Assignment Prompt & Instructions
https://youtu.be/Anma1WpG5RM?si=A4GIleFdKVad9wNv
– ## Summer2025Commonelementsofreligioussystems1.ppt
– ## Summer2025SelectedReligionsinAmerica.ppt
**## Summer2025Commonelementsofreligioussystems1.ppt**
Common elements of religious systems
Common elements of religious systems:
– COSMOLOGY
– Conception of the basic nature of man/woman and the universe
– MYTHOLOGY
– Beliefs about god/goddesses; attributes of the supernatural
– ANIMISM
– Conception of the soul(s); ideas and beliefs about spirits
Common elements of religious systems:
– ESCHATOLOGY
– Hierarchy of the supernatural
– SPIRITS AND GODS
– The pantheon of gods/goddesses; spirits of the dead
– LUCK AND CHANCE
– The conceptualization of “power”
– SACRED OBJECT AND PLACES
– Places of worship; religious paraphernalia
Common elements of religious systems:
– PROPITIATION
– Offerings and sacrifices
– PURIFICATION AND EXPIATION
– Ideas of “clean” and “unclean”; renewal of spiritual forces
– AVOIDANCE AND TABBOOS
– Activities, places, foods, etc. to be avoided
– REVELATION AND DIVINATION
– Knowledge of the pas/present; predictions of the future
Common elements of religious systems:
– RITUAL
– Celebrations, festivities, and other structured activities
– MAGIC
– Control of supernatural and human happenings
– INITIATED PRACTITIONERS
– Priests, priestesses, other specialized practitioners
Common elements of religious systems:
– ORGANIZED CEREMONIAL
– Structured ritual activities; religious calendar.
– RELIGIOUS EXPERIENCE
– The experiencing of the supernatural; spirit possession.
Two Explanations for the Experience of Religion…..
– Carl Gustav Jung (Psychiatrist) – Analytic Psychology
– Collective unconscious (mankind heredity)
– Archetypes – latent and manifest
– Claude Levi-Strauss – Cultural Anthropologist
– Underlying Mental Structures (language structure) in the explanation of myths
– Binary system for organizing the explanation of experience (no contrast – no information
**## Summer2025SelectedReligionsinAmerica.ppt**
God and Religion in North America
An Overview
Religious Affiliation in the U.S.
MUSLIMS
– ONE SEVENTH OF THE WORLD’S POPULATION IS MUSLIM
– ONE OF THE FASTEST GROWING IN THE NORTH AMERICA (APPROX. 6 MILLION MEMBERS, UP FROM APPROX. 2 MILLION IN 1978
– SOUTH FLORIDA ISLAMIC COMMUNITY: 75,000
– DEVOUT MUSLIMS PRAY 5 TIMES A DAY, ALWAYS FACING MECCA
MUSLIMS
– BASED ON THE REVELATIONS BY THE PROPHET MOHAMMED (LIVED IN ARABIA IN 570 AD)
– LATER RECORDED IN THE VOLUME CALLED KORAN
– WORSHIP ONE GOD: ALLAH
HINDUS
– ABOUT 80% OF INDIA’S ONE BILLION PEOPLE CONSIDER THEMSELVES HINDU
– THERE ARE ABOUT 30 MILLION HINDUS ELSEWHERE, INCLUDING A MILLION IN THE U.S.
– FOR HINDUS, GOD IS MANIFEST IN DIFFERENT FORMS AND LATENT IN ALL OBJECTS, SO WORSHIP IS APPROPRIATE ON ANY OCCASION
MORM0NS (Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints)
The Tabernacle in Salt Lake City draws pilgrims from 4.8 million members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
World-wide the church reports about 300,000 conversions per year
Members maintain that true Christianity was restored by Joseph Smith in the 19th century and that prophets are living among us today.
