The Encyclopedia of World Religions

QUR'AN 289

not s\'stematically present the teachings of Islam, In the name ofAllah, the Mercifiil, the Compas-
in the way, for example, that a CREED or a con-
fession might. Rather, it contains distinct verses sionate.
All praise is due to Allah, the Lord of the Worlds.
on a large \ariet)' of topics. Many of them ad-
The Mercifiil, the Compassionate.
dressed concerns that were pressing in the Arabic Master of the Day of Judgment.
Thee do we serve and Thee do we beseech for
communin,' at the time they were given. Muham-
mad reported to the community what he received help.
from God. Because he did so, when the Qur'an
speaks in the first person ("we"), the pronoun Keep us on the right path.
refers not to Muhammad but to God.
The path of those upon whom Thou hast be-
The Qur'an is Arabic poetr\'. Indeed, those
who speak Arabic insist that it is a form of poetr\' stowed favors. Not (the path) of those upon
whose beaut\- is incomparable. Translating poetr\'
is difficult in any case. One can reproduce the whom Thy wrath is brought down, nor of
literal meaning, but not the allusions and effects those who go astray.
upon which poetn,' depends. Muslims have been
reluctant to translate the Qur'an at all. The (Shakir tr., altered)
Qur'an preserves the ver>' words of God, and any
translation would no longer present God's own The central themes of the Qur'an are the
words. fiindamental teachings of Islam. God is one, and
God is unique; there is no other like him. He
The verses of the Qur'an are gathered into created all that is, including human beings. The
114 units known as surahs. It is a little misleading dut\' of human beings, as of all creatures, is to
to call surahs "chapters." Some of them are ex- ser%'e their Creator. They do this by following his
tremely long; others consist of only four lines, commandments. These commandments cover
more like a stanza than a chapter. In general, the ever\' sphere of life, not simply Rrru.-VL or religious
longer surahs are toward the beginning of the observances. At the end of time God will raise all
Qur'an; the shorter ones are toward the end. people from the dead. He will welcome the right-
Mushms also distinguish between those surahs eous into the gardens of paradise, but the evil he
that the prophet received when he was li\ing in will dispatch to HELL.
Mecca, and those he received after he had immi-
grated to Medina. The Medinan surahs tend to Significance
be longer than the Meccan ones. Therefore, the
revelations of the Qur'an run roughly in re\erse It is almost impossible to overestimate the signifi-
chronological order. The latest revelations come cance of the Qur'an in the Islamic world. It
first, the earliest ones come last. embraces all of fife. The first words a baby hears

All surahs except the ninth begin with a should come from the Qur'an. So should the last
words that a dying person hears. Between birth
phrase known as the Basmalah: ^Bismillah al- and death the Qur'an pro\ides guidance and
Rahinan al-Rahim," "In the name of God comfort. Some even ascribe to it magical power.
[all.\h], the Mercifiil, the Compassionate."
Muslims use the first surah, known as the Fatihah, MusUm thinkers have tried in several ways to
ver>' frequently in their WORSHIP. It reads: describe the special status of this book. The

Qur'an itself refers to a heavenly book of which
the earthly revelations are copies. Many sav that
the Qur'an is an attribute or characteristic of God,
namely, his speech. Some have insisted fiirther
that that speech is not something external to God.
For them the heavenly Qur'an is itself an essential
part of God.

R

RABBI, RABBINATE From a Hebrew word rabbis stopped acting as judges. Instead, they
meaiiiiig "my master, my teacher"; the leader of began to perform many new duties that were
pastoral and social in nature.
the Jewish communit)', and the office of leader-
In the United States today rabbis resemble
—ship, respectively. The office of rabbi the rab- Protestant ministers and Catholic priests. They
—binate has assumed different functions and attend seminaries, are ordained, and are then
hired by congregations. As leaders of congrega-
structures at different times and places. Today's tions one of their chief responsibilities is to lead
SYNAGOGUE services on the Sabbath and holi-
rabbis perform fijnctions that ancient and medie- days. That includes preaching sermons on a regu-
lar basis, something traditional rabbis did only
val rabbis did not perform. Furthermore, the twice a year. Other responsibilities of American
rabbis include performing weddings and fijnerals,
rabbinate in the United States differs consider- teaching, especially teaching the youth, visiting
ably from the rabbinate in Israel. Nevertheless, the sick and performing other pastoral duties,
organizing and leading the social life of the con-
the rabbi has been the chief religious leader of
JUDAISM since the destruction of the Temple in — —gregation, and not an insignificant role repre-

A.D. 70. senting the Jewish community to its non-Jewish

—The rabbinate and with it modern rabbini- neighbors.
—cal Judaism grew out of the branch of ancient
The rabbinate in Israel is considerably dif-
Judaism known as the Pharisaical movement. ferent. In Israel, unlike the United States, the
PH,\RISEES were people whose religion centered rabbinate is a state-controlled institution. HALA-
on the study of TORAH. According to tradition, KHAH (Jewish law) is the official law in most ci\'il
the term "rabbi" was first used in Palestine after matters, and one of the priman' fiinctions of
rabbis is to act as judges in civil, but not criminal,
the destruction of the Temple. proceedings. Another is to ensure that halakhah
is observed in, for example, the preparation of
Originally, rabbis were experts in both writ- food. Only rarely if ever is being the rabbi of a
synagogue in Israel a fiiU-time job.
—ten and oral Torah the first five books of the
One of the most important changes to the
BIBLE and the discussions that were eventually
recorded in the TALMUD. Because Torah contains rabbinate in the 20th centun,' was the admission

instnictions on how to live, the rabbis became of women. Although halakhah permitted women
judges. When other forms of leadership died out,
the rabbis gradually became the leaders of Jewish to teach and to preach, it did not traditionally
allow them to serve as witnesses or judges. There-
communities. In the Middle Ages the rabbinate
became a full-time occupation. It also became fore, women had been excluded from ordination.

common for each locality to recognize one, and

only one, rabbi. During the 19th century most
European countries gave Jews fijU civil rights.

Among other things, that meant that they were

subject to the laws of the state and could use state
courts to pursue their legal claims. As a result.

290

REBEKAH 291

Reform Judaism rejected this restriction and, in often invoke Rama's name. Indeed, He Ram!
("Oh Rama!") were the last words that Mahatma
1972, became the first group to ordain women
to the rabbinate. By the mid-1980s, Reconstruc- G.\NDHI spoke.

tionist and Conserv ati\e Judaism had also begun RAMAKRISHNA (1836-1886) A very in-
to ordain women.
fluential Hindu SAINT. He is often referred to as
RAMA, RAMAYANA Legendan- hero of an- Ramakrishna Paramahamsa. The second name

cient India, and the most important account of means "the supreme ascetic."
his story. Although ancient Indians told many Ramakrishna was a priest at a temple of the
stories about a hero named Rama, the Ramayana
was the most important. In it, Rama, a young GODDESS Kali near Calcutta. From an early
prince of the cit>' of Ayodhya, must go into exile age, he experienced trances when he was over-
in the forest tor 14 years at the command of a come with religious emotion. Later, he experi-
greedy stepmother. While there, his wife Sita, enced similar trances in visions of the goddess
Kali as Mother.
who had accompanied him, is carried off bv the
chief of demons, Ravana. Rama enlists the help After several years of spiritual struggle and
Aof the forest monkeys to search for Sita. mon- searching, Ramakrishna came to develop an inclu-
key general, Hanuman, finds Sita in Havana's sive vision of realit)' in the nurturing arms of the
fortress, Lanka, which some traditions identift' Mother as supreme Godhead. Into this \ision of
personal deit>' he integrated the impersonal
with the island of Sri Lanka. Together with his
brother, Lakshmana, and armies of monkeys, BR.AHMAN of S.\NKAR\'s Advaita VEDANTA. He
Rama lays siege to Lanka, rescues Sita, and defeats
also had visions of and worshiped .ALLAH and
and kills Ravana. He then returns to Ayodhya to
CHRIST, whom he saw as manifestations of the
rule and ushers in a golden age.
The first version of the Rnmavnna v\as a Mother. All religions, Ramakrishna taught, were
different paths to the same goal.
poem of 24,000 Sanskrit couplets written at least
2,000 years ago by a sage known as Valmiki. (The E\entually, Ramaknshna became the catalyst
exact date is disputed.) Most Hindus today for a Hindu revival mo\ement in eastern India.
use other, more recent renditions of the story, His disciple \TVEKAN,ANDA was the most influen-
such as Tulsi Das's Hindi version or Kamban's tial of those who spread his ideas.
Tamil one. The events of the Ramayana have
provided the subject for ven,' many v\'orks of art REBEKAH The wife of IS.\.AC in the BIBLE. In
not only in India but also throughout south and
southeast Asia. In recent years comic books and order to ensure that his son Isaac did not marry a
Canaanitc woman, .\BR,-yTAM sent a sen'ant to the
an extremely popular television series have also region where his brother Nahor li\ed. The servant
brought back Rebekah, the daughter of Abra-
told the ston'. ham's nephew Bethuel. As portrayed in the Bible,

Hindu tradition identifies Rama with an AVA she is a woman who can influence the course of
T.\R of the deit)'. Lord VISHNU. In addition,
events. Sometimes she must resort to deception
— —Hindus and other Indians as well see the char- to do so.

acters of the story as ideals of how to live one's Like her mother-in-law SARAH, Rebekah had
life. For example, Rama is the ideal ruler and difficulty conceiving children. She eventually gave
husband; Sita is the ideal wife; Hanuman is an birth to twins, Esau and lACOB. According to the
Bible, these two were die ancestors of the
exemplar)' religious devotee. Festivals such as Edomites and the Israelites, respectively. Rebekah
Ramanavami and Dussehra celebrate the events favored Jacob, the twin born second. She helped
and characters of the Ramayana, and Hindus deceive the old and blind Isaac, so that he gave

292 REDEMPTION

the blessing for the first-born son to Jacob rather in many places and helped stir up dissatisfaction
than to Esau. Then she helped Jacob flee from his with the church. Meanwhile Catholic authorities
enraged brother. tried to silence Luther. In 1521 the church
excommunicated him. The rift between the
REDEMPTION See SALVATION. church and Luther's supporters had grown too
wide to bridge.
REFORMATION, PROTESTANT A move
Luther and his followers organized their own
ment in western European CHBJSTLANm' in the churches. In doing so, they altered many Catholic
1500s. During the Reformation many Christians practices. They eliminated whatever contradicted
broke away from the Roman Catholic Church the BIBLE, as they read it. They translated the
(see ROAUN CATHOLICISM) and formed their Bible and the Mass from Latin into the language
own, independent churches. They were known as people ordinarily used. They eliminated MONKS
"Protestants" (see PROTESTAlvlTISM). They pro- AND NUNS. They allowed clergymen to marr\'.
tested against the teachings, practices, and insti- Above all, they rejected the authority of the
tutions of the Catholic Church. The movement Catholic Church and looked to the Bible as their
itself is known as the Reformation because it only authorit\'. As they read it, the Bible taught
aimed to reform, that is, to correct abuses and that human beings received GOD's forgiveness
freely (see GRACE). They did not have to do good
errors in the church. works to be saved. They only had to have FAITH.

But Protestants did not disagree only with CALVINIST REFORMATION
Catholics. They also disagreed with each other.
As a result, the Reformation produced a variety Luther's example inspired others. Soon religious
of Protestant churches: Lutheran churches, espe-
cially in Germany and Scandinavia (see LUTHER- rebellion had broken out in many different cities
ANISM); Reformed (Cal\inist) churches, especialh- and regions of the Holy Roman Empire. Another
in Switzerland, the Netlicrlands, France, and
important center was Switzerland. There the re-
Scotland (see PR£SBVTERL\N AND REFORMED
CHURCHES); the Church of England (see ANGLI formers eliminated not only what contradicted
CANISM); and Anabaptist churches such as the
MENNONITES and the AMISH. Each made its own the Bible, but also whatever the Bible had not
contribution to the story of the Reformation. So
did the Catholic reaction, known as the Counter- actually commanded.

Reformation. In the early 1520s a parish priest named

Huldrich ZwingU (1484-1531) held religious
debates before the town council of Zurich. He
convinced the council that certain common prac-

LUTHER.AN REFORMATION tices, such as using images in worship, were un-

biblical and should be abolished. He also

The Reformation began in Germany on October convinced the council that the Catholic view of

On31, 1517. that date a university professor, the EUCFLARIST was wrong. Zwingli's view of the

Martin LUTHER, posted on a church door 95 eucharist differed from Luther's, too. The two

"theses" or propositions that he wanted to de- reformers met in 1529 but could not come to any

bate. Luther objected to the manner in which a Twoagreement. years later Zv\'ingli was killed.

Dominican friar was raising money nearby (see Much more politically active than Luther, he died

DOMINICANS). The friar promised that if people helping to defend Zurich against the armies of

gave him a certain amount of money , all their SINS Sv\iss Catholics.

would be forgiven. The most influential leader of the Swiss Ref-

The issue quickly grew beyond an academic ormation was actually French: John CALVIN. Hav-

discussion. Copies of Luther's theses appeared ing fled from France, Calvin evcntvially settled in

REFORMATION, PROTESTANT 293

Geneva. His own religious views emphasized the uprisings. In the early 1530s they took over the

overwhelming majesU' of God. Calvin picked up town of Miinster in Germany. When Catholics

on Luther's teaching that human beings cannot and other Protestants retook the town after a
siege, the results were disastrous. Such events
do anvthing to save themselves. Calvin reasoned managed to give the Anabaptists a verv' bad name.

that since not all are saved, God must predestine In the early 1530s, however, a Dutch priest
named Menno Simons (1496-1561) began to
some for salvation and others for damnation. teach a different form of Anabaptism. Simons
noted that it was impossible for Anabaptists to
Something like Zwingli, Calvin saw himself called take control of the political structures. There-
fore, they should withdraw from political life
Heto act politically as well as religiously. re- and practice nonviolence. Simons's spiritual de-
scendants, the Mennonites and the Amish, still
formed the laws and educational system of Ge-
cherish these ideals.
neva, anempting to make it into a Christian
COUNTER-REFORAWTION
commonwealth.
Once the Reformation began, it could not be
Church of Englwd reversed. Its momentum was too great. But the
Catholic Church did respond.
In England the Reformation was almost entirely
The most important element in the CathoHc
a political movement. When the trouble with response was the Council of Trent ( see TRENT,
Luther first broke out. King Henrv' Mil attacked COUNCIL OF), which met from 1545 to 1563.
Reformers like Luther had originally called for a
Luther's views and defended the Catholic council to mediate the dispute between the
Church. The Pope called him "defender of the Catholics and the Protestants. But only firm
faith." Henrv' always preferred Catholic teachings Catholics participated in the Coimcil of Trent.
and practices. But later he wanted a divorce that The council reaffirmed the authoritv' of the
the Pope would not grant. In response, Henrv- Catholic Church and maintained Catholic teach-
declared the English church independent and got ings in the face of Protestant opposition.

his divorce. The Socierv' of Jesus (see lESUITS) also
worked vigorouslv' for the Counter- Reformation.
After Henri,- died, the Church of England Baroque art was an important tool, too. Many
experienced a stronger move to Protestantism Protestants had rejected art as idolatrv'. The
Catholic Church sponsored art as a way to make
under those who ruled on behalf of Edward M, itself more attractive.
who was still a child. Edward's stepsister. Queen
SIGNIFICANCE OF THE REFORMATION
Mary, tried to reestabUsh the Catholic Church.
Her cruel measures earned her the nickname The Reformation was much more than just a
"Bloody Marv." L'nder Queen Elizabeth the theological dispute. It changed the face of
English church reached a compromise position Europe. It produced a Europe that was much
between Catholicism and Protestantism. more divided politically as well as religiously. It
was an important step in the development of
Anabaptist Churches European nations as we know them today. It also
encouraged the development of national litera-
During the 1520s some Europeans thought tures and stvles of art.
changes were coming too slowly. Manv' of these
people felt that it was wrong to baptize infants
(see B.^PTISM). Only those people should be bap-
tized who could decide for themselves that they
wanted it. ^\s a result, they rebaptized adults who
had been baptized as infants. This earned them
the name i\nabaptists, "rebaptizers."

The earliest Anabaptists were inspired by
Utopian visions, that is, visions of how to create a
perfect societ)' on Earth. Some of them led armed

294 REINCARNATION

REINCARNATION The idea that a person is different way of explaining how the process
works. For example, many Hindus say that an
reborn when he or she dies. Reincarnation goes
by many different names. Sometimes it is called eternal, unchanging .\Ti\L\N or self is reborn.
"metempsychosis," from the Greek words for Buddhists teach rebirth, but they deny that there
"soul" and "change of place." Sometimes it is is an\' eternal, unchanging atman. Some books
describe in detail what happens benveen death
called "transmigration," because the person is
and rebirth. An ideal example is the Tibetan book
said to wander to a new body. Sometimes people
call reincarnation "rebirth." Some Hindu texts of the dead, the B.\RDO THODOL. A Sanskrit
actually speak of redeath. In discussions of rein-
carnation, one often encounters the Sanskrit scholar of some standing once taught an editor of
word SAMS.\R-\. One scholar has apdy translated this encyclopedia how to recognize dreams and
this word for the c\'cle of births and deaths as the imaginings that were memories from a previous
"nm around." life. He had himself identified the place and ap-
proximate time of one of his more recent lives.
Jews, Christians, and Muslims do not usually
talk about reincarnation. WTien they talk about North Americans who believe in reincarna-
tion often find the idea comforting. They see it as
—what happens after death and Jews tend to fo-
—cus on this life they talk about eternal lite, a a reprieve from the black, empt>- night of eternal

RESURRECTION of the dead, and a final judgment death. Peoples who believe that children are re-
(see JUDGMENT OF THE DEAD). But many otiier bom ancestors basically see reincarnation as posi-
peoples beheve that persons are reborn when they
die. Some indigenous peoples in the Americas, tive, too. But religions originating in India often
Australia, the Pacific Ocean region, and Airica view samsara as being in the end negative. The
have complex ideas about rebirth. For example, ultimate goal of religious practice is to escape
some believe that even- child is an ancestor re- from an endless series of rebirths or reincarna-
turning to Earth. Many ancient Greek philoso-
phers believed in reincarnation. The most famous tions. The most common names for this goal are
example is the "m\th of Er" at the end of Plato's moksha ("liberation") and NIRVANA.
greatest work, The Republic. Many people whose
RELICS Objects "left over" from a holy per-
—religions began in India Hindus, Buddhists, son or SAINT. These may be bod\' parts or per-
—Jains, and Sikhs simply accept reincarnation as
sonal items, such as clothing.
a fact of life. During the late 19th and 20th
centuries some North Americans also believed in Religions that use relics insist that their prac-

reincarnation. They included people who sub- titioners do not actually WORSHIP them. They
scribed to THEOSOPPn' and Asian rehgions like venerate them and use them as aids to reflection.
HINDUISM and BUDDHISM. They also included They also often expect relics to heal and grant

people in the public eye, such as the mo\ie actress favors.

