Religious Experience

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Critical thinking requires sensitivity to different cultural perspectives, listening to the opinions of other cultures, and reflecting thoughtfully and objectively on the values of other cultures.

Our Objectives for this activity:

Analyze and interpret a historical work of art, literature, philosophy, or religion.
Examines the relevance of appropriate contexts when examining ideas.
Effectively analyzes one's own and other's assumptions.
Demonstrate a comprehensive synthesis or analysis of issues, ideas, artifacts, or events.

HUM1020 Religious Experience:

These videos do not reflect the entire faith and practices. I tried to find the most extreme versions of their rituals to push our boundaries.

An (S) symbol will indicate material added by students. If you have one you would like me to add, message me or add it to any of your initial posts or replies.

Africa

Togo: Mysterious World of West African Voodoo (video, 5 mins) Rated-R: animal sacrifice

Apache

Wisdom Keepers of the Apache Tribes (Video, 2 mins)

Atheist

How Can You Be A Happy Atheist?! (video, 4 mins) (S)

Buddhism

Sokushinbutsu: Monk dying (video, 2 mins)
Shaolin Monks (Video, 6 mins)
The Living Mummies of Japan - Sokushinbutsu Monks (Video, 6 mins) Rated-R: malnourished bodies. A rare sect of Japanese monks hoping to reach a higher realm through starvation.

Catholic

Catholic V Christian (Video) (S)

Ethiopia

Saint Moses, the Black Monk (Video, 6 mins) (S)

Evangelical

Raw Anointing of the Spirit (video, 3 mins)
Kids speaking in Tongues at Church (YouTube, 1 min) (S)

Hinduism / sanātana dharma

Who are Shiva and Shakti? (video, 5 mins) (S)

Islam

Sacred Koran (interactive Website) (S)
- not an extreme video but a source added by a student to see their Sacred Text in Arabic

Indonesia, South Sulawesi

The Living Dead: How The Toraja People Of Indonesia Honor Their Deceased (video, 4 mins) Rated R: for blood and animal sacrifice
National Geographic explores how Torajan (website) Indonesia's Toraja people keep their dead relatives in their homes, treating them as if they were alive until they can be given expensive, elaborate funerals.

Judaism

My First Experience at the Chabad House (video, 13 mins) (S)

Jehovah's Witnesses

Jehovah's Witnesses Explained in 2 Minutes (Video) (S)

Misc

What Is the Most Spiritual Experience You've Had? (video, 3 mins) (S)
Jim Carrey Spiritual Experience (video 3 mins) (S)

Orthodox (Georgian)

Baby baptism in Georgia (video, 1 mins)

Pentecostal Apostolic

Congregation speaks in tongues when led by the Holy Spirit (Video, 3 mins)

Republic of Ghana

Personalized Ghana Burial Rituals (video, 3 mins)

Republic of the Philippines

Living on top of Tombs: Manilla, Philippines (YouTube, 21 mins)
The Igorots, the indigenous peoples of the Northern Philippines (Website)

Satanic Temple

The Head of a Satanic Temple Explains Free Will Satanism (Video, 5 mins)

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You'll see a lot from these videos, from mummies to extreme baby baptisms.

As you reflect, open your mind to these questions:

What do you think of the human religious experience, i.e., is it helpful, is it hurtful, etc?
Also, have you ever had a sublime religious experience, or are you just hoping for the best?
Or, perhaps you need to know what the future holds, or are you confident about what is to follow?

Religious Altars

Are they really so different from each other?

In my opinion, which might differ from yours, I saw the light, nature, symbols, deities, and plants/flowers. I see the light and symbols as the overall center of the altar that connects the follower with their gods. I question how many different and diverse religions can have similar altarpieces. This directs us to dive deeper into the meaning of shared culture, shared symbology, and shared experiences.

Before the modern mind knew what a candle was, they knew fire. Fire from the sky was a gift from the heavens. It was sacred, powerful, and divine. Most, if not all, altars, lights, and candles are part of the holy religious experience. Light removes darkness in the same way that deities can remove pain, hurt, or suffering. The light is a visual reminder of the sanctity of their deity and an essential part of worship that extends beyond culture, eras, and religious authority. This altar shows no religion owns candles, lights, flowers, or symbols. But what is universal is the need for a visual representation that pays homage to their gods.

(Click to enlarge photos)