Religion begins with an individual's experience which leads to a particular response. Understanding the anthropology of a religion's members is key to understanding that religion. It was a person who created that religion and the community which it went on to form. A heirophany is a human moment when a person is transported from the mundane, or profane, to the eternal, or sacred. Abraham had the first heirophany in the three "Religions of the Book" when he did not sacrifice his first son as many members of his society did at that time because the angel told him not to. The novel What's Bred in the Bone analyzed the anthropolgy of a single man in history. It took into consideration all the factors that made him who he was as an adult and interpreted how he fit into the cosmos through a culminating painting of his life. The book Sunflower took another perspective on anthropology and considered how much an individual can represent his or her community. Simon was asked to forgive a dying SS man on behalf of the entire Jewish community and he could not. He struggled with his decision for many years. The book did not really answer the question but left it up to the reader. It provoked emotion in the reader by drawing on their own consciences, their anthropology, and how they fit into their religous communities.
Throughout the course of this year we have studied many communities from various parts of the world. Beginning with the study of how these communities that arose due to their geography and continuing on to the modern religious communities that make up our world. However the question arose about what is a true community and is it even possible? Community is those who share an aspect of life which produces traditions. Communities are suppose to be natural formations that are not contrived, but is there any community that follows these rules? Even the words of God to Abraham, "I will make of you a people" describes a contrived community. Hindus describes their community as, "to be a hindu is not so much what one believes, but what one does." The divine is everywhere, like the ocean, and the individuals of the world, or atman, is like a drop of water within that sea. All religious communities are held together by cosmic viewpoints, ehtnicity, rituals, and morals. Judaism views their community not simply as religious, but as an entire civilization. A Hindus society is formed by the individual's karma which places them in a certain rank in society in their next life. So with these differing views of communities conflicts arise. There are three ways to deal with this, dialogue, violence, or ignorance. Dialogue, or at least one that is positive, asks for members of different religions to learn and teach while maintaining their own identity, their own anthropology.
Another aspect of religion is its notion of divinity. We began by looking at the ancient Greeks. They had imperfect gods with human qualities that regularly interferred with humans. Conflicts then resulted from immortal beings directly affecting the mortal's actions. Judaism, Christianity, and Islam all believe God to be one being, the Creator. Different notions of divinity arise from the human question of why and the wanting of answers for why the cosmos is ordered the way it is. Eastern religions, such as Taoism, feel that they should just accept and not ask questions. The believe in being passive and letting life flow, like a leaf floating on a stream. Chinese religions also different from that of western ideas because their notions of divinity transcend over their secular life as well, their religion is their way of life.
