THERE ARE THREE MAIL PARAGRAPHS ABOUT DIFFERENT TOPICS. YOU HAVE TO REWRITE THIS. READ IT AND REWRITE THIS IN YOUR OWN WORDS. SO NOT COPY ANYTHING . I NEED YOUR ANSWERS AS A READING RESPONSE. ALL...

THERE ARE THREE MAIL PARAGRAPHS ABOUT DIFFERENT TOPICS. YOU HAVE TO REWRITE THIS. READ IT AND REWRITE THIS IN YOUR OWN WORDS. SO NOT COPY ANYTHING . I NEED YOUR ANSWERS AS A READING RESPONSE. ALL TOGATHER MUST BE 1.5 - 2 PAGES. USE SIMPLE WORDS.

several seminal theories

Several seminal theories in religious studies have helped to stimulate academic reflection on

the origins and the nature of religion. Among these theories mentioned in your textbook, are

Edward B. Tyler’s
animism, Emile Durkheim’s
totemism, Paul Tillich’s
ultimate concern,

Rudolf Otto’s idea of the holy (numinous), and Mircea Eliade’s view of the
sacred. Each of

these theories (and many others) have contributed to the development of the field of religious

studies by revealing highly different ways to approach and define the topic-matter. Whereas

Tyler and Durkheim (an anthropologist and a sociologist respectively) viewed religion as

‘nothing more than a human [cultural or] social construct’ (p. 23), based on notions of

cultural evolution or the apotheosis of social ideals, scholars such as Tillich and Otto saw

something ultimately meaningful or mysteriously powerful in humankind’s religious search.

Each of their theories reflect their own biases about religion, and remind us that religion can

mean many things to different people. A single definition, therefore, may not be inherently

privileged or better than another. (see pp. 19–23)

Missionary religions have had an ambivalent impact on human societies for several reasons.

On the one hand, their usually altruistic motivations to help others have often contributed to

increased social welfare programs to aid the poor and to care for the sick/orphans (albeit

social tensions often accompanied such activities). Secondly, the adherents of missionary

religions often produced pioneering linguistic ethnographic, and historical studies of

indigenous religions enriching the understanding of them.

On the other hand, missionary religions have been tied to cultural imperialism, hostility

towards competing religions, and military aggression. Their adherents have sometimes been

insensitive to the religious beliefs and practices of outsiders generating considerable

resentment and even violent conflict. As a result, it is rather paradoxical to observe that the

usually altruistic impulse for spreading religion has given birth to remarkable kindness,

compassion, and generosity, yet also produced religious chauvinism and colonial

imperialism. Thus, your textbook suggests that the ‘missionary record has been mixed at

best, with some very disturbing undertones’. (see pp. 8–11)

careful consideration of the nature, definition, and contemporary context of religion,

the authors make an important distinction between the terms
pluralismand
secularism.

They define pluralism as ‘the granting of equal support, acceptance, or decision making roles

to more than one religious group’ (p. 12). As such, pluralism is a conscious attitude toward

the issue of religious diversity, which embraces a spirit of openness and acceptance towards

religious heterogeneity, seeing such diversity as inherently positive; in contrast, secularism in

the Western context, is defined as ‘the exclusion in principle of all religious groups,

institutions, and identities from public support and participation in public decision making’

(p. 12). Secularism asserts that society is better off curtailing the roles of religion to a limited

sphere without government support (or even suppressing religion altogether). It sees the

separation of church and state to be inherently positive and even very wise. (It should be

noted that in the context of India, the term ‘secularism’ has a different, unique meaning,

which refers to guaranteed constitutional protections for India’s religious groups, where the

state plays an active role in their preservation.)

One can also differentiate other important forms of pluralism in religious discourse such

as ‘epistemological pluralism’ and ‘theological pluralism’. In theological language, ‘religious pluralism’ has a specific meaning in relation to other faiths, which posits that the world’s

religious are all efficacious paths to salvation/liberation. This theory, championed by the

philosopher John Hick and many others, remains highly influential today, although it is often

criticized. (see pp. 11–14)