Proceso Analítico Jerárquico

WORSHIP, or a small intense religious group, often one considered controversial. In religion, the word “cult” can mean any kind of worship, especially that of a particular god or shrine, as in speaking of ancient Greece one might refer to the “cult of APOLLO.” Likewise, “sect” can denote any faction or group, especially a small one strongly devoted to a certain belief. In the 20th century, however,

these words have come to have particular mean- ings in the sociology of religion, and “cult” espe- cially has acquired a very negative meaning in the media and in the eyes of the general public.

In the traditional sociology of religion, cults and sects are religious “withdrawal groups,” that is, groups of people who withdraw from the dominant religion of the society in order to prac- tice what they believe to be a purer, truer, or bet- ter religion, even if that means being associated only with a small body of like-minded believers. They are likely to regard the predominant reli- gion as lukewarm and hypocritical, if not plain wrong. These groups are bound to offer a strong, intensely-felt commitment or experience; this takes the place of looser but important commu- nity and family and traditional bonds supported by the conventional faith. Usually they have, or were founded by, a powerful leader of strong cha- risma or personal appeal.

Sociologists use the word “sect” to refer to such a withdrawal group within a predominant or major faith, which presents a “purer” and more intense version of the same. Examples would be the AMISH or JEHOVAH’S WITNESSES within CHRISTIAN-

ITY, certain strict Hasidic groups (see HASIDISM) in JUDAISM, and comparable movements within ISLAM

or HINDUISM. Usually followers of sects live close- knit lives regulated in many important respects, from dress to diet to occupation, by the sect; this of course sets them apart from the rest of society.

Cult, on the other hand, means a withdrawal group based on an alternative or imported religion, like those in the United States grounded in Eastern religions or in an esoteric tradition like ROSICRU-

CIANISM. Often they offer subjective practices like

MEDITATION or chanting. Some may enjoy a close- knit, regulated community, but may also have a more diffuse following of people who just attend their lectures or read their books and perhaps do the practice from time to time.

It is important to realize that this scheme does not apply too well to the fl uid religious situation in the United States. It is based on Europe, where a society typically has one state church or dominant religion—ROMAN CATHOLICISM in Spain, LUTHERANISM

in Scandinavia—against which withdrawal groups are tiny and clear-cut entities. In America, while doubtless some religions are more dominant and considered more respectable than others, the scene is far more pluralistic and is always changing. Groups once stigmatized as sectarian or cultish move up to become major faiths, as have the Mor- mons, Methodists, and Catholics. Others may lose infl uence they once had. People now move from one to another with far less social penalty than in the past. For this reason the terms “cult” and “sect” should be used cautiously. “Cult” should also be used with care because it has come to have a negative meaning. People use it to refer to reli- gious groups that are believed to be excessively authoritarian, to destroy the freedom and values of members, to cut them off from their families and community, and even to incite them to crimi- nal activity. Undoubtedly religions past and pres-

ent have acted in such destructive ways. But no one calls their own religion a cult; that is always an outsider’s label. The trouble is that the term imposed by an outsider may stereotype it before one has really looked at how it is different, and how different people within the group may have different experiences. Scholars increasingly just speak of “new religious movements” and study them on a case-by-case basis.

Further reading: Robert S. Ellwood, and Harry B. Partin, Religious and Spiritual Groups in Modern America, 2d ed. (Englewood Cliffs, N.J.: Prentice Hall, 1988); Timothy Miller, ed., America’s Alternative Religions (Albany: State University of New York Press, 1995); Elizabeth Puttick, Women in New Religions (New York: St. Martin’s Press, 1997); Stephen J. Stein, Communities of Dissent (New York: Oxford University Press, 2003).

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Dalai Lama

The head of the Tibetan Buddhist

community and traditionally the ruler of Tibet. The fi rst Dalai Lama assumed offi ce in 1438, although he was not given that title until 1578, when the Mongol king, Alta Khan, gave the name Dalai Lama to the head of the Tibetan religious commu- nity. Dalai means “ocean, all-encompassing”; lama means “supreme teacher.”

