ReligionApproaches to the study of religion
Religion is subject to much study and discussion in the fields of
theology, sociology, anthropology, and among ordinary people.
The Rationalistic approach to the study of religion emphasizes
observable aspects: its beliefs about the divine, the ritual practices
that those beliefs inspire, the institutions that arise to control those
beliefs and practices, and the explanations which those beliefs offer
for such mysteries as the origin of the world and the nature of life and
death. This approach makes it possible to conveniently classify things
as either "religious", "anti-religious", or "secular" in relation to
that religion. Unfortunately, this approach is poorly suited to defining
the border between religious and non-religious thought when dealing with
the phenomenon of religion as a whole.
There exist other rational schools of thought which emphasize those
aspects of religion which are not easily observable. One such approach,
sometimes referred to as "Hebrew thought", defines religion according to
its function, how the beliefs play themselves out in the life and
actions of an individual who holds the beliefs. From this standpoint, a
"religion" is any set of beliefs that defines origins, present status
(ontology), and the goal and means by which it is to be reached
(teleology), giving reasons for individual worth and moral actions. Any
system of beliefs which fulfills any of these functions—including some
that are not normally considered religions, such as Communism,
philosophical naturalism, and evolution (whose explanation of human
origins is interpreted as a creation belief)—is ipso facto a religion.
The main advantage of this definition is its ability to include
seamlessly all of the beliefs and practices that are considered
religious. According to its advocates, another advantage of this
approach lies in its recognition of the fact that the phenomenon usually
perceived as conflict between “religion” and “anti-religion” is in fact
competition between different fundamentalisms.
The inclusiveness of this definition is viewed as a disadvantage by its
detractors, who do not consider all belief systems with some
ontological, teleological, or moral elements to be religions. Another
problem is that some individuals feign one religion for public
consumption while actually practicing another religion, or practice
multiple contradictory religions at the same time, thereby making it
difficult to recognize the function of any particular religion, or if
any definite function exists.
More generally, an important disadvantage of any approach to defining
religion which emphasizes those aspects of religion which are not easily
observable, such as its function, is the inherent difficulty of agreeing
on the nature or even the existence of those aspects. In contrast, most
religions' formal aspects are easy to agree upon, making it possible to
make them the basis for an anthropological or sociological analysis.
Consequently, most major thinkers prefer to examine the formal,
observable aspects of religion. The rest of this article considers
religion from this perspective.
Religion in modernity
In the late 19th century and throughout most of the 20th century,
religion, especially Christianity, has seen great reductions in its
relative power and membership, and, to a lesser degree, to its
reputation. Some historically Christian Western countries, particularly
in Europe, show declining recruitment for priesthoods and monasteries,
and studies in the UK show a fast-diminishing attendance at churches,
synagogues, etc. The demographic group that is "losing faith" the most
rapidly is the most-educated classes. Explanations for this effect
include the security and comfort afforded by modern technology, the
materialistic philosophical influence of science, the development of
what some call "secular religions" such as Marxism and Humanism, and the
hostility that many feel toward evangelical religions in an age that
places greater emphasis on toleration. However, in many parts of the
world, religion is far from declining. In the United States and in Latin
America, for instance, studies show that religion is as strong as ever,
and in the Middle East fundamentalist Islam has been growing rapidly, as
attested to by the rise of extremist movements in Iran, Turkey,
Afghanistan, and many other Islamic states. Messianic Judaism has seen a
great deal of growth over the last forty years.
Questions that religions address
Religions are systems of belief which typically answer questions about
the following concerns:
the divine, the sacred and the supernatural,
our purpose as beings, on earth, goals in this life and possible other
states of being like heaven, nirvana, purgatory or hell,
what happens to us when we die and how to prepare for that,
the nature of Deity (or Deities) (cf God) and what She, He, They or It
wants from us,
our relationships with the divine, the sacred, ancestors, other
believers, nonbelievers, and the natural world around us; that is, how
to behave properly in relation to others.
Generally, the different religions and the non-religious all have
different answers for the above concerns. Hence, scholars can classify a
religion according to the characteristic answer the religion gives for
the above concerns.
