- "This period of religious history begins with the invention of writing about 5,200 years ago (3200 BCE)."
The study of the evolution and development of religion over time.
Theoretical Frameworks: Overview of various theoretical frameworks used to study religion, such as functionalism, structuralism, and post-structuralism.
Religious Cosmologies: Belief systems that provide a justification for the existence of the world, its ordering, and human beings' place within it, such as creation myths, epic stories, and apocalyptic narratives.
Myth and Symbolism: The role of myth and symbolism in religious belief systems, ritual practice, and cultural expression.
Sacred Texts: The significance and interpretation of sacred texts in various religious traditions, including the Bible, the Koran, the Torah, and the Vedas.
Religious Ritual: The practice of religious rituals and ceremonies, including the significance of symbols, gestures, and objects, and the role of ritual in reinforcing social structures.
Religious Traditions: A comparative exploration of major religious traditions, including Christianity, Islam, Judaism, Hinduism, Buddhism, and Taoism.
Mysticism and Spirituality: The study of ecstatic and mystical experiences of individual believers, including the role of meditation, prayer, and asceticism.
Religion and Society: The relationship between religion and society, including the role of religion in social institutions, such as marriage, education, and politics.
Religious Ethics and Morality: The study of moral and ethical concepts in religious traditions, including the treatment of animals, the environment, and human beings.
Religious Conflict: The causes and effects of religious conflict throughout history, including the political, social, and economic factors that contribute to religious violence and war.
Religion and Science: The relationship between religion and science, including the history of scientific thought and its influence on religious beliefs.
Religious Diversity: The study of religious diversity, including the interaction between religious traditions and the impact of religious pluralism on societies.
- "The prehistory of religion involves the study of religious beliefs that existed prior to the advent of written records."
- "Writing played a major role in standardizing religious texts regardless of time or location, and making easier the memorization of prayers and divine rules."
- "A small part of the Christian Bible involves the collation of oral texts handed down over the centuries."
- "The concept of 'religion' was formed in the 16th and 17th centuries."
- "Sacred texts like the Bible, the Quran, and others did not have a word or even a concept of religion in the original languages and neither did the people or the cultures in which these sacred texts were written."
- "The word religion as used in the 21st century does not have an obvious pre-colonial translation into non-European languages."
- "The anthropologist Daniel Dubuisson writes that 'what the West and the history of religions in its wake have objectified under the name 'religion' is ... something quite unique, which could be appropriate only to itself and its own history'."
- "The history of other cultures' interaction with the 'religious' category is therefore their interaction with an idea that first developed in Europe under the influence of Christianity."
- "This period of religious history begins with the invention of writing about 5,200 years ago (3200 BCE)."
- "Writing played a major role in standardizing religious texts regardless of time or location, and making easier the memorization of prayers and divine rules."
- "A small part of the Christian Bible involves the collation of oral texts handed down over the centuries."
- "The concept of 'religion' was formed in the 16th and 17th centuries."
- "Sacred texts like the Bible, the Quran, and others did not have a word or even a concept of religion in the original languages and neither did the people or the cultures in which these sacred texts were written."
- "The word religion as used in the 21st century does not have an obvious pre-colonial translation into non-European languages."
- "The anthropologist Daniel Dubuisson writes that 'what the West and the history of religions in its wake have objectified under the name 'religion' is... something quite unique, which could be appropriate only to itself and its own history'."
- "The history of other cultures' interaction with the 'religious' category is therefore their interaction with an idea that first developed in Europe under the influence of Christianity."
- "This period of religious history begins with the invention of writing about 5,200 years ago (3200 BCE)."
- "Writing played a major role in standardizing religious texts regardless of time or location, and making easier the memorization of prayers and divine rules."
- "A small part of the Christian Bible involves the collation of oral texts handed down over the centuries."