Shirley MacLaine. At times Muslims venerate relics. An example
is hair from the prophet MUHAMMAD. But rehcs
Not even,' religion that teaches reincarnation ha\ e been especially important in BUDDHISM and
teaches the same views. The religions that arose ROALAN CATHOLICISM. Buddhists have built
in ancient India have ver\' complex ideas about monumental structures known as STUPAS to
how reincarnation occurs. These religions stress house rehcs of the BUDDHA. Similarly, the Second
the operation of KAR\LA: The actions of this life
Council of Nicaea (787) required .ALTARS in all
determine the conditions of the next one. A good Christian churches to contain relics.

person will have a good rebirth, a bad person a Buddhists have tended to venerate parts of
bad rebirth. But each religion and school has a
Athe Buddha's cremated body. particularly im-

portant part has been the Buddha's tooth housed
in Kandy, Sn Lanka. Whoever owned it ruled the

RELIGION, DEHNITION OF 295

couam-. Christians have senerated relics of the ily involve the Western concept of God. They
saints, the Virgin .VL\RY, and JESUS. Christian have therefore expanded the idea to anything that
gives one a sense of awe, wonder, or of coimect-
relics were especially common in the Middle edness to the universe: Friedrich Schleiermacher
called it that which produces feelings of depend-
Ages. ence on somediing greater than oneself Rudolf
OTTO saw as the ground of religion a sense of a
With the high demand for relics, unscrupu- reality tremendous, yet fascinating and "wholly
lous people have traded in fakes. The pious have other"; this could be the Buddhist NTRV.\NA as
also made honest mistakes. An e.vample of the well as God. Paul Tillich said religion is the state
latter is the Shroud of Turin. Tradition said Jesus of being grasped by one's "ultimate concern."
was buried in it. Some scientific tests date it to
Others have preferred a definition based
the late medieval period. more on religion's social or ritual role. Emile
DURKHEINI saw religion mainly in "totems," fes-
RELIGION, DEHNITION OF Explaining tivals, dances, and other s\-mbols or practices that
both represented and created the unity of a tribe
what religion is. Religion is one of those words or society. Mircea ELL\DE made fimdamental to
people tend to feel they knou' the meaning of religion the experience of "sacred space" and
until it comes to pro\iding a precise definition "sacred time," that is, places and occasions that
that covers all cases of what one wants to call are separate, "nonhomogeneous," demarcated
religion, excluding e\erything else. Then it can
off fi-om the ordinary or "profane" world. He
—be surprisingly difficult to define first of all,
recognized, howe\er, that these can be interior as
because religion embraces so much. well as out there; the experiences of PR.-M'ER or
Religion can range from one's innermost and meditation can make for an inward sacred space
and time even in the midst of everyday life.
subtlest feelings to large and powerfiil institu-
tions that can seem as much political as religious, Perhaps it must be acknowledged that any
to folk customs that appear on the borderline definition of religion can only be fairly complex.
between religion and culture. Many traditional It might be possible to start with the idea that
societies, in fact, do not clearly distinguish be- religion does, in fact, need to deal in some way
tween religion and the social order or popular with whatever is seen as ultimate, unconditioned
culture; indeed, the religion scholar W. Cant^vell reality, call it God, Nirvana, or even the absolutely
Smith has argued that the notion most of us have ideal social order. Then one could take into ac-
of a religion as a separate, detachable area of count the three forms of religious expression as
human life apart fi-om the political, economic, put forsvard by the sociologist of religion,
Joachim Wach. These are: the theoretical, that is,
social, and cultural spheres is a quite modem idea the beliefs and stories of a tradition basing to do
that would be meaningless to many people in the with ultimate realit)' or its manifestation in gods
and re\elarions and the like, answering to the
Middle Ages and before. question "What do they say?"; the "practical,"
At the same time, attempts at definition can practices or forms of WORSHIP with the same
object, answering to the question "V\Tiat do they
and have been made. Some people, especially in dor"; and third, the sociological, dealing with
the Christian West, fi-om Enlightenment Deists issues of leadership, organization, institutions,
(believers in GOD but not in "supernatural " relig- and relations with the larger society. All real
ion) like Thomas Jefferson and Voltaire, to the religions, by this understanding, have both an
pioneer anthropologist E. B. Tylor, have wanted
to define religion as those ideas and practices that
have to do with belief in God, gods, or spirits.
Others, however, have contended that some
Eastern examples of the sort of practices that

"look like" religion, such as Confiician RTTU.VLS
or even Buddhist xVlEDITATION, do not necessar-

296 RELIGION, STUDY OF

ultimate point of reference and an expression in great detail. They also took up topics in the
all three of these forms. If there is only the
theoretical, it is philosophy rather than religion. philosophy of religion. For example, they tried to
If only practices, it is XUGIC rather than religion.
If only the sociological, it is a club. But put them prove that God exists (see GOD, THE EXISTEN'CE
all together with a reference to some under-
standing and experience of ultimate reality, that OF). But despite some rich culniral exchanges
which one cannot go beyond in comprehending among Jews, Christians, and Muslims, knowl-
the meaning of the universe, and it is religion in
the sense the word is used in speaking of the edge of other religions generally remained
traditional religions, such as JUDAISM, CHRISTI-
ANITI', ISL.\M, HINDUISM, or BUDDHISM. While marked by profound antagonism.
this approach may not coincide with ever\one's
personal definition of religion, it ma\' be usefiil In the 1 7th and 1 8th centuries the movement
for looking at and distinguishing religion socially known as the Enlightenment ga\e rise to a search
or historically.
for "natural religion." "Natural religion" meant
RELIGION, STUDY OF Careful reflection,
the few propositions that all religions were
writing, and speaking about religions, generalh-
within the context of an educational institution. (falsely) thought to share: belief in God, in the

HlSTOIQ' soul, and in rewards and punishments after death.

For centuries thinkers have carefiiUy formulated At the same time, the growth of European colo-

and elaborated the teachings of their own relig- nialism meant that Europeans became more

ions. This kind of thinking includes Jewish, aware of the outside world and scholars had more
Christian, and Islamic theologies, as well as
Hindu, Buddhist, Jain, Conftician, and Taoist material at their disposal. At this time, too, think-
philosophies. All of these movements have to
some degree influenced the study of religions in ers like Daxnd Hume began to write accounts of
North America. But the most influential tradition
has been that of Europe. reUgious histon' that diverged fi'om the stor\'

In Europe critical reflection on religion arose found in the BIBLE.
in ancient Greece. Ancient writers known as my-
thographers compiled m\ths and legends. Geog- During the 19th centun,' historical ap-
raphers and travelers described the religions of
the people they \isited. Abo%e all, Greek and proaches to religions, including Christianitv-,
Roman philosophers like Xenophanes, Euhe-
merus, Lucretius, and Cicero strongly criticized flourished. At times the tension with orthodox
the gods of m\thology, without necessarily deny-
theologians was severe. By the end of the centun'
ing some higher GOD or force altogether.
In the fourth century^ AD. CHRISTIANm' be- people had begun to study religions compara-

came the official religion of the Roman Empire. ti\ely and as facets of human society, personalitw
For more than a thousand years it defined the
setting with which Europeans studied religions. and culture. During the 20th centun- these ap-
Theologians worked out Christian teachings in
—proaches to religion humanistic, sociological,
—psychological, and anthropological flourished.

In addition, the old attitude of missionar\- con-

quest gave way. Many theologians became inter-

ested in learning about others, not comerting

Athem. preferred method was interreligious

DL\LOGL"E.

Ways to Study Religions

It is possible to study religions in several ways:
fi-om within a religious tradition, fi-om a perspec-
ti\e that treats all religions equally and on their

own terms, and fi^om a perspective that analyzes
religion as a part of societv' or the human person-
ality. One may call these three standpoints
theological, humanistic, and social scientific ap-
proaches to the study of religions, respectively.

RELIGION, STUDY OF 297

Theological own terms. Some have suggested that this ap-

rUD.MSM, ChristianiU', and ISLWI have tradition- proach requires a stance of "methodological ag-
ally claimed that they have grasped religious truth nosticism." That is, for the purposes of study,
better than other religions. Indeed, they have at one refiises to make a judgment about the
rimes claimed to be the sole source of religious truth ofvarious religions. This approach has taken
two major forms: historical studies and compara-
Abenefit. standard Christian formula runs. Extra
tive studies.
ecclesia nulla salus, "there is no S.\LVATION out-
side the church." Furthermore, Christians have Conceived narrowly, the historical study of
seen Christianit)' as the true continuation of an-
cient Judaism. Muslims have seen Islam as the religions studies how religions change over
culmination of Judaism and Christianity. These time. More broadly, this approach studies a
religions certainly have a right to their claims to religion or one of its elements. Examples would
truth. But when other religions are seen as threat- be books about specific features of HINDUISM,
ening or mistaken, the t\pical approach to them Buddhism, or Christianity. In the last half of the
is "heresiology" and "apologetics." That is, it
becomes common to list the errors of other re- 20th centur\' historians were especially inter-
ligions and defend the truth of one's own. The ested first in religious symbols and meanings,
danger, too often realized, is misrepresentation, then in the ways religions exercised or undercut
distortion, and ill-will. power and domination.

In China and Japan it has been traditional In the late 19th century the goal of the
for people to practice more than one religion. In comparative study of religions was to rank relig-
such an en\ironment, one religion may suggest ions from the crudest to the most advanced.
that it is a more perfect statement of another During the 20th centur\', scholars generally re-
religion. Japanese BUDDHISM and SHINTO have jected this approach. Throughout much of the
century they studied what religions shared. For
made this claim about each other. Many Hin-
example, Rudolf OTTO described how human
— —dus and others as well have taken a different beings experienced the sacred. Mircea ELIADE

approach. They have seen all religions as different tried to identify the ftmdamental patterns by
paths to the same goal. This viewpoint is certainly which the sacred showed itself to human beings.
well-intentioned. It may also make it difficult to During the last quarter of the 20th century schol-
recognize the distinctive characteristics of other ars became less interested in what religions shared

religions. and more interested in how the)- differed.

In the course of the 20th century', repre- Social-scientific
sentatives of many religions have come together
tor interreligjous dialogue. The goal of this en- Some social scientists have been ven,' critical of
religion. For example, the psychologist Sigmund
terprise is not to comince others of one's own FREUD thought religion was a psychological illu-
sion. Sociologists influenced by Karl .\L\RX have
religious truth. It is to listen to another person in seen religion as a force by which those with wealth
order to learn about that person's beliefs and and power dominate the poor and powerless.
practices. Ad\ocates say that if dialogue is to
work, all participants must share their beliefs and Other theorists have seen the contributions
practices openly and honestiy. of religion more positively. The psychologist Carl
Gustav \UNC thought religion was a powerfiil
Humanistic force leading to an integrated personality. The
In contrast to THEOLOGY, which openly adopts a sociologist Emile DUilKHEIM thought reUgion
specific rehgious perspective, the humanistic reinforced societ\'s most important values and
study of religions tries to take each religion on its thus helped it to function. The anthropologist

)

298 RELIGIOUS EXPERIENCE

Claude LEVT-STRAUSS thought myths embodied feeling of being deeply moved that one may have
fundamental codes (see MYTH .\ND M'VTHOL from religious music, art, or poetn-; it is not in
OGY). These codes defined how the people who itself unit\- with God, though it can lead to that
told the myths conceived of the world. and in any case have a significant impact on one's
life. Conversion experiences are those of any na-
In the United States there has been a strong ture, though often highly emotional, that pro-
emphasis on studying religions "empirically." duce a major change in one's religious outlook
This kind of study carefijUy constructs hypotheses and commitment.

and then tries to test them. Those who follow this A sense of di\ine guidance, though perhaps
approach gather data through such means as
questionnaires and suneys. Then they analj'ze not alwav's intensely felt, can be regarded as expe-

the data with the help of statistics. riential rehgion, especially when it occurs at criti-
cal moments in one's life. So is an overall steady
Conclusion sense of divine presence. Experiences of the pres-
ence of religious entities, less than the Ultimate,
There is probably no single best way to study such as .\NGELS or S.MXTS, may also be religious
religion. People have different questions about experiences, for they partake in the sacred world
religion that the\' want answered. The approach and such beings certainly share in the divine
that they take depends at least in part upon the power. Visionary experiences, which appear to be
questions that they have. given to some people, are religious experiences
presented before the eyes, and perhaps also the
RELIGIOUS EXPERIENCE Feelings, often ears if one hears sacred or divine voices. Usually
they are accompanied by strong feelings of won-
intense, that are associated with a sense of relig- der and awe as well. (Territving visions fi-om
ious awareness and interpreted religiously. They within the religious world view, as of demonic
are various in type. The term mystical experience figures or the fires of HELL, are also possible and
is often used for profound, peaceful, timeless may have a strong admonitorv' effect.) Miracles,
states that are thought to be experiences of one- whether "ps\'chic" phenomena like telepathy or
ness, of unit)' with the divine without separation.
clairvoyance ( seeing things far away) or precogni-
They may, as in BUDDHISM or VEDANTA Hindu- tion (seeing the future), or physical miracles like
healings or the biblical walking on water, are
ism, be considered to be realizations of the im- often regarded as divine gifts. Thcx- can evoke a
personal divine essence that is already within; or, sense of wonder and gratitude, which certainly is
as in religions with a personal GOD, such as religious experience as well as is the confirmation
CHRISTL^NITY, ISL,\M, or BH.\KTI Hinduism, oc- of divine reality. (They are also, however, some-
times taken to be deceptive lures of the devil.
casions of drawing very close to God in love, so Most religions would insist that a truly authentic
that the two become one in the way that two religious experience, in contrast to one that is
lovers might. PRAYTR can produce a rich sense of deceptively induced by psychological factors or
communication with God but not oneness in the the wiles of demonic forces, must result in both
mystical sense. Even guilt can be a religious ex- true belief and a moral and godly way of life.

perience, less pleasant perhaps, of sinfulness and It must finally be noted that religious experi-
the way it separates one from God; it can lead to ence is an interpretive category, not necessarily
amendment through confession, penance, and a
change in one's way of life. Intellectual religious one built into the experience itself. Two people
experience can be a mainly mental realization of may have very similar experiences of rapture and
a religious truth, perhaps stimulated by sermon, joy while walking in the woods. One may inter-
lecture, or reading, accompanied by the exalta-
tion one feels at such understanding in an impor-
tant matter. Aesthetic religious experience is the

RESURRECTION 299

pret it in a quite natural way, as a psychological enced by the European intellectual movement
response to the beauty and peace of the surround- known as the Enlightenment, has been reluctant
to affirm that the dead will be raised. It prefers to
ings. The other may interpret it as a sense of the speak instead of "eternal life," a phrase that can
presence of God, based on prior beliefs about
God and how and where he may be felt. Only the be interpreted in various ways.
second would, strictly speaking, be a religious
e.xperience. For religious beliefs can induce relig- The resurrection of the dead is much more
ious experience, but they also are what interprets important within Christianir\' and Islam. It fig-
experience as religious. At the same time, religion ures in the notion of a final judgment that both
without experience would be a paltry thing and
probably not long endure. religions share. In addition, Islam as well as Chris-
tianity connects the resurrection of the dead with
RESURHECTION The notion that the bod-
the return of Jesus. In I Corinthians 15, PAUL
ies of the dead will rise and regain life. This notion develops a particularly detailed scenario for the
IS found especially in CHR],STl.\Nrn' and ISLAM resurrection. He teaches that at the sound of the
last trumpet, the dead, along with those still
but also in IUD.\ISM. Of the three, only Christi- living, will assume a spiritual, imperishable body,
in contrast to the physical, mortal bodies that they
anity teaches that resurrection has already hap- had in life. The QUR'AN teaches that those who
pened once in the person of lESUS. are found righteous at the final judgment will
enter the gardens of paradise, whereas those who
The idea of resurrection does not figure are not righteous will suffi;r torment.
prominentiy in the Hebrew BIBLE (Old Testa-
ment). In fact, it appears only in the very late book Muslims believe that Jesus did not die.
of D.\NIEL. It is anticipated in EZEKIEL's VISION Therefore, he was not raised from the dead; he
of dry bones coming together again (Ezekiel was taken up into HE.WEN without dying, as
Enoch and ELIJAH were. But Christians believe
37:1-14), but this vision foresees not a resurrec- that the final resurrection of the dead has been
tion of the dead but a change in fortune for the foreshadowed in the resurrection of Jesus. In-
deed, the resurrection of Jesus is the pivotal event
nation of Israel. For the most part the Hebrew
on which all of Christianity rests. Among other
Bible envisions a dr\', drear\' existence for the
dead in a place it calls "Sheol." things, it provides the concept that even in this
world religious life means dying to SIN and rising
In the so-called intertestamental period to new life.
(roughly 200-1 B.C) the notion that the dead
would be raised at the end of time seems to have It is impossible to establish Jesus' resurrec-

become fairly common among Jews (see 2 Mac- tion as an historical event. As a maner of principle,
academic history knows no way to establish the
cabees 7.14, 12.43; 4 Ezra 2:23). It became so occurrence of MIRACLES. The earliest Christians
possibly under the influence of the Persians, who appealed to two types of evidence in proclaiming
liberated the Jews from captivity in Babylon. the resurrection of Jesus. The first comprises re-
From them it passed into Judaism, Christianity, ports of finding Jesus' tomb empty. The second
and Islam. comprises the testimony of those who claimed to
have seen the risen Jesus, for example, PETER,
Witliin Judaism the notion of resurrection James, and Paul (see 1 Corinthians 15.5-8). After
appears, for example, in Maimonides's famous
summary of Jewish teaching known as the "Yig- daring the writings of the New Testament and
dal," a poetic version of which is often used in
S\TSIAGOGUE services. While affirming die resur- carefijlly assessing what was proclaimed at differ-
rection of the dead, however, traditional Judaism ent periods, some scholars have come to the
has focused on sanctifi'ing this life, not anticipat- conclusion that the earliest Christians testified to
ing a future one. The Reform movement, influ-

300 REVELATION, BOOK OF

Jesus' resurrection on the basis of encounters the forces of S.^TAN. When that happens, a new-
with the risen Jesus alone. heaven, new Earth, and new JERUSALEM replace
the world that now is.
REVELATION, BOOK OF Also caUed the
Christians have discussed the meaning of
ApocaKpse; the last book of the New Testament. these \isions for centuries. Many images clearly

The book of Revelation belongs to a kind of allude to the city of Rome and its empire (for
example, 17.9 and 18). Modern scholars see the
writing known as APOCAL1TTIC LITER.\TURE. book as comforting early Christians at a time of
This kind of writing was especially common in severe persecution by Roman authorities. Many
think that the book was wrinen during the perse-
late Second Temple IUD.\IS.\1 (roughly 200 cution by Emperor Domitian (ruled, A.D. 81-96).
Some favor an earUer persecution under Nero
B.C.-A.D. 70), early CHRISTL\Nm', and ancient (ruled, 54—68 .\.D ). The letters of Nero's name
GNOSTICISM. Apocal\ptic literature communi- add up to the famous sum 666, associated with

cates hidden knowledge. Writers recei\e this the idea of Satan or e\il (13.18). (In ancient
Greek the same s\mbols were used for letters and
knowledge in one of t\vo ways. Either they have for numbers.)

\asiONS or they make a journey to the HEA\TNS. Some suggest a practical reason for the
elaborate symbohsm of the book: It helped the
Apocal\ptic literature generally sees the world as author and readers avoid being detected by the
empire. The visions are also appropriate to the
a battle between warring forces, good and EVIL.
author's goal of encouraging the persecuted.
It pro\ides hope that the forces of evil will be They tell in wondrously graphic terms that what
the churches experience is not the ultimate
defeated in the near future. realit)'. In the end, their tormentors will be

Many examples of apocal\ptic literature are defeated by much greater forces.
Throughout histopi' Christians have tried to
"pseudonymous." That means that although
read Re\'elation in terms of the e\ents of their own
they were written more recently, they were attrib- time. Some still do. In the last half of the 20th
centun' some Christians in the United States saw
uted to a famous person of the past: .\D.\M, poUtical enemies such as Muammer El-Qaddafi
of Libya, Saddam Hussein of Iraq, the So\iet
Enoch, .-VBRAHAM, MOSES. Even the biblical book Union, and even such an apparent friend of the
United States as Mikhail Gorbachev as the figures
of DANIEL is pseudonymous. The book of Reve- behind the book's symbols. Many also expected

lation is unusual in that it reveals the name of its the "millennium," a thousand-year period in
which Jesus will reign with the mart>Ts (20.1-6).
actual author: John, imprisoned on the island of
These interpretations ma\' strike some as un-
Patmos. It is not clear how this John relates to founded and even bizarre. For those who culti-
vate them, however, they define the shape of
John the APOSTLE of JESUS, to the GOSPEL of contemporar\- history'.

NewJohn, or to the letters of JoJui in the Testa- RITES OF PASSAGE ritu.\LS that take
Aplace at imponant junctures in a person's life.
ment.
Belgian anthropologist named Arnold van Gen-
In the first three chapters, John addresses

seven churches in what is now Turkey. He en-

courages them to be faithful in the practice ot

Christianity. The other 19 chapters contain vi-

sions of heaven and heavenly events. These vi-

sions are equal to any science fiction fantasy. They
use many images fi'om the Hebrew BIBLE. For

example, the "four living creatures" with differ-

ent faces (4.6-8) closely resemble creatures de-

scribed in ISAL\H (6.1-3) and EZEKIEL ( 1 .5-1 1 ).
The visions are organized according to series of

sevens: seven seals (6.1), seven trumpets (8.6),

seven plagues (15.1). Mixed in with these "sev-
ens" are visions of a woman and beasts. At the

climax of the book, the armies of CHRIST defeat

RITES OF PASSAGE 301

nep identified rites of passage for the first rime in first haircut at the age of three. Many societies
1909. They are one of the most important kinds require mothers and newborn children to observe
of rituals. They define the dififerent stages
through which human life proceeds, such as a period of seclusion immediately after birth.
childhood, adulthood, and parenthood. They Puberty rituals are often called INITIA-
also transfer a person from one stage to another.
For example, the rite of marriage transforms two TIONS. As already noted, some Christians prac-
single people into a married couple (see \L\R- tice baptism as a puberty ritual; others practice
RL\GE .\XD RELIGION). confirmation. In JUD.MSM the standard puberty
ritual is BAR MJTZV.'VH for boys and, in more
People sometimes look upon these transi- liberal congregations, B.\T MITZ\'AH for girls. In
tions with aiLxiet)'. Therefore, rites of passage are some Buddhist countries boys take the initial
sometimes called "life-crisis rituals." Rites of pas- vows of a monk for a short time. It is part of
sage routinely occur at birth, puberty, marriage, their growing up as adult members of the Bud-
and death. Almost every religion has rites of dhist community. According to tradition, high-
passage for these occasions, although there may caste Hindu boys went through a prolonged
be some exceptions. For example, Protestants period of reUgious study in conjunction with
who use B.APTISM as a puberty rite may not ob- maturing intellectually and spiritually. In the
sene religious rituals in conjunction with birth. best known rite, a boy between the ages of eight
In North America, however, the broader society and 12 was "invested with" or given a sacred
pro\ides rituals for marking the occasion. These thread to wear draped over his left shoulder. In
include baby showers, sending out birth an- traditional HINDUIS.M, it became common for
nouncements, in earlier days passing out cigars, girls to be married before menstruation. As a
and perhaps a welcome-home party. result, the wedding was their puberty ritual.

