02/13/08

Study guide 1

The exam will be worth 80 points

Some Important Terms and Concepts

Be able to give an example of each of the following along with a brief characterization and application to the study of religion.

Religion

Spirituality

Science

Five positive aspects of religion

Five negative aspects of religion

Exoteric vs. Esoteric

Transcendent vs. immanent

Outer vs. inner

Revelation vs. mystical/spiritual experiences

Faith vs. belief

Anthropomorphism

Introspection

Phenomenology

Structuralism vs. functionalism

Behaviorism

Myth

Jung

Signs vs. symbols

Male vs. female

Inquisition

Monastic life

St. Francis and the Franciscans

Cosmological argument

Ontological argument

Teleological argument

Transcendent mystical experiences (transcendence)

Immanent mystical experiences (immanence)

Stages in mystical experiences

Frontal lobes

Altruism

Phenotypic matching

Here are some items/questions:

1) What are some reasons, according to Fontana, for why the psychology of religion has had a low profile in psychology?

2) What are the five (ethological) aims/questions to be used in studying any psychological or behavioral phenomenon and give an example of each in the study of religion? (These were outlined in class and emphasized as critically important. If you do not know them contact other students for their notes.)

3) What are the six major religious traditions and distinguish among them (not exhaustively, just some aspect that separates them from the others)?

4) How does Fontana characterize ‘materialism’ and what are some problems with his version?

5) How do religions vary in how they value/use ‘faith?’

6) Which of Neilsen’s 12 characteristics that supposedly distinguish supernatural religion from nonsupernatural approaches to the world do you think are, in fact, exclusively found in such religions?

7) How do various religions use rewards and punishments?

8) How do various religions deal with the afterlife?

9) Do you think that an afterlife is essential to a religious/spiritual approach to life in this world? Why?

10) Contrast the five precepts of Buddhism with the five pillars of Islam? What might this indicate about the religious experiences followers may be encouraged to have?

11) How did Hinduism arrive at the caste system from its theology? Look at the caste system through the lens of the five aims (Question 2).

12) Know the basic plots and main characters of The Seventh Seal and The Name of the Rose as applied to various issues in the psychology of religion and think about the differences among people in their behavior (inner and outer).

13) What are, for William James, the four marks of experience that render something mystical? Know an example of each. Do they apply to St. Teresa? Explain

14) Why does James find mystical experiences prior to philosophy in religion? Evaluate his arguments.

15) Be able to compare the views of Alston, Proudfoot, and Westphal on religious experiences and what they mean.

16) What do surveys of people’s religious experiences generally show, according to Fontana?

17) Based on Fontana, what prompts and motivates mysticism? Conversion? What seems to be the relative importance of these various factors? These are the major issues dealt with in pages 125-156.

18) Does the idea of a ‘God Spot’ in the brain make sense to you? Explain.

19) Does the thought question Fontana poses at the end of chapter 7 make sense to you? What are some obvious problems?

20) Why did Christianity have difficulty with dealing with the suffering of animals? How did its view lead to differences from Hinduism, Buddhism, and Jainism in how animals were viewed and often treated? Are there contemporary consequences?

21) Why is human non-kin, non-reciprocal altruism such a puzzle for evolutionists?

22) How does Hector Qirko suggest religious institutions reinforce commitment to celibacy in their recruits?  How does he operationalize and test his hypothesis?

23) Try to see linkages/contrasts among the articles in the reader. The introductory comments may be helpful here in seeing "the big picture."

24) It may be useful to organize a notebook answering the above as you review the readings and your notes. You can e-mail any questions and I will try to answer them if you do not wait until too late.