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Chapter One

Lesson 1 

What's a Religion?

Religion is an integral part of many societies and cultures around the world, but deciding on an all-encompassing religion definition is challenging, even for religion scholars. This is because there are so many varieties of religions in the world, which are often more different than they are similar, that it can be difficult to define religion in a way that works for all religions and people. For example, while the Christian tradition has a belief in God, the Taoist tradition is usually atheistic. Because of this, many different religion scholars, sociologists, and theologians have their own definition of religion, but they typically fit into two categories:

  • Western definition of religion, which is focused on ''western'' religions like Christianity, Judaism, and Islam that have belief in God

  • Classical definition of religion, which is less specific that the Western definitions but encompasses all religious traditions more fully

Sociologist Harriet Martineau wrote a definition of religion that fits into the Western conception of religion: ''Religion is the belief in an ever-living God, that is, in a Divine Mind and Will ruling the Universe and holding moral relations with mankind.'' However, theologian Paul Tillich wrote a classical definition: ''Religion is the state of being grasped by an ultimate concern, a concern which qualifies all other concerns as preliminary and which itself contains the answer to the question of the meaning of life.''

While Martineau's definition is more specific and quantifiable, Tillich's definition of religion as being about the ''ultimate concern'', that which is outside of and greater than oneself, is much more applicable to all religions, which is why classical definitions of religion are typically preferred for religious scholarship.

 

 

Examples of Religions

The importance of trying to define religion is to determine what does and does not fit into the category. For some, their ''ultimate concern'' is part of a standard religion, like Buddhism or Islam, while for others their focus is on a political system, idea, or even a sports team. Despite this, there are thousands of religions in the world that most people, without a set definition, would agree are religions. Many of these are indigenous traditions and are practiced by fewer people than others, but there are twelve religions that are typically considered to be major world religions:

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Traits Shared by Many Religions

In just these twelve religious traditions, one can see a variety of differences, including:

  • whether the traditions are monotheistic (belief in one god/goddess), polytheistic (belief in many gods/goddesses), or atheistic (no belief in any gods/goddesses)

  • the focus of the tradition on the individual, community, humanity, or all living things

  • what their ''ultimate concern'' is, whether a deity/deities or balance between all things

Within religious traditions as well, adherents have different ideas of what their religion is about. However, when defining and categorizing traditions as ''religion,'' there are three major traits or characteristics that each tradition has:

  • a focus on the sacred or supernatural

  • a moral code

  • ritual acts

The Sacred and Supernatural

For all religious traditions, there is a concept of the sacred, something set apart from the ordinary and greater than oneself. Many traditions—like Christianity, Judaism, Islam, Sikhism, and Zoroastrianism—see this as supernatural, which is something beyond the everyday, mundane world. In traditions like this, the sacred or supernatural is usually God or other deities. For other traditions, particularly philosophical traditions like Buddhism and Taoism, the sacred is a concept rather than a deity, such as nirvana or balance. Regardless of the tradition, the sacred is the ultimate concern that the tradition is built around.

Moral Codes

While the sacred is the focus of a religious tradition, moral codes are how religious practitioners try to reach or connect to the sacred. Moral codes are rules, laws, and guidelines in religions that help inform the ethics and ways of life for a religious tradition. For many traditions, the moral codes are preserved in scripture, written texts that are considered sacred and authoritative for the tradition. One of the best examples of this is the Ten Commandments, which is preserved in the Torah and is a foundational moral code for Judaism as well as Christianity. The Ten Commandments includes the famous ''Thou shalt not kill,'' ''Thou shalt not steal,'' and ''Honor thy father and mother.''

While moral codes explain to followers what to do, they also explain what not to do. The prohibitions or forbidden things in religious traditions and cultures are called taboos. Taboos can include prohibited foods detailed by food laws, such as pork in some Jewish and Muslim sects and Islam or any meat in some Hindu and Buddhist sects. In some religions, they can also include working on holy days, ritual impurity, and engaging with people outside of one's class or religion. Holy places are often considered taboo for laypeople, who are non-ordained practitioners of a religion, since the areas are intended for only the religious leaders.

Ritual Acts

A final common characteristic of religious traditions is ritual acts, which are individual or communal actions prescribed by the tradition to appease or reach the sacred. Rituals are everywhere in religion: prayer, meditation, sacrifices, attending religious services, special meals, holidays, and so on. For some, rituals can help one reach the sacred, like a Buddhist meditating daily to help center themselves on the ''Middle Way'' to achieve nirvana.

For others, rituals can help one connect to and appease the deity/deities of their religion, like a Christian praying before a meal. Religion scholar David Noss explains that people who practice religions that have a supernatural deity often experience more anxiety because they feel like they need to appease the deity. For these people, rituals are often a way of alleviating that anxiety because they are connecting to the supernatural.

The Importance of Religion in Society

Since moral codes are common to religion, some argue that this is evidence for why society needs religion. However, others believe that moral codes can exist outside of religion. Regardless of what stance one takes on this issue, religion has a major impact on society and plays an important role in the laws, politics, and social structures of various societies and cultures. In the United States, Judeo-Christian thought has played a major role in all facets of society:

  • The moral codes were followed by the Founding Fathers who created the United States and were written into the nation's foundational documents.

  • Debates over laws about contentious topics like abortion, LGBTQ+ rights, and the death penalty are usually based on interpretations of these moral codes.

  • Politicians often use their religion and how well they adhere to its moral codes to gain supporters.

