TaK - Religion
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TaK - Religion
• Why are there religion(s)?
• How do we assess the claims of religion?
• Should religious belief be exposed to rational criticism?
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Some questions to start …
All cultures in all times have organized their societies around their religious beliefs.
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so where does it all begin?....
Early religion was the science and technology of its time – inasmuch as its stories sought to
explain and predict; and its practices were designed to influence
natural forces
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The Evolution of Mythology and Religion
“A myth is a religion in which no one any
longer believes.”James Feibleman
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The Evolution of Mythology and Religion
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80,000 light years
25,000 light years
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Ursa Major
NGC 3310
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NGC 331050,000 light years in diameter
Religion: a definition
A Religion is a set of doctrines and practices, often centered upon specific supernatural and moral
claims about reality, the cosmos, and human nature and often arranged
as prayer, ritual or religious law.
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Key terms:• Faith• Doubt• Belief• Truth• Certainty• Reason
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It is hard to be indifferent to claims which offer explanations about the
nature of right and wrong; the purpose of life;
and what happens to us after death.
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Who believes what?
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• Atheism (there is no God)
• Theism (there is one God)
• Polytheism (there are several gods)
• Pantheism (the Universe is God)
The options …
…are there others?
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The varieties of Religion:
• One religion is true and all the rest are false
• All religions are false
• All religions point towards the same underlying truth
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• I think that God exists• I believe that God exists• I know that God exists
What’s the difference?
Religious beliefs can give certainty, meaning and purpose to our lives.
(Atheism is also a belief system which can give certainty, meaning and purpose to our lives.)
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How many people have a religious belief?
Between 70% - 90% of the worlds population.(depending on source)
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Top 11 Most Religious CountriesIs religion an important part
of your daily life?Country % YesEgypt 100
Bangladesh 99
Sri Lanka 99
Indonesia 98
Congo 98
Sierra Leone 98
Malawi 98
Senegal 98
Djibouti 98
Morocco 98
United Arab Emirates 98
2007 – 2008 Gallup Poll
Top 11 Least Religious CountriesIs religion an important part
of your daily life?Country % YesEstonia 14
Sweden 17
Denmark 18
Norway 20
Czech Republic 21
Azerbaijan 21
Hong Kong 22
Japan 25
France 25
Mongolia 27
Belarus 27
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Country
USA
Philippines
Norway
Russia
God
62.8
86.2
20.1
12.4
Afterlife
55
35.2
31.6
16.8
Bible
33.5
53.7
11.2
9.9
Devil
45.4
28.3
13.1
12.5
Hell
49.6
29.6
11.4
13
Heaven
63.1
41.9
23
14.7
Miracles
45.6
27.7
17.8
18.7
God: ”I know God exists and I have no doubts about it”
Afterlife: ”I definitely believe in life after death”
Bible: ”The Bible is the actual word of God and it is to be taken literally, word for word.”
Devil: ”I definitely believe in the Devil”
Hell: ”I definitely believe in Hell”
Heaven: ”I definitely believe in Heaven”
Miracles: ”I definitely believe in religious miracles”
International Social Survey Program (ISSP) 1991http://www.religioustolerance.org/rel_comp.htm
http://www.gallup.com/poll/27682/onethird-americans-believe-bible-literally-true.aspx
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Which best describes the Bible?
35%
48%
17%
Actual word of God, to be taken literally
Inspired by theword of God
Ancient fables,history, legends
recorded by man
Averages of May 2005, May 2006, May 2007 Gallup Poll
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Faith: a definition
“Faith is the confident belief or trust inthe truth or trustworthiness of
a person, idea, or thing.”http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Faith
Faith, by definition, demands belief without a need for supporting evidence.
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Allegory of FaithL.S. Carmona (18th Century)
The veil symbolizes a
willingness to believe without seeing evidence
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Snakehandlers in a church in the
southern United States
George Went Hensleyand the
Dolley Pond Church of God
….and the things religious faith
enable you to do
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Is faith irrational?There is no way we can prove any of the following beliefs, and yet we remain committed to their truth:
• Life is not a dream• Other people have minds• The laws of physics will not break down
tomorrow• The past really happened• I can pass the IB!
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“I respect faith, but doubt is what gives you an education.”
Wilson Mizner (1876 – 1933)
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But remember…
Just because a lot of peoplebelieve something to be true,it doesn’t make it true
Can we use the Truth testswhen thinking about religion…
• Correspondence?• Coherence?• Pragmatism?• Consensus?
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“Acceptance without proof is the fundamental characteristic
of Western religion; Rejection without proof is the
fundamental characteristicof Western science.”
Gary Zukav
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Karl Marx Charles Darwin Sigmund Freud
Three men whose work had a profound impact on religion
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“Question with boldness even the existence of God; because if there be one, He must more
approve of the homage of reason than that of
blindfolded fear”Thomas Jefferson (1743-1826)
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“If we can learn to hold even our deepest beliefs with a
degree of humility, we will be less likely to kill one another
in the name of things we do not fully understand”
Richard van de Lagemaat(ToK for the IB Diploma p.428)
The basic command of religion is not,“Do this!” or “Don’t do that!”
It is, simply, “Look!”
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Discussion questions…
• How do we assess the claims of religion?
• Should religious belief be exposed to rational criticism?
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• Do you know why you believe what you do?
• Is it a set of beliefs you have come to yourself?
• To what extent do you think your religious beliefs have been affected by the society you grew up in?
• Do you think that reason should play a part in determining religious beliefs?
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Suggest ways in which a person’s religious beliefs may affect their understanding of:
• Science• History• Art• Ethics
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Key points:• Religions are concerned with questions of meaning and
purpose which trouble all human beings• Faith plays an important role in religion, but people have
different views about what faith is and whether or not it is rational
• The fact that there are many different religions in the world raises the question of whether they all contradict one another or whether they all point towards the same underlying truth
• All religions are founded on a bedrock of personal experiences, but opinions differ about how such experiences should be interpreted
• Since we will never have the answers to the deepest mysteries, it may be wise to hold our religious beliefs with a degree of humility
Religion
PerceptionHow should
religious experiences be
interpreted?
ReasonWhat arguments are there for the
existence of God?
EthicsAre values based
on religion?
ArtsHow similar is
human creativity to divine
creativity?
HistoryDoes history
reveal some kind of plan or purpose?
Human Sciences
What can psychology tell us
about religious belief?
EmotionWhat role does emotion play in religious belief?
Natural Sciences
Do science and religion contradict
one another?
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Is there value in mythology?TaK - Religion
If ‘Yes’ – what?