At the beginning of a reprint of this essay (Robert N. Bellah, Beyond Belief: Essays on Religion in a Post-Traditionalist World. Berkeley: University of California Press, , p. ), the author wrote: This chapter was written for a Dædalus conference on American Religion in May Religion is the substance, the ground, and the depth of man's spiritual life." When religion is seen in terms of sacred, divine, intensive valuing, or ultimate concern, then it is possible to understand why scientific findings and philosophical criticisms (e.g., those made by Richard Dawkins) do not necessarily disturb its adherents. Aspects Jul 16, · On the other hand, because globalization allows for daily contact, religion enters a circle of conflict in which religions become “more self-conscious of themselves as being world religions.”[14] This essay argues that the relationship between religion and globalization is complex, one with new possibilities and furthering challenges
Religion and Globalization: New Possibilities, Furthering Challenges
Religion is a social - cultural system of designated behaviors and practices, religion and peace essay, moralsbeliefsworldviewstextssanctified placespropheciesethicsor organizationsthat relates humanity to supernaturaltranscendentaland spiritual elements; [1] however, there is no scholarly consensus over what precisely constitutes a religion. Different religions may or may not contain various elements ranging from the divine[4] sacred things[5] faith[6] a supernatural being or supernatural beings [7] or "some sort of ultimacy and transcendence that will provide norms and power for the rest of life".
Religions have sacred histories religion and peace essay narrativeswhich may be preserved in sacred scriptures, and symbols and holy placesthat aim mostly to give a meaning to life.
Religions may contain symbolic stories, which are sometimes said by followers to be true, that may also attempt to explain the origin of lifethe universeand other phenomena. Traditionally, faithin addition to reason, has been considered a source of religious beliefs.
There are an estimated 10, distinct religions worldwide. While the religiously unaffiliated have grown globally, many of the religiously unaffiliated still have various religious beliefs.
The study of religion comprises a wide variety of academic disciplines, including theologycomparative religion and social scientific studies. Theories of religion offer various explanations for the origins and workings of religion, including the ontological foundations of religious being and belief.
Religion from O. religion religious community, from L. religionem nom. religio "respect for what is sacred, reverence for the gods, sense of right, moral obligation, sanctity", [14] "obligation, the bond between man and the gods" [15] is derived from the Latin religiōthe ultimate origins of which are obscure.
One possible interpretation traced to Ciceroconnects lego read, i. re again with lego in the sense of choose, go over again or consider carefully. The definition of religio by Cicero is cultum deorum"the proper performance of rites in veneration of the gods.
Augustinefollowing the interpretation given by Lactantius in Divinae institutionesIV, In classic antiquity, 'religio' broadly meant conscientiousness, sense of right, moral obligation, or duty to anything.
In the ancient Greece, the Greek term threskeia was loosely translated into Latin as religio in late antiquity. The term was sparsely used in classical Greece but became more frequently used in the writings of Josephus in the first century CE. It was used in mundane contexts and could mean multiple things from respectful fear to excessive or harmfully distracting practices of others; to cultic practices, religion and peace essay.
It was often contrasted with the Greek word deisidaimonia which meant too much fear. The modern concept of religion, as an abstraction that entails distinct sets of beliefs or doctrines, is a recent invention in the English language. Such usage began with texts from the 17th century due to events such as the splitting of Christendom during the Protestant Reformation and globalization in the age of exploration, which involved contact with numerous foreign religion and peace essay with non-European languages.
The concept of religion was formed in the 16th and 17th centuries, [32] [33] despite the fact that ancient sacred texts like the Bible, the Quran, and others did not have a word or even a concept of religion in the original languages and neither did the people or the cultures in which these sacred texts were written.
Threskeia is sometimes translated as religion in today's translations, however, the term was understood as worship well into the medieval period. The Sanskrit word dharmasometimes translated as religion, [39] also means law. Throughout classical South Asiathe study of law consisted of concepts such as penance through piety and ceremonial as well as practical traditions. Medieval Japan at first had a similar union between imperial law and universal or Buddha law, but these later became independent sources of power.
