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DREEMS The Six Dimensions of Religion - Study Guide | INTR 532, Study notes of Political Science

Material Type: Notes; Professor: Moreau; Class: Contextualization; Subject: Intercultural Studies-MA; University: Wheaton College; Term: Unknown 1989;

Typology: Study notes

Pre 2010

Uploaded on 08/05/2009

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Case Study Supplement:
DREEMS: The Six Dimensions of Religion
Doctrine: Important truths expressed in religious
form. These may be propositional or
experiential, objective or subjective. They
teach about the world, the universe, and the
relationship of people within the larger structures.
May or may not be directly related to “real life”. They
may be organized in a stand-alone fashion, or scattered
within the mythic, ethical, and ritual structures.
Answer “What is truth about the world, people, and the
unseen powers?”
Ritual: Regularized ceremonies of life
which provide “places” of security 1)
through reparation for broken taboo ,2)
events which mark transition from one phase
of life to another, and 3) intensifying social
cohesion through participation with the
community in culturally important
celebrations.
Ethics: Values of how people are to behave as they
relate to other people, animals, and the world.
These are found on the personal, group, and
social level. They are deeply interwoven into the
cultural values and doctrine, and often enshrined in
heroic (or evil) acts discussed in cultural myth. They
provide the maps which we negotiate as we live and
interact with others.
Experience: How we feel the transcendent in our
lives and whether we consider that experience to
be a significant element of our religious lives.
Can range from the mundane to the sublime,
though generally focused more on the latter. Includes
such things as dreams, visions, out-of-the-body events,
trance, possession, shamanic journeys, and so on.
Myth: The stories of a culture which reflect its
thinking about the world, itself, its laws and
values. Myth concretizes important values for
the culture and enables those values to be
passed from generation to generation. Technically
focused in timeless stories of creation, redemption and
human/divine drama (Scripture, epics and classics).
On an informal level found in folklore, fairy stories,
and proverbs.
Social: The element of religion that expresses the
linking of people to each other, built on the
cultural values of how people are to relate
socially in religious contexts. Includes social
institutions (see below) as well as the sense of
belonging inculcated through socially -experienced
religious events. For the types of institutions and their
importance, see the AKEEL system description below
and overleaf.
Social Institutions: A Summary Chart of the AKEEL System
System Need Elements for 532
AAssociation Polarization of people with similar purposes
and/or objectives
Symbols of identification (e.g., dress
codes), religious functions of groups
(formal or informal)
KKinship Biological reproduction of new members
Descent, authority, residence, inheritance,
marriage all as seen within religious
teachings/regulations
EEducation To provide new members with the
knowledge, values, and skills of the society
Formal: religious schools
Informal: books,
Nonformal: Kin, friends, religious peers
EEconomics To distribute the goods and services which
sustain the livelihood of its members
Systems of exchange and means of
payment in religious settings
LLaw, Political To maintain internal order and to regulate
relations with others
Means of regulating religious systems:
administrative, policies, statements of
faith, taboos, sanctions, disciplinary
means
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Case Study Supplement:

DREEMS: The Six Dimensions of Religion

D

octrine: Important truths expressed in religious form. These may be propositional or experiential, objective or subjective. They teach about the world, the universe, and the relationship of people within the larger structures. May or may not be directly related to “real life”. They may be organized in a stand-alone fashion, or scattered within the mythic, ethical, and ritual structures. Answer “What is truth about the world, people, and the unseen powers?”

R

itual: Regularized ceremonies of life

which provide “places” of security 1)

through reparation for broken taboo ,2)

events which mark transition from one phase

of life to another, and 3) intensifying social

cohesion through participation with the

community in culturally important

celebrations.

E

thics: Values of how people are to behave as they relate to other people, animals, and the world. These are found on the personal, group, and social level. They are deeply interwoven into the cultural values and doctrine, and often enshrined in heroic (or evil) acts discussed in cultural myth. They provide the maps which we negotiate as we live and interact with others.

