comparative religion

Examples of comparative religion in the following topics:

• Religious Symbols

  • Religious symbolism is the use of acts, artwork, and events to create a mythos expressing the teachings of the religion.
  • Religions view religious texts, rituals and works of art as symbols of compelling ideas or ideals.
  • The study of religious symbolism is either universalist, a component of comparative religion and mythology, or seen in a localized scope within the confines of a religion's limits and boundaries.
  • Comparative religion concerns the systematic comparison of the world's religions.
  • There are many benefits to such a course of inquiry, but in general the comparative study of religion yields a deeper understanding of the fundamental philosophical concerns of religion, including ethics, metaphysics and the nature and form of salvation.

• Religion and Other Social Factors

  • More women than men report having attended religious services in the past week (46% compared with 33%); more women hold membership in a church or synagogue (74% compared with 63%); and more women report watching religious programs (53% compared with 44%).
  • Women are more likely than men to read the Bible at least monthly (56% compared with 41%) and to report having "a great deal of confidence" in organized religion (62% compared with 52%)...
  • One explanation for the greater involvement of women in religion is socialization.
  • Religion is also divided by race.
  • Intrinsic religiosity refers to people who see religion as the end (e.g., religion is the answer to life's questions).

• Affiliation

  • Religion in the United States is characterized by both a wide diversity of religious beliefs and practices and by a high adherence level.
  • A majority of Americans report that religion plays a "very important" role in their lives, a proportion unique among developed nations.
  • Non-Christian religions (including Judaism, Islam, Buddhism, Hinduism, etc.), collectively make up about 5% of the adult population.
  • Despite a high level of religious adherence, only 9% of Americans in a 2008 poll said religion was the most important thing in their life, compared with 45% who said family was paramount in their life and 17% who said money and career was paramount.
  • Census does not ask about religion.

• World Religions and Religious History

  • If one were to ask any sociologist of religion which are the world religions, they would likely give the standard answer that there are five world religions:
  • A detailed description of these religions is beyond the scope of this chapter.
  • The classification of these groups as world religions is, like all classifications, artificial.
  • Additionally, the religions of the book have numerous branches, some so dissimilar that there is more contention within the world religions than between them (e.g., Mormons vs. fundamentalist Christians, Catholics vs.
  • In short, classification as a world religion seems a little arbitrary.

• Theism and Monotheism

  • They are usually immortal, and are commonly assumed to have personalities, consciousness and intellects comparable (albeit superior) to those of humans.
  • The most prominent modern day monotheistic religions include Christianity, Islam and Judaism.
  • Deism typically rejects supernatural events (prophecies, miracles and divine revelations) prominent in organized religion.
  • Examples include the Egyptian and Greek religions, as well as certain schools of Hinduism.
  • The beginnings of modern religion and the origins of the Hebrew Bible

• Freedom of Religion

  • The following religious civil liberties are guaranteed by the First Amendment to the Constitution: "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof. " Thus, freedom of religion in the U.S. has two parts: the prohibition on the establishment of a state religion, and the right of all citizens to practice their religion.
  • The Federal Government may not establish a national church or religion or excessively involve itself in religion, particularly to the benefit of one religion over another.
  • Therefore, states must guarantee freedom of religion in the same way the Federal Government must.
  • By extension, democracies interpret "freedom of religion" as the right of each individual to freely choose to convert from one religion to another, mix religions, or abandon religion altogether.
  • Summarize the meaning of "freedom of religion" in the U.S. constitution

• Variables

  • For example, an experimenter might compare the effectiveness of four types of antidepressants.
  • If an experiment compares an experimental treatment with a control treatment, then the independent variable (type of treatment) has two levels: experimental and control.
  • If an experiment were comparing five types of diets, then the independent variable (type of diet) would have 5 levels.
  • Qualitative variables are those that express a qualitative attribute such as hair color, eye color, religion, favorite movie, gender, and so on.
  • Values of the variable "religion" differ qualitatively; no ordering of religions is implied.

• Religion

  • Understanding the religions in your audience will help you relate to the members and avoid excluding members of differing religions.
  • According to some estimates, there are roughly 4,200 religions in the world.
  • The members of your audience could be followers of any of those religions.
  • Religions may involve the worship of a god or gods or a spiritual force.
  • People with different beliefs are free to practice their religion in the U.S. or to practice no religion.

• Introduction

  • Sociologists study religion the same way they study other social institutions, like education or government.
  • The aim is primarily to understand religions, but included in trying to understand religions is the aim of trying to predict what religions will eventually do (or what will become of religions).
  • It is important to note at the beginning of this chapter that sociologists study religion not to prove, disprove or normatively evaluate religion.
  • Sociologists aren't interested in whether a religion is right or wrong.
  • That said, the social scientific study of religion can be challenging from a faith standpoint as it provides alternative, naturalistic explanations for many elements of religion (e.g., the sources of conversion experiences).

• Human Sexuality and Culture

  • Most world religions have developed moral codes that have sought to guide people's sexual activities and practices.
  • Some religions view sex as a sacred act between a man and a woman that should only be performed within marriage; other religions view certain kinds of sex as shameful or sinful, or stress that sex should only be engaged in for the purpose of procreation.
  • While the United States prides itself on being the land of the "free," it is rather restrictive compared to other industrialized nations when it comes to its citizens' general attitudes about sex.
  • According to TIME magazine and CNN, 74% of teenagers in the U.S. reported that their major sources of sexual information were their peers and the media, compared to only 10% who named their parents or a sex-education course.
  • Many of these perceptions are influenced by religion.