Rites of passage mark biological changes and Funeral practices are equall\' varied. Jews and
developments: birth, physical maturit)-, and Muslims bury the dead in a simple wooden casket
death. But they do not take place only on the day and white shroud. Hindus bury especially holy
of one's birth or death. That is because the stages people, but they cremate most corpses and de-
and transitions marked by rites of passage are just posit the ashes in water, such as in the sacred ri\er
as much social and cultural. Indeed, in the minds GANGES. Parsees have traditionally washed the
of the participants, social and cultural changes corpse and then solemnly exposed it so that birds
may be the most prominent. For example, Prot- of prey could devour the flesh. The above exam-
estants who baptize at an age of accountabilitj- ples simply talk about what to do with the corpse.
might be shocked to hear baptism described as a They do not begin to note the rituals associated
"puberty rite." For them physical maturation has with the process.
littie or nothing to do with the ritual. The bio-
logical terms remain, however, the most conven- Van Geimep proposed a scheme that is help-
ient ones to use. fiil in understanding rites of passage. He identi-
fied three clusters of rituals: "liminal" rites, that
There are many important birth rituals. Some is, rituals that take place at the boundary (cp.
Christians baptize infants and anoint them with limen, Latin for threshold) between two stages of
oil. Jews circumcise boys on the eighth day after
birth as a sign of their covenant with God (see life; "pre-liminal" rites, rituals that occur before
CIRCUMCISION). Muslims circumcise, too. Tra- that time; and "post-liminal" rites, those that
occur afterward. Each set of rites has distinct
ditional high-caste Fiindus have an elaborate se- purposes: Pre-liminal rites separate the person
ries of rituals focused on male children. It extends concerned from the old state of life; liminal rites
fi-om the conception of the child to the child's bring about a change; post-liminal rites integrate

)

302 RITES OF PASSAGE

the changed person into the communit\- and ofthis ritual for men and women that the entrance
restructure it. of the groom is not so elaborate?

A "t\pical" North .\merican wedding —The liminal rites the rites at, say, the ALTAR
—mark the transformation in any number of
(shaped a great deal by PROTESTANTISM) illus-
trates each of these stages. Before the wedding, ways. The bride and groom usually make vows.
various actions separate the bride and groom They often exchange rings. They may receive
from their pre\ious state: announcing the en-
gagement in the newspaper, the gift of an engage- special blessings. In the last half of the 20th
ment ring, wedding showers for the prospectixe centtin- many couples created rituals of transfor-

bride, a bachelors' part)' for the prospective mation that had special meaning to them. Many

groom. The wedding itself is held in a special, others adopted innovations that the)' saw at the
ritual space that fiincrions as a threshold: a church weddings of relatives and friends.
or chapel, a garden or a place of special signifi-
cance to the persons being married. The rituals A number of post-liminal rites incorporate
by which the bride enters this space also mark
separation: a grand procession and, in ven,' tradi- the new married couple into the communit)'.
These may include a line in which the newly
tional settings, the father gi\ing the bride awa\'.
(What does it say about the relative importance married couple greets all the guests, photographs

of the couple taken in that special period just after

the ceremon)', eating and drinking together,
throwing the bouquet and the garter, and danc-

In Hinduism, the naming ceremony t<. considered one ot the ntes ot passage. K.oHiTm' of the- liimnf Hank.)

RITUAL 303

ing. It is also customan- in North America for the —are in customary and con\entional ways. Even
newly married couple to obser\e a period of
seclusion. It is called a honeymoon. private PR^reRS and MEDITATION are often done
rituaUy, in a customar>' manner.
More recent scholars ha\e added to our un-
\Miat kinds of rituals are there and what
Aderstanding of rites of passage. ps\'chologist messages do they convey about the di\ine and
about humans and their ways of WORSHIP? If it is
has noted that the ordeals that are sometimes a rich, ancient, formal ritual, it tells us the best
associated with puberty rituals help make these way to reach the divine is by getting outside of
rituals seem more special afterward. The anthro- otu-selves through participation in something old,
pologist Mctor Turner found the concept of the close to our roots, and aesthetically beautiful. If
liminal or "liminalitii'' useful in many other set- it is free and seemingly spontaneous, it says we get
tings as well. in touch with the divine by losing inhibitions and
giving vent to inner feelings. Similar questions
In many parts of the world today, people about religious leadership, s\'mbols, and commu-
have been abandoning traditional rites ofpassage. nities can also be asked about ritual events.
But as a class, rites of passage remain important.
They mark special occasions, such as graduations. Most religious rituals ha\e some features in
They make people members of special societies, common. First, it sets apart the place and time
such as sororities and fraternities. By the end of where it is conducted as a sacred space and time,
the 20th century, some women in North America where inwardly one expects experience to be
had developed rites of passage to celebrate other different from outside, where one can expect to
important moments in their li%'es, such as the be particularly in close touch with the divine and
onset of menopause. Indeed, the phrase "rite of to have religious experience. It is a time and
passage" is an example of a scholarly term that has place, one might say, particularly open or "'trans-
parent" to the sacred. Second, it is usually also a
passed into popular or general use. time and place that harks back to the great sacred
rimes of the religion, as the Jewish PASSO\'ER
RITUAL The deliberate repetition of conven- recalls the EXODUS or the Christian Holy Com-
munion the Last Supper of JESUS, or in general
tional and stylized words and actions with special recalls the rimes and places of sacred stor\' when
significance. Ritual is very important to religion, the di%ine presence was strongly felt in the world.
where such acts may seem to be meaningless apart Rituals often present what may be called "con-
from the religious context and interpretation. densed symbols" of those events, like the ritual
Ritual may vary^ from the highly st\lized acts of a bits of bread and wine in Christian Communion,
Vedic rite or the colorfiil drama of the Eastern which for believers "trigger" thoughts of the
Orthodox LITLRGY to the simple silence, with a whole story, just as the sight of an old photograph
handshake at the end, of a QU.VKER meeting. may recall a whole episode in one's life. Ritual acts
can release religious feelings precisely through
But it must be realized that virtually all relig- their routine nature, in that if well practiced and
ion, from the most elaborate to the simplest, has interiorized they come more or less automatically,
ritual in the sense that things are done in a like dancing or playing the piano when well ac-
conventional, traditional way, and with words complished, and this can produce an inner reduc-
and movements that make no sense apart from tion of tension and feeling of peace, allowing
the religion. This is as true of a plain Protestant one's thoughts and feelings to move easily to the
ser\ice as of a high mass or an ancient SACRIFICE.
It is as true of a highly formal ser\ice choreo- religious object. Finally, ritual, as a religious act
graphed like a dance as of an emotional and
seemingly spontaneous de\otional or Pentecostal done together, reinforces the cohesion of relig-

—type of event, so long as much of it is done as

such things as hymns and hand-raising inevitably

304 ROMAN CATHOLICISM

ious communities, the authoritv of the religious to England and Germany. By A.D. 800 the
leaders performing them, and the institutional Hoh' Roman Empire ruled central and western
structure of the religion making them available. Europe. WTien the Pope and the head of the
(See also SYMBOLISM, IN RELIGION.) Orthodox churches excommunicated each other
in 1054, the dispute was between distant cousins,
ROMAN CATHOLICISM One of the three not brothers.

main branches of c:HRISTLVs;iTy. The word The Middle Ages were a formative period
"catholic" means universal. Roman Catholicism for Roman Catholicism. Pope Gregory' I (pope,
is universal in two senses. It extends around the 590-604), then Emperor Charlemagne (742-
globe, and more importantly, it sees itself as the 814) systematized the LITURGY of the Mass.
proper bearer of the universal Christian tradi- A long line of thinkers, stretching from
tion. It is called Roman because it considers the AUGUSTINE OF HIPPO to Thomas AQUINAS, for-
bishop of Rome to be the supreme leader of mulated Catholic teachings. Builders con-
Christianity. The bishop of Rome is called the structed impressive churches in the Roman-
Pope (see PAP.ACY, THE). esque stv'le, then churches in the Gothic st\'le
that still take one's breath away (see C.\THE-
History DR.\L). Monks, nuns, and friars practiced a way
of Ufe rooted in religious devotion. Mystics,
For much of the past, the history of Roman many of them women such as Juhan of Nor\vich
and Hildegard of Bingen, reported intense vi-
Catholicism is the history of Christianin,', then of sions of the divine. But this was also the time of
the INQUISITION and the CRUSADES.
Christianity in western Europe. The Roman
When the Protestants revolted in the Refor-
—Catholic Church the church of western Europe
—did not break officially with the Orthodo.\ mation, Catholics responded with the Counter-
—churches the churches of eastern Europe (see Reformation. At the Council ofTrent (see TRENT",
—EASTERN ORTHODO.X CHRISTL^KIT^') until COUNCIL OF) they reformed certain practices but
reaffirmed central Catholic teachings. While
A.D. 1054. The Protestants left the Catholic many Protestants were rejecting the works of
Church only during the REFORALATION in the human hands as idolatry', the Catholic Church
16th centun-. was commissioning masterpieces of baroque art.
Especially with the help of the newly founded
Nevertheless, the roots of a distinct Roman Societ)' of Jesus (see JESUITS), Catholic MISSION-
Catholicism are ven- old. They go back to a ARiES preached Christianin,- in Asia and the
general cultural split in the Roman Empire. The
Americas.
language and culture of the eastern half of the
empire were Greek. Those of the western half of Among the British colonies of North Amer-
Aica, Catholics had the closest ties to Maryland.
the empire were Latin. The bishop of Rome
claimed very early to be supreme among bishops. Catholic, Cecil Calvert, received the first charter

According to tradition he was the successor of for Mar\land. The first Catholic bishop in the
PETER, the most imponant of )ESUS' disciples and United States was the bishop of Baltimore, John
the first bishop of Rome. Bishops in the eastern Carroll (elevated 1789). Bishop Carroll was a
half of the empire never recognized this claim. cousin of Charles Carroll, a signer of the Decla-
Jesus' .-VPOSTLES had founded their most impor- ration of Independence. During the 19th centur\-
tant churches, too. the American Catholic Church grew tremen-
dously as people emigrated fi-om Catholic coun-
By roughly A.D. 500, east and west were tries such as Ireland, Italy, and Poland.
going their separate ways. Political institutions
in the west had largely collapsed. The Pope
maintained order. Under his direction, Christian-
it)' was brought to northern Europe, for example.

ROMAN RELIGION 305

During the 19th and 20th centuries. Catho- PRACTICF.S
lics in the Protestant countries of Europe as well
as the United States were objects of persecution, Catholics recognize seven sacraments: BAPTISM,
sometimes \ile and severe. In this context the confirmation, the EUCELVRIST, penance (confes-
election of a Catholic, John F. Kennedy, as presi- sion of sins ), marriage ( see .\L\RRL\GE .\ND RELIG-
dent of the United States was a major, positive ION), ORDIN.-\TION, and the anointing of the sick.
event. During the same period, the church wtcs-
tled with modem, scientific thought. The First The centerpiece of Catholic WORSHIP is the

VATICAN COUNCIL (1869-70) rejected modem Mass. This is a traditional, liturgical celebration
of the eucharist. Since the Second Vatican Coun-
ideas and asserted the supreme position of the cil, Catholics have celebrated the Mass in local
Pope. The Second Vatican Council (1962-65) languages rather than in Latin. They have also
took a more conciliator)' position. placed a greater emphasis both on congregational
participation, such as singing, and the homily
Beliefs (sermon) as a way of instructing the participants.

Cathohcs affirm the truths of Christianity' as for- Organiz.\tion
mulated not only in the ancient CREEDS and
councils but also in all councils of Catholic bish- Catholics actually recognize r\vo supreme
ops and in pronouncements of the Pope. They authorities: meetings of bishops known as coun-
cils, and the Pope. The relation between these
maintain that God is a TRINITi', Father, Son, and two has changed throughout histor\'.
Holy Spirit, and that Jesus is both fully dinne and
flillii' human. The Pope governs the church from Rome.
He is assisted by an administrative staff", known as
In formulating the truths of Christianit)', the Curia, and a select group of bishops, known
Catholics have tended to use different terms than as the College of CARDIN.\LS. The Catholic
Orthodox Christians. The Orthodox churches Church diWdes the world into territories known

have tended to talk about human beings becom- Aas dioceses. bishop administers each diocese.

ing sacred or dixine. Catholic thinkers have Within dioceses priests and deacons serve par-
tended to use the more legal language of original ishes. The church stricdy resenes its offices for
SIX- atonement, and redemption. These are, unmarried men.
however, only tendencies.
In addition to bishops, priests, and deacons,
Catholics differ from Protestants on any the Catholic Church has a long tradition of
number of points. Protestants accept only the
BIBLE as the source of religious truth; Catholics MONKS .\ND NUNS, people who devote themselves
accept church traditions as well. Protestants ha\e
tended to emphasize that God's GR.\CE saves, not to a religious life instead of marrying.
human works; Catholics insist that grace works
together with human effort. Protestants have SlGNTFICANCE
tended to see ritual actions only as signs of relig-
ious truth; Catholics teach that God imparts his Roughly one-sixth of the world's population is
grace in the SACRAMENTS. Protestants have Roman Catholic (in 1995, roughly 970,000,000
tended to focus exclusively on Jesus; Catholics people). Roman Catholicism has made immense
venerate Jesus' mother MARY, too, as the vehicle contributions to the cultural heritage of Europe.
by which God became flesh. They also venerate It is also aji important part of life for many people
around the globe.
past SAINTS.
ROMAN RELIGION The religion of tiie

Roman people before CHRISTLVNITi' became the
official religion of Rome. Much Roman religious

306 ROSICRUCIANISM

activin- took place in the home. Households pre- foreign gods. During the republic they began to
sented offerings to many gods. These gods in-
cluded the Lar familiaris (perhaps associated worship the Greek healer Asklepios, the "Great
with the fields), the Penates (associated with the
storeroom), Vesta (the cooking fire), the genius Mother" fi^om Anatolia (ancient Turkey), and
(the spirit of the family's patriarch), and Janus
(the two-faced god of the entr\-«ay). Some of the Bacchus. During the empire (began roughly 30
gods received offerings e\en' da>-. The purpose EC.) they learned to WORSHIP Isis of Eg\-pt,
was not to win HE.W'EN or achieve enlighten-
ment. It was to ensure that the household thrixed. Mithra of Persia, and Sol Invictus of Syria. When
Ultimatelv, the patriarch of the family (paterfamil-
ias) was responsible for all household worship. the empire was established, the emperor also

The purpose of the religious observances of became the object of a cult. That does not mean,
the Roman state was the same: to ensure that however, that he became a god. The imperial cult
the state flourished. The strateg\- w as basically the took many forms. Emperors were declared gods
same, too: Maintain good relationships with the when they died, or they were worshiped along
gods through performing various RITU.\LS, often
by celebrating festivals. Some of the state gods with the goddess Roma when alive, or portra\ed
corresponded to the household gods. Rome had
as the supreme priest, or designated as specially
—its hearth sened by special priestesses known as
chosen by the gods.
vestal \irgins. It had Penates, Lares, and a Janus,
too. Communities also worshiped the ancestors Priests supenised Roman religious practices,

(Manes). but they rarely did so as a fiill-time job. Important

The Roman state worshiped other gods too. priests included the "King of Rituals" (rex
The earliest known include JUPITER, .\L\RS, and
Quirinus. At the beginning of the republic (tra- sacrorum), the "Highest Priest" (pontifex
ditionallv 509 B C), Romans worshiped a triad of
gods on the Capitoline Hill: the supreme god, maximus), ancient priests known as flamens, the
Jupiter Optimus Maximus, along with JUNO and
Miner\a. In early times, Roman gods lacked per- whovestal \irgins, the salii danced at festivals of
sonalit)' and m\thology. Many seem to ha\e been
simply abstract powers: Victory, Harmony, the Mars, and the augurs, who determined whether

Boundarii' Stone. times were right for conducting state business,

From a small settlement on the Tiber River, including war.
Rome came to rule all the lands surrounding the
Mediterranean Sea. As its power grew, its religion Toward the beginning of the fourth centun,'
grew, too. From neighbors in Italy known as the .^.D., it became legal for Romans to practice Chris-
Etruscans Romans learned to worship images of tianit)-. By the end of the centur\, it had become
gods and to house them in roofed buildings, that mandator\'. Some Romans continued traditional
is, temples. From the Greeks the\' borrowed my-
thologies. By 200 B.C many Roman gods had worship for a time. But in the end, Christianitv'
Greek alter-egos: Jupiter was ZEUS, Juno was
Hera, Mars was Ares, and so on. replaced the old Roman religion.

The Romans did not simply identify- tradi- ROSICRUCIANISM From Latin for "ros\'
tional gods with foreign ones. They also imported
cross," a collective label for teachings and groups
that developed in the tradition of European .•U.-
CHE\ri' and OCCULTISM. The Rosicrucian name
began with the publication in 1614 of a booklet
called Fama Fraternitatis (Fame of the Frater-
nit>), presenting the legend of a certain Christian
Rosenkreutz who had sought for wisdom in the
East and brought it back to his native Germany.
The book claimed that a secret fi-atemity was
based on his teachings. Although most seekers
were tmable to find the group, several orders,

including modem ones, teaching esoteric lore

have taken the name.