SIKHS
SIKHS
Religion was founded in India
Sikhs are MONOTHEISTIC
Men wear beards to stay close to their God – the idea is to be as natural as possible
There are 20 million Sikhs worldwide
There are more than 2 million Sikhs in North America
JAINS
Related to Hinduism – dates back to 6th century B.C.
Right: celebration of their new $6 million temple in Farmington Hills, Michigan
Basic tenets: non-violence, vegetarianism, pursuit of Nirvana
Jainism inspires other Hindu sects
CHRIST CLUBS
A phenomenon of modern day American religious life
Increasing number of associations or groups like motorcycle clubs – Bikers for Christ, Surfers for Christ, etc.
A Christian movement that mixes rock music and Christian worship
BUDDHISTS
– BASED ON NONVIOLENCE, COMPASSION, AND CHARITY.
– DEVELOPED IN NORTHEASTERN INDIA IN THE MID-6TH CENTURY B.C.
– EMPHASIS ON MEDITATION AND ASCETICISM
– BUDDHISTS DO NOT WORSHIP BUDDHA BUT PAY HOMAGE TO HIS TEACHINGS.
– APPROX. 800,000 FOLLOWERS IN THE U.S.
BUDDHISTS
– Every other Sunday, monks at this monastery symbolically shave way their afflictions.
Other Faiths in North America….
– Jews (six million in the U.S.)
– Russian Orthodox (Over 2 million in America)
– Roman Catholics (Over 60 million in America)
– Christian Fellowship (athlete associations)
– Pentecostals (Over 12 million in the U.S.; 130 million worldwide)
– Greek Orthodox (Over 2 million in the U.S.; 15 million worldwide)
Other Faiths in North America….
– Holly Rollers (snake handlers) – Popular in parts of the South and deep in Appalachian mining country
– African Orthodox (storefront churches-co-founded in 1921 by Marcus Garvey (jazz influence)
– Evangelicals (Billy Graham; traditionalist view of the Bible)
– Wicca/Paganism
– Syncretistic religions
Santeria
Palo Mayombe
Vodou/Voodoo
Espiritismo
Curanderismo
Candomble
SELECTED RELIGIOUS TRENDS IN THE U.S.:
– Since 1980..
The number of Christians in the U.S. has risen by 24 million
The number of Muslims has risen by four million
The number of Jews has risen by 1.3 million
The number of Hindus has risen by one million
The number of Buddhists by three-quarters of a million
SELECTED VIEWS OF THE NORTH AMERICAN PEOPLE
– 90% of Americans believe in a God (compared to 70% of Britons)
– 33% of Americans believe that the Bible is the actual word of God
– 79% of Americans pray to god and feel that he has helped them to make decisions
– 80% of Americans believe in an afterlife
72% believe in heaven
56% believe in hell
**## Summer2025SelectedReligionsinAmerica.ppt**
God and Religion in North America
An Overview
Religious Affiliation in the U.S.
MUSLIMS
– ONE SEVENTH OF THE WORLD’S POPULATION IS MUSLIM
– ONE OF THE FASTEST GROWING IN THE NORTH AMERICA (APPROX. 6 MILLION MEMBERS, UP FROM APPROX. 2 MILLION IN 1978
– SOUTH FLORIDA ISLAMIC COMMUNITY: 75,000
– DEVOUT MUSLIMS PRAY 5 TIMES A DAY, ALWAYS FACING MECCA
MUSLIMS
– BASED ON THE REVELATIONS BY THE PROPHET MOHAMMED (LIVED IN ARABIA IN 570 AD)
– LATER RECORDED IN THE VOLUME CALLED KORAN
– WORSHIP ONE GOD: ALLAH
HINDUS
– ABOUT 80% OF INDIA’S ONE BILLION PEOPLE CONSIDER THEMSELVES HINDU
– THERE ARE ABOUT 30 MILLION HINDUS ELSEWHERE, INCLUDING A MILLION IN THE U.S.
