If you are looking for BPYG-172 IGNOU Solved Assignment solution for the subject Philosophy of Religion, you have come to the right place. BPYG-172 solution on this page applies to 2022-23 session students studying in BAG courses of IGNOU.
BPYG-172 Solved Assignment Solution by Gyaniversity
Assignment Code: BPYG-172/ASST/TMA/2022-23
Course Code: BPYG-172
Assignment Name: Philosophy of Religion
Year: 2022-2023
Verification Status: Verified by Professor
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1. Give Answer of all five questions.
2. All five questions carry equal marks.
3. Answer to question no. 1 and 2 should be in about 400 words each.
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1. Write a note on the Sociological theory of Origin of Religion. 20
Ans) In the work of Emile Durkheim the theory of the origin of religion gets a sociological slant. His views not only imbibe a sociological theory of the origin of region, but they represent a complete philosophical perspective known as ‘sociological positivism’. In Durkheim’s philosophy the idea of society occupies the centre position and functions as the key for understanding several other philosophical problems.
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According to him the idea of Truth and Falsehood are objective only in so far as they express collective and not individual thought. Even the laws of logic are taken by him to reflect the needs of civilized society. Here a Society needs to be understood not merely as the sum of the individuals included in it, but rather it represents a peculiar kind of entity which is the source of constraints, governing the thought and behaviour of its members.
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In his social philosophy Durkheim devoted special attention to the subject of religion. According to him the character of primitive religion is best seen not in animism but totemism, which he considers as the more fundamental and primitive form of religion. The totem stands in a peculiar relationship to a particular social group, normally a tribe or clan. The totem is for this group the type of the sacred and the basis for the distinction of sacred and profane, and this he takes to be essence of religion.
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Taking totemism as the type of religion Durkheim concludes that religion is to be understood as a social phenomenon. Religion serves the needs of the society in which it is practiced; and the object of its cult, concealed under the figures of its particular mythology, is the society itself. He points out that the earlier theories of primitive religion suffered from the defect of a one-sided concentration upon religious belief; whereas his own theory regards religion primarily from the point of view of action. So, he claims that there is something eternal in religion, for although particular beliefs become outworn, any society must from time to time reaffirm itself, and such reaffirmation is essentially religious.
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Religion and society are so closely interwoven for Durkheim that religion is regarded as the matrix out of which other human activities, including science, appear to have grown. Religion is by no means discredited by the sciences, but it must always be looking for more adequate symbols in order to express its realities. In modern times, he explains, we have come to understand that the ideas of divinity and of society are foundationally the same. So, though no new religion of humanity has displaced the traditional religion, but this may happen in due course. There are no gospels which are immortal, but neither is there any reason for believing that humanity is incapable of inventing new ones.
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2. Discuss briefly some of the salient features of Religion. 20
Ans) Claims to have the answers to certain essential queries: To begin with, the majority of faiths in the world assert that they are the only sources of information on some of the most important issues that affect humanity. These fundamental queries might include, among others, "what the ultimate reality is," "why anything exists at all," "where do we fit into such a reality," "what is our true nature," etc. These queries potentially imply that religion asserts to provide the framework of our world. The majority of religions if not all offer solutions to these issues and frequently present a reality that goes beyond our everyday experience while yet being closely related to our lives and well-being.
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Gives a higher goal that should direct our lives: The deliberate endeavour to address the issue of life's meaning, i.e., addressing the questions "is there some intrinsic meaning to existence" or "is there a greater purpose that ought to govern our life," is another notable aspect of the majority of world religions. The aforementioned anxiety is likely caused by the knowledge that our lives are soon coming to an end, which forces us to confront some psychologically unsettling questions like: Is death the final truth that faces us and our loved ones, or is there some kind of continuity that gives our lives more meaning than what is immediately apparent? Most faiths advance an idea of our actual nature that is different and distinct from our ephemeral physical body in an effort to appease this human longing for continuity.
