Second Post- Dimensions of Religiosity

The five dimensions of Religiosity are: 1. Experiential are physical reactions and feelings can be measured via brain scan. Parts of the brain will light up during the experience. 2. Ritualistic is participation in the various physical activities deemed sacred by the religion. 3. Ideological is the dogma of the religious beliefs and writings to which all members are expected to follow. 4. Intellectual are the participants knowledge about the history and scriptures study and thought of the meaning. 5. Consequential are by how the religious teachings affect the person during everyday life and how they relate to humanity as a whole in relationship to their personal religious teachings. In general, people react to society through various tenants taught to them by family and religious teachings. In conversation with some people no matter how logical or illogical a statement might sound such as “only God has the right to judge”. When a totally illogical comment is made by that person and example of this is “if you do not accept Jesus as your personal savor, you will not go to heaven”. Yet, they are aware that the person they are speaking to is not a Christian. When brought to task for this statement and mentally realizing the content of what they said their unable to recon the difference between religious brainwashing and reality.

Book- Man's Search for Meaning by Viktor Frankl

Viktor Frankl spent the next three years at Auschwitz and three other camps. He would be the only member of his family that survived. In the first section of his book “Man’s Search for Meaning”, he describes the atrocities and inhumane suffering that he and his fellow prisoners were subject to. In those three years Frankl lost everything that mattered to him most, his wife, his family members, his home and all his earthly possessions including his medical practice. He writes that one day while he was waiting for the shower suddenly he became aware of how truly naked he was. “We really had nothing now except our bare bodies- even minus hair. All we possessed literally was our naked existence. The Nazis had taken virtually everything away from him and his fellow inmates, many of whom would eventually lose the will to live. But as Frankl discovered he and others who drew upon their inner resources managed to survive. Two of those inner resources were imagination and hope. Frankl and others survived by envisioning their futures they believed they would someday be freed and would go on to live happy and creative lives. The more specific their plans for the future are the more hope they had. They realized that no matter what the Nazis did to them they could not take away their right to think, their own hopes for the future, and their own attitudes, no matter how atrocious their immediate circumstances are. This is why Frankl called it the last of human freedoms. The fact that we as human beings have the ability to choose our own thoughts and attitudes makes a difference for the future. Even though things look bad, the idea of such a simple profound concept is ridiculed. Being able to understand this concept can be life changing, yet many people are completely unaware of it. Having meaning in life is similar to having goals. Goals will give a sense of purpose. Life has more meaning when we’re clear on what we want our life to be. Instead of merely existing from one day to the next, our goals give us reasons to start really living. Frankl watched several of his friends get killed in the camps. He also saw many men commit suicide while others simply lost the will to live and decided to give up. Frankl later wrote that throughout all the brutality and suffering, what bothered him most was to see his fellow prisoners decide that there was nothing to live for and then give up on life. We are free to choose our own purpose, we can wander aimlessly or we can search for a meaning in life, and then live according to it. We can live to please only ourselves or we can find a cause that is a greater one that helps us understand and appreciate life more fully. As Dr. Frankl stated in his book, the observations and experiences of many prisoners come in three phases: First the period following his entrance to the camp, Second the period where the prisoner is comfortable with his daily duties, third the time after his or her release and their liberation. The first psychological reaction that develops is shock. Under certain circumstances shock may even pass the prisoners cognitive ability. The next section begins by revisiting the psychological reaction of apathy and discussing the severe under nourishment of prisoners. Survival was difficult based on the amount of food they were receiving. A typical daily meal consisted of 10 oz piece of bread and 1 pint of water. Apathy is considered to be the main system because of its necessity as a defense mechanism. The main objective to one’s self is to save one’s life and that of a friend. The last section follows in psychological reactions of inspired experiences disillusioned. As Frankl had clear vivid images of his life, he saw the truth; the truth is love is the ultimate and the highest goal to which a man can aspire. He then grasped the meaning of the greatest secret of human thought and belief has to impart: the salvation of man is through love and in love. He understood how a man who has nothing left in his world may still know bliss. It can be only for a brief moment, in focusing on spiritual things as a form of private devotion to his wife.

Religious Experiences

There are many key features and religious experiences in which we can relate our own experiences to:

1. Numinous- a sense of awe and wonder that a person can feel from an experience.
2. Miracles-when God acts in the spiritual way through healing and/or prayer.
3. Mystical Experiences-being in the presence of God or becoming one with God.

Examples:

In the Bible, an Angel appeared to the Shepherd's to announce the birth of Jesus. They claimed That "the Angel of the Lord appeared to them". This type of religious experiences can be that of a mystical one. The shepherd's claimed that an Angel came to them and they were in the presence of God.

In Italy, a couple was given a statue of Madonna as a present after they were married. The women was experiencing pain from the pregnancy and knelt in front of the statue to pray for healing. This woman then noticed that the statue began to weep. This was a "brought upon" experience for this woman. It can be considered a numinous experience. Many people did not believe that this happened and went to see the statue. Most of the people did receive healing. One woman who had polio, was able to walk without braces after seeing the statue. This is a miraclous experience. Many other people claimed to have been healed by this staue.

