Unformatted text preview: 9/26/2020 The Nature of Religion | Boundless Sociology Boundless Sociology
Religion The Nature of Religion 1/10 9/26/2020 The Nature of Religion | Boundless Sociology The Nature of Religion
Religion is a collection of cultural systems, belief systems, and
worldviews that relate humanity to spirituality and to moral values. LEARNING OBJECTIVES De ne religion and its essential features KEY TAKEAWAYS Key Points The sociologist Emile Durkheim de ned religion as a
“uni ed system of beliefs and practices relative to sacred things. ” By sacred things he meant things “set
apart and forbidden — beliefs and practices which unite
into one single moral community called a Church, all
those who adhere to them”.
The development of religion has taken di erent forms in
di erent cultures. Some religions emphasize belief
while others emphasize practice. Some religions focus
on subjective experience of the religious individual
while others consider activities of the religious community to be most important.
Social constructionism says that religion is a modern
concept that suggests all spiritual practice and worship
follows a model similar to the Abrahamic religions and 2/10 9/26/2020 The Nature of Religion | Boundless Sociology thus religion, as a concept, has been applied inappropriately to non-Western cultures.
Key Terms belief system: The basis of a set of beliefs
hierarchy: Any group of objects ranked so that every- one but the topmost is subordinate to a speci ed group
above it.
sacred: Set apart by solemn religious ceremony; espe- cially, in a good sense, made holy; set apart to religious
use; consecrated; not profane or common; as, a sacred
place; a sacred day; sacred service Religion is a collection of cultural systems, belief systems, and
worldviews that relate humanity to spirituality and, sometimes, to moral
values. Many religions have narratives, symbols, traditions, and sacred
histories that are intended to give meaning to life or to explain the origin
of life or the universe.
Many languages have words that can be translated as “religion,” but they
may use them in a very di erent way, and some have no word for
religion at all. For example, the Sanskrit word “dharma,” sometimes
translated as “religion,” also means law. Throughout classical South Asia,
the study of law consisted of concepts such as penance through piety
and ceremonial and practical traditions. Medieval Japan at rst had a
similar union between “imperial law” and universal or “Buddha law,” but
these later became independent sources of power.
The typical dictionary de nition of religion refers to a “belief in, or the
worship of, a god or gods” or the “service and worship of God or the
supernatural. ” However, many writers and scholars have noted that this
basic “belief in god” de nition fails to capture the diversity of religious
thought and experience. Edward Burnett Tylor de ned religion as simply
“the belief in spiritual beings. ” He argued, in 1871, that narrowing the
de nition to mean the belief in a supreme deity or judgment after death
would exclude many peoples from the category of religious and thus 3/10 9/26/2020 The Nature of Religion | Boundless Sociology “has the fault of identifying religion rather with particular developments
than with the deeper motive which underlies them. ” He also argued that
the belief in spiritual beings exists in all known societies.
The sociologist Emile Durkheim, in his seminal book The Elementary
Forms of the Religious Life, de ned religion as a “uni ed system of
beliefs and practices relative to sacred things. ” By sacred things he
meant things “set apart and forbidden — beliefs and practices which
unite into one single moral community called a Church, all those who
adhere to them. Sacred things are not, however, limited to gods or
spirits. On the contrary, a sacred thing can be “a rock, a tree, a spring, a
pebble, a piece of wood, a house, in a word, anything can be sacred. ”
Religious beliefs, myths, dogmas, and legends are the representations
that express the nature of these sacred things and the virtues and
powers that are attributed to them.
The development of religion has taken di erent forms in di erent
cultures. Some religions place an emphasis on belief while others
emphasize practice. Some religions focus on the subjective experience
of the religious individual while others consider the activities of the
religious community to be 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 by a closely-de ned or
localized group. In many places religion has been associated with public
institutions such as education, hospitals, the family, government, and
political hierarchy.