Though traditions, sacred texts, and practices have existed throughout time, most cultures did not align with Western conceptions of religion since they did not separate everyday life from the sacred. In the 18th and 19th centuries, the terms Buddhism, Hinduism, Taoism, Confucianism, and world religions first entered the English language. According to the philologist Max Müller in the 19th century, the root of the English word religion, the Latin religiowas originally used to mean only reverence for God or the gods, careful pondering of divine things, piety which Cicero further derived to mean diligence, religion and peace essay.
What is called ancient religion today, they would have only called law. Scholars have failed to agree on a definition of religion. The concept of religion originated in the modern era in the West. An increasing number of scholars have expressed reservations about ever defining the essence of religion. The very attempt to define religion, to find some distinctive or possibly unique essence or set of qualities that distinguish the religious from the remainder of human life, is primarily a Western concern.
The attempt is a natural consequence of the Western speculative, intellectualistic, and scientific disposition. It is also the product of the dominant Western religious mode, what is called the Judeo-Christian climate or, more accurately, the theistic inheritance from Judaism, Christianity, and Islam.
The theistic form of belief in this tradition, even when downgraded culturally, is formative of the dichotomous Western view of religion. That is, the basic structure of theism is essentially a religion and peace essay between a transcendent deity and all else, religion and peace essay, between the creator religion and peace essay his creation, between God and man.
The anthropologist Clifford Geertz defined religion as a. We religion and peace essay know that it is done, annually, weekly, daily, for some people almost hourly; and we have an enormous ethnographic literature to demonstrate it. The theologian Antoine Vergote took the term supernatural simply to mean whatever transcends the powers of nature or human agency. He also emphasized the cultural reality of religion, which he defined as. They define religion as. According to the MacMillan Encyclopedia of Religions, there is an experiential aspect to religion which can be found in almost every culture:.
When more or less distinct patterns of behavior are built around this depth dimension in a culture, religion and peace essay, this structure constitutes religion in its historically recognizable form, religion and peace essay. Religion is the organization of life around the depth dimensions of experience—varied in form, completeness, and clarity in accordance with the environing culture.
Friedrich Schleiermacher in the late 18th century defined religion as das schlechthinnige Abhängigkeitsgefühlreligion and peace essay, commonly translated as "the feeling of absolute dependence". His contemporary Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel disagreed thoroughly, defining religion as "the Divine Spirit becoming conscious of Himself through the finite spirit. Edward Burnett Tylor defined religion in as "the belief in spiritual beings".
He also argued that the belief in spiritual beings exists in all known societies. In his book The Varieties of Religious Experiencethe psychologist William James defined religion as "the feelings, acts, and experiences of individual men in their solitude, so far as they apprehend themselves to stand in relation to whatever they may consider the divine".
The sociologist Émile Durkheimreligion and peace essay, in his seminal book The Elementary Forms of the Religious Lifedefined religion as a "unified system of beliefs and practices relative to sacred things". Sacred things are not, however, limited to gods or spirits. Echoes of James' and Durkheim 's definitions are to be found in the writings of, for example, Frederick Ferré who defined religion as "one's way of valuing most comprehensively and intensively". Religion is the substance, the ground, and the depth of man's spiritual life.
When religion is seen in terms of sacred, divine, intensive valuing, or ultimate concern, then it is possible to understand why scientific findings and philosophical criticisms e. The interplay between religion and peace essay and reason, and their use as perceived support for religious beliefs, have been a subject of interest to philosophers and theologians.
Ancient polytheistic religions, such as those of GreeceRomeand Scandinaviaare usually categorized under the heading of mythology, religion and peace essay. Religions of pre-industrial peoples, or cultures in development, are similarly called myths in the anthropology of religion.
The term myth can be used pejoratively by both religious and non-religious people. By defining another person's religious stories and beliefs as mythology, one implies that they are less real or true than one's own religious stories and beliefs. Joseph Campbell remarked, "Mythology is often thought of as other people's religions, and religion can be defined as mis-interpreted mythology.
In sociology, however, the term myth has a non-pejorative meaning. There, myth is defined as a story that is important for the group whether or not it is objectively or provably true. But from a mythological outlook, whether or not the event actually occurred is unimportant. Instead, the symbolism of the death of an old life and the start of a new life is what is most significant, religion and peace essay.