E

xperience: How we feel the transcendent in our lives and whether we consider that experience to be a significant element of our religious lives. Can range from the mundane to the sublime, though generally focused more on the latter. Includes such things as dreams, visions, out-of-the-body events, trance, possession, shamanic journeys, and so on.

M

yth: The stories of a culture which reflect its thinking about the world, itself, its laws and values. Myth concretizes important values for the culture and enables those values to be passed from generation to generation. Technically focused in timeless stories of creation, redemption and human/divine drama (Scripture, epics and classics). On an informal level found in folklore, fairy stories, and proverbs.

S

ocial: The element of religion that expresses the linking of people to each other , built on the cultural values of how people are to relate socially in religious contexts. Includes social institutions (see below) as well as the sense of belonging inculcated through socially -experienced religious events. For the types of institutions and their importance, see the AKEEL system description below and overleaf.

Social Institutions: A Summary Chart of the AKEEL System

System Need Elements for 532

A Association^

Polarization of people with similar purposes and/or objectives

Symbols of identification (e.g., dress codes), religious functions of groups (formal or informal)

K Kinship^ Biological reproduction of new members

Descent, authority, residence, inheritance, marriage all as seen within religious teachings/regulations

E Education^

To provide new members with the knowledge, values, and skills of the society

Formal: religious schools Informal: books, Nonformal: Kin, friends, religious peers

E Economics^

To distribute the goods and services which sustain the livelihood of its members

Systems of exchange and means of payment in religious settings

L Law, Political^

To maintain internal order and to regulate relations with others

Means of regulating religious systems: administrative, policies, statements of faith, taboos, sanctions, disciplinary means

Case Studies Supplement:

The Social Dimension of Contextualization:

Human Social Institutions

In every culture we must face the fact of human institutions which together give cohesiveness to

the culture and facilitate the functioning of all elements of life. AKEEL is a helpful acronym for

the first letters of the individual systems (modified from the KEEPRAH paradigm presented in

Harris and Moran, "Understanding Cultural Differences,” pp. 62-72 to fit the particularities of

the INTR 532 case studies):

A

= Association. The associational system of a religious community is one of the

more difficult categories to conceptualize. It would include social groupings such as

unions, clubs, societies, cooperatives, parties, etc. These are often seen within the other

institutions (e.g., alumni associations and doctrinal affiliations (Calvinists/Arminians)

K

= Kinship. Every religion must provide for the biological reproduction of new

members and see that they are nourished and cared for during infancy and childhood.

Nearly everywhere it is the family which provides the basic context for the performance

of these activities. Most of the early training and socialization of children also takes

place within the family. Can also apply to how the religion takes on kinships functions

when an individual converts and loses his/her biological kin as a result.

E

= Education. Education (formal, non-formal, and informal) is a facet of the

socialization process necessary to all religions. As an institutional term, education

refers to all those activities which, in any way, directly or indirectly, contribute to

providing new members, either by birth or immigration, with the knowledge, values and

skills of the religion. These are transmitted to the new member in order to prepare her or

him to live and function within the religious society in a socially acceptable manner.

E

= Economics. Every religion has some way of producing and distributing the goods

and services which sustain the spiritual (and sometimes the physical) lives of its

members. The set of institutions and roles which are organized around the performance

of these activities constitutes the economic system of the religion. Often there is an

idealized portrait of what that system is (e.g., tithing) which may not correspond to the

actual events of life for the average religious adherent.

L

= Law, Legal, and Politics. All religious communities must have some means of

maintaining internal order and, at the same time, regulating their relations with other

communities. Internal threats to a religion’s existence come from the competition for

power, here defined as the control over human, human-made, and natural resources.

Since the availability of such resources has ultimate limits in any religious community

conflict of images and plans over the use of those resources in inevitable. The political

system, therefore, is the network of institutions and social roles which exist to control the

competition for power within the religious system.