seat of a Mali wealthy empire ca. 1240–1500 CE. mantic General term for practices related to divination. Term of Spanish origin for a person of mixed blood, used mestizo with reference to Mexicans of Spanish and Indian descent, for example. Aztec leader who was defeated by Hernán Cortés during Moctezuma the Spanish conquest of Mexico in the 1500s. Term used by the indigenous Maori people of New moko Zealand for tattoo. Adjective used (without value judgment) to describe native indigenous, aboriginal people. Spiritual beings of the indigenousYoruba tradition of West orisha Africa, and related