s

SABBATH See IUD.\ISM. tice them somewhat differently than the Catholic
Church does.
SACRAMENTS The most important RTTU-
In addition to baptism and the eucharist, the
ALs tor C ath()lic. Orthodox, and most Protestant seven sacraments include: confirmation or chris-
Chnstians. Orthodox Christians also call sacra-
ments "mysteries." mation, penance, marriage (see \L\RiUAGE ASD
RELIGION), holy orders (see ORDINATION), and
Not all Christians acknowledge sacraments. anointing. Both the Catholic and the Orthodox
For example, QU.\KERS do not. But all of those chtyches baptize infants. The Catholic and Angli-
who do, accept at least t\%o sacraments. These can Church recognize a sacrament of confirma-
nvo are B.MTISM and the EUCR\RIST. Baptism
tion. In this ritual baptized persons reaffirm their
—either immersion in or sprinkling with water is acceptance of Christianit)- once they are old

the ritual by which people enter the Christian enough to speak for themselves. The Orthodox
church. The eucharist is the sharing of bread and churches recognize instead a sacrament of chris-
wine that is somehow linked to the body and mation. This ritual, which preserves the most
blood of lESCS. Cher the last 2,000 years Chris- ancient practice, occurs immediately after bap-
tians have disagreed strongly o\er the proper way tism. It is an anointing with oil and a la\ing on of
to perform these rituals as well as their proper
meaning. These disagreements played a large part hands.
in the splintering of Christianit)- into many differ- In penance Christians confess their sins,
ent groups.
either individually before a priest or as a group,
For the first thousand years of Christianity, and receive words of forgiveness. Marriage joins
the term "sacrament" was somewhat fluid. It two people together as husband and wife. The
designated other rituals besides baptism and the sacrament of anointing is a ritual performed for
eucharist- In the Middle Ages, a Catholic thinker spiritual and physical healing. At various times it
named Peter Lombard (c. 1100-60) identified has been practiced as a ritual for the d\ing. Holy
seven sacraments. The great medie\al theologian,
Thomas .\QUIN.-\S, followed him. This became orders sets aside men for special offices within the
chtuch. The most prominent of these are the
the standard teaching of the Roman Catholic offices of bishop and priest. Both Catholic and
Orthodox churches limit ordination to men. The
Church. In the 16th century the Protestant Re- Catholic Church ordains only unmarried men.
formers universally rejected the seven sacraments. The Orthodox churches ordain married men as
They generally favored only t^vo. In the I7th well, but they do not permit an uiunarried man
centuf)', however, the Orthodox churches ac- who is ordained to marry later. They also do not
cepted the teaching of seven sacraments (see
allow married priests to be bishops.
EASTERN ORTHODOX CHIUSTL\Xm'). They prac- Different churches emphasize different as-

pects when they talk about the sacraments. The

—

308 SACRIFICE

Orthodox churches have generally spoken of sac- closely resembled that of hunters today; and that
raments as providing a foretaste of HEAVEN on rituals of the Paleolithic period cannot properly
earth. The Catholic Church has traditionally em-
phasized the validity of sacraments as conveying be called sacrifices.
God's GRACE, quite apart from the qualities of There is no such thing as a typical sacrifice.
the person performing them. Lutherans say that
sacraments con\'ey God's grace when they are Sacrifices vary in a number of ways. They vary in
received in FAITH (see LUTHERANISM). Calvinists terms of what is sacrificed, who performs the
say sacraments are signs of God's grace, but they sacrifice, who or what allegedly receives it, who
do not convey it (see PRESBYTERIAN AND RE benefits from it, what occasions it, where and
FORMED CHURCHES). when it is performed, and how it is supposed to
work. Examples can only begin to hint at this
Some writers use the term "sacrament" for
important rituals in other religions, but the word variet)'.
has too many Christian connotations. Applying it
In ancient Greece festivals to the Olympian
to non-Christian rituals almost always results in gods were something like barbecues to which
misunderstanding. both gods and mortals were invited (see GREEK
RELIGION). The community led the victims in
SACRIFICE One of the most important relig- procession to an elevated open-air ALTAR. The
gods descended from the sky. The sacrificers
ious RITUALS. Sacrifice is the giving up of objects slaughtered, butchered, and cooked the ani-
or the killing of animals or persons for religious mals. Only the gods received some portions.
purposes. Mortals received the rest. Sacrifices known as
"hecatombs" were the largest feasts. At them
The most common form of sacrifice is the the Greeks killed and cooked a hundred (or
more) oxen.
religious killing of animals. Indeed, animal sacri-
fice is in some sense the ruler by which scholars The priests of ancient India known as BRAH-
measure all other sacrifices. If a ritual act resem- MINS developed an elaborate complex of sacri-
bles animal sacrifice, it is a sacrifice. In the course fices. They sacrificed animals, dair>' products, and
an intoxicating liquid called soma. Wealthy pa-
of history human beings have made sacrifices of trons sponsored major sacrifices and received
virtually anything and ever\'thing at their dis- their benefits. In time brahmins gathered the
posal: plants; smoke; dairy products; material chants, rules, and explanations for the sacrifices
products such as cloth, paper, statues, money, into sacred books known as the VEDA. They
alcohol, drugs, and cooked food; rocks and min- suggested that the sacrifice worked because of
erals; speech; human blood and body parts; even connections between elements of the rituals and
entire human beings.
elements of the universe.
The Practice of Sacrifice
Peoples who lived in urban Mesoamerica be-
No one knows exacdy when the practice of sacri-
fore the arrival of Columbus also had well devel-
fice began. Most animal sacrifices involve domes-
ticated animals. Therefore, some scholars have oped sacrificial systems. The sacrifices of the
suggested that sacrifice began when people first
domesticated animals. In this view, sacrifice was Aztecs are notorious (see AZTEC RELIGION). Peo-
the proper way to kill such animals for meat.
Evidence for this view is scanty. It requires several ple often offered their own blood to the gods. At
controversial assumptions: that human culture
went through a single series of developmental — howtimes it is ver\^ difficult to say just often

stages; that the culture of, say, prehistoric hunters they offered entire human beings. They either cut

off their heads, cut out their hearts, or drowned

them. (Ancient Greeks and Indians occasionally

sacrificed human beings, too.)

SADHU, SADHVI 309

Some religions and religious nio\ements kilhng animals. Rene Girard has argued that sac-
ha\e rejected sacrifice. The Aztecs looked back to rifice was a way to deflect violence that threatened
to destroy society from within; sacrifice directs
a m)thological Toltec leader, Topiltzin Quetzal- that violence onto the sacrificial victim instead. In
a much different vein, some have suggested that
coad, who eliminated many sacrifices, including Mesoamericans sacrificed human beings in order
human sacrifice. In India during the si.xth century to make up for a lack of protein in their diet.
B.C. BUDDHISM and lAINISM rejected sacrifice
entirely. Some Hindus, too, came to deempha- Sacrifice Today
size sacrifices in favor of ascetic exercises. The
Persian prophet ZARATHUSTRA eliminated ani- At the end of the 20th century animal sacrifice
was a controversial practice in North America.
mal sacrifice; he retained only the sacrifice of the Some North Americans objected to it on religious
grounds. Others objected to it because they fa-
sacred liquid known as haoma. Some Jewish vored animal rights, or at least the humane treat-
prophets insisted that justice and a pure heart
«'ere more important than sacrifices. When the Ament of animals. few religions, however, did
Romans destroyed the Second Temple in JERU- sacrifice animals. An example is SANTERJA, a relig-
S.\LEM in AD. 70, JUDAISM gave up sacrifices
altogether. During the PILGRIMAGE to MECCA ion with African roots. True to its heritage, San-
Muslims offer a sacrifice in memory of ABRA- teria requires its adherents to sacrifice chickens.
HAM'S faithfulness when GOD asked him to sacri-
Toward the end of the 20th century the town
Afice his son. major feast marks this day. of Hialeah, Florida, was disturbed that adherents
of Santeria were sacrificing chickens. So it made
Christians do not sacrifice animals, but they animal sacrifice illegal. In June 1993, the U.S.
have often used the image of sacrifice in talking Supreme Court overturned the law. The court
about JESUS. The Catholic and Orthodox found that Hialeah's law had only one purpose:
churches teach that the EUCHARJST makes pre- to prohibit a religious practice. That violates the
sent the sacrifice of Jesus on the cross. Protestants First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution (see
often use the language of sacrifice to talk about CHURCH AND STATE). The First Amendment
guarantees all Americans the right to practice
personal morality instead. their religions freely and without government
interference. That guarantee extends to practices
Theories of Sacrifice that may be unpopular, such as animal sacrifice.

People who sacrifice have many different ideas SADHU, SADHVI Hindu holy men and
about how sacrifices work. Scholars do, too.
women, respecti\ely. There are considerably
Their theories are suggestive, insightful, and more sadhus than sadh\is.
sometimes oudandish. None are definitive.
The names sadhu and sadhvi denote people
One common theory has maintained that who are pursuing a sadhana, a way of life that
Asacrifice is a gift to gods or spirits. formula that leads to some ultimate goal. According to Hindu
the Romans addressed to their gods sums this tradition, during the last stage of life a man
theory up nicely: do lit des, "I am giving to you, renounces his possessions, family, and identity
and wanders while pursuing spiritual liberation.
so that you v\ill give to me." Another theon- has In actual practice, sadhus and sadh\is adopt a fife
seen sacrifice as an occasion for human beings to of renunciation at many difterent ages, some of
them very young.
commune with the sacred; this communion

brings all sorts of benefits. Adolf Jensen, an an-
thropologist, once suggested that sacrifice origi-
nally reenacted events that certain myths ascribed
to the beginning of the world. Walter Burkert, a
scholar of Greek religions, derived sacrifice fi"om
the need to cope with the anxiety diat comes from

310 SAINTS

It is virtually impossible to count or classify Other religions have persons similar to saints.
the many different kinds of sadhus and sadhvis. These include especially the wall or "friend [of
God]" in ISUAM, and also the tsaddiq in Hasidic
Some are entirely independent and live off b\' lUDAISM, the guru and S.\DHU in HINDUISM, the
themselves. Many others belong to organized sage in CONFUCLIlNISM, and the ARHAT, the BOD-
groups. These groups are distinguished from HIS.\TT\'A, and the lama in BUDDHISM.
one another by their teachers, teachings, gods,
dress, bodv-marks, and other factors. The relative SALAT The Arabic word for formal PRAreR;
rank of sadhus and sadhvis emerges at festivals
like the Kumbh Mela. There holy men and the second pillar of ISLAM. Salat is not informal
women line up in order of rank to proceed to the petition of GOD, which Muslims may do at any
RITUAL bath. time as need arises. It is formal, prescribed prayer.
For devout Muslims salat defines the rhythms of
Not all Indians respect sadhus and sadhvis. daily life. It brackets and interrupts one's daily
Some see them as freeloaders. Some sadhus are in activities. It therefore helps to consecrate one's
fact con artists or criminals on the run. They have whole life to the service of God.
given those who are genuineh' religious a bad
name. During the course of the 20th centun,' Adult Muslims follow the example of the
sadhus and sadhvis became ver\' acti\'e in Indian
politics. In general they are confirmed tradition- prophet MUHAMMAD and pray five times a day:
alists, so they often opposed the government's
policy of neutrality toward religion. They also in the early morning, at noon, in mid-afternoon,
tended to champion reactionary causes. in the evening, and at night. In cases of special
need, the noon and midafternoon prayers may be
SAINTS Holy people. Especially Christians combined. So may the evening and night prayers.
use the term "saint." In the New Testament, In Muslim countries businesses routinely make
allowances for salat during the workday. Employ-
PAUL the APOSTLE calls all Christians "saints." ers in non-Muslim countries may make allow-
Most Protestants use the word in the same way. ances, too. Afternoon prayers do not take any
They do not recognize a special class of Christians longer than a coffee break. In any case, Muslims
known as saints.
are not to pray at the precise moment of sunrise
Catholic and Orthodox Christians, however, or sunset or when the sun reaches the zenith. That
call special Christians saints. They have a position
in the church similar to the position of heroes in might give the impression that they are worship-
the army. They are special because of their per-
sonal characteristics, not simply because the\' ing the sun.
hold an office.
All the pra\'ers may be done in any place that
Martyrs are saints (see M.\RTYDOM). So are is quiet and clean. One may not wear shoes. It is
best to pray with at least one fellow Muslim, if
—Christians who perform MIR\CLES often after possible, but if necessary individuals may pray
alone. The only exception to these rules is the
death. Catholic and Orthodox Christians vener- Friday noon prayer. Men are to perform that

— —ate but do not WORSHIP saints. They presen'e prayer with a congregation in a MOSQUE. Women

their RELICS and visit their shrines. They also may join them there, but they may also perform
dedicate special days to each saint. Christians the Fridav' noon prayer at home instead. At the
celebrate the lives of saints in literature known as Friday prayer service, the prayer leader, known as
"hagiography." Orthodox Christians venerate an IMAM, gives a sermon.
pictures of saints known as icons (see IMAGES,
ICONS, IDOUS IN RELIGION). Before salat, Muslims must clean themselves.
One should not present oneself before one's
creator in an impure state. In most cases clean-
ing involves washing one's hands and forearms.

SALVATION ARMY 311

face, and feet, rinsing the mouth and nose, and Irom which persons or things need to be saved or
wiping one's head, neck, and ears. Because of this rescued. CHRISTIANITY calls this situation SIN.
requirement one generally finds pools of water
in mosques. At the same time, Islam arose in a The myth of the FALL tells how sin began. In
desert climate, and it makes a special provision for
that climate. If no water is available, going dualistic religions, such as ZOROASTRL'VNISM,
through the motions of washing will satisfy the GNOSTICISM, and MANICHAEISM, the problem is
that good and FAIL, light and darkness have been
requirement. mixed together. In HINDUISM, BUDDHISM, and
Muslims recite the acrual prayers themselves J.AINISM, the problem is that people are bound in
SAMSARA, that is, they are continually reborn.
facing the direction of the KAABA in MECCA. In a This bondage is often traced to a more basic
mosque this direction is noted by a niche on the problem: ignorance.
wall. Some Muslims carry specially adapted com-
passes to allow them to find the qiblnb, as the Some religions save individual human beings.
direction of Mecca is called. The prayers are Christianit\' often saves individual sinners. Other
recited in ^\rabic, and they must be recited ft-om
memorv. When prayers are done in a group, a religions save communities. Perhaps the best ex-
respected and capable member of the group ample of salvation in lUDAISM is the EXODUS, in

stands in the front as imam. A man must lead which the whole people was saved. Some relig-
groups of men or mixed groups. A woman may
lead groups of women in prayer. ions, such as Zoroastrianism, teach that an ele-
ment of the cosmos, such as light or goodness,
MusUms pray two or more sets of prayers at
a time. Each set consists of prescribed prayers will be saved. Some Christians expect the salva-
accompanied by prescribed postures and ges-
tion of the entire universe.
tures. It begins by reciting the first surah or
section of the QUR'AN while standing, for most Many religions teach their followers how to
Sunnis with hands crossed, for Shi'ites with hands help bring about salvation. But many religions
at one's sides (see SHI'ITE ISLAM and SUNNI IS-
LAM). Other postures include leaning forward in also emphasize that people need help from the
a bow, prostrating by placing one's forehead and outside. They teach about saviors, such as lESUS
hands on the ground, and sitting. With each or perhaps the Buddha AMID,^ and the bodhisat-
t\'a AVALOKITESVARA.
change of posture, the person recites "God is
most great." When prayer is ended, the person SALVATION ARMY An organization to
praying recites a greeting to the right and to the
left: "Peace be upon all of you and the mercy and spread CHRISTIANITY'. Its structure imitates that
blessings of God." of an army.

Children may begin to observe this dut>" at William Booth (1829-1912) was a Method-
age seven. They should do so by age 10. But they
are not absolutely required to do so until they ist minister (see METHODISM). He and his wife
reach puberty. Children may join the adults in the worked among the poor in London. In 1878 he
Friday prayer service. When they do, the boys hit upon the idea of organizing his mission as an
stand behind the men. Girls pray with the army for GOD. Booth became general for life.
women. Ministers became ofticers of various rank. Con-
verts signed Articles of War and became soldiers.
SALVATION Rescue in a religious context. They were organized into groups called corps. A

Salvation presupposes that there is a situation group of corps makes a division; a group of
divisions makes a territory.

These military images appealed to the milita-
ristic and nationalistic spirit of the late 19th cen-
tur\', and Booth's idea of a Salvation Army proved
very successfijl. It quickly spread overseas. In the

312 SAMARITANS

20th centun' it had centers throughout the globe. In the ancient world there was considerable
It had its greatest success in the United States. animosit)- benveen Samaritans and Jews. Those

The teachings of the Salvation Army are fun- who returned from exile in Babylon saw the
damentalist (see EV.'\NGELICALANDFUND.VMEN
TALIST CHRISTLANITi'), but the army refuses to Samaritans as interlopers and reftised Samaritan
discuss issues that might confuse the uneducated. help in rebuilding the Temple in JERUS.\LEM.
Its WORSHIP senices are designed for popular lESUS' well-known parable of the good Samaritan
appeal. WTiat is most distincti\e of the arm\' is the recognizes the hostile relations between the two
thorough way in which it carries out the military groups (Luke 10.29-37).
image. Its officers wear uniforms. Its members
play Christian hymns in militar\'-style bands. Its Toda>' only about 600 Samaritans survive.
publication is The War Cry. Roughly half live near Tel Aviv and are citizens of
Israel. The other half live in the area of Nablus,
The Sahation Army continues to be xen,- near Mount Gerizim, a strongly Palestinian area.
The Israeli -Palestinian Peace Agreement of Sep-
active in "rescue mission" work. It seeks not just tember 28, 1995, guaranteed all Samaritans fi-ee-
to convert the poor but also to assist those who,
for whatever reason, need material support. Un- dom of religion and access to holy sites. The
like more liberal branches of rROTEST,\NTISM, it Palestinian Elections Law approved in December

—has shied away from social reform that is, the 1995 reserved one seat on the 83-seat Palestinian
Council for the Samaritans living near Nablus.
attempt to reorganize society in a way that elimi-
nates the causes of poverty and other evils. SAMSARA Sanskrit word for the continuous

cvcle of redeath and rebinh in which all beings

SAMARITANS A people in central Israel live; thus, ordinarv' existence. The notion of sam-
sara is shared by both HINDUISM and BUDDHISM.
who claim to be descended fi-om the Israelite
Notions of rebirth are probably age-old on

tribes of Ephraim and Manasseh; indeed, they call the south Asian subcontinent, but the idea of
samsara came to prominence in both Hinduism
themselves Israelites as well as Shamerim, "keep-

ers of the law." The English name comes from and Buddhism roughly in the sixth century B.C.
For centuries priests who performed the sac-
Samaria, the name of the capital of the ancient

kingdom of Israel. According to Jewish tradition, rifices described in the VED.\ had detailed the

the Samaritans are not Israelites but are descend- benefits of the sacrifices to their wealthy patrons.
The priman- benefit was a long number of blissful
ed from peoples transplanted to the region when years spent in svar^^a, heaven. Around the sixth
centun' B.C. certain sages began to speak of what
Assyria conquered Samaria in 721 B.C.
happened when those benefits ran out: redeath,
Samaritans are strict monotheists. They WOR-

YHWHSHIP God under the name ("the Lord").

Their SCRIPTURES contain only the TORAH or followed by rebirth. The conditions of rebirth

Pentateuch, that is, the first five books of the were determined by the qualities of one's action

BIBLE. They also revere MOSES and look fon.\ard (Karma).

to a final day in which God will restore their About the same time, the BUDDHA was ana-

claims and take vengeance on the wicked. Ivzing the condition of all sentient or conscious

The most sacred site for Samaritans is Mount Onbeings. his analysis, all beings experience a

Gerizim. They built a temple there in the late continuing process of rebirth as a result of their

300s, but it was destroyed by the Jewish priest cra\ ing-motivated acts, acts characterized by ha-

and ruler John Hyrcanus in 128 B C. The Samari- tred, greed, and ignorance.

tans still celebrate r.-\SSOVER at Mount Gerizim. Hindus explain the process of rebirth in a

Thcv also strictlv observe the Sabbath. variety of ways, but key to all of them is the notion

SANTERIA 313

of an eternal, unchanging self, sometimes called however, this distinction has almost completely
the AT\L\N, which undergoes the various births. broken down. For example, in several schools of
The situation in Buddhism is more difficult, be- Japanese Buddhism, it is no longer meaningfiil to
cause Buddhists deny that there is any eternal, speak of the sangha.
unchanging self They tend instead to speak of
samsara in terms of a continuity' of causalit\', a SANKARA (eighth century A.D.) Also
continuous series in which each craving-
motivated event is both the result of a prior event spelled Shankara. Also known as Sankaracarya;
and the cause of a fliture one. It is thought that the most influential Indian philosopher. During
this causal chain is not interrupted even by death. his short life (he died around the age of 30)

Both Hinduism and Buddhism have devel- Sankara systematized the Advaita (non-dualist)
oped schools of thought that downplay the sig-
nificance of samsara. Like KRISHN.\ in the —school of VEDANTA with profound conse-
BHAGA\'ADGIT.\, many Hindus ha\e taught that
since the self is eternal and unchanging, it can quences. He developed his \iews in commentaries
experience neither birth nor death. The c\'cle of
samsara occurs, then, only on the less real level of on the UP.\NISH.\DS, the EUAG.W.AD-GITA, and
appearances. Mahayana Buddhists have tended to the Vedanta-sutras; he traveled throughout In-
dia, debating the leaders of rival schools and
follow the great teacher N'agarjuna in asserting converting them to his point of \iew; and he
that N]RV.\N'A, release, is not separate from sam- foimded four monasteries, one in each of India's
regions. These monasteries are among the most
sara. Rather, nirvana is simply a manner of living respected of India's religious institutions today.
within samsara. In doing all this, he helped to re\'ive HINDUISM
and contributed to the decline of BUDDHISM and
SANGHA "Group" in Sanskrit and Pali; the
J.AINISM in India.
name for the religious communities of BUD- Central to Sankara's position is the insistence
DHISM and JAIXISM. The sangha is one of the
three "jewels" in which all Buddhists take refuge. that BILAH\L'\N, the ultimate realit)' underlying all

Sometimes sangha refers to the entire relig- that we perceive, is not dual. Sankara developed
ious communit)' of monks, nuns, laymen, and this view by identifNing four levels of realit\'. From
la\'women. It often refers more narrowly, how-
lowest to highest, these are the self-contradictor>'
ever, to the communit)' of MONKS .AND NUNS. No (for example, a square circle), the illusory (for

centralized authorit^' oversees the entire sangha example, a mirage), the pragmatic (in which we
in either Buddhism or Jainism. Instead, the ordinarily live), and the ultimate (brahman).
sangha consists of self-governing local groups. Sankara teaches that we "superimpose" lower
This arrangement has led to dissension and divi- levels of reality on the next higher level. For
sion, so that different communities follow differ- example, at night a person may step on a rope and
ent traditions of "discipline." mistake it for a snake. That person superimposes
the illusion of a rope onto the pragmatic realit)'
In the earliest days members of both the Jain of a snake. Similarly, Sankara says, we superim-
and Buddhist sanghas wandered the countryside pose the perceptions of pragmatic realitv* onto
begging. They settled in one place only during brahman.
the rainy season when travel was difficult and
hazardous. With time wealthy patrons endowed SANTERIA A popular religious movement
monasteries and convents. The life-st>-le changed
drastically, but the distinction between lay and originating in Cuba that combines African and
religious remained. In some Buddhist schools. Roman Catholic themes. Santeria, "The Way of
the Saints," developed among African sla%es in
Cuba, and has spread throughout the Caribbean
and the United States. In it, Catholic S.\INTS are

.

