Christianity and the World_01_Fall 2023 First week.pdf

Religion? Defining definition What is the study of religion(Religious Studies)? Definition “To determine fixed limits of the concept(s). To offer a precise descriptive characterization of the concept.” Some classical attempts to define religion “The perception of the infinite” (F. Max Mü ller)...

Religion? Defining definition What is the study of religion(Religious Studies)? Definition “To determine fixed limits of the concept(s). To offer a precise descriptive characterization of the concept.” Some classical attempts to define religion “The perception of the infinite” (F. Max Mü ller) “Belief in spiritual things”(E. B. Tylor) →“I am religious because I believe that gods exist.” “procipiation and conciliation of powers believed to be superior to man” (Brian Morris) Religion vs. Science→ Problematic: Religion persists even . . . Functionalist approach Durkheim, The Elementary Forms of Religious Life(종교생활의 원초적 형태) 토테미즘(totemism) 연구. “a religion is a unified system of beliefs and practices relative to sacred things, that is to say, things set apart and forbidden.” →anything can be sacred in a given society. (for instance, the flag in the U.S.) 태극기 부대? → Religion serves for communal solidarity (social function). Homo religiosus Mircea Eliade’s view (ontological approach) “a being fundamentally hardwired with an orientation toward a greater and awesome Other.” “Religion consists of those beliefs, practices, rituals and feelings that are directed toward the Center, the primal time, the “zone of absolute reality.” Problem? The problem of the ontological approach Two Major Problems “The first is that the definition of religion in terms of spiritual or supernatural content, while seemingly straight forward, actually only defers the question: we are left wondering how to define “spiritual” or “supernatural,” neither of which, it turns out, is much easier to define clearly that religion itself.” “The second problem is that they assume, without giving any particular good reasons why, that whatever characteristics they identify as constitutive of religion are important characteristics.” “첫 번째는 영적 또는 초자연적 내용 측면에서 종교를 정의하는 것은 간단해 보이지만 실제로는 '영적' 또는 '초자연적'을 어떻게 정의할지 의문을 남길 뿐이라는 점이다. “영적” 또는 “초자연적”이라는 단어의 정의는 종교 자체를 명확하게 정의하는 것보다 더 쉽지 않은 작업이다.” “두 번째 문제는 특별히 타당한 근거를 제시하지 않은 채 종교를 구성하는 특징이 무엇이든 그것은 중요한 특징이라고 가정한다는 점이다” Religion as a Cultural System Clifford Geertz (1966, 4) “Religion is (1) a system of symbols which acts to (2) establish powerful, pervasive, and long – lasting moods and motivations in men by (3) formulating conceptions of a general order of existence and (4) clothing these conceptions with such an aura of factuality that (5) the moods and motivations seem uniquely realistic.” A Quote from Jonathan Z. Smith There is no data for religion. Religion is solely the creation of the scholar’s study. It is created for the scholar’s analytic purposes by his imaginative acts of comparison and generalization. Religion has no independent existence apart from the academy. For this reason, the student of religion, and most particularly the historian of religion, must be relentlessly self-conscious. Indeed, this self-consciousness constitutes his primary expertise, his foremost object of study. Jonathan Z. Smith, Imagining Religion: From Babylon to Jonestown (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1982), xi. “다양한 문화에서 다양한 기준을 가지고 막대한 양의 자료와 현상, 인간의 경험과 표현물을 종교적인 성격을 지닌 것으로 취급하였지만, 종교라고 부를 수 있는 자료는 존재하지 않는다. 종교란 학자가 연구를 통해 만든 창안물에 지나지 않는다. 종교는 학자가 분석적 목적을 위하여 비교와 일반화를 지향하는 상상력을 발휘하여 만들어 낸 것이다. 종교는 학문의 세계와 무관하게 독자적으로 존재하는 것이 아니다.” “종교는 오로지 학자가 수행하는 연구의 창조물이다. 학자는 분석을 위해 상상력을 발휘하여 비교하고 일반화함으로써 종교를 창조한다. 종교는 학문 영역을 떠나서는 어떠한 독립적인 존재도 가지고 있지 않다.” 유용성? 상상? 범주(category)? Our approach ◘ Religion is what humans do → So the subject matter of the study of religion is . . . culture and human activity We are not concerned with the existence of gods. When examining other religions, it's important to set aside the framework of Christianity.