Lesson Objectives

• Define Key Terms

• Recognize that many of our assumptions about religion in general are wrong

• Recognize that life is actually much better than it was even 30 years ago

• Understand the mindset of people who choose to join terrorist groups

• Understand the mindset of people who become terrorist/cult leaders

• Recognize that all the world's major religious traditions have terrorists

• Appreciate the complexity and reasons behind "Spiritual but not Religious"

• Understand the most recent developments in American religion

Key Terms

Terrorist

Disenfranchisement

Activist

Narcissistic Personality Disorder

Kamikaze

Paramilitary

Jihadi Cool

Transcendentalist

Spiritual but not Religious (SBNR)

Nondenominational

Modern Myths About Religion

Myth #1: The world is so much more worse now

• Actually, this is the best moment to live in, in the history of humanity

• What's changed is how we consume our media and news

Myth #2: Terrorists are uneducated loners who hate our freedom

• Actually, terrorists come from all kinds of circumstances

• There is, however, a very specific profile for most terrorist actors

Myth #3: Terrorist leaders are just crazy people

• Terrorist leaders are usually quite intelligent

• Their intelligence enables them to take control of others

Myth #4: There are "good" religions and "bad" religions

• All religions have had bad actors in a very recent context

• There are no "terrorist religions," nor are there religions immune from terrorism

Myth #5: There's this new idea for "spiritual" people without "religion"

• This depends on one's defintion of those words

• Ultimately, "Spiritual but not Religious" is an old idea with a specific history

Myth #6: American Religion is here to stay

• If we've learned anything in this course, it's that religion is constantly changing