314 SARAH

identified w'lrh tradidonai African deities (see .\F- she became pregnant, and the child was named
RICAN RELIGIONS), mainly Yoruba from the area IS.A.^C, after a Hebrew word related to laughter.

that is now Nigeria and Benin, and worshiped in SARASWATI The Hindu GODDESS of learn-

colorful rites that include vegetable and animal ing and the arts. Saraswati is usually said to be the
SACRIFICES. Santeria ALT.\RS and costumes are consort of the god BIL\H\LA. She is often shown
often magnificent works of art. The most impres- with a stringed instrument known as a \ina.
sive ceremonies are those in which the deities, Sometimes she is accompanied by a goose, her
called orishns, "mount" or possess initiated de\o- vehicle or animal attendant.
tees. The possessed one will then speak and act in
ways characteristic of that god. The rites by which Unlike Brahma, Saraswati is actually wor-
a devotee becomes an initiate of a particular deit>, shiped. Students invoke her as the goddess of
able to mediate that god through possession, are learning. So do various Sanskrit te.xts. Musicians
long and elaborate, invoking a lengthy period of present their instruments to her in the hope of
obtaining her blessings during a performance.
isolation and instruction. On the other hand,
SATAN The chief EML being in JUDAISM,
man\' people use simple e\enda\' Santeria prac-
tices for divination and luck. CHRISTL\NIT\', and ISLAM. In the Hebrew BIBLE
Satan appears most prominentiy in the book of
Santeria has flourished in the late 20th cen- Job. There he is not the familiar figure of later
tur\', both in Cuba (despite the revolution of times. He is an .\NGEL in GOD's court. His flinc-
1959) and in the United States, where Cuban tion is to make accusations against human beings
exiles have made it a presence in most major to God.
metropolitan areas. Although it has occasionally
been controversial in the United States because A littie before the rime of JESUS, Satan took
of its use of animal sacrifice and alleged magical on more familiar form. He became an adversary
practices, it appears to be well estabUshed and has
drawn some non-Cuban adherents. of God who tempts human beings to SIN. In the
New Testament he constantiy opposes Jesus. He
SARAH Also spelled Sarai; in the BIBLE the appears as a tempter in the QUR'AN, too. There

wife of i\BIL\H,\M and also his half-sister (see he is also called Iblis. Jewish, Christian, and Is-
Genesis 20.12). Sarah is best known for her lamic images of Satan and his firnctioning differ
difficulties in becoming a mother. Sarah did not in detail. All three, howe\er, associate Satan with
become pregnant for many years, and it v\as
assumed that she could not have children. As the the serpent. The image of Satan common in
Bible tells the ston,', Abraham then had a son with
her ser\ant, Hagar. The son's name was Ishmael. —North America a horned being with pitchfork
In jealousy, Sarah eventually drove Hagar and —and tail seems to derive from medieval Christian
Ishmael awa\-. Arabs recognize Ishmael (Arabic,
Ismail) as their ancestor. Stories of Hagar (Arabic, folklore
Hajar) and Ishmael are especially connected with Neither Judaism, Christianit\-, nor Islam
the region of MECCA.
makes Satan equal in power to God. All of them
After the birth of Ishmael, Abraham and insist that God will ultimately vanquish Satan.
Sarah were visited by messengers from GOD. The Indeed, for Christians that victor\' has already
messengers promised Abraham a son by Sarah. been won in the death and RESURRECTION of
Because Sarah was past menopause and therefore Jesus. But some have taken a more positive view
beyond child bearing, she laughed. Xe\ertheless, of Satan. For example, the Sufi al-Hallaj (f. 857-
922; see SUFISM) took Satan as his model. As he
saw it, Satan faithfully fulfilled the role God had
assigned him, despite the consequences.

SCIENCE AND RELIGION 315

SAUL (11th century B.C.) The first king of de\elops through consensus among persons
qualified to do such w ork, and in theor\' is always
ancient Israel. In the 11 th centun,' B C. the tribes prepared to change its \iews in light of new
of Israel lived in the hill countr\' bet\veen the e\idence. Religion on the other hand charac-
Jordan River and coast of the Mediterranean Sea. teristically bases its teachings on divine re\elation

They were banded together into a loose confed- or non-rational inner experience, presented
eration. But they were weaker than the Philis- through authoritative books and teachers,
tines, people who lived along the Mediterranean
coast. As the BIBLE tells the stor\-, they decided though re\elarion and doctrine may certainly be
that they needed a king. The\' did so despite supported and amplified through rational means
opposition from Samuel, the prophet of their god like those of science. Nonetheless, the resulting
pictures of the world have contrasted greatiy in
YHWH ("the Lord").
recent centuries: Science has over\\helmingly of-
Samuel anointed Saul as the first king of
Israel. Initially Saul's military efforts met with fered a material, impersonal, mathematical uni-
success. But the fighting was difficult, and Saul
seems to have suffered emotionally. As the Bible —verse though one in which these terms must be
tells it, he also became obsessed with a younger
rival named D.\\1D. Saul and his sons lost their qualified at the most ad\anced reaches of physics
lives in battle at Mount Gilboa. After this event, and ps\'cholog\'. The religious worldWew, though
the much more successfiil Dasid became king. not in conflict with science on some levels, is one
in which mind and consciousness are much more
SCIENCE AND RELIGION The relation- important, with a Divine Mind as Creator or
Sustainer, and the human soul or spirit of central
ship of scientific knowledge to traditional relig-
significance.
ion. No issue has more profoundly disturbed the
modem world than conflict between science and The conflict began with the new astronomy
of Copernicus, centered on the Earth revoking
religion. Not only do the two use different meth- around the sun rather then being the center of the
ods for the ascertaining of truth, in their pure system as in the older \iew accepted by most
forms they also end up with radically different religions, though in time virtually all religionists
\ie\vs of the ultimate nature of the universe, with concluded that a flat or central Earth was not
consequent conflicting \iews of the origin, na- really crucial to religious truth and came to terms
ture, and destiny of humans. These conflicting with it. More traumatic was the 19th-centur\-
\iews in turn produce contrasting ideas on how conflict benveen Darwin's evolution and the bib-
human life should be lived, abo\'e all in its moral lical account of creation in Genesis, climaxing in
and psychological dimensions. Or so many the direct creation of .\D.\M and EVE by GOD.
spokespersons for each side have declared, Here the two \iews of human beings seemed to
though there have also been important attempts many irreconcilable: Either humans are creations
to mediate the two. of God and the BIBLE is true, or they are natural,
evolved over time as are the animals, and God is
Science in the West, since its origins in the not necessan,-.
1 6th centurx', has sought to determine the truth
of nature through careful empirical obser\ation, To some the issue seems still to be in those
including precise measurements, induction from opposing terms. But many more liberal religion-
what is obsened to general h\potheses, deducing
other possible consequences of the principle, ists were able to conclude that the Bible is only a
then testing them and the original law through
repeated obser\ation, in controlled experiments book of principles, not a textbook in science; God
when possible. Its overall picture of the world
can still be the ultimate creator, while science just

tells us how it was done over previously unimag-

inable spans of time. At the same time, spokesper-
sons for other religions, especially BUDDHIS.M and

316 SCIENTOLOGY

Vedanta HINDUISM, and in some ways also JUDA or conditioned responses caused by occasions of
fear and suffering, implanted in this or pre\ious
ISM and ISL.\M, claimed that their FAITHS were
"more scientific" than the CHRISTL\Nm' domi- lives. One can then "go clear" by remo\ing them
nant in the West, since they ordinarily do not by Scientological means. The tightiy organized
and economically active movement has been con-
require a literal reading of the old creation stor\'.
troversial in the United States and several other
In the case of \'ED.ANTA and Buddhism, there are countries. It remains, however, prosperous and

also some similarities between their \iews of kar- successfial.

mic cause and effect and the interrelatedness of SCRIPTURE In all major li\ing religions, a

all things and .Albert Einstein's scientific theon.' bod\- of words or writings declared to have been
of relati\it\' and the more advanced frontiers of re\ealed by the highest authority- and containing
the fullness of spiritually important truth: the
cosmolog)'. BIBLE of JUD.\ISM and CHRISTL\NITY, the QUR'.\N
(Koran) of ISLAM, the Sutras of BUDDHISM, the
Moreo\er, in the 20th centur)', new issues XTD.^S of HINDUISM, the Confucian Classics, and
so forth. In Hinduism, the Vedas were not com-
have arisen, especially in connection with bioen- mined to writing until comparatively modern
times, having been, because of their great sacred-
gineering and "artificial intelligence." These are ness, transmitted orally from father to son, or
master to disciple, for many generations. Other-
often as much ethical issues important to religion wise the w rinen form of the scripture came earh'
as the sacred te.\t is considered imponant as a
Doas theoretical challenges to religion. humans book or set of books, though the spoken word is
always in the background, and scriptures are often
have the right to "play God" by altering lifeforms, considered most powerful when spoken or
chanted aloud, sometimes in the original tongue,
or making computers that practically think.' And like Hebrew in Judaism or Sanskrit in Hinduism.
But the background, content, and role of scrip-
does this suggest that the originals of body and tures in different religions varies considerably.
mind also could ha\e come into being without
First, it must be noted that the existence of
the traditional God? written scripture ob\iously depends on the inven-
tion of writing, and could not have come into
On the other hand, could it be that such being before that event v.\o or three millennia or
works are simplv exercises of the power God gave
humanit)' o\er the Earth, but we still need God so before the common era. Before then, the lore
of religions was oral, passed on by word of mouth
to keep from going too far? Unfortunately, an-
in the form of myths and traditions. Thus scrip-
other feature of modernit\' has been the terrible tures were made possible by the invention of
writing. Scriptures came into being in a time of
discovery- that science can be abused to produce gathering empires, of a growing sense ofindividu-
alism, and of awareness that we live in historical
EVIL as well as good, from the alleged deperson-
alization of human fife in the industrial or tech- —time that is, that things change and do not

nological citv' to the atomic bomb and other change back. Above all, it was the time of the

refined weapons of destruction. In the eyes of Mgreat religious founders: MOSES, the BUDDHA,

many, even the great advances in medicine and CONFUCIUS, L.\0-TZU, JESUS, MUH.\AL\LAD.

agriculture have led to crises of overpopulation
and the prospect of ecological disaster. Can we

resolve such issues without the help of religious
values? These are problems whose solutions may

await further dexelopments in the conflict, or

harmonization, of science and religion.

SCIENTOLOGY A religious movement

founded in 1952 by the science fiction writer L.
Ron Hubbard, on the basis of his best-selling
book Diatictics. Its ftindamental practice is indi-
vidual counseling, which enables indi\iduals to
discover the cause of their problems in "engrams"

SEV'ENTH-DAY ADV'ENTISM 317

these men had messages to help people contend scientific matters; others recognize it as contain-
with the new world of writing, empires, histon', ing important principles but accept that its books
were written in the context of the world \iew of
and indi\idualism. Scriptures were part of that
message, and vehicles of it. ancient times and may contain mvth, poetry, and
outdated ideas as well as relevant truth. Many
Scriptures contain many things: histories, as Buddhists regard their more philosophical texts
in the Hebrew scriptures and the Kojiki of as suggestive of insights beyond words that must
SHINTO Japan, to help people see that GOD or the be then realized in MEDITATION. Scriptures are
gods are working in histon- and so one need not studied, meditated on, preached out of, read
be afraid of change; laws and rituals, as in parts of aloud in services, chanted (in Hinduism and Bud-
the Hebrew scriptures and the Confucian books, dhism, the very sounds themselves are key seeds
to help people keep alive traditions of the past in of religious experience), sung as hymns, used as
the face of change; rules and attitudes for right sources of folk wisdom.
li%ing, as in the Qur'an; wisdom and poetrv' for
the sake of fullness of life and praise to God; Scriptiu^es are also important as symbok of
pfiilosophy as in the UPAXISHADS part of the the identity of religious communities; members
Vedas and the Buddhist Sutras to help people are people who have this in common. They pro-
realize the timeless in the midst of time. The mote the spread of literac\\ They seal the author-
scriptures of Judaism, Christianit)', and Islam ity of religious leaders, who are their proper
show that there is a God sovereign over the world interpreters, and validate the religion's paths to
of change, and that tfiis God has revealed himself
in the world in particular times. In the Christian individual S.ALV.\TION. Yet they also can legiti-

New Testament, this revelation is in the person mate independent prophets and reformers, who
can go back to the original scriptures to find their
of Jesus CHRIST. Responding to the growing new ideas, perhaps ideas that they say the estab-
indi\idualism of the times, the scriptures of
these then-new religions emphasize ways to indi- lished leaders have set aside, and challenge their
\idual salvation and li\ing an individually respon- authoritv- with them. Scriptures can stir things up
as well as keep them under control. Scriptures are
sible life. basic to the life of religion as we know it.

The estabhshment of the "canon" of scrip- SEVENTH-DAY ADVENTISM .\n Ameri-
ture, that is, which books are officially regarded
as part of the sacred list and which are excluded, can Christian group best known for worshiping
was not always an easy task. In early Buddhism on Saturday rather than Sunday. Adventists ex-
and Chrisrianitv', for example, it was decided in
the end by councils of monks and bishops respec- Apect the immediate return ( "advent" ) of JESL'S.
tively centuries after the founding of the religion;
while some books had been long accepted by Baptist minister named William Miller (1782-
1849) predicted that Jesus would return to Earth
general consensus, others, like the episde to the in 1843 and then in 1844. He did not, but a few
Hebrews and the Revelation of St. John in Chris- remained convinced that Miller got the date
tianit)', were long disputed. By now, however, the right. Instead of returning, thev' taught, Jesus had
tradition of the whole religion has long since entered the heavenly sanctuary to examine the
approved an accepted canon. Book of Life.

Scriptures have many fiincrions in religion These people became Seventh-Day Advent-
besides being regarded as a source of authorita- ists. They took this name because, unlike other
tive truth, and even their truth can have different Adventists, they decided that Christians were sup-
meanings. Some conservative Christians regard posed to WORSHIP on Saturday, not Sunday. They
the Bible as literally true, e\en on historical and were also convinced that one of their earlv- leaders,
EUen Harmon White (1827-1915), had the gift

318 SEXUALITY AND RELIGION

of PROPHECY. Although the communir\- began obvious sexual symbols can still be seen in some
in the United States, it has been ven' successfiil Shinto celebrations. Nonetheless all major relig-
ions strongly uphold marriage as the way of life
overseas. for most people, holding that sexuality is to be
Seventh-Day Adventists have emphasized expressed ftiUy only within it. Often in practice,
however, there is a double standard between men
vegetarianism and a good diet. They indirect!)' and women. Some religious cultures are very
made a very important contribution to i\merican particular that brides be virgin, but seem less
life: breakfast cereal. The head of an Adventist concerned about males.
health institute in Battie Creek, Michigan, Dr.
J.H. Kellogg, experimented with cereals for his At another extreme there is TANTRISM in
patients. Eventually he and his brother, W. K. HINDUISM and BUDDHISM, which uses sex or its
Kellogg, went into business making corn flakes. symbols as a sacrament or sign of the divine. In
One of Dr. Kellogg's patients also went into the the Hindu Tantric ritual called maithuna or "un-
cereal business: C. W. Post. ion," die male idendfies with Siva, the female with
his sakti or energy and the creation; thus they
SEXUALITY AND RELIGION The relation enact the union of HEAVTN and Earth, God and
the world. This is a common theme of the art of
of religion to the sexual nature of human life. Vajrayana of TIBETAN RELIGION, though there
Human sexualit)' has always raised issues for re- the rites are usually done symbolically. Similar
ligion and been viewed many different ways. usage can be found in TAOISM.
Sexuality can be viewed as a source of temptation
that leads one away from GOD; on the other hand, There is also the widespread practice of celi-
it is a source of a powerfiil energy that some ha\e bacy, or forgoing active sexual expression for the
been bold enough to say can be redirected and
used in the quest for God. As for religion, its two sake of spirituality. It is followed in ROMAN CA-
main fianctions, maintaining the social order and THOLICISM by priests, and by celibate monks and
offering a means to SALV.WION, can be at odds
on the question of sexualin,'. The social order is nuns within the Catholic traditions of CHRISTI-
fiindamentally based on marriage and the family, ANITY', and in Buddhism, Hinduism, and Taoism.
and so requires a moralit)' in which sexuality is
affirmed but kept within wedlock. However, the SHAKERS An American communitarian
quest for saK'ation, in some eyes, may call for
CELIBACY, or at the other extreme, the use of movement. The Shakers were an offshoot of the

sexual RITUAI.S outside of marriage. QUAKERS. They began m England in 1747. They
The conventional view is that sexualit)' is a
got their name because their WORSHIP services
sacred gift to be used within marriage for procrea- involved much energetic activity, including shak-
ing. This was taken to be a sign that the Holy
tion, since a fundamental human obligation is, in Spirit was present.
the words of the book of Genesis, to "be fruitful
and multiply." Fertility is a common religious In 1774 the Shakers came to the United
theme; just as there are prayers for rites on behalf States under the leadership of Ann Lee (1736-
of the fertility of fields and animals, so wedding 84). They considered her a prophet and eventu-
ally a personification of the female aspect of God.
rites are likely to contain veiled sexual ss'mbols "Mother Lee" taught that people who remained
like the wedding ring, and PR.\YERS for children. celibate could achieve perfection.

Some gods, like the Hindu SIVA and his compan- The Shakers formed several communities
ion, Nandi the bull, or the SHINTO Inari, have from Maine to Indiana. Their communities
clear fertility meaning. Some primal societies have stressed celibacy and the equality' of the sexes. The
had orgiastic festivals to promote fecundit)-, and residents of the communities held all property' in
common.

SHAMANISM 319

The Shakers were most numerous in the ecstatic trance, but call down gods and spirits to
middle 1800s, when diey had around 6,000 possess them and speak through their hps. Such
members. By the end of the 20th centun- shamans can recei\'e the spirits of the departed
they were virtually extinct. Though small in and so let their loved ones hear their voices again.
number, the Shakers made important contribu- They also communicate the instructions of gods,
tions to American society'. These include their and do healings v\'ith the help of the gods who
music, crafts, and distinctive, simple but elegant
have entered them.
furniture.
"Traveling" shamans are believed, in trance,
SHAMANISM The practice of religious spe- to be able to fly through the air or dive into the
Earth to \isit the land of the dead, reco\er lost or
cialists who have been specially trained and initi- stolen souls, or speak to the gods abo\'e. Some-
times these scenarios are quite dramatic public
ated to go into trance and contact the spiritual performances. The Altaic shaman would climb an
upright tree tnmk representing the way fi-om
world direcdy. The shaman is an important fix- Earth through the various heavenlv spheres

ture of religious life in PRIMAL RELIGION, prelit- above. On each level the shaman would call down

erate tribal cultures, and traditional societies of to the audience of his tribespeople, describing the

many parts of the world The word shaman and particular paradisal realm he was now entering.
. Eskimo shamans, in a crowded but darkened
room, would enact a vivid ritual, with sound
classic examples come from Siberia and central
effects, of going into the Earth to seek the central
Asia. But shamans can also be found throughout realm of their deities.

the Americas, where they have sometimes been Shamans have often been associated with
healing. Sickness was frequentiy believed to be
called "medicine men," in China, Korea, and caused by the loss ofone's soul. Shamans in North
America's Pacific northwest, in the presence of
Japan (where they are most often female), and sick persons and the family, would dramatically
enact their journey to the other world in search
elsewhere. Significant traces of shamanism can be of the lost soul, including the crossing of treach-
erous rivers and combat with guardian demons.
seen in the background of most of the major
When they had found the straved spirit, they
religions of history.
would bear it back in triumph, singing its song.
One becomes a shaman in two ways; through One can imagine how such a performance would
revive and perhaps even heal the patient! Another
heredity or special vocation. In the latter case, the view of sickness was that it was the result of
invasion of the sick person bv E\1L spirits. Other
prospective shaman oft:cn displays highly bizarre shamans would heal the sick bv sucking out or
driving out the male\olent entit\-. In any case, the
behavior, as though going mad; this is a sign the shaman tends to diagnose and then treat the
illness in terms compatible w ith the worid \iew of
gods have singled out this person. The fiature
his culture.
shaman may go out into the wilderness until he
Shamanism also had a profound impact on
or she sees a VISION or has another sign that a the early development of human culture. One
could say that shamans were the first physicians,
guiding spirit has come who then will help the psychologists, poets, and prophets. Shamanism

novice control and use spiritual powers. The pro-

spective adept next may seek training from a

senior shaman. In Japan blind girls have some-

times become shamanesses. Shamans often have

elaborate dress and accoutrements. They mav

wear robes and ornate hats, and beat drums to

help them go into trance. Their performances
may include dance and drama as thev go about

their two main duties, to speak to the gods and

heal the sick.