Religious believers may or may not accept such symbolic interpretations. The practices of a religion may include ritualssermonscommemoration or veneration of a deitygodsor goddessessacrificesfestivalsreligion and peace essay, feaststrancesinitiationsfunerary servicesmatrimonial servicesmeditationprayerreligious musicreligious artsacred dancepublic serviceor other aspects of human culture.
Religions have a societal basis, either as a living tradition which is carried by lay participants, or with an organized clergyand a definition of what constitutes adherence or membership.
A number of disciplines study the phenomenon of religion: theologycomparative religionhistory of religionreligion and peace essay, evolutionary origin of religionsanthropology of religionpsychology of religion including neuroscience of religion and evolutionary psychology of religionlaw and religionand sociology of religion.
Daniel L, religion and peace essay. Pals mentions eight classical theories of religion, religion and peace essay on various aspects of religion and peace essay animism and magicby E. Tylor and J.
Frazer ; the psycho-analytic approach of Sigmund Freud ; and further Émile DurkheimKarl MarxMax WeberMircea EliadeE. Evans-Pritchardand Clifford Geertz. Michael Stausberg gives an overview of contemporary theories of religion, including cognitive and biological approaches. Sociological and anthropological theories of religion generally attempt to explain the origin and function religion and peace essay religion.
The origin of religion is uncertain. There are a number of theories regarding the subsequent origins religion and peace essay religious practices. According to anthropologists John Monaghan and Peter Just, "Many of the religion and peace essay world religions appear to have begun as revitalization movements of some sort, as the vision of a charismatic prophet fires the imaginations of people seeking a more comprehensive answer to their problems than they feel religion and peace essay provided by everyday beliefs.
Charismatic individuals have emerged at many times and places in the world. It seems that the key to long-term success—and many movements come and go with little long-term effect—has relatively little to do with the prophets, who appear with surprising regularity, but more to do with the development of a group of supporters who are able to institutionalize the movement. The development of religion has taken different forms in different cultures. Some religions place an emphasis on belief, while others emphasize practice.
Some religions focus on the subjective experience of the religious individual, religion and peace essay, while others consider the activities of the religious community to religion and peace essay most important. Some religions claim to be universal, believing their laws and cosmology to be binding for everyone, while others are intended to be practiced only religion and peace essay a closely defined or localized group.
In many places, religion has been associated with public institutions such as education religion and peace essay, hospitalsthe familygovernmentand political hierarchies. Anthropologists John Monoghan and Peter Just state that, "it seems apparent that one thing religion or belief helps us do is deal with problems of human life that are significant, persistent, and intolerable.
One important way in which religious beliefs accomplish this is by providing a set of ideas about how and why the world is put together that allows people to accommodate anxieties and deal with misfortune. While religion is difficult to define, one standard model of religion, religion and peace essay, used in religious studies courses, was proposed by Clifford Geertzwho simply called it a "cultural system".
One modern academic theory of religion, social constructionismsays that religion is a modern concept that suggests all spiritual practice and worship follows a model similar to the Abrahamic religions as an orientation system that helps to interpret reality and define human beings. The social constructionists argue that religion is a modern concept that developed from Christianity and was then applied inappropriately to non-Western cultures.
Cognitive science of religion is the study of religious thought and behavior from the perspective of the cognitive and evolutionary sciences. Scholars in this field seek to explain how human minds acquire, generate, and transmit religious thoughts, practices, and schemas by means of ordinary cognitive capacities.
While this number varies across cultures, this had led to theories about a number of influential religious phenomenon and possible relation to psychotic disorders. A number of prophetic experiences are consistent with psychotic symptoms, although retrospective diagnoses are practically impossible.
5 Most Peaceful Religions In The World
, time: 5:28Religion and Politics | Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy
Religion is the substance, the ground, and the depth of man's spiritual life." When religion is seen in terms of sacred, divine, intensive valuing, or ultimate concern, then it is possible to understand why scientific findings and philosophical criticisms (e.g., those made by Richard Dawkins) do not necessarily disturb its adherents. Aspects Sep 11, · A substantial introduction to the religion, and Muslim beliefs, practices and history, from the BBC Jan 01, · The development of studies and practice relating to the connection between religion, conflict, and peace is paralleled by United States Institute of Peace (USIP) program development on religious peacemaking. In , USIP established a program on religion, ethics, and human rights led by David Little, now a professor at Harvard Divinity School
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