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Provides broad moral guidelines to help one conduct morally: It seems that most religions play a significant part in determining the moral compass of their adherents. Alternatively said, most religions define the boundaries of what is right and bad or good and evil, i.e., they provide the broad guidelines that members of that faith must abide by when managing their own affairs. One of the central ideas of the Bhagavad Gita is the philosophy of "nikmakarma," which urges for the pursuit of an activity in line with one's duty without any desire or regard for one's own interests.
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Faith: Another prominent characteristic that is closely related to religion in ways that are maybe unmatched in other spheres of life is faith. In some ways, having faith means adhering to a belief or set of beliefs without looking for reasons to support them. As was previously mentioned, belief is the assumption that a proposition, claim, or statement is true. Thus, taking a claim, proposition, or statement as true without needing any justification is what is meant by faith in the aforementioned definition.
Revelation as the ultimate source of information: Religious views frequently depend on a particular source of knowledge, which sets them apart from most other types of beliefs. Most religions assert that the reservoir of all knowledge, whose truth and legitimacy are apparently unquestionable and unrivalled, is some type of divine revelation or some authority, such as scriptures, prophets, or inscriptions.
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3. Answer any two of the following questions in about 250 words each. 2*10= 20
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a) Write a note on the analogical way of religious language.
Ans) Thomas Aquinas chose the analogical approach with the intention of honouring the goals of both the alternative approaches while avoiding their drawbacks. His use of an analogy to explain religious concepts became the accepted method for doing so. He started with the "via negative" and immediately disregarded the possibility of the unambiguous path. God, in his opinion, is not a creature like other creatures.
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God cannot be divided into different genera and species. As a result, any term used to describe God must be rejected because "what He is not clearer to us than what He is," We do have cognitive revelation, according to Aquinas and Scotus, which means that we have some knowledge of God and are able to communicate that knowledge verbally. According to Aquinas, if only equivocal statements about God and creatures were made, no inferences from creatures to God could be made.
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But everyone who has spoken about God has demonstrated the opposite. What does this phrase "mean between pure equivocation and simple univocation" mean? Aquinas' response is that we understand and discuss God "analogically." This claim can be understood in two different ways: as an analogy of proportion or attribution, and as an analogy of proportionality. The example used by Aquinas will help you understand how analogy of attribution works.
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We literally attribute people's health, meaning that people 'formally' have it. On the other hand, we could claim that medicine is healthy as well, but undoubtedly not in the sense that people are literally healthy. The explanation appears to be that medicine is healthy in a derived or "virtual" sense since it makes people healthy. The names of everything can essentially be given to God because God is the cause of everything, according to Aquinas' famous focus on God as the initial or uncaused cause of the world. Because God is the origin of love, God is love.
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b) How Rudolf Otto proves the validity of Religious experience? Briefly Discuss.
Ans) Famous religious phenomenologist Rudolf Otto makes an effort to highlight aspects of God and religious experience that cannot be adequately explained using deductive reasoning. Otto's most significant work, Das Heilige (The Idea of Holy), is where he defines religion as an encounter with the Numinous. A phenomenological examination of religious consciousness was offered by Rudolf Otto. Otto's approach was descriptive and phenomenological, in contrast to the conventional rational approach.
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Otto examines the root of religion and seeks to comprehend it on its own terms, particularly by illuminating its non-rational core. Otto believes that religion has a non-rational foundation that cannot be expressed in words. He does not contest religion's rational aspect. Otto makes the argument that if we only pay attention to the reasoning aspect, we will miss the fundamental nature of religious experience. He introduced the label "Numinous" to this non-rational, non-explainable aspect of religion. Now, one might argue, "How can one know the religious realm if it cannot be known in words?" Otto emphasises that everyone has an innate feeling of the mystical in this passage.
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He uses Latin words rather than common English to describe these experiences in order to demonstrate their non-rational nature. Mysterium tremendum et fascinans is what is referred to be nebulous. The term "mysterium" refers to something that is obscure, esoteric, unusual, and foreign. Despite the word's apparent negativity, the meaning is unquestionably good. Otto's meticulous examination of the emotional components that make up the mystical experience makes up his most significant contribution. On the one hand, there is what is referred to as "creature-feeling," which is the impression of emptiness felt by a finite entity.