There are two main kinds of shaman: "pos-

session" shamans and "traveling" shamans. The

former stay in one place, so to speak, in their

320 SHI'ITE ISLAM

also had a deep relationship with the beginnings had raised Muhammad and protected him from
of art and ston,', for the shamans created or used his enemies within the Quraysh tribe. He was also
these in their costumes and performances to a the prophet's son-in-law, the husband of Mu-
greater degree than anyone else. They could also hammad's daughter Fatima. He was the father of
sers'c as magicians and priests, and custodians of
the prophet's only grandsons, Hasan and
tribal lore. To be sure, shamans have sometimes Husaxn. And he was the first male who accepted
God's re\elations to Muhammad.
been sleight-of-hand artists, resorting to tricker\'
to achieve their effects. Yet, all in all, they gready VVTien the prophet died, Ali did not succeed
expanded the horizons of human experience and him. The community' selected three successive

ability. leaders known as caliphs: Abu Bakr (caliph, 632-
634), Umar (caliph, 634—644), and Uthman (ca-
SHITTE ISLAM A varien, of ISLVkl prac- liph, 644—656). These caliphs were social, politi-
cal, and militar\' leaders, but not religious ones.
ticed by about 15% of all Muslims. The name Shi'ites do not acknowiedge them as legitimate.
"Shi'ite" derives from the Arabic phrase, Shi'at ,\li did rule as fourth caliph from 656 to 661, but
'All, "the part\' of Ali." It refers to those who there was much unrest at the time. His grasp on
support the claim that Mi, a cousin and son-in- the government was never firm.
law of the prophet MUHAM.\L\D, and his descen-
dants are the rightful rulers of the Islamic Upon All's death, his son Hasan abdicated in

Acommunit)'. large majorit\- of Muslims reject favor of the powerfiil, ambitious, and militarily

Shi'ite claims and practice SUNNI ISLWl. Sunni successfiil Muawiyah (caliph, 661-680). He lived
and Shi'ite Islam differ somewhat with regard to
beliefs and practices, but the major difference the rest of his life in retirement and died in 669.
concerns who is the rightful ruler of the Islamic At that point Hasan's brother Husayn became the
community. The dispute goes back to the time of rightful IM\.VI, the name Shi'ites gi\e the leader
the prophet's death. of the communit)'. Muawiyah died in 680, and
Husayn saw an opportunity' to assert his claims.
History But while he was traveling to gather supporters,
he and his family were intercepted at a place in
During his lifetime, the prophet Muhammad led southern Iraq called Karbala. Negotiations failed,
and a massacre followed. Husayn's head was sent
the communit)' of Islam both religiously and to the new caliph, Yazid, in Damascus. Only one
of his sons sur\i\ed. Throughout the world
politically. He was the ultimate religious author- Shi'ites remember this event even,' year with
ity. He also supenised the life of the community mourning in an observance known as Ashura.

and led its armies against its enemies. During the next several generations the

When the prophet died, the question of who Shi'ite communit)' split over who was the rightful
imam. Three major groups emerged. They are
should succeed him remained unsettled. Accord- commonly called "fivers," "seveners," and

ing to Sunni Islam, Muhammad died without "twelvers."
appointing a successor. The communit)' en-
Fivers favor the claims of a grandson of
trusted its political affairs to a political leader, and Husayn named Zayd to have been the fifth imam.
it allowed scholars to decide religious issues. By
contrast, Shi'ite Islam maintains that a single He and his followers insisted that it was their duty
person was to exercise both religious and political to overthrow illegitimate rulers with force. They
leadership, as the prophet had done. Indeed,
Shi'ites claim that before the prophet died, he had limited success. In the late ninth centun' they
appointed such a leader, his cousin Ali. established a state in Yemen, where fivers contin-
ued in power until 1963.
All's connections to the prophet were par-

ticularlv close. He was the son of Abu Talib, who

SHriTE ISLAM 321

Seveners and twelvers differ over the ques- When one confronts situations not found in the

tion of who was the seventh imam. Se\eners say Qur'an and the Hadith, as happens today, relig-

it was Ismail, the older son of the sixth imam. His ious scholars determine what is right by reasoning

father had appointed him imam, but he died from analog)'.

before his father did. Seveners insist that Ismail's Shi'ites reject both the consensus of scholars

, appointment stands an^'^vay, and they followed and reasoning from analogy. They add to the

Ismail's son. In the 10th centur\' a sevener estab- Hadith of the prophet the pronouncements of
lished the Fatimid dynasty, and seveners ruled
imams. To determine what is required today,
Eg\pt for roughlv 200 years. From the Fatimids some communities, such as the Nizari Ismailis,
came the Xizari Ismailis, a group known in the consult their imam; others, such as the t\vel\'ers,
Middle Ages as the ASSASSINS, and a small com- consult a recognized religious scholar, who rea-
munity with its own religion known as the
DRUZE. Today the Nizari Ismailis are a peacefiil sons independently. This reasoning results in the
and peace-lo\ing community. They recognize
the AGA KHAN as their imam. issuing of a legal pronouncement known as a
fatwa. One of the most notorious fatwas of the
The twelvers are the largest Shi'ite group. 20th century was pronounced by the leader of
They recognize the I2th imam as the last. In A.D. Iran, the Ayatollah RuhoUah Khomeini. He called
873, they say, the I2th imam went into hiding. upon Muslims to kill a novelist, Salman Rushdie,
Eventually he will emerge from hiding and re- because, Khomeini claimed, Rushdie had blas-
store true Islam. In the meantime he inspires phemed God and the Qur'an in one of his books.
religious scholars, known as mujtahidin or AYA- One should emphasize that this particular fat\va
TOLL.\HS, who lead the communit\'. In the 16th is extreme, unusual, and controversial, even in

centiuy' a twelver Shi'ite dynast\-, the Safa\ids, Shi'ite communities.

took control of Iran. The Shi'ite communit>' was Shi'ites have often lived as a persecuted mi-
instrumental in bringing about the Iranian revo- norit\'. They have seen "dissimulation" as an ap-
lution of 1979.
propriate response. That is, they may outwardly
act like their neighbors and practice Shi'ite Islam

Beliefs, Pil^ctices, .\nd Org.\niz.\tion in secret. The most chstinctive Shi'ite obser\ance
is Ashura. It commemorates the assassination of
Like all Muslims, Shi'ites practice the five pillars Husayn on the 1 0th of Muharram, often through
the performance of "passion plays."
of the FAITH. They accept the QURAN as authen-

tic. They also recognize the authority of the

prophet's words and deeds as recorded in the SiGNinCANCE
(Shi'ite) HADFTH.
At the end of the 20th century Shi'ite Islam
The major difference between Sunni and became somewhat notorious among North
Shi'ite Islam is over who should govern the com- Americans because some Shi'ites engaged in ag-
munit\' and how. As already noted, the Shi'ites gressi\e acti%ities against the United States. But
say a single person known as the imam should rule

both politically and religiously. For them, the in all ages, including the present, the \ast majority'

imam is God's own witness on Earth. He pos- of Shi'ites have practiced their religion in peace,
sometimes despite severe persecution. They have
sesses perfect religious knowledge.

As a result, Shi'ites also differ from Sunnis on also made major contributions to global culnire.
how the Muslim communin,- learns what is right. Examples include the famous al-Azhar Universit)'

According to Sunnis, the Qur'an and the Hadith in Cairo, Eg\pt, founded by the Fatimids in A.D.

of the prophet teach what is right. The consensus 970, and the glorious architectural monuments

of religious scholars determines what they mean. of Isfahan, Persia (now Iran).

322 SHINRAN

SHINRAN Sec PURE L\ND BUDDHISM. not too tar from a Shinto shrine or jinja large or
small. Large city shrines are on parklike grounds,
SHINTO Japanese religion of the indigenous with grass and one or two old trees. In the
countryside, shrines are often in places of striking
gods of the countn'. The word Shinto means "the natural beauty: on a mountainside, by a waterfall,
way of the gods." This is to distinguish it from beside the ocean or a lake or a rushing stream.
the way of the BUDDHA, or BUDDHISM, the other Wherever situated, the entry to a Shinto shrine is
great rehgious tradition of Japan (see JAPANESE marked by the distinctive gateway called a torii^
RELIGION). Shinto is the WORSHIP of the KAMI, which has become a symbol of Shinto as recog-
or ancient Japanese gods. Many of those wor- nizable as the Christian cross or the Jewish Star
shiped now were there long before Buddhism of DAVID. Passing under the torii, the visitor will
arrived in Japan in the sixdi century AD., and are approach the shrine itself, a small wooden build-
still honored in the Shinto shrines of Japan today. ing. In the front will be a sort of porch, perhaps
containing such characteristic Shinto symbols as
History a drum beaten during sacred dance, ^ohei or
zigzag strips of paper fastened to an upright pole,
In the Middle Ages kami and buddhas were ofi:en and in the center a mirror indicating the presence
worshiped together. The kami were considered of divinity. In a section behind the porch an
guardians of the buddhas, or sometimes special eight-legged oft'ering table may be seen. Behind
Japanese forms of the same spiritual power seen it, steep steps lead up to massive closed doors.
in Buddhism as a Buddha. But in modern times These doors, usually closed, open into the hondcn
Shinto shrines and Buddhist temples have been or inner sanctuary of the shrine, where a special
kept separate. This is largely because the nation- token of the kami presence is kept.
alistic governments that ruled Japan from 1868
up until the end of World War II in 1945 wanted Persons passing a shrine often pause to pray.
to make Shinto a separate patriotic cult, un- They will come to the front of the shrine, clap
touched by anything of foreign origin like Bud- their hands twice or pull a bell-rope, bow, and
dhism (see NATIONALISM, RELIGIOUS). The whisper a PRAYER. Priests present offerings at
extreme nationalists emphasized that the em-
peror of Japan was himself a kami and descended shrines periodically. The great occasions of a
shrine, however, are its annual matsuri or festi-
from Amaterasu, kami or goddess of the sun. He vals. Then the shrine really comes to life. Festivals
are planned and prepared for weeks, and usually
was therefore worthy of all honor and sacrifice draw large crowds. They have a happy, holiday
(see KINGSHIP AND RELIGION). atmosphere, but begin with solemn worship and

However, Shinto as a religion is much more prayer.
than an example of religious nationalism. The First the priests enter the shrine in their white
kami of most shrines are peaceful deities, protec-
tors of famihes and local communities, honored or pastel robes and black eboshi or high rounded
hats. The chief priest next purifies the shrine and
in festixals that have their roots in the agricultural the assembled crowd through a gesture like wav-
year. They were there long before the extreme ing an evergreen branch. Then the offerings are
slowly and careftilly advanced and placed on the
nationalists, and have outiasted them. Though offering table. Offerings are usually beautifully
the emperor of Japan is still installed with very arranged dishes of rice, seafood, finit, vegetables,
ancient Shinto rites, his religious and poUtical role
is now almost always seen as purely symbohc. salt, water, and sake or rice wine. When the\' are

Beliefs and Practices all in order, the chief priest stands behind the table

The visitor to present-day Japan will see evidence
of Shinto on every hand. In most places one is

SIKHISM 323

and chants a norito or prayer. Then the offerings from his predecessors into a book known as the
are slowh' removed. Adi Granth.

After that, the mntsuri changes to its festive From 1526 northern India was ruled by the
mood, kept a little differendy in each shrine Mughal dynasty. The Mughals were Muslims. At
first relations between the Sikhs and the Mughals
Aaccording to local tradition. carnival may open were good. But in 1605 Jahangir came to the
throne. He tortured and executed Guru Arjun,
on the shrine grounds. Maidens may perform because he thought Arjun had adulterated Islamic
sacred dance. The kami may be carried vigorously teachings. In response, the Sikhs saw themselves
through the streets in a palanquin called a mik-
oshi, borne on the shoulders of young men. Many as called to be soldiers as well as saints. In the face
shrine traditions are famous and draw spectators of continuing persecution, the last guru. Guru
to the pageantry of their mntsuri from afar. Cele-
brated attractions include grand parades, bon- GOBIND SINGH ( 1666-1708), established a Sikh
fires, horse or boat races, dances, and much else, community known as the khalsa. He also ended
the line of human gurus and transferred his
all usually in colorfiil traditional costumes. authority to the Adi Granth.

Significance In the 19th century the Sikhs decided British

For many Japanese, Shinto is important because rulers were preferable to Muslim ones. Many
it provides links to the rich traditions of their Sikhs became soldiers in the British army. Others
nation's past. Spiritually, it emphasizes the im- became prosperous in business and agriculture.
portance of purit)', for the kami and their shrines With the establishment of India and Pakistan in
are thought to be very pure places, and one can 1947 and 1948, some Sikhs began to agitate for
purify one's own mind and heart by closeness to
them. As a pohtheistic religion, one affirming the establishment of a separate Sikli state to be
many gods and goddesses, Shinto suggests that called Khalistan. In the 20th century a modest
the divine can be found in many different local Sikh community also began to grow in North
forms, and by this means is close to the lives of America and Europe, especially in the southwest-
communities and people. ern United States.

SIKHISM A religion from northwest India Beliefs

thattracesitself back to 10 gurus, beginning with Every morning Sikhs pray a PILWER known as the
Japji. It summarizes Sikh teachings about GOD:
Guru NANAK ( 1 469- 1539). Today the Sikhs \-en- He is one and true; he is the creator; he is present
erate above all a book of writings known as the in all the universe but is not subject to the laws of
ADI GRANTH or Guru Granth Sahib. rebirth. Sikhs believe that God cannot be found
in images. Instead, they find God in his name, in
History the 10 gurus, and in the Guru Granth. Sikhs
believe that by following God's path people can
Guru Nanak lived in the Punjab, "the region of become pure and, o\er a succession of rebirths,
the five rivers" in northwest India. At the age of
30 he had an extraordinary' religious experience. eventually unite with the eternal.
Afterward, he began to preach a distinct religious
path that went beyond the dift'erences between Practices
Hindus and Muslims. Nanak was followed in
succession by nine other gurus or teachers. The Sikhs WORSHIP together in a builcfing known as a
fiftii guru, Arjun, began building the most sacred jjurdwara. There the Guru Granth rests upon an
shrine of the Sikhs, the Golden Temple at Amrit- elevated platform, where it is decorated with flow-
sar in northwest India. He also collected writings ers and fanned. During worship Sikhs listen to
and participate in singing from the Guru Grajith.

They also present gifts to the Guru Granth and aware that they have sinned. In any case, Jews
recei\e a sweet in return. Sikh holida\s include
the birthdays of Guru Nanak and Guru Gobind believe that, like a compassionate parent, God
Singh and the anniversary of Guru Arjun's mar- forgives persons who sincerely repent. On the
tyrdom. DAY OF ATONEMENT Jews fast, pray, and collec-
tively ask God's forgiveness for their sins. Jews do
Org.\nization not, however, see SALVATION from sin as the most

Most Sikhs are members of the kbalsa. They important goal of Judaism.
obsen-e what are known as the "five k's" (in the For traditional Christians, sin has created a
Punjabi language each stipulation refers to a word
beginning v\ith "k"): They do not cut their hair, condition from which all people need to be saved.
including beards in the case of men; they carry
combs; they wear special steel bracelets; they carry As a result, God sent his son JESUS to die on the
swords; and they wear a special kind of pants. CROSS. Some Christians view this act as a "substi-
Male Sikhs generally wear turbans over their hair. tutionary atonement." In dying on the cross,
Jesus paid the penalty that human beings owed to
Sikhism has no priests, although certain sects God because of their sin.

recognize living gurus. A comminee known as Like Jews, Christians distinguish sins of omis-
the SGPC oversees Sikh shrines in India, where sion and commission and intentional and unin-

the vast majority of Sikhs still live. Its members tentional sins. Protestant and especially Roman

are elected. Catholic thinkers have classified sin in other ways.

Significance In the fourth century AD. a British monk
named Pelagius taught that children were sinless.
Once considered a sect of HINDUISM, Sikhism has They resembled ADAM before the FALL. In re-
come to be recognized as a religion in its own sponse, AUGUSTINE OF HIPPO developed the idea
right. At the end of the 20th centun', it claimed of original sin. It says that human beings are from
roughly nvent)' million adherents.
the start born into a condition that is corrupted
ASIN violation of GOD's instructions. Al- by sin. As a result, it is inevitable that all human
beings will sin in thought, word, and deed. These
though the idea of sin is important in JUDAISM,
sinful acts are called actual sins, to distinguish
it is especially so in CHRISTIANITi'.
them from inherited original sin.
The goal of Judaism is to sanctify life, that is, Roman Catholic thinkers also classified sins

to make life holy by following God's instructions. as more and less severe: mortal and venial sins,
respectively. According to Thomas AQUIN.\S, a
Judaism recognizes that people are tempted to mortal sin turns a person away from God. There-
fore, monal sins must be forgi\en in the SACRA-
act in ways that violate God's instructions. In
AMENT of penance. venial sin only disturbs a
other words, they are tempted to sin. Indeed, at
person's relationship with God. Tradition speaks
some time or other every person sins. Even of seven deadly sins: pride, envy, anger, sloth,
MOSES, who received the TORAH from God per- avarice, gluttony, and lust. Protestant thinkers
reject the distinction between mortal and venial
sonally, was not without sin. sins. For them, all sins equally disrupt one's rela-
tionship with God. Only God's GRACE can restore
The RABBIS, or those who made Jewish law,
this relationship.
have classified sins. Some sins are sins of commis-
Most religions recognize that human beings
sion: People do something that violates God's are less than perfect, but they do not think of this
imperfection as sin. The classical scholar E. R.
instructions. Some are sins of omission: People Dodds once distinguished two types of culture.

fail to do something that God has instructed.

People do some sins intentionally. But people can

also sin without intending to do so or even being

"shame-cultures" and "guilt-cultures." Accord-
ing to Dodds, some cultures, like the early
Greeks, emphasize public shame at failure. Oth-
ers emphasize guilt that results from improper
actions. In Judaism and Christianitv', guilt may be
seen as a psychological counterpart to sin.

Just as important, not all religions have con-
ceived of ethical injunctions as instructions from
God. In HINDUISM, BUDDHISM, and I.\INISM,

bad actions do not offend a creator who has
commanded human beings how to act. The cri
teria of good and bad are simply given, and the
consequences of action (KARMA) usually result

from the operation of natural processes.

SrVA Also spelled Shiva. One of the most im- Painting of the Hindu gud Siva. iLloitrtay i)j the Imajjt:
Bank.)
portant gods of HINDUISM. In Hinduism,
BR.\HMA, VISHNU, and Siva are thought of as the His followers smear ash on their foreheads and
gods of creation, preser\'ation, and destruction, sometimes their bodies in imitation of the god.
respectively. Siva, the god of destruction, is com-
monly known by several other names. These Siva's special abode is Mount Kailasa in the
identify his important characteristics: Mahadeva, Himalaya range. His consort is P.\RVATI. Siva
"the great god"; Nilakantha, "the blue-throated beheaded her father Daksa when he failed to
god"; Pasupati, "the lord of animals"; Bhairava, invite Siva to a sacrifice. Siva has two sons, Skanda,
"the terrifying god"; and Trimukha, "the three- who was early identified with the south Indian
faced god." Worshipers of Si\a are known as god Murugan, and the elephant-headed god
G.\NESA, the remover of obstacles. Siva's vehicle,
Saivas or Saivites.
the massive bull Nandi, often stands in front of
In Sanskrit, the name Siva means "auspi his temples. The rudraksha, a large, coarse, bead-
cious." It gracefully links this god to a tierce god like seed, is also sacred to Siva. From it Saivas
of the VTDA, Rudra, "the howler." Some have construct malas or rosaries to use when reciting
found evidence of Si\a WORSHIP in seals from the the god's names or MANTRAS,
Indus Valiey CiWlization (see INDUS V.\LLEY RE-
LIGION). South India, too, may be a significant Several kinds of Si\a image are famous world-
source of Siva worship. The Tamil name Sivan,
"the red one," closely resembles the Sanskrit wide. One depicts Siva as Nataraja, "king of the
name Siva.

Siva is especially associated with religious
austerities and YOGA. His mythology' moves back
and forth between extremes of severe renuncia-

tion and sexual excess. He is easily recognized by

his matted hair, his trident, his animal-skin cloak,
the third eye in the middle of his forehead, and
his blue throat. Siva's throat turned blue when he
drank poison that was spreading on the surface of
the primal ocean. Siva is also associated with ash.

