Holy rooms
Why do different religious rooms look the way they do? Why are there so many pictures in most sacred buildings? Why are so many churches and temples so large, and how has it been possible to build so large?
How do you think the sacred rooms have affected people and their faith? How do Christian churches differ from sacred spaces in other religions?
Your rites of passage What rites of passage have you experienced yourself, and do you think you will experience? What do they mean to you?
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The world religions
Answer the questions :
1. Why are there religions? a) Why do you think there are religions? b) How can we say that religions are adapted to different places and times? What is your opinion? c) What does the word faith mean?
2. What is religion? a) What do you think religion means? b) What does the word religion stand for?
3. What is a worldview? a) What does a worldview stand for? b) Give examples of different worldviews! c) Which religions are counted as world religions? d) Is there any reason to question the traditional division into five world religions? Motivate why by giving examples from the film and this chapter!
4. Functions of religion a) What functions do you think religions have? b) Why might people need these features? c) How can religion unite people? d) How can religion give rise to conflicts? e) How can the practice of religion cause individual problems?
5. Rituals a) How do you define a ritual? What characterizes a ritual? b) What purpose (s) does a ritual have? c) Give examples of some religious rituals.
6. Feasts a) What characterizes a religious holiday? b) Give examples of some religious festivals.
7. What is morality? a) What does morality mean to you? b) What does the word morality stand for? c) What is the “Golden Rule”? d) What does the term sharia mean? Give examples. e) Mention the equivalent of sharia to other religions.
8. Common features a) What common features can you see in different religions? b) What does monotheism mean? Give examples of monotheistic religions. c) What is polytheism? Give examples of polytheistic religions. d) What is a natural religion? Do you know of any natural religion?
9. Sacred Places a) What characterizes a holy place? b) What fills a sacred place of function? c) How can it be that Jerusalem is a holy place in several religions?
10. Specialists a) What are the characteristics of a specialist when talking about religion? b) Give examples of specialists in different religions.
11. Symbols a) What is a symbol? b) Can you give examples of religious symbols? 12. Summary How would you summarize the content of the program?
Study the compilation of the five world religions.
Select two religions, or two phenomena such as the attributes of God or the Holy Scriptures, and compare them in a Venn chart.
(A Venn diagram is two (or more) circles that describe what two phenomena have in common and what properties are only present in one or the other. Feel free to google image if you want more inspiration.)
Choose another religion, or a different phenomenon, and see if you can get larger or smaller deviations in the Venn diagram. So you should make two different Venn diagrams.