The fi rst Dalai Lama resided at the Tashil- hunpo monastery in central Tibet, but his succes- sors have ruled from Lhasa.

The Dalai Lama is seen as an INCARNATION of AVALOKITESVARA, a BODHISATTVA. Tibetan BUDDHISM

teaches that rebirth occurs 49 days after death (see BARDO THODOL). Successive Dalai Lamas are found by identifying signs on a child born 49 days after the death of the previous Dalai Lama. The candi- date also demonstrates knowledge of the previous Dalai Lama’s possessions.

In 1959 the 14th Dalai Lama, Tenzin Gyatso (b. 1935), fl ed into exile to escape Chinese rule. In 1989 he received the Nobel Prize for peace for leading a peaceful resistance to the Chinese take- over.

dance and religion

The signifi cance and role of religious dancing. Like the music that usually accompanies it, dance has had a very wide role in religion but has sometimes been regarded with suspicion for its intoxicating effect and its associa- tion with sensual feeling. In primal societies, dance frequently served the role of creating sacred times and places, dances being occasions of rich com- munity activity when the gods were close and per-

haps even possessing people while they danced. Shamans especially danced to create and express their ecstasy as their patron god danced through them (see SHAMANISM).

Dance has been performed and interpreted in different ways. In HINDUISM, dance often expresses

the nature and mythology of the gods. The great god SIVA is called “nataraja,” king of the dance, and

his repertoire of 108 dances enacts the stages of the world from creation to destruction. In SHINTO,

sacred dance is more often seen as an offering to the gods for their entertainment. So is it also in China, though the solemn dance RITUALS of Con-

fucian students and mandarins also powerfully express the traditions and cohesion of their class. In the more devotional wings of JUDAISM (HASIDISM)

and ISLAM (SUFISM, the “whirling dervishes”), dance

expresses religious ecstasy or at least uninhibited, loving PRAYER and fervor. In the Catholic traditions

of CHRISTIANITY, folk dances have usually been tol-

erated as a part of the celebration of holidays like May Day or CHRISTMAS but have rarely had a part

in formal WORSHIP itself. PROTESTANTISM has tended

to reject dance altogether, or to regard it as purely secular.

In recent times, however, there has been a move in some quarters to revive sacred dance, even performing decorous and expressive modern dances as parts of church or temple services. In Pentecostal circles, on the other hand, free and ecstatic dancing has increasingly arisen spontane- ously as a sign of the Holy Spirit. Some of the new religions of Japan, like TENRIKYO and Odori Shukyo

(the “Dancing Religion”), have made dance their central act of worship. In one form or another,

dance seems sure to be a part of religion for a long time to come.

Daniel

The title character in the book of Dan- iel in the BIBLE. He is likely based on a fi gure in Canaanite and earlier Hebrew literature.

Ancient texts discovered at Ugarit in Syria during the 20th century reveal that, well before any of the Bible was written, the Canaanites knew a legendary hero named Dan’el. This fi gure appears in the biblical book of the prophet EZEKIEL

(14.14; 28.3).

The book of Daniel records stories and VISIONS. They allegedly took place during the exile of the Judeans in Babylon (586–539 B.C.E.). The book’s account of this period is, however, very confused. Much of the book is written in Aramaic, a later lan- guage, and it does make detailed and accurate allu- sions to some later events. Therefore, it is customary to ascribe the book to an anonymous author who lived during the Hasmonean revolt (167–164 B.C.E.).

Jews classify Daniel with the Ketuvim or “writings”; Christians consider it a prophetic book. It is unique in the Hebrew Bible in that it is an apocalypse (see APOCALYPTICLITERATURE). It does not recount historical events. Instead, its purpose was to call the Jewish people to remain faithful to their religious heritage, despite oppression and persecu- tion. In giving reassurance, the book looks forward to a RESURRECTION from the dead (12.2–3). This idea infl uenced later Christians, as did the fi gure of the “Son of Man” (Daniel 7.13; cp. Mark 13.26). The NEW TESTAMENT book of REVELATION borrowed much imagery from Daniel’s visions.