One modern academic theory of religion, social constructionism, says
that religion is a modern concept that has been de ned relative to the
Abrahamic religions and that thus, religion as a concept has been
applied inappropriately to non-Western cultures that are not based upon
such systems. 4/10 9/26/2020 The Nature of Religion | Boundless Sociology Sacred Buddhist Ritual in Nepal: His Holiness Jigdal Dagchen Sakya
leading the empowerment into practice at Tharlam Monastery, Boudha,
Kathmandu, Nepal. The Elements of Religion
A conventional social scienti c view understands religion as a group’s
collective beliefs and rituals relating to the supernatural. LEARNING OBJECTIVES Identify the di erent elements that comprise religion KEY TAKEAWAYS Key Points Sacred refers to collective interests within di erent religious practices. Profane acts include individual con- 5/10 9/26/2020 The Nature of Religion | Boundless Sociology cerns that are not part of religious rituals.
Emile Durkheim argues that religion is composed of the
sacred elements of social life. However, many see this
de nition as too broad, since there are many collective
interests that most do not consider religious.
Ritual is an everyday practice that resembles symbolic
meaning in di erent religions.
Other social scientists view religion as any attempt to
answer existential questions. Many also consider this
too broad a de nition.
A third social scienti c perspective views religion as the
collective beliefs and rituals of a group relating to the
supernatural. Though not without criticisms, this categorization most closely adheres to the traditional and popular view of what constitutes a religion.
Key Terms supernatural: Above nature; that which is beyond or added to nature, often so considered because it is given
by God or some force beyond that which humans are
born with. In Roman Catholic theology, sanctifying grace
is considered to be a supernatural addition to human
nature.
profane: Not sacred or holy, unconsecrated; relating to non-religious matters, secular.
sacred: Set apart by solemn religious ceremony; espe- cially, in a good sense, made holy; set apart to religious
use; consecrated; not profane or common; as, a sacred
place; a sacred day; sacred service Emile Durkheim argues that religion is comprised of the sacred elements
of social life. Durkheim also identi es collective interests and group unity
as part of the sacred, whereas individual concerns fall into the profane
category. This distinction makes sense when we think about western
religious traditions where, for example, the Torah and Bible are
considered holy books treated with reverence and respect. Problems 6/10 9/26/2020 The Nature of Religion | Boundless Sociology quickly emerge, however, when we think about nationalism or
consumerism. Under Durkheim’s distinction, both nationalism and
consumerism would be considered sacred practices.
The reverence a orded to the U.S. constitution, cars, shoes and former
presidents clearly constitutes the sacred and thus religious, though the
vast majority of U.S. religious practitioners would disagree that they are
members of multiple faith traditions. As a result, some have argued
Durkheim’s distinction is not su ciently narrow to capture the essence of
religion. If we want to examine the di erence between collective and
individual interests, Durkheim’s distinction steers us in the right direction. Religious Symbols: Symbols for Major Religions of the World Other social scientists view religion as any attempt to answer existential
questions, i.e. “is there life after death” and “how does the universe work
and what’s my role in it.” This categorization of religion highlights its 7/10 9/26/2020 The Nature of Religion | Boundless Sociology functional role as serving speci c social ends. In doing so, however, this
perspective also attracts criticisms for being overly encompassing. Many
branches of scienti c investigation, for instance, would be considered
religious, and even atheism would t into the frame of attempting to
answer existential questions.
A third social scienti c perspective views religion as the collective beliefs
and rituals of a group relating to the supernatural. If we simply focus on
beliefs relating to the supernatural, this too may be broad enough to
include atheism. However, when belief and rituals of a group relating to
the supernatural are coupled together, the scope seems appropriately
narrowed. Though not without criticisms, this categorization most closely
adheres to the traditional and popular view of what constitutes a religion. The Joyful Rhythms of a Kas…
Kas… Hindu Rituals in a Kashmiri Wedding: The Joyful Rhythms of a Kashmiri Wedding 8/10 9/26/2020 The Nature of Religion | Boundless Sociology Islamic Text: BookTauzeeh ul Masail 9/10 9/26/2020 The Nature of Religion | Boundless Sociology Previous Next Privacy Policy 10/10 ...
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