Definition of Religion

Religion
I.Defining Religion
A.Harder than it seems
i.How does one describe what is religion and only religion
a)What aspects of religion are exclusive to religion alone?
b)What separates religion from philosophy?
c)What separates religion from politics?
d)No perfect definition

ii.Insider/Outsider Perspective
a)Insider
Insiders relate all religious aspects to their own religion forgetting the complexity of religion as a whole
Insiders realize only the cosmology of their religious group and don't recognize evidence or ideas from those outside and therefore, sometimes the attempt to group religions together that share one set of ideas and not others can be seen as insulting or not possible because their religion has the truth and all other religions are categorized as lesser.
Insiders bring emotional attachment to their feelings and ideas about religion based on their own religious views.
b)Outsider
Outsiders leave emotionally charged feelings at the door when it comes to their studies on comparative and sociological religious studies.
Outsiders approach religion not to prove or disprove it's validity, but to for critical analysis of the religion as a whole and how the practice, growth, etc. of that religion progresses and evolves.
B.Different Types of Definitions
i.Substantive
a)Focuses on what religion is rather than what it does.
b)Paul Tillich
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 a meaning of our life.
What is wrong with this definition?
Does this definition rule out things that we don't consider religious.
Nationalism?
Patriotism?
Conspiracy Theorists?
c)Clifford Greetz
"A religion is a system of symbols which acts to establish powerful, pervasive, and long-lasting moods and motivations in men by formulating conceptions of a general order of existence and clothing these conceptions with such an aura of factuality that the moods and motivations seem uniquely realistic.

ii.Functional
a)Attempts to define religion by the actions of the religious as members of their religion.
b)Melford Spiro
an institution consisting of culturally patterned interaction with culturally postulated super-human beings."
What is wrong with this definition?
Is it fair to culturally mandate religion?
iii.Cluster
a)Robert Bellah-a set of symbolic forms and acts that relate man to the ultimate conditions of his existence."
b)Paul Connelly- "Religion originates in an attempt to represent and order beliefs, feelings, imaginings and actions that arise in response to direct experience of the sacred and the spiritual. As this attempt expands in its formulation and elaboration, it becomes a process that creates meaning for itself on a sustaining basis, in terms of both its originating experiences and its own continuing responses."

Category:

Education

Tags:

• Religion
• Paganism
• Hellenism
• Wicca
• Christianity
• Sociology
• Theology
• Secular
• Humanism

[thesuikerlounge]

@grandampersand

every single piece of s*** is a political construction.

[grandampersand]

Perhaps the lack of any clear-cut definition of "religion," which includes all those various systems/institutions/practices that we tend to group under that classification, and which also excludes those systems/institutions/practices which we want to say are not religious, is due to the fact that there is no clear essential concept underlying the word "religion." Perhaps "Religion" (and along with it, the "secular") is a political consruction...

[mademan4life]

Religions. Three definitions; substantive, functional and social constructionists.

[AstroMen2911]

Religion is one of 5 aspects of wisdom which inspires and offers Faith to an individual or group without force or judgement. A religion that forces or judges others is a cult. Religion should be a benevolent force that teaches us to better ourselfs.

[Dionysusheathen]

I think as a race we're pretty bad at making our lives easy. In trying to explain the world around us we have infact made it more complicated for ourselvs.

Sometimes I ask my self if Religion was created as nothing more than an "excuse" for us to inflict pain and isolation on others

[Dionysusheathen]

It's hard to define religion because it's a personal experience, and everyone experiences it differently.

Religion and philosophy do have alot in common but they do have alot of difference's which seperate them such as philosophy tends to emphasize just the use of reason, and of course Philosophy doesn't have "rituals".

[WesternWhiteWolf]

It's funny you mentioned Tim LaHaye; he's partly responsible for my giving up Christianity for good.

I've not heard many of those definitions of religion. It's such an ambiguous thing.