326 SOKAGAKKAI

dance." In it Siva dances on top of a demon and NICHIREN Shoshu denomination of BUDDHISM.
within a circle of flames. With two hands he
creates and destroys the universe. With two other It was founded by Makiguchi Tsunesaburo in
hands he caJms the viewer's fears and points to
the means of release. Another well-known image 1937 as an educational society' emphasizing
is Siva Ardhanari, half man and half woman. The the importance of human benefit as well as ab-

image emphasizes the intimate connection be- stract truth in education. But Makiguchi was
tween the male god and his female sakti or power.
The most famous Siva image of all is the image also a devout Nichiren Buddhist, and saw the
enshrined in temples. It is an upright cylindrical
shaft known as a lingam. The lingam rests in a relation between his educational philosophy and
yoni or basin, which catches libations. Originally
the lingam and yoni depicted the human sexual Nichiren's emphasis on benefits from religious
organs in stylized form. Polished egg-shaped
stones, such as stones from the Narmada River, practice here and now. He died in prison during
are particularly popular as lingams.
the war because of his refusal to participate in
There are several different subgroups of Sai- SHINTO worship. But the movement was revived

vas. The Pasupatas, now extinct, took their name in postwar Japan by Toda Josei, who reorganized
from the cattle that they associated with the god.
it on religious lines. Practice consists chiefly of
Saiva-Siddhanta is especially popular in the far
south of India. It insists that the theology of Siva chanting the formula Nam Myoho Retige Kyo
is the ultimate truth (siddhnntn). Another south-
ern movement, Vira-Saivism (heroic Saivism), ( "Hail tiie marvelous teaching of the LOTUS SU-
emphasizes social reform. It is also called Lin- TR.\"), called the Daimoku, and recitation of the
gayat (hngam-wearing), because its adherents Lotus Sutra. Toda also emphasized benefits, like
wear lingams on necklaces. Kashmir in the far
healing and prosperity, from chanting here and
north was also home to several distinct subgroups
now. He encouraged aggressive recruiting prac-
of Saivism.
The most important Sai\a text may be the tices, and also popular cultural activities. Soka

Svctasvatara LT.\NISHAD. It identifies Siva with Gakkai was criticized for its aggressive tactics, but
all reality. Saivas also have distinctive collections
of mythology and RITUAL (PUR.\NAS and Aga- grew very rapidly during the 1950s.
mas). According to tradition the great Indian
thinker S.\NK.\R.'\ was a Saiva. So were the great After Toda's death in 1958, Soka Gakkai
Kashmiri philosophers Abhina\agupta and Sri-
mellowed a bit, but remains both powerflal and
kantha, who formulated a special form of XE-
Acontroversial. related political party was
DANT.A philosophy.
The major Sai\'a festi\'al is Sivaratri (see founded, and in the 1970s the movement built a

HINDU FESTIV.\LS). During this festival worship- vast new temple at the foot of Mount Fuji. Begin-

ers bathe the decorated lingam. ning in the 1960s, the movement also spread

SOKA GAKKAI Considered the largest of successfiilly to the United States and other coun-

the "new religions" of Japan, claiming some 16 tries outside Japan. In the 1990s a bitter dispute
miUion members. Soka Gakkai ("Value-creation
Society") is technically a lay organization of the between the lay leadership of Soka Gakkai and the

priests of the religious organization led to a split

between Soka Gakkai and Nichiren Shoshu; at the

time of this writing, the consequences of this

dispute remained to be seen. Soka Gakkai is a

colorful, streamlined, well-organized form of
Buddhism, which its followers say is the Bud-

dhism of the fiiture.

SOLOMON A(tenth century B.C.) son of

DA\'ID and king of Israel and Judah; revered in
CHRISTLVs'm' and ISUVvl as well as JUDAISM. The
BIBLE tells of Solomon's reign in 1 Kings 1-11
and 2 Chronicles 1-9.

SPIRIT POSSESSION 327

Solomon was the son of Da\id and his wife or in pre\ious INCARN.\TI0NS before its coming
Bathsheba, whose first husband David had killed. into the present life.
After winning the struggles to succeed his father,
Solomon ruled over an extensive empire in rela- Beliefs about the exact nature of the soul
diflfcr. In HINDUISM it is in essence divine as the
tive peace.
atman or divine within. BUDDHISM rejects the
He is remembered for his building program. idea of a separate, eternal soul, though it believes
The most important of his buildings was the in reincarnation. The Western monotheistic relig-
Temple in lERUSALEM. This was the first Temple ions, JUD.AISM, CHRISTLANIT^', and ISL.\M, gener-
to be built on the site. Its plan, which the Bible ally believe that each soul is a new creation of
GOD, rather than itself divine, inftised into each
describes in detail, followed Phoenician models. person at conception or soon after. Some PRIMAL
RELIGIONS believe in multiple souls, perhaps re-
Solomon is also famous for his wisdom. One flecting a person's different moods, and perhaps
famous stor)' tells how he decided v\ hich of two
competing women was really a baby's mother. with different after-death destinies: reincarnation
He ordered the baby to be cut in half One within the famih- or tribe, hovering around the
woman pleaded with the king to let the baby Uve grave, going to the heavenly world. Non-reUg-
and give it to the other woman. The other woman ious persons, on the other hand, reject the idea of
a soul, beheving that all the mysteries of con-
agreed that the baby should be cut in two. Solo- sciousness can be explained through the brain and
its psychology.
mon realized that the first woman must be the
SPIRIT POSSESSION An altered state of
baby's mother.
Recognizing Solomon's wisdom, Jews and consciousness, usually producing unusual behav-
ior, interpreted within its religious culture to be
Christians ha\e traditionally attributed to him the result of a spirit entering the subject and
three books in the Bible: Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, taking over control of his or her mind and body.
and the Song of Songs, sometimes called the It can be either benign or malevolent, depending
Song of Solomon. on whether the possession is by good or demonic
spirits. In the former case, possession can be
At the end of his reign, Solomon's empire deliberately induced by chanting, drum- beating,
split into two parts, Israel in the north and Judah ecstatic trance, or RITLIAL as a part of religious
in the south, with much of the discontent com- activities. Examples can be found in PRIMAL RE-
ing fi-om forced labor on Solomon's building
LIGION, SHAMANISM, Haitian VOODOO, Afto-
projects. Brazilian religions like Macombo, Spiritualism,
and elsewhere. In Voodoo, for example, in the
SOUL, CONCEPTS OF Ideas about the context of religious ser\ices persons may dress in
the part of a god, dance or otherwise go into
spiritual essence of a person. In most rehgious trance, and, undergomg impressi\'e personality
traditions, there exists some concept of a soul or changes, "become" that deity for a time. During
spirit in human beings, which is distinct trom the this time the possessed one is treated like the
physical body and has religious importance. The deity, made much of and even prayed to by the
soul is in\isible to ordinary eyes, though words congregation. Divine possession can also happen
for it in several languages associate it with the
breath. Being non-physical, the soul is commonly spontaneously, as a religious experience.
believed to survive the death of the body (see Cases of malevolent spirit possession call for

AFTERLIFE IN WORLD RELIGIONS). It then may a different religious response, tliat of the exorcist

receive the reward or punishment earned in its
earthly life, whether in a spiritual HEAVEN or
HELL, in a new REINCARNATION, or in a resur-
rected body. Some traditions have also believed
in the preexistence of the soul in a heavenly realm

328 STUPA

or specialist in driving out evil and demonic yond anvthing available to Muhammad and his
spirits. Traditional and even contemporary ac- companions. But this wealth offended some, who
counts of demonic possession make hair-raising
reading as they describe the horrible grimaces and thought it led to dissolute living. They adopted
bizarre behavior of the afflicted one. The process an austere life-style that they considered more
of EXORCISM is said to be a difficult and gruehng
one, for the demon struggles and will not go out fitting to servants of God. Among other practices,
easily. In TAOISM priests use ritual swords, in
they wore clothes of wool, and so were called
ROMAN CATHOLICISM holy water is employed in
Sufis.
this spiritual warfare, but in the end it is a batde
of wills and the relative power of good and evil. Sufis turned ver\' earh' to the cultivation of
mysticism. They were led in this direction by
STUPA A Buddhist shrine that contains a relic
several persons who had intense, personal experi-
of the BL'DDHA. Stupas are also known as linjiobas
(southeast Asia ), pagodas ( east i\sia ), and cbortens ences of god's reality and presence. These early
Sufis often did and said things that offended
(Tibet). traditional Muslims. For example, al-Bistami (d.
874) was fond of the phrase, "Glor\' be to me!"
When the Buddha died or, as Buddhists say, He wanted to emphasize that God dwelled at the

entered the parinirvana, his body was cremated. very core of a human being. Two hundred years
Eight kings received his remains and enshrined
them in mounds known as stupas. In the third later thinkers such as al-Ghazali (1058-1 1 II)
centun,' B C the Indian emperor ASOK,\ is said to formulated Sufism in a way that the orthodox
have dug up the remains and built 84,000 stupas. could accept.
Many other stupas were built later.
Early Sufism was not tighdy organized. In
Stupas take different shapes. In India and Sri general, masters passed down secret teachings to
Lanka stupas are often large hemispheric mounds their disciples. But by the 1 3th century Sufis had
organized themselves into brotherhoods. At the
surrounded by a fence. A good example is the head of each brotherhood stood a leader known
as a shaykh or pir, whose office was inherited.
ancient stupa at Sanchi, India. The stupa at Some shaykhs were thought to work miracles. At
Borobudur, Indonesia, is a massive, terraced the same time the brotherhoods began to attract
mound, each terrace smaller than the one below
it. Its carved decorations depicting the life of the —"la\'" followers people who were interested in
Buddha are world-famous. In east Asia stupas are
towers of as many as 13 layers. Sufism but did not devote their lives to it.

The stupa is not generally a place for congre- Sufism cultivates the experience of a pro-
gational WORSHIP. Instead, worshipers may cir-
cumambulate the stupa, leave offerings, reflect on found closeness between God and the soul. Some
Buddhist truths, and meditate there. Sufis talk about a union of God and the soul.
Others say that personal identity dissolves in God
SUFISM MYSTICISM in ISLAM. The word altogether. Rabia (d. 801 ), one of the greatest of
the early Sufis, was so filled with love for God that
Sufism seems to derive from the Arabic word suf, she lost all concern for whether she went to
which means "wool." paradise or hell. Jalal al-Din Rumi (1207-73)
celebrated the joy of union with God and the
The prophet MUH.iiMM.'UJ died in A.D 632. anguish of separation from him in renowned
By the year 700 the Islamic world stretched from Persian poetry. Other Sufis have likened the soul
Spain in the west all the way to Persia, where Iran to a moth that is drawn to the flame of a candle,
is today, in the east. Many Muslims, including the
rulers known as caliphs, enjoyed wealth well be- —that is, to God with inevitable consequences.

One common Sufi practice is dhikr. This is

the continual chanting of a verse containing one

of the names of God (see ALLAH). The chanting

SUNNI ISLAM 329

aims to produce an intense awareness of God's would undergo ritual preparation, then slice open
the abdomen, spilling out the bowels.
Apresence. more controversial practice is the use
Despite these examples, JUDAISM, CHRISTI-
of music. Overwhelmed by the music, some may ANITY, ISLAM, BUDDHISM, and CONFUCIANISM
break mto dance. The Mevlevis, the order all condemn suicide. In North America, attitudes
founded by Rumi, practice a kind of dance that toward suicide may be changing in the case of
has won them the name Whirling Dervishes. The end-stage terminal illness. In other cases, suicide
disciples stand in a circle around the master. Each is seen as a misguided way to deal with one's
twirls around, and as he does so the entire circle problems.
of disciples revolves around the master. (Think of
the planets rotating as they revolve around the SUN AND RELIGION, THE The religious

sun.) On a more popular level, laypeople may role and significance of the sun. The source of the
Earth's light and heat, and the most prominent
make PILGRIMAGE to the tombs of powerful feature of the unclouded daytime sky, the sun has
SAINTS. Many believe that the saints work MIR- had an important role in religion. It is a natural
ACLES after death as they did in life. as a god or symbol of light, day, sovereignty, and
consciousness. Many ancient sacred kings have
In the 20th centur)', Sufism has been an claimed descent from the sun, including those of
Egypt, Japan, and the Incas. While the moon is
embattled institution. Muslims who wanted to no less important in ancient mythologies, it rep-
"modernize" Islam considered Sufism to be out- resents changing and cyclical things, together
moded superstition. Others saw "modern- with rain and fertility, while the sun is steadiness
ization" as abandoning Islam for foreign practices and power, like the Sol Invictus, the "Invincible
and wanted to reassert Islamic tradition. In their Sun" of an ancient Roman cult. Often the sun is
eyes, Sufi assertions of a union between God and masculine, though sometimes, as in the case of
human beings violated the fundamental princi- the Japanese Amaterasu, it is associated with a
ples of Islam. Nevertheless, some Muslims con- goddess. In the major historical religions, the sun
tinue to find inspiration and spintual depth in Sufi may continue to have a symbolic meaning. In
CHRISTIANITl' it has been associated with CHRIST,
teachings. and CHRIST\Li\S, his birthday, was earlier the
birthday of both Sol Invictus and the god
SUICIDE AND RELIGION Attitudes of MITHRA. (See also .MOON .AND RELIGION, THE.)

religion toward taking one's own life. There are SUNNI ISLAM The branch of ISLAM to

several examples of religious suicide. In tradi- which the vast majority of Muslims belong. Islam
tional India, when a woman's husband died, she has t\vo main branches. About 1 5% of all Muslims
might mount his fianeral pyre and be engulfed in practice SHI'ITE ISLAM. They live throughout the
flames. She was called sati, "good woman." The Islamic world, but especially in Iran, Iraq, Leba-
non, and Yemen. Most of the remaining Muslims
practice is now illegal, but it occasionally hap- are Sunnis.
pens. On September 4, 1987, a young widow
named Roop Kanwar became sati in a village in The name "Sunni Islam" comes from the
i\rabic word sunnah. It means "tradition" or
western India. Serious doubts remain about "custom." In Arabia before the time of the
whether her death was voluntary. prophet .VIUHAMMAD, sunnah referred to the tra-
dition and customs of each tribal group. Islam
Jains practice a form of suicide in advanced
old age known as sallekhana (see JAINISM). The
idea is to give up all food and water gradually and
thereby enter death without harmflil passions.
Japan developed a tradition of suicide called sep-
puku. It had as much to do with military honor
as with religion. In committing seppuku, a person

330 SWEAT LODGE

replaced those customs with a surinah of its own. founded by Abu Hanifah ( 699-797), is dominant
Actually, Sunni and Shi'ite Islam each have their in the Near East and in south Asia. The Maliki
sunnah or customs. Each also traces this sunnah school, founded by Malik ibn Anas (715-795), is
back to the same two sources. One is the QUR'.Vs'. dominant in north and west Africa. The Shafi'i
The other is the example of the prophet (see school of Muhammad ibn Idris al-Shafi'i (d. 820)
H.\DrrH) and, for Shi'ite Islam, of its LVL\MS. is dominant in east ^\ffica and southeast Asia. The
Hanbali school of Ahmad ibn Hanbal (780-855)
Sunni and Shi'ite Aluslims have much in is ver)' small. Today it is mosdy found in central
common. They disagree, however, on how the
Saudi Arabia.
community' of Islam should have been organized. All of these schools use several sources to

Shi'ite Muslims maintain that the prophet Mu- determine what Muslims should do; the Qur'an,
hammad designated his cousin and son-in-law, the Hadith of the prophet, the consensus of legal
Ali, to be the leader of the Muslim communitv'. scholars, and reasoning by analog)-. According to
tradition, the period in which scholars needed to
Leadership of the communit}' should then have think independendy ended in the 14th centun,'.
During the 20th century, the Islamic communit)'
passed down to descendants of Muhammad and faced new situations and challenges. Some Mus-
Ali. Shi'ite Muslims know these descendants as lims who had received a secular education re-
jected traditional Islamic learning. But many legal
their imams. scholars took active roles in independence move-
ments. In most places, their advice is still valued.
Sunni Muslims took a ver\- different ap-
SWEAT LODGE .\n important 1UTU.\L struc-
proach. They maintain that the prophet Muham-
mad died without designating a successor. ture for most of the indigenous peoples of North

Instead, he indicated that the communit)- should AAmerica. sweat lodge is more or less a religious

itself come to a consensus on who would lead it. sauna. It is an enclosed structure in which water
The communit\' chose in succession four leaders is poured on hot rocks to make steam. Those
inside the structure sweat from the heat. They also
called the "righdy guided caliphs." After them, pra)- and sing. Participants find the experience
several dynasties claimed the caliphate (rule over purif)ing, healing, and refreshing.

the Islamic world), among them the Umayyads A sweat lodge is often a dome-like frame
of Damascus (ruled, 661-750, in Spain until
1031), the Abbasids of Baghdad (ruled 750- covered with canvas, bark, or skins. The entrance
1258), and the Fatimids of Egypt (ruled 909- is low to the ground. Participants enter on their
1171). The cahphate was abolished when the hands and knees. Some sweats are for men only.
Ottoman Empire collapsed after World War I. Many sweats allow women, pro\'ided they are
not menstruating. In mixed sweats participants
Shi'ites expected their imams to be both wear light clothing. In traditional ones they sweat
political and religious leaders, but Sunnis as-
signed to the caliphs only the political role of naked.
preserving unit)', law, and order. Caliphs pro- Rocks are heated in a fire outside the lodge.
tected the communit)' against threats from
abroad and disorder from within. Sunnis assigned They are brought in at regular inter\als and piled
to religious scholars the task of preserving and up in a pit in the center. The symbolism of the
apphing the revelation given through Muham- lodge alludes to the four directions, the Earth,
mad. These scholars, known as the ulama or the and the sk)'. Indeed, some see the sweat lodge as
"educated," work in harmony with the poUdcal a miniature universe. The "floor" is the Earth's
authorities. They sene as judges and legal con- surface; the dome is the sk)'. Others interpret the
sultants, teachers, prayer leaders, and in other

positions as well.

Members of the Sunni ulama belong to one
of four different legal schools. The Hanafi school.

SYNAGOGUE 331

lodge in sexual terms. The lodge itself is the E\en the deity's hand gestures are symbols in

womb of the world. It is impregnated by the heat their own right. In CHRISTL\NITY the SAINTS and

of the sun, symbolized by the heated rocks. (See .-vrosTLES have their particular symbols. Lights

also INDIGENOUS .AMERICAN RELIGIONS.) and candles, vestments worn by religious leaders,

—sacred books on the .ALTAR all these are symbols

SYMBOLISM, IN RELIGION The use of as well as just what they are, for the\' evoke

concrete objects to point to religious meaning. associations that lead one deeper into the faith. It
Few things are more important to religion than is not always necessan' to know a one-to-one

symbols. This is because religion always points meaning for each symbol in a reUgion. These

'

toward that which is invisible, e\en beyond hu- kinds of things can have meanings special to each

man understanding, and which can be indicated person, and the main point anj-vvay is not to put

only by something less than the ultimate. This is it into words but to let the symbol lead one

l, beyond words.

the role of symbols, to stand in for the ultimate.

To understand symbols, we need to distin- This is particularly true of what might be

Aguish them from signs. sign just indicates called general symbols. Certain things seem to

something is there, like a roadsign telling how appear over and over in the world's religions as

many miles it is to the ne.\t town. But a symbol symbols: things like sun, moon, water, tree, he-

in some way is part of that which it symbolizes, roic figures and mother figures. The specifics may

and calls up the feeling associated with it. Thus vary: In one tradition the tree may be the tree of

the cross on a Christian church, the Star of DAVID the know ledge of good and evil in the garden of

on a SYNAGOGUE, or the star and crescent on a Eden and a poetic name for the cross on which

MOSQUE, for believers in the religion is not just a c:hrist died, in another it may be the central

sign indicating what kind of building this is. The pillar connecting HEA\^N and earth, or a place

symbol also suggests the whole range of associa- where gods descend. But always it is cormected

tions that go with the FAITH it symbolizes: the with life, wisdom, and reaching to heaven, as

sacrificial death of CHRIST, the suflFerings and water is with purity and rebirth . As the theologian

hopes of Jews, the romance of MUI-LA.VLVL\D's Paul Tillich said, a symbol participates in that

journey from MECCA to Medina when he was which it symbolizes. (See also SUN .\ND RELIG-
guided only by the light of the crescent moon and
ION, THE; MOON .AND RELIGION, THE; and

a star. Symbols are ways of entry into the culture WATER AND RELIGION.

of a religion: the other churches, synagogues, and

mosques in which one has worshiped, fiiends and SYNAGOGUE Jewish place of WORSHIP. Re-

—relatives of the faith the chain of associations form and occasionally Conservative Jews may call

can go on and on. Religious people moreover feel

comfort in the fact that the\- will see man\' of the a synagogue a temple.

same familiar s\mbols in all houses of their relig- In the late Second Temple period (200 B.C.-

ion. A.D. 70) Jews worshiped in two different kinds of

Symbols are numerous. Today each religion place. One was the Temple, where GOD's pres-

seems to have a "main" symbol, like those just ence dwelled. The other was the synagogue,
mentioned. But enter a religious edifice and you
where one studied the TORAH. But in AD 70 the

will see many more. In Hindu temples each of the future Roman emperor Titus destroyed the Tem-

gods is not only a symbol in his or her own right ple in JERUSALEM. From that time on, the syna-

of spiritual lines of force, but also is surrounded gogue has been the main worship place in

by more symbols, like the moon and serpents of lUD.AISiNL It is a place of PRAYER, a place of study,

srvA or the conch shell and discus of VISHNU. and a place of fellowship.

