Understanding Religion and Key Theories

Defining Religion

• Religion is a system of beliefs about deities, often involving rituals, ethical codes, and philosophies.
• It encompasses sacred texts, traditions, ethics, religious duty, community, belief in a higher power, morals, symbols, and ceremonies.
• Law 21, an act respecting the neutrality of the state, is relevant to this topic.
• Secularism is defined as religious neutrality, an absence of faith.

Clifford Geertz's Definition

• Geertz defines religion as a system of symbols that establishes moods, motivations, and a sense of order in existence.
• This definition highlights the powerful and lasting effects of religious conceptions on individuals.

Talal Asad's Critique

• Asad criticizes Geertz's definition, focusing on its emphasis on "interiority" and "separability".
• Interiority Critique: Geertz's definition might overlook religions focused on practice, discipline, and community, over individual belief. Examples include "Sola Fide".
• Separability Critique: Asad argues that "religion" as a separate entity is a relatively recent idea, emerging during the Enlightenment, contrasting its previous interwoven nature within broader culture.

Epistemological Implications

• Epistemology (the study of knowledge) is crucial for understanding religion, as differing knowledge approaches impact our understanding.
• Western concepts of secularity often prioritize individual belief, but might not accurately reflect religions centered on embodied practice.
• If secularism is defined as the privatization of belief, and religions are defined solely by belief, some religions emphasizing practice and community, rather than individual belief, could conflict with secular principles of neutrality.

Indigenous Spirituality

• Indigenous spiritualities often focus on balance and connection with nature.
• Concepts of interconnectedness, such as "Miatkuye Oyasin" (Lakota), highlight community relationships.
• Core values like "mino-bimadiziwin" (Anishinabemowin) represent the good life.
• Indigenous traditions often lack a formal distinction between "secular" and "religious" aspects.

Challenges of Categorizing "Indigenous Religions"

• Categorizing Indigenous religions is complex due to their diversity.
• The term "religion" itself, can be a problematic tool for understanding Indigenous traditions given its potential to reinforce negative stereotypes or assimilate them into existing frameworks.
• "Preliterate" and "tribal" labels are also problematic.

Indigenous Religion as a Tool

• Indigenous groups can use the category of “religion” strategically to assert sovereignty and challenge dominant narratives.
• For example, Nuu-chah-nulth Nation and Ktunaxa Nation creatively apply the term in pursuing political agendas.
• Data related to Indigenous religions can be fixed and therefore limited when relying on fixed data sets.

World Religion Statistics

• Christianity (2.2 billion)
• Islam (1.6 billion)
• Unaffiliated (1.1 billion)
• Hinduism (1 billion)
• Buddhism (488 million)
• Folk religions (405 million)
• Other (58 million)
• Judaism (14 million)

Global Religious Trends

• The share of the population with a Christian religion has been decreasing for 20 years, while the shares for other religions or no religious affiliation have been rising.

Canadian Demographics

• The total number of Christians has decreased slightly, but the proportion of the total population has declined significantly.
• Non-religious individuals are rapidly increasing.
• Islam, Hinduism, and Sikhism are increasing.
• Immigration is driving large portions of demographic shifts.
• Indigenous spirituality data seems flawed.

Hinduism

• Trimurti: Three main deities: Brahma (the creator), Vishnu (the sustainer), and Shiva (the destroyer).
• Ganesha: Son of Shiva, often associated with wisdom and good fortune.

Devi and Shakti

• Devi: Manifestation of Shakti, a concept representing divine feminine energy.
• Multiplicity of Manifestations: Devi manifests in multiple forms (e.g., Kali).
• Kali: Manifestation of Devi, goddess of destruction, and the great mother, giver of life.

Hindu Concepts

• Monism: The concept of oneness
• Brahman: The ultimate reality.
• Great Banyan Tree Metaphor: Kolkata's Great Banyan Tree portrays interconnectedness as a single tree with multiple branches, symbolizing the interconnectedness within Hinduism rather than individual separation.
• Sanatana Dharma: Term used to refer to Hinduism, meaning "eternal truth" or "eternal law".