David

(ruled c. 1000–960 B.C.E.) in the Hebrew Bible, king of Israel and founder of the ruling dynasty of Judah After the death of King SAUL

and his sons, David united the kingdoms of Israel (today in northern Israel) and Judah (today in southern Israel). He took JERUSALEM (previously the stronghold of a people known as the Jebusites), made it his capital, and brought the ark of the

COVENANT to it.

The books of Samuel in the Hebrew Bible recount many stories about David. Among them are his anointing while yet a boy by the prophet Samuel to be king, his battle with Goliath—the giant champion of the Philistines—and his close relations with Saul’s son Jonathan. Less positively, David is said to have engineered the death of Uriah the Hittite in battle so that he in turn could marry Uriah’s wife Bathsheba. At the end of his life his sons fought to succeed him. These struggles included a failed coup attempt by Absalom.

David was famed as a musician. Tradition attributed the biblical book of Psalms to him. In the late Second Temple period (roughly 200 B.C.E.– 70 C.E.), some Jews hoped for a MESSIAH descended from David. Christians assert that this messiah was JESUS.

Day of Atonement

English for the Hebrew phrase Yom Kippur; the most sacred of the “days of awe” in JUDAISM. Jews observe the Day of Atone- ment on the tenth day of Tishri, the fi rst month of the Jewish year. This date falls in September or October.

The Day of Atonement is a time for restoring one’s relationship with GOD. The Jewish people collectively repent of their SINS and receive God’s forgiveness. If one has offended human beings, one should also make amends to them.

The BIBLE calls the Day of Atonement the “Sab- bath of Sabbaths” (Leviticus 16.31). It is the most solemn day of rest. Observant Jews do not eat or drink from one sundown to the next. (In the Jew- ish calendar, days begin at sundown.) They spend the day at a SYNAGOGUE in PRAYER.

The LITURGY for the Day of Atonement includes several well-known prayers. An example is the “Kol Nidre,” which asks forgiveness for breaking vows made to God. It is as famous for its melody as it is for its words.

Dead Sea Scrolls

Scrolls roughly 2,000 years old found in caves on the northwestern edge of the Dead Sea. In February or March 1947, a 15-year-

old Arab boy named Muhammad adh-Dhib acci- dentally made one of the greatest discoveries in modern archaeology. Accounts of what happened vary. According to one account, he was taking shel- ter from a thunderstorm. According to another, he was looking for a lost goat. In any case, he entered a cave in the Wadi Qumran, northwest of the Dead Sea. There he found jars containing scrolls from about the time of JESUS.

During the next 20 years scholars and Bedouin found ancient manuscripts hidden in 11 different caves at Qumran. These manuscripts are what many scholars mean by the Dead Sea Scrolls. They were written between the third century B.C.E. and 68 C.E. Originally, they belonged to the library of a monastic-type community located below the caves. Some people take a more inclusive view of the Dead Sea Scrolls. They use the term to designate ancient manuscripts discovered not only at Qum- ran but also in the entire Dead Sea region. Accord- ing to this view, the Dead Sea Scrolls were written over a longer period of time. The oldest scrolls in the entire region were hidden by SAMARITANS when Alexander the Great conquered the region around 331 B.C.E. The most recent manuscripts in the entire region date from the time of the revolt of Bar Kokhba against Roman rule (132–135 C.E.)

The Dead Sea Scrolls are extremely important. They provide at least fragments of almost every book of the Hebrew BIBLE (Old Testament). These fragments—sometimes complete books—are cen- turies older than any other surviving copies. They allow us to see what the books of the Bible were like 2,000 years ago and how they grew into their present forms. For example, some scholars have identifi ed what they see as ancestors of three dif- ferent versions of the Bible, all equally ancient. The three are the version used by the Samaritans; the Greek version, known as the Septuagint, that the earliest Christians used; and the “Masoretic text,” that is, the Hebrew Bible that we know today.

The Dead Sea Scrolls are important for another reason, too. They provide new insight into the reli- gious world of ancient Palestine between the Has- monean revolt (167–164 B.C.E.) and the so-called Jewish Wars (66–74 C.E.). This was the time when

JUDAISM as we know it, rabbinical Judaism, was just beginning. It is also the time when Jesus lived.