– FOR HINDUS, GOD IS MANIFEST IN DIFFERENT FORMS AND LATENT IN ALL OBJECTS, SO WORSHIP IS APPROPRIATE ON ANY OCCASION
MORM0NS (Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints)
The Tabernacle in Salt Lake City draws pilgrims from 4.8 million members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
World-wide the church reports about 300,000 conversions per year
Members maintain that true Christianity was restored by Joseph Smith in the 19th century and that prophets are living among us today.
SIKHS
SIKHS
Religion was founded in India
Sikhs are MONOTHEISTIC
Men wear beards to stay close to their God – the idea is to be as natural as possible
There are 20 million Sikhs worldwide
There are more than 2 million Sikhs in North America
JAINS
Related to Hinduism – dates back to 6th century B.C.
Right: celebration of their new $6 million temple in Farmington Hills, Michigan
Basic tenets: non-violence, vegetarianism, pursuit of Nirvana
Jainism inspires other Hindu sects
CHRIST CLUBS
A phenomenon of modern day American religious life
Increasing number of associations or groups like motorcycle clubs – Bikers for Christ, Surfers for Christ, etc.
A Christian movement that mixes rock music and Christian worship
BUDDHISTS
– BASED ON NONVIOLENCE, COMPASSION, AND CHARITY.
– DEVELOPED IN NORTHEASTERN INDIA IN THE MID-6TH CENTURY B.C.
– EMPHASIS ON MEDITATION AND ASCETICISM
– BUDDHISTS DO NOT WORSHIP BUDDHA BUT PAY HOMAGE TO HIS TEACHINGS.
– APPROX. 800,000 FOLLOWERS IN THE U.S.
BUDDHISTS
– Every other Sunday, monks at this monastery symbolically shave way their afflictions.
Other Faiths in North America….
– Jews (six million in the U.S.)
– Russian Orthodox (Over 2 million in America)
– Roman Catholics (Over 60 million in America)
– Christian Fellowship (athlete associations)
– Pentecostals (Over 12 million in the U.S.; 130 million worldwide)
– Greek Orthodox (Over 2 million in the U.S.; 15 million worldwide)
Other Faiths in North America….
– Holly Rollers (snake handlers) – Popular in parts of the South and deep in Appalachian mining country
– African Orthodox (storefront churches-co-founded in 1921 by Marcus Garvey (jazz influence)
– Evangelicals (Billy Graham; traditionalist view of the Bible)
– Wicca/Paganism
– Syncretistic religions
Santeria
Palo Mayombe
Vodou/Voodoo
Espiritismo
Curanderismo
Candomble
SELECTED RELIGIOUS TRENDS IN THE U.S.:
– Since 1980..
The number of Christians in the U.S. has risen by 24 million
The number of Muslims has risen by four million
The number of Jews has risen by 1.3 million
The number of Hindus has risen by one million
The number of Buddhists by three-quarters of a million
SELECTED VIEWS OF THE NORTH AMERICAN PEOPLE
– 90% of Americans believe in a God (compared to 70% of Britons)
– 33% of Americans believe that the Bible is the actual word of God
– 79% of Americans pray to god and feel that he has helped them to make decisions
– 80% of Americans believe in an afterlife
72% believe in heaven
56% believe in hell
**## Summer2025Commonelementsofreligioussystems1.ppt**
Common elements of religious systems
Common elements of religious systems:
– COSMOLOGY
– Conception of the basic nature of man/woman and the universe
– MYTHOLOGY
– Beliefs about god/goddesses; attributes of the supernatural
– ANIMISM
– Conception of the soul(s); ideas and beliefs about spirits
Common elements of religious systems:
– ESCHATOLOGY
– Hierarchy of the supernatural
– SPIRITS AND GODS
– The pantheon of gods/goddesses; spirits of the dead
– LUCK AND CHANCE
– The conceptualization of “power”
– SACRED OBJECT AND PLACES
– Places of worship; religious paraphernalia
Common elements of religious systems:
– PROPITIATION
– Offerings and sacrifices
– PURIFICATION AND EXPIATION
– Ideas of “clean” and “unclean”; renewal of spiritual forces
– AVOIDANCE AND TABBOOS
– Activities, places, foods, etc. to be avoided
– REVELATION AND DIVINATION
– Knowledge of the pas/present; predictions of the future
Common elements of religious systems:
– RITUAL
– Celebrations, festivities, and other structured activities
– MAGIC
– Control of supernatural and human happenings
– INITIATED PRACTITIONERS
– Priests, priestesses, other specialized practitioners
Common elements of religious systems:
– ORGANIZED CEREMONIAL
– Structured ritual activities; religious calendar.