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On the other side, one is amazed by the sensation of the "Numinous Being," an enormous Being, who seems to be everywhere. The Latin phrase "mysterium tremendum et fascinans" captures this wonder. The term "mysterium" refers to something that is obscure, esoteric, unusual, and foreign. Despite the word's apparent negativity, the meaning is unquestionably good. It emphasises the numinous Being's "wholly other" nature, which is supra-rational and completely outside the scope of conceptual thought.
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4. Answer any four of the following questions in about 150 words each. 4*5= 20
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a) What are the basic problems with Naturalistic theory of origin of Religion?
Ans) One of the founders of the naturalistic theory of the origin of religion was the scientist-turned-philosopher Ernst Haeckel. He believed that the scientific breakthroughs of the nineteenth century offer an explanation for the mysteries that have confounded mankind throughout the ages. He considered his perspective to be fundamentally "monistic," as it opposed all "dualisms" that made distinctions between God and nature, the soul and the body, and spirit and matter.
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According to Haeckel, there is only one substance, which can take the forms of matter, energy, or both the physical body and the spirit. Every atom of matter possesses a primitive soul that is much lower than the consciousness level. According to him, consciousness develops over time from a primitive psychical character of substance and is a wholly natural phenomenon. Therefore, according to Haeckel's interpretation of "monism," there cannot be spirit or energy without matter and vice versa.
This monism promises to unravel life's mysteries and is based on scientific findings that can be verified. It offers contradictory solutions to the age-old issues of God, freedom, and immortality, arguing that these concepts themselves are based on erroneous dualism. It teaches us that the universe is the only evidence of God. It is thought to be impossible to imagine an invisible God who is capable of thought, speech, and action. The immortality of the soul or the freedom of the will seem to have no place in the monistic deterministic cosmos.
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b) Write a note on the basic assumptions of Pantheism.
Ans) Pantheism is the conviction that there is no distinction between a Creator and the substance of their creation, and that the physical cosmos is comparable to God. Here, God is seen as existing inside nature rather than as something that transcends it. The world is God in and of itself; it does not come from God. Spinoza believed that God is both substance and substance is God. This material is a single, unchanging spiritual reality. The pantheistic nature of Hegelian idealism is similar to that of Spinoza.
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According to Hegel, Reality is the Absolute will or mind. God is omniscient and infinite. Human ideals like individual freedom, truth, beauty, kindness, and all other ethical accomplishments were obscured by the pantheistic worldview. Thus was the foundation of all religious goals destroyed. The path of pantheism led to an Absolute that, in all actuality, is not the religious God. The distinction between cause and effect is ignored by pantheism.
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c) Write a short note on the Soul building theodicy.
Ans) The soul-building theodicy, which was developed by John Hick, contends that if one sees God as an environment, then one can justify the evils of the world. Through experiences, this atmosphere enables people to exercise their personal preferences and advance spiritually. They would then be in communion with God as a result.
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According to Hick, this process involves a person going through the soul-making phase. The underlying premise of this argument is that God justified the creation of the world by doing it with a certain goal in mind. This means that, when one sees evil as a problem, they mistakenly believe that the world is a hedonistic paradise, despite the fact that it is perfectly built.
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Additionally, it seems wholly improper that such horrific things exist in the world just for the sake of fostering spiritual development and wisdom in young people. Furthermore, Hick does not offer any reason for the suffering that both animals and children and youth endure, whether as a result of illness or wrongdoing committed by adults. Additionally, if cultivating one's soul is the goal of life, then given the state of the world now, humanity is failing in this endeavour. On the other side, a lot of people lead luxurious lives without carrying any moral burden along with them.
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d) Briefly discuss the challenges of Agnosticism.
Ans) T. H. Huxley created the word "agnosticism" to describe a state of suspended belief.
