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Comparative Religions Why Study Religion? Terms and Definitions

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Comparative Religions Why Study Religion? Terms and Definitions Saint Joseph Bible Study Comparative Religions Why Study Religion? Terms and Definitions :K\6WXG\5HOLJLRQ" 1.) To prevent an Ethonocentric attitude toward others -"Ethnos" - people, group, or nation, "Centrism," way of thinking, mindset, attitude, etc. Hence, ethnocentrism is when an individual or group feels that they are superior to another person or groups that are unlike themselves. (Example) The Aryan Myth: Adolf Hitler, in his attempt to depict his own people as the master race called the tall, blond, blue-eyed _people of the world the "Aryan race." To the Nazis, this superior race had historically given the world its strength and civilization other "races," such as the Semitic Jews and Africans, were deemed inferior to the "Aryans." 2.) To be tolerant to the belief systems of others . 3.) To develop an appreciation f or the uniqueness of each religious expression of faith. 4.) For Political Reasons . Many conflicts have religious differences at their roots. (Example) Catholic Christians ware against Protestant Christians, Shia Muslims fight Sunna Muslims, Buddhist battle Hindus Sikhs and Hindus are fighting currently; Muslims are at war with Christians. If there is to be any form of peace between the many cultures and religions of the world, religious differences must be known and respected, there must be an openness to ecumenicity. Definitions of Religion 1.) The service and adoration of God or gods as expressed in forms of worship, in obedience to divine commands and in the pursuits of a way of life regarded as incumbent on the true believers. (Webster's New International Dictionary of the English Language) 2.) The English Word Religion is derived from the Latin word "religio," which refers to the fear or awe one feels in the presence of a spirit or a god. 3.) Western Cultures tend to define religion in terms of a set of beliefs having to do with the gods and through which one is taught a moral system. However, because some religious tenets of other religions will differ on varying points, one definition will not fit all religious groups. For example, two such groups are Jainism, and Buddhism. They recognize the existence of gods, but actually have very little to do with them. Further, they can be called atheistic religions in some instances, because unlike others who depend on the gods for help; these two believe in the ability of the people to deliver themselves. Page 1 %RRNOHW3DJH Why Study Religion? Terms and Definitions Still further, most religions are more concerned with humanities proper relationship to gods, demons and spirits than they are with ethical relationships among people. One distinctive characteristic of the religion of the early Hebrews was the ethical dimension that their god required of them (these tenets are also found in Zoroastrianism, Christianity and Islam). 4.) The late Paul Tillich defined religion as that which is of "ultimate concern". We say in a more basic way, that a person's religion is that which is more important than anything else. 5.) Williams James said that there are so many different definitions of the word religion that they should be seen as a collective name. James wrote that religion in the broad sense consists of the belief that there is an unseen order, and that our supreme good lies in harmoniously adjusting ourselves thereto. Page 2 %RRNOHW3DJH Why Study Religion? Terms and Definitions The Universality of Religion Occasionally, religion is hard to find or pin down, but from the great metropolitan capitals to the least developed areas of the world, there are temples, pyramids, megaliths, and other monuments that societies have raised at tremendous expense as expressions of their religions. Even when we explore the backwaters of time in prehistoric civilizations, we find altars, cave paintings, and special burials that point toward our religious nature. Indeed, no other phenomenon is so pervasive, so consistent from society to society, as is religion. Theories of the Origin of Religions From where does religion come? This is a very basic question, as our answer tends to reflect our view of the very nature of religion. Some say human beings developed religion because they were weak and ignorant about the forces of nature that surrounded them; they were at the mercy of these forces and therefore devised a scheme of gods and spirits to whom they could pray for support. According to this view, when human beings come to fully know and understand their universe, they will no longer need the crutch of religion to support them. Others say religion was developed by a few as a means of suppressing the masses. The traditional view held by those who are themselves religious is that a god or other spiritual being revealed religion and religious truths to human beings at some point in their development. Animistic