The scrolls tell us much about the community at Qumran. Many scholars think it was a commu- nity of ESSENES. One scroll contains the rules for the community. Its members followed a rigid dis- cipline designed to ensure purity. Another scroll, called “The War of the Sons of Light with the Sons of Darkness,” describes a great battle at the end of time. Apparently, the community expected that the fi nal battle between GOD and the forces of evil would take place in the very near future. It was also waiting for two messiahs: a son of DAVID to rule politically, and a son of AARON to take charge of religious RITUALS.

Neither rabbinical Judaism nor CHRISTIANITY

came directly from the Qumran community. Nev- ertheless, the scrolls allow us to see some of the variety of religious beliefs and practices that were current when both of them began.

Further reading: James H. Charlesworth, Jesus and the Dead Sea Scrolls (New York: Doubleday Anchor, 1992); Robert Eisenman, The Dead Sea Scrolls and the First Christians (Boston: Element Books, 1996); Florintino Martinez and Julio Barrera, The People of the Dead Sea Scrolls (Leiden: Brill, 1995); Geza Vermes, The Complete Dead Sea Scrolls in English (New York: Penguin, 2004).

death and religion

Religious concepts and practices in relation to death and dying. It would be hard to imagine a religion truly indifferent to death, the end of an individual human life as we knew it in this world. That is because religion tries to look at life from the largest possible perspective, in the light of that which is ultimate. It is death that forces people to look at their own lives in that way. Knowing that one has only so much time in this world means one must make choices and must choose the values on which to base those choices. Knowing that many religions say there is more to life than just the present short span on Earth, one wants to know what the rest of it is and how it relates to here and now.

In regard to the event of death, religion tends to provide two things. First, it usually teaches about what happens after death, often including in that teaching accounts of an after-death judg- ment or rebirth, which will refl ect on the choices one has made in life (see AFTERLIFE IN WORLDRELI-

GIONS). Second, religions surround the experience of death itself with rites and attitudes designating it as a great experience of transition. The death- practices of various religions say much about their deepest values.

Devout Hindus, for example, want to die on the banks of the sacred river, the GANGES, partic- ularly in the holy city of BANARAS. If that is not possible, they wish at least for their remains to be brought there to be cremated, and the ashes thrown into the sacred river. The funeral pyre should ideally be lit by the deceased’s eldest son. These practices teach us several things: that death is a time for returning to one’s spiritual roots and the main symbols of one’s FAITH; that the physi- cal body is not important after death and can be reverently returned to the elements from which it came: fi re, water, earth, and air; that death is a time of transition in this world too, from father to son, when the social order rent by death must be symbolically restored.

The same themes of individual transition, signifi cant dispersal of the remains, and fam- ily and community healing occur in most tradi- tions, though the particulars may vary greatly. In TIBETANRELIGION the words of the BARDO THODOL, or “Tibetan Book of the Dead,” may be whispered in the ear of the dying person as a kind of guide tell- ing what will be encountered—the Clear Light, the BUDDHAS of the MANDALA—and how to respond to them in order to gain liberation or a good rebirth. The physical remains may be just cut up and left in a fi eld for carnivorous birds to consume to show their unimportance. But memorial services to help the deceased through the transition and bring the family together continue afterward.

In JUDAISM, the dominant theme is the impor- tance of each individual to the community and the preciousness of each human life. When death approaches, the dying person might recite a PRAYER

confessing SINS and asking GOD for forgiveness and a place in his realm after death—the individual transition. After death, a group of volunteers from the community might care for the body, watching over it, washing it, dressing it for burial. Immediate relatives observe deep mourning until seven days after the funeral, traditionally staying at one place such as the home of the deceased during this time. A meal is given them by others in the Jewish com-

In document UNIVERSIDAD DE CHILE FACULTAD DE CIENCIAS FÍSICAS Y MATEMÁTICAS DEPARTAMENTO DE INGENIERÍA INDUSTRIAL (página 39-44)