– RELIGIOUS EXPERIENCE
– The experiencing of the supernatural; spirit possession.
Two Explanations for the Experience of Religion…..
– Carl Gustav Jung (Psychiatrist) – Analytic Psychology
– Collective unconscious (mankind heredity)
– Archetypes – latent and manifest
– Claude Levi-Strauss – Cultural Anthropologist
– Underlying Mental Structures (language structure) in the explanation of myths
– Binary system for organizing the explanation of experience (no contrast – no information
**## Summer2025SelectedReligionsinAmerica.ppt**
God and Religion in North America
An Overview
Religious Affiliation in the U.S.
MUSLIMS
– ONE SEVENTH OF THE WORLD’S POPULATION IS MUSLIM
– ONE OF THE FASTEST GROWING IN THE NORTH AMERICA (APPROX. 6 MILLION MEMBERS, UP FROM APPROX. 2 MILLION IN 1978
– SOUTH FLORIDA ISLAMIC COMMUNITY: 75,000
– DEVOUT MUSLIMS PRAY 5 TIMES A DAY, ALWAYS FACING MECCA
MUSLIMS
– BASED ON THE REVELATIONS BY THE PROPHET MOHAMMED (LIVED IN ARABIA IN 570 AD)
– LATER RECORDED IN THE VOLUME CALLED KORAN
– WORSHIP ONE GOD: ALLAH
HINDUS
– ABOUT 80% OF INDIA’S ONE BILLION PEOPLE CONSIDER THEMSELVES HINDU
– THERE ARE ABOUT 30 MILLION HINDUS ELSEWHERE, INCLUDING A MILLION IN THE U.S.
– FOR HINDUS, GOD IS MANIFEST IN DIFFERENT FORMS AND LATENT IN ALL OBJECTS, SO WORSHIP IS APPROPRIATE ON ANY OCCASION
MORM0NS (Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints)
The Tabernacle in Salt Lake City draws pilgrims from 4.8 million members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
World-wide the church reports about 300,000 conversions per year
Members maintain that true Christianity was restored by Joseph Smith in the 19th century and that prophets are living among us today.
SIKHS
SIKHS
Religion was founded in India
Sikhs are MONOTHEISTIC
Men wear beards to stay close to their God – the idea is to be as natural as possible
There are 20 million Sikhs worldwide
There are more than 2 million Sikhs in North America
JAINS
Related to Hinduism – dates back to 6th century B.C.
Right: celebration of their new $6 million temple in Farmington Hills, Michigan
Basic tenets: non-violence, vegetarianism, pursuit of Nirvana
Jainism inspires other Hindu sects
CHRIST CLUBS
A phenomenon of modern day American religious life
Increasing number of associations or groups like motorcycle clubs – Bikers for Christ, Surfers for Christ, etc.
A Christian movement that mixes rock music and Christian worship
BUDDHISTS
– BASED ON NONVIOLENCE, COMPASSION, AND CHARITY.
– DEVELOPED IN NORTHEASTERN INDIA IN THE MID-6TH CENTURY B.C.
– EMPHASIS ON MEDITATION AND ASCETICISM
– BUDDHISTS DO NOT WORSHIP BUDDHA BUT PAY HOMAGE TO HIS TEACHINGS.
– APPROX. 800,000 FOLLOWERS IN THE U.S.