Theories The most outstanding exponent of one animistic theory of the origin of religion was the English ethnologist Edward Burnett Tylor (1832-1917). Although Tylor held no formal degree, he was a leading figure in anthropology for many years. In the 1850s, Herbert Spencer had theorized that the gods of "primitive" people were based on dreams about the recent dead. According to Spencer, when "primitive" people dreamed of the dead, they came to believe that the former chiefs and heroes were actually alive in another world or another form. Tylor was aware of Spencer's theory, which was called "Manism," but he did not totally accept it. Tylor maintained that "primitive" people developed a sense of other or soul from experiences with death and dreams. According to Tylor, "primitive" people also believed that these souls (Latin, anima) were to be found not only in people but in all of nature. There were souls in stones, trees, animals, rivers, springs, volcanoes, and mountains. The entire world, the very air itself, was seen as being alive with spirits of all kinds. These spirits could be helpful or harmful to humans and had personalities that could be offended or flattered. Therefore, it became a part of the life of "primitive" societies to pray to these spirits, offer sacrifices to them, seek to appease them, and avoid offending them. Page 1 %RRNOHW3DJH Why Study Religion? Terms and Definitions From the animistic understanding of the world developed the practice of ancestor worship or veneration, in which one attended to the spirits of the dead. An awareness of the existence of spirits in nature led to the worship of various aspects of nature, such as water, trees, stones and so on. Ultimately, this animistic view of the universe produced the polytheistic religions that worshiped sky, earth, and water deities. Finally, monotheistic religions developed. He took the Melanesian word mana to be the basic of religion. Mana is defined as a supernatural power that belonged to the region of the unseen. The Nature-Worship Theory An alternative theory of the origin of religion was developed by another Oxford professor, Max Muller (1823-1900). Muller's interests were mythology and the religions of India, but he entered the debate over origins with Tylor and others. From his studies, he became convinced that human beings first developed their religions from their observations of the forces of nature. According to this theory, "primitive" people became aware of the regularity of the seasons, the ideas, and the phases of the moon. Their response to these forces in nature was to personalize them. Thus they gave a name to the sun, the moon, and so on, and began to describe the activities of these forces with tales that eventually became mythology. An example of this process is found in the Greek myth of Apollo and Daphne. Apollo was in love with Daphne, but she fled from him and was changed into a laurel tree. By searching out the etymology of these names, Muller found that Apollo was the name given the sun and that Daphne was the name given the dawn. "Primitive" people identified the forces in nature, personified them, created myths to describe their activities, and eventually developed pantheons and religions around them. The Theory of Original Monotheism A completely different approach to the origin of religion was presented early in the twentieth century by Wilhelm Schmidt (1868 -1954) in Der Ursprung der Gottesidee. Schmidt began his career studying the linguistics of New Guinea and then all of Oceania. From his own work, Schmidt came to disagree with the animistic theories of Tylor and others. He noted that all of the hunter-gatherer cultures he had studied (and which were the oldest form of human society to be observed) held a common belief in a distant High God. Although the predominant form of religion for these "primitives" was animism or polytheism, there was always the belief that originally there had been one great god above all others. This god may have been the creator of the world or the parent of the many lesser deities. Usually, the High God is understood to have the qualities of eternity, omniscience, beneficence, morality, and omnipotence. Often, the High God is believed to have been the force that gave society its moral codes. After initially establishing the world, Page 2 %RRNOHW3DJH Why Study Religion? Terms and Definitions this High God went away and now has little contact with the world. Schmidt inferred from this phenomenon that "primitive" societies were originally monotheistic but that because the worship of one god was difficult, religion was corrupted into polytheism. Later, more advanced religions recovered the true monotheistic religion. Naturally, Schmidt was accused of allowing his Christian prejudices to influence the formulation of this theory. The Magic Theory Between 1890 and 1915, Sir James George Frazer {1854 - 1941) , a fellow of Trinity College, Cambridge, produced his encyclopedic work on religion, The Golden Bough.
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