Chloe_Robes_Reflection#1

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May 24, 2024

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Chloe Robes 1 Chloe Robes Carla Ionescu REL16367GD Philosophies of World Religions May 9 th , 2024 Reflection #1 Question #1: In the article posted about Gobekli Tepe (see below), a new theory of cultural/anthropological/sociological development is presented that turns our current understanding of the development of human civilization on its head. What is this new theory, and how is it different from older theories? What does it say about the importance of religion to homo sapiens (and our other ancestors)? Make sure to use at least 1-2 quote/citations from the article to support your answer. The new theory presented within Smithsonian Magazine written by Andrew Curry as described by Klaus Schmidt is that religion could have been established before the beginning of civilization. Initially before such a discovery, it was wildly believed and theorized that civilization must have been established before religion. “ Scholars have long believed that only after people learned to farm and live in settled communities did, they have the time, organization and resources to construct temples and support complicated social structures” (Curry 14). The discrepancies that Schmidt found in the Gobekli Tepe with the ancient hidden burials that were years older than distant nearby settlements allowed Schmidt and his team to come up with this, all but confirming theory. How this new theory differs from the old theory is the structure of the human/Neanderthal psychology in the need that thinking beings such as humans are on
Chloe Robes 2 a constant search to explain the unexplainable. “This shows sociocultural changes come first, agriculture comes later… you can make a good case this area is the real origin of complex Neolithic societies” ( Curry 15). I personally find it extremely interesting that this may have been the ways of human development back in the very early stages of civilization. I had also believed in that old theory of religion was to be established after creation of community. But reading the findings of Schmidt, it makes perfect sense that from conception humanity has been seeking answers to questions they cannot fathom, therefore creating stories or monuments to place faith within as a way of answering their quandaries themselves. Religion is something that is difficult to define as stated by Mikel Radford s ‘Religion as a Subject’. “ What makes a religion a religion? Is it a system or an institution concerned only with metaphysical speculation? If this is the case, we might have a problem with including Confucianism in our list of work religions… it is very difficult to come up with “one essential statement” that is true of , and defines all religions.” ( 4 Radford). The conclusion that Radford came to with this quandary was a persons or people who come to terms with the infinite and question their ultimate reality. Questions of, what happened before, what will happen after, what is happening right now? For as long as humans have been sentient, the basis of religion was established already though a human's sentient ability to question. Question #2: What comes to mind when you think about the concepts underlying the idea of "animism" in religions (especially in the earliest form(s) of religion, as described in the "Introduction to Basic Religions" article)? Why, in your opinion, has there been a renewed interest in these type of religions in recent years (e.g., revival of Wiccan traditions, Shamanism,
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