Overview
This lecture introduces the academic study of world religions, exploring why and how religions are studied, challenges in defining "religion," different types of religions, and academic versus devotional approaches.
Why Study Religions?
- Academic study seeks knowledge, not truth, about religions.
- Mutual ignorance of religions leads to misunderstanding in diverse societies.
- Religion influences laws, politics, ethics, science, art, and global interactions.
- Understanding religion gives insight into history, culture, and personal beliefs.
- Humans are naturally religious (homo religiosus), with religiosity evidenced even in early humans and Neanderthals.
Defining Religion
- "Religion" is a Western, artificial term, lacking direct equivalents in many cultures.
- Many cultures blur the line between sacred and profane, or do not distinguish them at all.
- Definitions based on gods, worship, or supernatural exclude certain religious traditions.
- Paul Tillich: Religion as "ultimate concern"—broad but can apply to non-religious ideologies too.
- Religions often address life's uncontrollable or traumatic events and offer emotional fulfillment.
Types and Classifications of Religions
- Archaic Religions: Usually polytheistic or henotheistic; focused on daily life, not afterlife; not universal; evil seen as divine punishment.
- Indigenous/Oral Religions: Tied to tribe or region; traditions passed orally; usually animistic and value balance with nature/spirits.
- South Asian Religions (Hinduism, Jainism, Buddhism): Varied types—monistic (one soul), polytheistic, or non-theistic; focus on enlightenment and escaping reincarnation.
- East Asian Religions (Daoism, Confucianism, Shinto): Polytheistic/non-theistic; stress harmony with nature or society; ancestor veneration.
- Middle Eastern Religions (Zoroastrianism, Judaism, Christianity, Islam): Monotheistic, linear time, exclusive, one life, concepts of final judgment.
Approaches to Studying Religion
- Devotional: Study by insiders to deepen personal faith.
- Charismatic: Proclaiming one faith's truth, often updating doctrine.
- Religious (Missionary): Studying others' religions to convert them.
- Academic: Objective, critical, comparative, rooted in Enlightenment values; seeks knowledge, not conversion or validation.
Key Principles of Academic Study
- All religions are human phenomena, shaped by society and culture.
- Religions borrow, adapt, and change over time; no absolute or unchanging truths.
- Study requires empathy, bracketing biases, and respect for all traditions.
- Scholars do not judge which religion is "right" or "wrong."
- Challenges include insider vs. outsider perspectives and the diversity of religious beliefs and practices.
Key Terms & Definitions
- Mutual Ignorance — Lack of knowledge about other religions' beliefs and practices.
- Animism — Belief that all things (living or nonliving) have a soul or spirit.
- Polytheism — Belief in many gods.
- Henotheism — Worship of one god without denying the existence of others.
- Monism — Belief that all reality is one substance or soul.
- Monotheism — Belief in a single, supreme god.
- Ultimate Concern — Central focus or meaning in a person's life (Tillich).
- Empathy — Attempting to understand beliefs from an insider's perspective.
- Bracketing — Setting aside personal beliefs to remain objective.
- Defamiliarization — Studying familiar religions as if encountering them for the first time.
Action Items / Next Steps
- Review class notes and key definitions.
- Prepare for next lecture: What makes a religion a religion.
- Be ready to discuss challenges in defining "religion."