8 Questions
What is the main challenge in defining religion?
Defining the term 'religion' itself
What is the focus of the substantive approach to defining religion?
Identifying a singular essence or substance of religion
What is Livingston's working definition of religion?
A system of activities and beliefs directed towards the sacred
What is the main focus of Clifford Geertz's definition of religion?
The symbolic systems of religious traditions
What is the term for the concept of humans as religious beings?
Homo religiosus
What is one of the reasons why we study religion?
To overcome ignorance and ethnocentrism
What is the concept of the sacred in religious beliefs?
An experience of the holy or divine
What is the functional approach to defining religion?
Studying the psychological and sociological effects of religion
Study Notes
Defining Religion
- Religion is a complex and multifaceted concept, making it challenging to define
- Various definitions of religion include:
- Belief in an ever-living god
- An institution
- Feeling of absolute dependence
- Experience of the holy
- Childhood neurosis
- Opium of the people
Approaches to Defining Religion
- Two distinctive ways to define religion:
- Substantive: focuses on the essence or substance of religion, seeking to identify a singular essence (e.g., "the Real", "the Ultimate", "the Ideal", "the Divine")
- Functional: focuses on the psychological and sociological explanations of religion, with no independent reality outside the human realm
Definitions of Religion
- Livingston's working definition: religion is a system of activities and beliefs directed towards that which is perceived to be of sacred value and transforming power
- Clifford Geertz's definition: religion is a system of symbols that:
- Establishes powerful, persuasive, and long-lasting moods and motivations in people
- Formulates conceptions of a general order of existence
- Clothes these conceptions with an aura of factuality, making them seem uniquely realistic
Homo Religiousus
- Homo religiousus refers to humans as religious beings
- Characteristics of homo religiousus:
- Sense and imagine the sacred
- Produce meanings with the sacred
- Sustain cosmology with the sacred
Reasons to Study Religion
- Reasons to study religion include:
- Understanding homo religiousus
- Overcoming ignorance and ethnocentrism
- Understanding one's culture
- Gaining a global perspective
- Formulating one's philosophy of life
Explore the different ways to define religion, including the belief in a higher power, institutions, and personal experiences. Learn about the substantive and functional approaches to understanding religion.
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