Literally, "agnosticism" means "not-knowing." It is primarily used in reference to religious belief in God. It does not provide us with proof that there is enough evidence to support or refute the existence of God. The existence of a god or gods, in their view, is unknown or necessarily unknowable. Aldous Huxley, Herbert Spencer, David Hume, and Voltaire were agnostic theorists. Every agnostic philosopher makes an effort to think of God in terms of substance or things that exist in space and time. According to Huxley, although we cannot know God's true essence, His existence cannot be disputed. Philosopher David Hume is an atheist and sceptic. He disputed God's existence. However, Hume falls short in offering a solution to reality's issues. He does not consistently distinguish between notions that are empirical and those that are metaphysical.
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5. Write short notes on any five of the following in about 100 words each. 5*4= 20
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a) Prayer
Ans) The majority of religions share a phenomenon called prayer. It is intended to serve as a channel of dialogue between the divine and its object. Depending on the purpose of the communication, prayers can be categorised. One of these purposes is to express adoration and respect for the divine, and a prayer that accomplishes this purpose includes elements that show worship or adoration. Petitionary prayers, which differ from the ones mentioned above in that they seek the fulfilment of a wish, pardon for wrongdoing, or simply the assurance that the divine blessing won't be withheld from the petitioner, are different. The idea of the divine or God is a crucial aspect of petitionary prayer.
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b) Myth
Ans) According to Ernst Cassirer, the fundamental element of religious discourse is a certain "symbolic form" that he refers to as "mythical." He contends that it can be found in its purest form in the mythology of the prehistoric people and is based on an outlook on the world that is fundamentally different from the way we often perceive and think about it. There is no clear line between the subjective and the objective in "mystical consciousness." There is no distinct distinction between symbol and object, want and fulfilment, perception and fantasy.
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For instance, there is no distinction between a place and what occupies it; each spatial position is given a qualitative quality and acts accordingly. Understanding sophisticated theology requires understanding how it has evolved from its roots because it reflects an uncomfortable balance between mythical and scientific frames of cognition. It is essentially a legendary conception of reality that has undergone a "secondary elaboration" in a futile effort to make it acceptable to the rationalistic consciousness; when evaluated according to rationalistic norms, it may not only seem nonsensical but also unfounded.
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c) Monotheism
Ans) Monotheism is the conviction that there is only one God. Monotheists hold the belief that there is only one God, who is omnipotent, omniscient, and omnipresent, who created all of reality and who is completely independent of all other beings. This belief is based on the premise that there is only one God.
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Judaism, Christianity, Islam, and Sikhism are the four greatest monotheistic faiths. Atheism, which is the lack of belief in any God, and polytheism, which is the belief in several Gods, are frequently compared with monotheism. Monotheism may have its roots in Egypt, according to Sigmund Freud. By royal order, he also forbade the practise of any other religions and the worship of other deities. When Moses carved the idea of one God for the Jews, Freud speculates that he may have drawn inspiration from Akhenaton's monotheism.
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d) Problem of Evil
Ans) The problem of evil refers to the challenge of reconciling belief in an omnipotent, omnibenevolent, and omniscient God, with the existence of evil and suffering in the world. These arguments all begin with the assumption that a being such as a possible God would agree with human perspectives and want to eliminate evil as humans see and define it. This, in turn, assumes that God is a personal being, though not all theodicies would agree; that God interacts, or at least has interacted with the world at some point, and is willing to continue to do so, which also has a lack of complete agreement; and that humans can recognize and agree upon evil as something that can be rendered intelligible and, therefore, discussed.
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e) Religious Fundamentalism
Ans) "All fundamentalisms have a specific structure. They are struggling spiritual traditions that arose in reaction to a fictitious crisis. Such a threat requires a reaction that is neither democratic nor tolerant. The response is denial, rejection, and withdrawal into one's own stronghold of belief that the "old" is the only truth, the only good, and that everything that contradicts it is evil, rather than dialogue. As a result, it can even be understood as a cosmic battle between good and evil. Good and evil are to be categorically defined in terms of the group, with no room for negotiation. These conflicts have frequently descended into violence, and they are partially to blame for World Wars.
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