  • The Protestant work ethic, an individual being responsible for their success and well-being by working hard, is tied to American capitalist economics.

  • Everyday life is affected by these moral codes, like stores being closed on Sunday because it is the ''Lord's Day'' or the U.S. having a National Day of Prayer.

While the United States is most affected by Judeo-Christian culture, other countries experience similar effects of religion. Countries in the Middle East are usually Islamic-based societies, Israel is inherently a Jewish state, and Hinduism has shaped Indian culture and society for thousands of years. Since religion plays such a major role in people's lives, regardless of their social class or status in society, it is impossible to separate the impact of religion on societies around the world.

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Lesson Summary

Religion is difficult to define since it encompasses so many different traditions and belief systems. Paul Tillich's classical definition labels religion as focused on the ''ultimate concern''. Despite the difficulty in defining religion, there are three common traits or characteristics that are found in practically all world religions:

  • There is a belief in the sacred, or something set apart from and greater than oneself.

    • This is often the supernatural in religions with gods/goddesses.

  • It is based on moral codes that define the rules and guidelines for the religion.

    • These are often recorded in scripture, or authoritative written texts, like the Ten Commandments.

    • They contain rules about taboos, or forbidden things that non-ordained members of the religion called laypeople should avoid.

  • Religious practitioners reach or appease the sacred through ritual acts.

    • In traditions with supernatural beings, Noss says these rituals help lower a religious person's anxiety.

Thousands of religions exist around the world, so it is not surprising that religion impacts society's laws, politics, social structure, and morality. The United States, for example, has been intrinsically linked to Judeo-Christian thought from the time of its founding through the 21st century, which is apparent in all facets of society.

Lesson 2
Theories on the Origins of Religion: Overview

There are numerous theories of the origins of religion involving various philosophies that provide their own explanation. Explore an overview of the works of significant figures who developed such philosophies: Kant, Muller, Frazer, Marx, and Freud.

 

 

Immanuel Kant

When discussing the origin of religion, it's important to remember the term 'religion' is broad and far reaching. Its meaning is as expansive as the masses of cultures that cover the earth. As we delve into the theories of its origin, we will treat them as such. In fact, they are the attempts of some famous philosophers, like Kant, Muller, Frazer, Marx and Freud, to make sense of the human desire to reach for something beyond ourselves. With this in mind, let's get started with the theory of Immanuel Kant.

To Immanuel Kant, an 18th century German philosopher, religion is the product of limited empirical reason. In other words, since there are things that are unexplainable by simply using the five senses, humans developed religion to fill in the blanks.

To Kant, religious beliefs are unprovable. Therefore, people are not religious due to their power of reason or their cognitive minds. On the contrary, religion is an act of the moral will. People will themselves to believe in religion - it is not a product of reason.

 

Max Muller

Different from Kant, the 19th century Max Muller held to the nature-worship theory. This theory puts forth the idea that religion developed as primitive people groups observed nature. As they observed the sun, moon, winds and rains, they began to personify them, sort of like our modern-day use of the term 'Mother Nature.'

According to Muller, this personification led to worship among the primitive people. As cultures grew, this worship became more structured. For example, there was Greece's Poseidon, god of the sea, or Babylon's Marduk, who controlled the winds.

Muller's nature-worship theory is closely tied to animism. In animism, all of nature is full of unseen spirits, which are to be worshipped. Practicing animism, the native cultures of the Americas believed that nature, from rocks, to trees, to water, had a spirit known as Anima. This spirit allowed them to feel and communicate with humans and each other.

 

James George Frazer

Building on the role of nature, Sir James George Frazer's theories went a step further. Explained in his work The Golden Bough, Frazer believed that religion began as humans attempted to control nature.

To Frazer, the development of religion happened in evolving phases. First, humans tried to use magic to control their surroundings. This then evolved into imploring spirits in their effort for control. Adding to this, Frazer believed a highly evolved person will eventually desert the tales of magic and religion in acceptance of science.

 

Marx & Freud

Perhaps two of the most famous theories on religion come from the 19th century's Karl Marx and the 20th century's Sigmund Freud.

To Marx, religion stemmed from the struggle between social classes and is simply man's attempt to make living within these classes bearable. As his famous quote is often paraphrased, 'Religion is the opium of the people.'

Completely different from Marx, Sigmund Freud took a psychoanalytical stab at the origin of religion. To him, religion developed out of the human need for a protective father figure. In short, as humans age, they begin to see the weaknesses in their earthly fathers. A god figure steps in and gives humans a father in whom they can trust. In true Freudian style, he theorized that this need led men to create religion.

 

 

Lesson Summary

Just like the term 'religion' has many facets, the theories on its origin are also many. Throughout the ages, people have sought to understand the human need to reach beyond ourselves. In an effort to understand this phenomenon, theories abound!

For Kant, religion developed as people tried to make sense of things that reason could not explain. For Muller, religion originated as man observed nature and its workings, personifying it as cultures developed. Frazer added to this by purporting that religion evolved in phases and would eventually be replaced by science within the evolved mind.

Adding to these theories of origin, the famous Karl Marx believed religion was man's attempt to deal with the difficulties of social class. From a completely different perspective, Freud linked the origin of religion to man's need for a father figure in whom he could trust.

 

Learning Outcome

After this lesson, you should be able to describe several theories on the origin of religion, those of: Kant, Muller, Frazer, Marx and Freud.

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