BUDDHISTS
– Every other Sunday, monks at this monastery symbolically shave way their afflictions.
Other Faiths in North America….
– Jews (six million in the U.S.)
– Russian Orthodox (Over 2 million in America)
– Roman Catholics (Over 60 million in America)
– Christian Fellowship (athlete associations)
– Pentecostals (Over 12 million in the U.S.; 130 million worldwide)
– Greek Orthodox (Over 2 million in the U.S.; 15 million worldwide)
Other Faiths in North America….
– Holly Rollers (snake handlers) – Popular in parts of the South and deep in Appalachian mining country
– African Orthodox (storefront churches-co-founded in 1921 by Marcus Garvey (jazz influence)
– Evangelicals (Billy Graham; traditionalist view of the Bible)
– Wicca/Paganism
– Syncretistic religions
Santeria
Palo Mayombe
Vodou/Voodoo
Espiritismo
Curanderismo
Candomble
SELECTED RELIGIOUS TRENDS IN THE U.S.:
– Since 1980..
The number of Christians in the U.S. has risen by 24 million
The number of Muslims has risen by four million
The number of Jews has risen by 1.3 million
The number of Hindus has risen by one million
The number of Buddhists by three-quarters of a million
SELECTED VIEWS OF THE NORTH AMERICAN PEOPLE
– 90% of Americans believe in a God (compared to 70% of Britons)
– 33% of Americans believe that the Bible is the actual word of God
– 79% of Americans pray to god and feel that he has helped them to make decisions
– 80% of Americans believe in an afterlife
72% believe in heaven
56% believe in hell
**## Summer2025Commonelementsofreligioussystems1.ppt**
Common elements of religious systems
Common elements of religious systems:
– COSMOLOGY
– Conception of the basic nature of man/woman and the universe
– MYTHOLOGY
– Beliefs about god/goddesses; attributes of the supernatural
– ANIMISM
– Conception of the soul(s); ideas and beliefs about spirits
Common elements of religious systems:
– ESCHATOLOGY
– Hierarchy of the supernatural
– SPIRITS AND GODS
– The pantheon of gods/goddesses; spirits of the dead
– LUCK AND CHANCE
– The conceptualization of “power”
– SACRED OBJECT AND PLACES
– Places of worship; religious paraphernalia
Common elements of religious systems:
– PROPITIATION
– Offerings and sacrifices
– PURIFICATION AND EXPIATION
– Ideas of “clean” and “unclean”; renewal of spiritual forces
– AVOIDANCE AND TABBOOS
– Activities, places, foods, etc. to be avoided
– REVELATION AND DIVINATION
– Knowledge of the pas/present; predictions of the future
Common elements of religious systems:
– RITUAL
– Celebrations, festivities, and other structured activities
– MAGIC
– Control of supernatural and human happenings
– INITIATED PRACTITIONERS
– Priests, priestesses, other specialized practitioners
Common elements of religious systems:
– ORGANIZED CEREMONIAL
– Structured ritual activities; religious calendar.
– RELIGIOUS EXPERIENCE
– The experiencing of the supernatural; spirit possession.
Two Explanations for the Experience of Religion…..
– Carl Gustav Jung (Psychiatrist) – Analytic Psychology
– Collective unconscious (mankind heredity)
– Archetypes – latent and manifest
– Claude Levi-Strauss – Cultural Anthropologist
– Underlying Mental Structures (language structure) in the explanation of myths
– Binary system for organizing the explanation of experience (no contrast – no information
**## Summer2025SelectedReligionsinAmerica.ppt**
God and Religion in North America
An Overview
Religious Affiliation in the U.S.
