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PHL 2350, Philosophies of World Religions 1

Course Learning Outcomes for Unit V Upon completion of this unit, students should be able to:

2. Discuss factors which have caused potential for conflict within and between religious groups. 2.1 Assess why members of religious groups can be divided on new beliefs or topics.

5. Explain differing interpretations of religious tenets.

5.1 Contrast the view of sacred items, practices, or areas from various religions or groups. 5.2 Explain the values and practices surrounding cults.

Course/Unit Learning Outcomes

Learning Activity

2.1 Unit Lesson Chapter 6, pp. 237–265 Unit V PowerPoint Presentation

5.1

Unit Lesson Chapter 6, pp. 237–265 Video: Self-Appointed Charismatic Leader Unit V PowerPoint Presentation

5.2 Unit Lesson Video: Full Gospel Mission- Camp David Unit V PowerPoint Presentation

Reading Assignment Chapter 6: Religions of Oceania, pp. 237–265 In order to access the following resources, click the links below: The transcripts for each video can be found by clicking the “Transcript” tab beside each video in the Films on Demand database. Electric Sky (Producer). (2009). Full gospel mission – Camp David (Segment 4 of 22) [Video]. In Trapped: Life

Inside a Cult—How to Spot a Cult. Films on Demand. https://libraryresources.columbiasouthern.edu/login?auth=CAS&url=http://fod.infobase.com/PortalPla ylists.aspx?wID=273866&xtid=47518&loid=138826

Electric Sky (Producer). (2009). Self-appointed charismatic leader (Segment 5 of 22) [Video]. In Trapped: Life

Inside a Cult—How to Spot a Cult. Films on Demand https://libraryresources.columbiasouthern.edu/login?auth=CAS&url=http://fod.infobase.com/PortalPla ylists.aspx?wID=273866&xtid=47518&loid=138827

Unit Lesson Unit V Overview In Unit V, you will learn about the religions of Oceania from Chapter 6 of your textbook. Geographically, Oceania is divided into Australia, Polynesia, Micronesia, and Melanesia. People migrated to Australia and Aotearoa (New Zealand) from as far away as Africa via Asia and the Indo-Malaysian archipelago between 40,000 to 20,000 BCE (Deming, 2015). Around 4,000 years ago, Polynesian and Micronesian cultures formed, giving rise to a society rich in tradition and ritual. As you delve into the theology and cosmology of the

UNIT V STUDY GUIDE

Oceania

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indigenous peoples of Oceania, you will notice similarities with the African religions discussed in Unit IV. For example, as with the African religions, community plays a fundamental role in maintaining the balance of the universe in the religions of Oceania. After you read Chapter 6, you should be able to identify commonalities shared by the religions of Oceania and other religions of the world. As with the African religions, the religions of Oceania also had to cope with outside influences from the Europeans. After reading Unit V’s Study Guide, think about the following questions: How did these encounters with Europeans shape and possibly alter the religions of Oceania? What potential for conflict can you readily identify here? Finally, how is the creation story of the religions of Oceania like that of the African religions? Introduction to the Religions of Oceania The religions of Oceania have a worldview unique to the peoples of this geographic region. For example, as your textbook explains, all life (animate and inanimate) is connected—people, animals, trees, and stones to one another and to place (Deming, 2015). A life force binds everything together. European missionaries who encountered this worldview were disturbed because it contravened the Christian notion of how the world was created and sustained. Not surprisingly, some of these European missionaries condemned such practices, while other missionaries figured they would merely replace the indigenous people’s practices with Christianity (Deming, 248). Over time, the indigenous peoples of Oceania integrated Christianity into their own practices and eventually converted into to Christianity by the beginning of the 21st century (Deming, 149). As Deming (2015) points out, the first missionaries to the area were appalled at the indigenous way of life. The notion that all life was bounded by a life force that connected them all together as a way to share life befuddled the Christian missionaries. German missionaries struggled in relating to the Arrernte people, especially the adults. Trying to get past their engrained culture or religion proved to be harder than the missionaries initially believed. As the saying goes, “nothing happens right away,” so it was true for the converting of the indigenous people of Oceania. It took time to show the Arrernte people that their incorporation of tywerrenge into all aspects of life was very different from Christianity. This was not the case with only the Arrernte people. As you have learned up to this point, religions are intimately linked to their respective cultures. In the case of Oceanian religions, place represents not only geography but also community (Deming, 2015). Place for these indigenous people holds a special vitality in which all the inhabitants participate. In other words, place serves as a moral compass around which they orient their lives—lives that are drawn to the special power emanating from place (Deming, 2015). This is all to say that space is sacred because it represents the womb of the community. This idea of sacred has been seen throughout our course so far. Each area or group of people has shown this commonality when it comes to parts of their religion. The Arrernte are no different. Basics of the Religions of Oceania: Cosmology and Theology Up to this point, we have not talked about cults. Most people think that the world cult has a negative connotation. However, a cult is really nothing more than a type of formal and stylistic type of worship by the cult’s set of believers. What gives cults a bad reputation is that their practices are usually unorthodox compared to other mainstream religions. That is, a cult might have beliefs and practices that completely contravene standard notions of worship, theology, and ceremony. Undoubtedly, many people have heard about cults. Many Christians consider Mormonism a kind of cult because it is on the fringes of mainstream Christianity. If we used the Merriam-Webster definition of cult and applied it to some of the Oceanic religions, we discover that cults even exist outside the United States. Watch this video about Camp David in New Zealand. The transcript for the video can be found by clicking the “Transcript” tab beside the video in the Films on Demand database. Electric Sky (Producer). (2009). Full gospel mission – Camp David (Segment 4 of 22) [Video]. In Trapped: Life

