outside readings # 1

1. Currently I’m taking another religious studies class to finish up my minor and have a relaxed class to balance out my schedule. RSTD 212 or Religions of the West is about exactly that, religions in the western world, mainly the three Abrahamic religions. However, at the beginning of the class we did look over what he called indigenous religions. Of course throughout the time we were studying this section I kept comparing it to this class, comparing the themes each stressed throughout the course. One mututal theme from each was the connection these religions have with nature. “To say that nature is full of spirits can be a way of affirming the presence of both a universal life force and an essential, underlying sacredness (pg. 41).” Another common feature discussed in both classes was the focus on their origins and passing on their traditions. All religions have some sort of creation story of where the people came from. Also, with the stories of origins comes the tradition of passing down stories through ritual or myth. In class we watched Australia’s twilight of dreamtime in which one scene showed a father showing his son how to paint his hand on the cave wall. Within the Aboriginal culture and religions, cave paintings have been a way of passing on tradition and history . And obviously the most common feature discussed in each class was the use of myth and ritual in everyday life. Whole books and collections are written on the function and examples of myths and rituals throughout various primal or indigenous religions. It’s nice to see how classes can overlap and how features discussed In different classes are coherent with one another. There are classes where two different teachers will teach and emphasis different aspects of a thing so drastically different.