332 SYNAGOGUE

No hard and tast rules prescribe what a syna- where the ark is. In that case, the bimah looks

gogue must look like, but synagogues tend to something like a stage.
have several features. Although in some respects synagogues may

On the far wall, opposite the doorway, is an resemble churches, there are many features often

elevated chest called the ark. It contains Torah found in churches that would never be found in
scrolls. Above the ark is an eternal flame, tradi-
a synagogue. For example, a synagogue would
tionally an oil lamp.
Another feature of the synagogue is the bi- never contain symbols of CHRISTIANITY, such as

mahy an elevated place from which the Torah is a CROSS or crucifix.
read. Traditionally it is in the center of the room.
In more liberal congregations it is against the wall In more traditional synagogues, men and

Womenwomen sit separately. sit either in balco-

nies or in the back.

c

TABOO A prohibition. The term taboo derives attempt to create an independent Jewish state

from the Polynesian word tapu, which means failed. As a result, Jews were barred from even
"forbidden." In Polynesia, objects are tapu be-
cause they contain mana. Mana is a sacred, effec- cmentering the of Jerusalem.
tive energ)' that one needs to treat vxith care.
These events posed a challenge: how to syn-
At the end of the 19th century, anthropolo-
gists generalized these Polynesian notions. They thesize from traditions that could no longer be

— —theorized that religion and MAGIC began practiced a religion for those living in e.\ile. The
challenge fell to the RABBIS, who specialized in
when people recognized mana in objects and
established taboos. These ideas influenced impor- the study of the Torah. In response, they created
tant thinkers like Sigmund FREUD and Emile
DURKHEIM. Judaism as we know it toda)'. Their efforts are
presened in writings known as the Mishnah and
Scholars now recognize that tapu and mana
the Talmud.
are specific to Polynesia, not universal. But people
continue to use the word taboo for prohibitions, Mishnah is a Hebrew word meaning teacJiing
especially religiously significant ones. All societies
have a taboo against incest, although not ever)' or repetition. According to the rabbis, MOSES did
not write down all of the instructions he received
societ>- defines incest the same way. Many socie- from God on Mount Sinai. Rather, he memo-
ties ha\'e taboos against certain foods (see DIET
AND RELIGION). And by tradition, many indige- rized some instructions and handed them down
nous Australian men were never allowed to meet
orally. It is this oral Torah that was recorded in
their mothers-in-law.
the Mishnah. Tradition says that the Mishnah was
People often try to explain taboos in terms of
natural causes. Thus, one forbids incest to a\oid recorded around the year AD 200 by the leader
genetic defects. Sociologists also see taboos as
important ways to create order in societ\'. of the Jews in Palestine, Judah ha-Nasi (c. I35-i:.

TALMUD (with MISHNAH) In JUD.AISM, 220).

the authoritative codification of and commentary The Mishnah has six "orders" or parts. These

ADon the oral TOIL-VH. In 70, Roman troops are fiirther divided into 63 tractates and 531

destroyed the Temple in JERUSALEM. This event chapters. The six orders discuss (1) agriculture,
made it impossible to practice the religion of
ancient Israel and ludah. That religion centered (2) appointed times, such as festivals and Sab-
baths, (3) women, especially in relation to mar-
on presenting oft'erings and S.\c:RJFlCES to GOD
at the Temple. Then in AD 135 Bar Kokhba's riage and divorce, (4) damages, that is criminal

and civil law, (5) ordinajy Temple procedures,

and (6) regulations concerning puritv'. As the

North American scholar Jacob Neusner has

pointed out, a good deal of the Mishnah discusses

the Jerusalem Temple, even though the Temple

was in ruins and Jews could not set foot in

Jerusalem. These portions of the Mishnah do not
describe how one should live today. Rather, thev

333

334 TANTRISM

presence the heritage of the past and stand as a energies of the universe. To reach this goal, prac-
sign of hope for the fijture. Other portions of the
Mishnah discuss the repeated occurrences of or- titioners visualize cosmic powers and ritually par-
dinan' life. Unlike the BIBLE, the Mishnah has ticipate in cosmic processes. Tantrism often
ver\' little to say about historical events. deliberately transgresses limits and inverts estab-
lished orders. As a result, other traditions have at
lifter the Mishnah was compiled, rabbis dis- times looked upon it \\ith disdain.
cussed and debated its meanings. The Tal-
History
— —mud Hebrew for "study" contains the results
It is generally difficult to \\rite a history of relig-
of their discussions. It follows the organization of ions in India. It is even more difficult to write a
the Mishnah, taking up and exploring each topic Wston,- of Tantrism. Tantrism has generally been
in turn. At times it seems as if the rabbis are practiced in secret.
entirely oft" the subject. At others it seems as if
they are trying to split the finest of hairs. In an\' Tantrism may have its roots in local, popular
case, their discussions testify to an intense, intel- practices. Hindu and Buddhist Tantrism seem to
lectual ethos in which it was just as religious to have come into existence in India by the end of
stud\' the law as to obser\e it. the sLxth century AD. During the next one thou-
sand years, Hindu Tantrism was at its height. Its
There are two "recensions" or versions of the practitioners wrote important Tantric texts, such
Talmud. The Jerusalem Talmud was compiled in as Tantras ( handbooks of doctrine ), Agamas ( RIT-
Galilee, despite its name, during the fiftJi centur\' U.AL manuals), and Samhitas (collections). These
A.D. It comments on 39 of the 63 tractates in the texts use Sanskrit, the language of learned BRAH-
Mishnah. The Bab\'lonian Talmud was compiled .VIINS. Therefore, Tantrism probably developed
in Babylonia, today Iraq, around AD. 600. It among the religious elite. Temples built during
comments on 37 tractates. The nvo overlap con- this period also reveal prominent Tantric influ-
siderably, so not even' tractate of the Mishnah has ence. The famous temples at Khajuraho (AD.
Talmudic commentar\' associated with it. The 950-1050) are good examples.
Jerusalem Talmud limits itself more narrowly to
explaining the Mishnah and resolving apparent By about 1500 Tantrism was beginning to
contradictions in it. The Babylonian Talmud also lose its creativiti,'. But in the late 1 9th and early
contains essays that comment on the Bible. Since 20th centuries, Europeans and North Americans
about the year 1000 the Babylonian Talmud has started taking an interest in Hindu Tantrism.
been considered authoritative. As a result, schol- Their interest stimulated a minor revival in India.
ars have studied the Jerusalem Talmud less.
In Buddhism, Tantrism is seen as a specific
In the 18th centur\', legal restrictions against vana or "vehicle," the Vajrayana, "Diamond Ve-
Jews began to be eliminated, and Jews began to hicle," or Mantrayana, "Mantra Vehicle." Vajray-
participate in the life of the broader societies in
which they lived. As a result, Talmudic study no ana was common in India during the eighth
longer has the impact it did when the rabbis were centun- when Buddhism spread from India to
the legal experts and judges for self-sufficient
Jewish communities. Nevertheless, Talmudic Tibet. It became the dominant religion of Tibet
( see TIBET.\N RELIGION ). That countr>' eventualh
study remains an important means ofcommuning housed a vast store of Buddhist Tantric texts.
with God. Vajrayana was also exported to China. In fact,
some of the earliest Buddhist Tantric writings are
TANTRISM A movement in HINDUISM, BUD- in Chinese. From China Kukai took Tantric Bud-
dhism to Japan. There it became Shingon, a
DHISM, and to a lesser extent lAINISM. The basic school still popular today.
goal of Tantrism is to appropriate the creative

TANTRISM 335

Beliefs to liberation by visualizing these \arious beings
and therebx' acquiring their powers.
Because it is a movement found in several differ-
ent religious contexts, Tantrism does not have a At a more abstract level, Vajrayana sees lib-
single coherent body of thought. Furthermore, eration as a union of male and female. In Buddhist
many Tantric texts are written in what is known Tantrism the female is PR.\JN.\, "wisdom." The
as "twilight language," a symbolic language male is upaya, "skill is means," that is, a person's
whose full significance cannot be understood ex- abilit}' to practice the Buddhist path. The union
cept with the help of a code revealed onlv to the of the two, wisdom and the ability- to practice,
eventually produces enlightenment.
initiated.
Pr.\ctices
There are, however, some common Tantric
themes. One dieme deals with die creative dualit\' Both Hindu and Buddhist Tantrism make heavy
use of ritual diagrams ( Y.\.\TR.-\S and i\L\XD.\LAS),
between male and female. Tantrism often gi\es ritual sounds (NL\ntr,m;), and ritual gestures
the female the higher place. Another theme con- (MUDRAS). These diagrams, sounds, and gestures
cerns the links between the macrocosm or struc- var\' fi-om tradition to tradition, but thev are all
ture of the universe and the microcosm or thought to embody the powers of the uni\erse.
structure of the human being. Finally, Tantrism In both Hindu and Buddhist Tantrism the dia-
often conceives of liberation as reuniting the male grams, sounds, and gestures allow practitioners
and the female into one. to acquire sacred power and ultimately to achieve
release. Practitioners acquire the power of these
In Hindu Tantrism the ultimate Godhead is diagrams, sounds, and gestures by meditating on
formless. But on a less than ultimate level the them.
Godhead is sexually dual, having both a male and
a female form. The female form, known as Sakti To construct and use a mandala is a relatively
or the god's power, is responsible for the creation benign act. Tantrism is also known, however, for
of the world. At the same time, Sakti is the source
of liberation. WTien Sakti reunites with the male a variety of rituals that deliberately invert estab-
lished order and transgress normal bounds. Such
principle, the original unit)- is restored. acts require special control, for the goal is not to
enjoy forbidden fruits. It is to use the things of
According to Hindu Tantrism these macro- the world to conquer the world, to overcome
cosmic processes find their reflections on the desire by acting out what desire demands and yet
microcosmic level. In the human person Sakti is remaining untouched by desire.
generally imaged as a coiled serpent asleep at the
base of the spine (KUXDALINI). WTien the serpent Perhaps the best known s\stem of such rituals
is aroused, it rises and eventually unites with the are "the five elements" found in Hindu Tantrism.
masculine principle at the top of the skull. WTicn These elements are also called "the five m's,"
it does so, the result is liberation. because the Sanskrit word for each starts with the
letter "m." The five are wine (madya), meat
Vajrayana Buddhism uses different ideas. Be- (niansa), fish (matsya)^ parched grains (mudra),
fore Vajrayana arose, Mahayana Buddhism had and sexual union (maithmin). Like Hindu Tan-
developed a pantheon of Buddhas and BOD- trism, Buddhist Tantrism recognizes sexual ritu-
HIS.^TT\'.\S. Vajrayana carried this process furt- als. Such rituals call for extreme concentration. If
her. It identified even more Buddhas and they are performed to fiilfill carnal desires, the
bodhisatnas, assigned them feminine consorts or consequences are drastic.
counterparts, and delighted in images of the
wrathful and the horrific. Vajrayana also linked
the macrocosm and the microcosm. It identified
the various Buddhas and bodhisatt\'as with differ-

ent parts of the body. A person followed the path

1-

336 TAO TE CHING

ORG.\NIZ.JiTION translated into English more times than any other
Chinese book.
Tantrism is a religion of small, private, secret
The famous opening words of the Tao te
groups. For that reason, it is difficult to know how ching announce its central theme, the Tao. They
many people practice it. The basic organization is also say that it is impossible to talk about the Tao:

that of a teacher (guru) and disciples. The Tao that can be spoken of is not the eternal
The first ritual is initiation. In initiation, Tao;

members join the group. They swear to maintain The name that can be named is not the eternal
secreq', and they begin their training in the se- name.
crets of Trantrism. In the course of Tantric prac-
tice they allegedly attain various supernormal The nameless is the origin of heaven and earth;
powers. The named is the mother of all things.
Always rid yourself of desires in order to observe
There have been many attempts to classif)'
different Tantric groups. Perhaps the most com- its secrets;
mon classification distinguishes right-handed and .\lways allow yourself desires in order to observe
left-handed Tantrism in Hinduism. Right-
handed Tantrism limits itself to the use of man its manifestations.
dalas, yantras, mantras, and mudras. Lett-handed These two are the same, but they have dift'erent
Tantrism practices ritual acts that are otheruise
names as they are produced.
forbidden. Being the same, they are called mysteries;
profound mysten', the myster.- of mysteries
SlGNIFIC\NCE
—the gateway of all mysteries.
Although Tantrism strictly speaking is confined
to small groups, its influence has been great. Another passage that expresses that the Tao
is beyond v\ords runs as follows: "whoever knows
Much of present-day Hinduism contains some does not speak; whoever speaks does not know."
Tantric elements. For example, all Hindu temples There is a good reason, then, for the puzzling
are built on mandalas. In Tibet, Vajravana pro-
language that the book uses. No one can express
duced a vibrant national religion. Its leader, the
directiy what the book is trying to say.
DAL.\I L.\AL\, won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1989. The Tao is not only nameless. It also has no

TAO TE CHING .Mso rendered Dao dcjin^- intentions or purposes. Thus, the Tao te ching
insists that the Tao never acts. Nevertheless, the
the most important book in Taoism. The book is Tao is "the mother of all things." The Tao te
also called LAO-TZU after the person who, tradi- ching uses many different images to express the
tion says, wrote it. Modern scholars are reluctant creative power of the Tao. One is mathematical:
to say who compiled the book or when. Some "The Dao produced the one, the one produced
date it as late as the third century B.C. the two, the two produced the three, and the
three produced the ten thousand." Another im-
Tao te ching literally means "Way Power age appeals to nature: "There is nothing softer
Classic." It contains 5,000 Chinese characters. and weaker than water, and yet there is nothing
They make up two parts that together contain 8 better for attacking hard and strong things."
"chapters." The first part is supposedh' about the
Tao or way. The second is supposedly about the According to the Tao te ching, the Tao
te or power of the way. The chapters are actually should be our guide in life. The book rejects
short, enigmatic paragraphs whose precise inter- CONFUCIUS and his emphasis on proper behavior.

pretation is difficult. Despite that difficulty^ or In carefiiUy prescribing beha\ior Confijcius carves
perhaps because of it, the Tao te ching has been blocks of stone, so to speak, and thus destroys

them. According to the Tao te ching, one should

TAOISM 337

simply accept the stone as it is, uncaned. Govern- CHUANG-TZU after the person who supposedly
ments, too, should imitate the Tao. The best
rulers do not govern with iron fists. "The best wrote it.
leaders value their words, and use them sparinglv.
In the first century A.D. several movements
When they have accomplished their tasks, the used these figures and books to develop rituals
people say, 'Amazing: we did it, all by ourselves! '" and institutions. Some looked for a golden age to
come Ln the future. This age was known as the
The above quotes and obser\'ations onlv great peace. Those who followed Taoist princi-
begin to reveal the contents of this remark- ples were expected to rule during that peace.
able book. It bears carefial rereading and calm Inspired b\' such teachings, man\' secret move-

reflection. ments tried to usher in the golden age. Among
them was an attempt to overthrow the Han dy-
TAOISM A Chinese religion; pronounced
nasty- in A.D. 184.
with an initial "d," and therefore also spelled
Daoism. Taoism teaches that by living in har- Another Taoist movement that began in the
mony with the Tao pronounced and sometimes same period is known as "the way of the heavenly
masters." Its founder claimed to ha\e received
(
revelations from Lao-tzu, whom he considered to
spelled Dao) or the way of nature, it is possible to be a god. Among other things, the movement
prolong life and even become immortal.
promised to heal the sick. It also provided its
Scholars have often distinguished t\\o differ- members with a series of books or "registers" in
ent trends in Taoism: philosophical Taoism and which to record their spiritual progress.
religious Taoism. Philosophical Taoism refers to
ideas put forth roughly from 600 to 200 B.C. The first millennium (I-IOOO) AD. was the
Religious Taoism refers to mo\ements and prac- golden age of Taoism. Taoists developed elabo-
tices like .\LCHEMy (transforming metals into rate RTIXIALS. They also perfected many tech-
medicines that were thought to grant immortal- niques that were said to lead to long life and, if
ity) and MEDITATION that began around the first done just right, immortalitv'. Occasionally Tao-
centUT)' A.D. These two trends help to distinguish ism became the official religion. Different king-
two major stages in the histon- of Taoism. But it doms required their subjects to perform Taoist
would be incorrect to think that philosophical practices, for example, to celebrate the birthday
and religious Taoism were entirely separate of Lao-tzu.
movements.
The first millennium A.D. was also the time
HiSTORl' when BUDDHISM came to China. Taoists often
opposed Buddhism, and they convinced several
The founder of Taoism is known as LAO-TZU, rulers to oudaw it. The two religions did, how-
"Old Master." He may have lived in the sixth ever, influence one another. Taoist ideas helped
century B.C., or he may be only legendary. It is transform Buddhism. This can be seen especially
said that Lao-tzu dictated the classic book of in the school known in China as Ch'an and in
Taoism, the TAO TE CHIXG, as he was lea\ing Japan as ZEX BUDDHISM. Perhaps under Bud-
China in old age. In any case, by the fourth dhist influence, Taoists developed monasteries
century B.C. a book in 5,000 Chinese characters and convents fijnded by the state.
had come into existence that advocated \ielding
to the way of nature in all things. It called the Throughout most of the second millennium
prime characteristic of that way rvu-wei, action ( 1 001-2000) A.D. Confiicianism dominated oflS-
cial Chinese religion. The official oudook pro-
Athat lacks deliberate intention. later book de- moted the unitv' of the three religions,
Confucianism, Taoism, and Buddhism. During
veloped these insights fiirther. It was named this period Taoism developed forms more suited

338 TAOISM

to the needs of private indi\iduals than of the is the mother of all things. It produces everything
in the world, including ourselves.
official cult.
The earliest texts advocate that human beings
With the victors' of communism in mainland should li\e in harmony with the Tao. Consider,
China in 1949 and especially the cultural revolu- for example, water flowing in a stream. What does
tion of the late 1960s, Taoism suffered tremen-
dously. Because the government objected to both it do? Strictly speaking, it does nothing. It simply
old traditions and religion, it opposed Taoism. In yields to the forces exerted on it. It falls because
the 1980s some Taoist institutions were rebuilt of the force of gravit}'; it moves out of the way
and Taoist WORSHIP resumed. Meanwhile, Taoist when it hits a boulder. Yet in simply yielding,
practice flourished in Chinese communities else- water proves to be stronger than the boulder. It
where, especially on Taiwan. wears the boulder away. Taoists find this example

Teachings instructive. The best human action, they say, is

The earliest Taoist texts celebrate the Tao. Ac- action that is not forced by deliberate intention.
cording to the beginning of the Tao te Ching, it The earliest Taoist texts also apply these ideas to
is impossible really to give the Tao a name. It is government. That government is best whose sub-
simplv indescribable. At the same time, the Tao jects are hardly aware of the government's activi-

ties at all.

Later Taoism develops a full range of mytho-
logical ideas. It teaches that there are many im-
monals. Some immortals are connected with the
world at large. Others are connected with the
human bodv. Taoism has other teachings, too:
about islands of the immortals in the eastern
ocean, where elixirs of immortalit)' may be found;
about the five sacred mountains in China, the
most sacred of which is T'ai Shan in the eastern
province of Shantung; and about the life-giving
properties of various substances, such as gold. In
addition, Taoism analyzes the human being in
detail. For Taoism, the most imponant life-force
IS the original breath known as chi. Chi and other
life-forces concentrate in three centers: the head,
the heart, and the navel. These three "fields" are
where the three "holy ones," the three most
important immortals, dwell. They are also home
to three beings known as "worms" that devour
the vital energy and bring about death.

Taoist temple pnest rings bells to scare off bad spints. PlL^CTICES
(Courtesy of the Ima/je Bank.)
There are two main kinds of Taoist practice:
exercises to prolong one's life and large, elaborate
rituals for the well-being of the communin,'.

The exercises to prolong life try to preser\'e
or restore the \ital energ>' with which a person is

born. Certain practices, called the "external