The Religious Impulse

Students will be expected to:

1: Examine their own definition of religion and be familiar with other definitions.

2: Describe evidence from pre-historic artifacts for religious behavior among early humans.

3: Distinguish atheism from secularization.

4: Analyze the historic practices of aboriginal spirituality as they relate to present day beliefs.

5: Identify and explain the seven dimensions of religion: practical/ritual, experiential, narrative/mythic, doctrinal/philosophical, ethical, social/institutional, material.

Disbelieve it or not, ancient history suggests that atheism is as natural to humans as religionPeople in the ancient world did not always believe in the gods, a new study suggests – casting doubt on the idea that religious belief is a “default setting” for humans.

DIMENSIONS OF RELIGION

Evolution and Religion - Darwin’s God - Robin Marantz HenigIn the world of evolutionary biology, the question is not whether God exists but why we believe in him. Is belief a helpful adaptation or an evolutionary accident?

Gagadju Man: Keeping his legacy aliveIn 2014, Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies (AIATSIS) launched the celebration of our 50th anniversary with 30 dancers, singers and ceremonial elders from Arnhem Land converging on Reconciliation Place in Canberra to witness a rare traditional ceremonial performance. [[nid:17428]] They performed a very special ceremony, a re-enactment of an ancient Aboriginal Lorrkkon Ceremony honouring Big Bill Neidjie – affectionately known as The Kakadu Man.

Offerings to a Stone Snake Provide the Earliest Evidence of Religion70,000-year-old African ritual practices linked to mythology of modern Botswanans

The Big Myth (Creation Stories)

- YouTube Video Collection

Dreams from endangered culturesWith stunning photos and stories, National Geographic Explorer Wade Davis celebrates the extraordinary diversity of the world's indigenous cultures, which are disappearing from the planet at an alarming rate.

The worldwide web of belief and ritualAnthropologist Wade Davis muses on the worldwide web of belief and ritual that makes us human. He shares breathtaking photos and stories of the Elder Brothers, a group of Sierra Nevada indians whose spiritual practice holds the world in balance.