The “ABCS of Prayer’

Definitions (1-2 sentences; 2 pts each)

1. Phenomenology:
2. Naturism:
3. Symbot:
4. Salan:
5. Monothetic definition:
6. Functionalist definition:
7. Pantheism:
8. Explain the importance of these methods in the study of religion. (1-2 sentences each: 4 pts)

¢ Self-consciousness:

Comparison:

¢ Defamiliarization:

Empathy:

1. List and explain the “ABCS of Prayer’ (1-2 sentences each: 4 points):
2. List and explain the four “Orders of Meaning” at work in the study of religion (1-2 sentences each; 4 pts):

Theorist-specific definitions — define the foltowing terms referencing the theorist associated with them (2-3 sentences

each; 2 pts each)

1. Hierophany: Online – Contact support

. 12. “Thick” description: 4

1. Archetypes:
2. Axis Mundi:
3. Mysterium tremendum et fascinans:
4. “Sick souls”:
5. Piacular rites:
6. Liminal states of ritual:
7. Conversion experience:
8. List and explain William James’ four criteria of religious experiences (1-2 sentences each; 4 pts):
9. Explain the connection between method and methodology in the study of religion, using examples drawn from a
   theorist of your choice (2-3 sentences: 2 pts.):
   Short answers (answers should be in the range of 3-4 sentences: 3 pts each)
10. How is the academic study of religion different from theology?
11. What did Jonathan Z. Smith mean by saying religion is a category “imposed from the outside”?
12. Explain the “insider / outsider problem” in the study of religion.
13. What is totemism, and what did Emile Durkheim mean when he said “if [the totem] is at once the symbol of the god
    and of the society, is that not because the god and the society are one?” ee .
    ‘ 26. What does Clifford Geertz mean when he says religious conceptions are “clothed with such an aura of factuality the
    moods and motivations seem uniquely realistic’?
14. What did Mircea Eliade mean by the term “illud tempus,” and why did he think it was important?
15. What does William James mean by first-hand and second-hand religion, and how do they relate to each other?
16. What does it mean that rituals “transform” an individual? (Provide at least one example.)
17. Compare and contrast how Emile Durkheim and Mircea Eliade understand the categories of the sacred and the
    profane.
18. Compare and contrast the prayer practices of two different traditions (your choice), noting both similarities and
    differences.
    Essay question (3-4 paragraphs: 20 pts) – CHOOSE ONE OPTION
    a) Choose two theorists of religion and comparatively evaluate their understanding of religion. How do they make sense of
    religion? What is religion “all about” for them? Who do you think offers a more convincing understanding of religion, and
    why? Your answer should reference their methods and supporting methodologies, and integrate examples drawn from
    Hinduism and/or Istam.
    OR
    b) List and expiain Ninian Smart’s “dimensions” of religion, providing clarifying examples from either Islam or Hinduism.
    Why did he look to dimensions over a definition? How did he think they helped us better understand religion? Do you think
    this is a good way to approach the study of religion? Why?