Inside a Cult—How to Spot a Cult. Films on Demand. https://libraryresources.columbiasouthern.edu/login?auth=CAS&url=http://fod.infobase.com/PortalPla ylists.aspx?wID=273866&xtid=47518&loid=138826

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Watch this video surrounding Bert Potter of the Centrepoint Community in New Zealand. The transcript for the video can be found by clicking the “Transcript” tab beside the video in the Films on Demand database. Electric Sky (Producer). (2009). Self-appointed charismatic leader (Segment 5 of 22) [Video]. In Trapped: Life

Inside a Cult—How to Spot a Cult. Films on Demand https://libraryresources.columbiasouthern.edu/login?auth=CAS&url=http://fod.infobase.com/PortalPla ylists.aspx?wID=273866&xtid=47518&loid=138827

Each kind of cult emphasizes something different in its own belief system and practice. Sky gods and cultural heroes factor prominently in these religions. The religions of Oceania are types of cults in the sense that we described earlier in that they adapted Christianity to fit their needs. This adaptation of Christianity is unorthodox because it differs from the orthodox or established Christianity that we find elsewhere in the world. If we turn to Australia, you will discover that the Aborigines have worked out an elaborate belief system that revolves around the power of dreaming. What Aborigines call The Dreaming is more than an altered state of reality while sleeping but is a conduit to the creative spirit, or the Rainbow Snake, which protects all life (Deming, 2015). You can read more about The Dreaming on pages 255–256 of your textbook. Another example includes the Maori people in Aotearoa. The Maori received Christianity as did other people in Oceania, and they modified and developed their own indigenous Christian church that differed greatly from those European or American Christian churches. Where traditional Catholic churches are usually designed in the shape of a cross, the Maori churches (marae) followed more of a traditional Polynesian architecture that reflected their understanding of the cosmos. The floor corresponds to the Earth Mother and the roof corresponds to the Sky Father. Finally, your textbook refers to cargo cults, a unique innovation of these indigenous peoples (Deming, 2015). As Europeans traded with the Oceanic peoples, prosperous trading networks evolved from which everyone benefitted. In view of this, the indigenous people of Oceania established cults or religious movements around this trading of commerce. In short, the indigenous people were really doing nothing more than welding together their rituals of wealth with their own indigenous traditions and Christianity. You can read more about this on pages 249–250 of your textbook. Is this really all that different from how certain Christian communities here in the United States pray? In our country, Christians often come together in worship to pray for prosperity and well-being for the community. In terms of cosmology, Oceanic cosmology realizes the important role that humanity plays in helping to maintain creation. We, as humans, have the responsibility of maintaining the world once the gods set everything in motion. This responsibility is called the Law (Deming, 2015). We might think of the Law as a kind of environmentalism that stresses that all life is connected and is held in a balance. This important responsibility is passed down to each generation through the act of storytelling. In other words, storytelling is a form of education so that the younger generation will appreciate and realize just how important life really is. Keep in mind that storytelling in Oceania is an oral tradition. Oral traditions are a kind of glue that bind communities such as Oceania together tightly. Transfer of Learning After reading Chapter 6, Religions of Oceania, you should be able to describe the importance of place in Oceanic cultures. What is the connection between place and community? Do you see any similarities here with the African religions? How do Oceanians understand the relationship between the natural and the supernatural? What role does gender play in Oceanian rituals and ceremonies? What kind of impact did foreigners have on the religions and culture of the Oceanians. Conclusion The religions of Oceania have strong connections to geography and community. Place is important because it brings individuals together in community to participate in the life force specific to that place. We obtain this new life force at birth because of community, and then we return it back to place and community upon our death. This appreciation of the human life cycle is preserved in ritual and ceremony. Notice that Oceanic religions have an environmental aspect as well. One underlying message of Oceanic religions is that we are stewards of this earth and must take care of it to maintain balance and harmony. Again, we see similarities here with the African religions that are also tied to nature and community (recall pages 217–218 in your textbook). So for Oceanians, ultimate reality resides more in the natural than the supernatural. You can infer from this that earth is the mother, sustainer, and in a sense, the redeemer. In this religious tradition, everyone is redeemed through the life cycle of birth, adulthood, and death (Deming, 2015). What comparisons can you

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now make between the Oceanic human life cycle and the Buddhist religious tenet of karma and rebirth? Keep in mind also that the Oceanic religions, like the African religions, are not text-oriented religions. Do you see any major differences so far between religions that are text-oriented (e.g., Hinduism, Buddhism) and religions that are not text-oriented? Hold on to this question as you progress through the remaining units.

Reference Deming, W. (Ed.). (2015). Understanding the religions of the world: An introduction. West Sussex, United

Kingdom: Wiley-Blackwell.