Article- "Skeptics and Critically Thinking People of Faith Share Common Ground" by Micheal Shermer

Shermer's Explanation on the belief in God is part cognitive and biological. This is not true because of a belief from a parent doesn't mean you are going to be born to follow it. The cognitive part is a way of thinking that "people believe in God to control anxiety and enables one to blame bad outcomes on evil spirits or God's will". In the article it discusses how the leading skeptics are males. The leading publishers of skeptics books are males 110 male authors and only 4 females authors this may be because females are more open-minded and males beliefs are base mainly on facts. In my opinion, I believe that you can be influenced by society/friends on religion and not necessarily follow what your parents believe in. Also believe that you should be able to make a choice on what you believe in if you choose to believe in anything at all. It should always be a choice that you want to make in life. I also believe that people believe in a certain religion because of the sense of comfort and relief that is provided by that religion, so whatever the belief is of a certain individual is mainly because of the sense of brotherhood that they get from that religion and the comfort level that they get from it.

Article-"Does Psychology of Religion Exist?" by Kenneth Brown

There may be a biological relationship with the belief in God. Once again, the question that arises is "Does God Exist? I came to the conclusion that there is not much information on Religion in Psychology, yet it is one of the fastest growing aspects of life. Although Psychology of Religion is not taught formally, there are a lot of journals and books that are devoted to Religion. As stated in the article, scientists believe that people believe in God, not because of his existence, but because they can blame their bad outcomes on him. There is a distinct relationship between religious practices and their impact on society. For example, when people get married in a religious setting, it is against the church rules to get remarried in the church. This is one example that may affect your everyday life. Despite the terrorist attacks that were said to be in the name of God, The science of behavior is still reticent to study the subject.

Movie- It's a Wonderful Life

The moral of the fable-no man is a failure. He has friends-is thus a deeper one than it might appear to be . The movie itself explores Religion/spirituality, morality by conformity to the rules of right conduct, moral or virtuoso . Moral quality of character, virtue in sexual matters;chastity. A doctrine or system of morals. Inspiration by a sense of community, values, and belief systems. Ethically has the rules of conduct recognized in respect to a particular class of human actions or a particular group, culture,etc. Moral principles as an individual. George's ethics in the movie forbade betrayal of a confidence. Branch of philosophy dealing with values relating to human conduct, with respect to the rightness and wrongness of certain actions and to the goodness and badness of the motives and ends of such actions. A loss, significant change,or moral dilemma can create an awareness of Life's uncertainties, ambiguities and impermanence. It evoked a sense of insecurity, alienation, loneliness, emptiness,or a questioning about the meaning or purpose of our lives.

Religious Ritual

Last Friday night I went to dinner at a friend's house and asked her to make me a real Sabbath dinner. I thought it would be a nice semi-formal dinner. Boy was I surprised. When I entered the home, my friend asked me to come over to the calender with her. It was a pretty calender, but I never realized the importance. I was told to look-this date and tell her the time below the date . This is the time of the start of the Sabbath. I observed the clock and was told we only had 10 minutes to get the table ready. I didn't understand this because all the plates and silverware were in place. From the kitchen a Chala was removed from a bag and put on a plate with an ornate cotton cover. This was placed in the middle of the table. A bottle of red wine was taken from the cabinet and a beautiful Silver Chalice was placed next to the bottle. I was corrected when I called it a Chalice, it's called a Kiddish Cup,that was filled with wine. Two Silver candle sticks were placed on the table and two small white candles were placed in them. My friend, her husband, myself, and my husband stood around the table. She proceeded to put a white shawl around her head, it looked so awesome. She told me a married person is expected to keep her head covered. With a match she lit the candles, her hands were motioning towards her(moving in circles) as if bringing the light directly to her. She started to sing a lovely melody. The candles are now lit. This is the blessing of the start of the Sabbath. Her Husband grabbed the Kiddish Cup and held it in the air for a few moments and also sang a song. It was similar, but different. I was told this is called the Kiddish. He then took a sip and tore a piece from the Chala and handed us all a piece. He ate his piece and drank some wine. Handing the cup to each of us to eat our Chala and take a sip of the wine. The dinner was quite good. Consisting of : Salad, Chicken Stew, Chicken Soup, and Dessert. I was told that this is a typical Jewish Friday night dinner. When the dinner was over my friend said another prayer and we all sat together and had a lovely evening with only the light of the candle sticks. I was told that religious Jews do not use electric from sundown Friday to when the sunsets on Saturday. I was so surprised to see the similarities between Judaism and Roman Catholicism. They do their communion type service every Friday night at home. We do it every Sunday at church. I guess this is why I felt so comfortable there. It truly was an enlightening and enjoyable evening.