MUSLIMS
– ONE SEVENTH OF THE WORLD’S POPULATION IS MUSLIM
– ONE OF THE FASTEST GROWING IN THE NORTH AMERICA (APPROX. 6 MILLION MEMBERS, UP FROM APPROX. 2 MILLION IN 1978
– SOUTH FLORIDA ISLAMIC COMMUNITY: 75,000
– DEVOUT MUSLIMS PRAY 5 TIMES A DAY, ALWAYS FACING MECCA
MUSLIMS
– BASED ON THE REVELATIONS BY THE PROPHET MOHAMMED (LIVED IN ARABIA IN 570 AD)
– LATER RECORDED IN THE VOLUME CALLED KORAN
– WORSHIP ONE GOD: ALLAH
HINDUS
– ABOUT 80% OF INDIA’S ONE BILLION PEOPLE CONSIDER THEMSELVES HINDU
– THERE ARE ABOUT 30 MILLION HINDUS ELSEWHERE, INCLUDING A MILLION IN THE U.S.
– FOR HINDUS, GOD IS MANIFEST IN DIFFERENT FORMS AND LATENT IN ALL OBJECTS, SO WORSHIP IS APPROPRIATE ON ANY OCCASION
MORM0NS (Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints)
The Tabernacle in Salt Lake City draws pilgrims from 4.8 million members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
World-wide the church reports about 300,000 conversions per year
Members maintain that true Christianity was restored by Joseph Smith in the 19th century and that prophets are living among us today.
SIKHS
SIKHS
Religion was founded in India
Sikhs are MONOTHEISTIC
Men wear beards to stay close to their God – the idea is to be as natural as possible
There are 20 million Sikhs worldwide
There are more than 2 million Sikhs in North America
JAINS
Related to Hinduism – dates back to 6th century B.C.
Right: celebration of their new $6 million temple in Farmington Hills, Michigan
Basic tenets: non-violence, vegetarianism, pursuit of Nirvana
Jainism inspires other Hindu sects
CHRIST CLUBS
A phenomenon of modern day American religious life
Increasing number of associations or groups like motorcycle clubs – Bikers for Christ, Surfers for Christ, etc.
A Christian movement that mixes rock music and Christian worship
BUDDHISTS
– BASED ON NONVIOLENCE, COMPASSION, AND CHARITY.
– DEVELOPED IN NORTHEASTERN INDIA IN THE MID-6TH CENTURY B.C.
– EMPHASIS ON MEDITATION AND ASCETICISM
– BUDDHISTS DO NOT WORSHIP BUDDHA BUT PAY HOMAGE TO HIS TEACHINGS.
– APPROX. 800,000 FOLLOWERS IN THE U.S.
BUDDHISTS
– Every other Sunday, monks at this monastery symbolically shave way their afflictions.
Other Faiths in North America….
– Jews (six million in the U.S.)
– Russian Orthodox (Over 2 million in America)
– Roman Catholics (Over 60 million in America)
– Christian Fellowship (athlete associations)
– Pentecostals (Over 12 million in the U.S.; 130 million worldwide)
– Greek Orthodox (Over 2 million in the U.S.; 15 million worldwide)
Other Faiths in North America….
– Holly Rollers (snake handlers) – Popular in parts of the South and deep in Appalachian mining country
– African Orthodox (storefront churches-co-founded in 1921 by Marcus Garvey (jazz influence)
– Evangelicals (Billy Graham; traditionalist view of the Bible)
– Wicca/Paganism
– Syncretistic religions
Santeria
Palo Mayombe
Vodou/Voodoo
Espiritismo
Curanderismo
Candomble
SELECTED RELIGIOUS TRENDS IN THE U.S.:
– Since 1980..
The number of Christians in the U.S. has risen by 24 million
The number of Muslims has risen by four million
The number of Jews has risen by 1.3 million
The number of Hindus has risen by one million
The number of Buddhists by three-quarters of a million
SELECTED VIEWS OF THE NORTH AMERICAN PEOPLE
– 90% of Americans believe in a God (compared to 70% of Britons)
– 33% of Americans believe that the Bible is the actual word of God
– 79% of Americans pray to god and feel that he has helped them to make decisions
– 80% of Americans believe in an afterlife
72% believe in heaven
56% believe in hell
– 1
– 2