According to Martin Marty’s book, there are seventeen definitions of religion and a single definition can not be agreed upon by scientists. Instead, he points out five features of religion to place boundaries around the term. These features include a “ultimate concern,” building community, appealing to “myth and symbol,” enforcement “through rites and ceremonies,” a demand for “certain behaviors.” His features help identify what religion is in broad terms, while also revealing a “tendency towards violence in religion.” From his features, there is a little room to distinguish politics from religion, and his broad understanding creates fuzzy edges rather than a firm boundary around the term. Its broad usage makes it unhelpful in making distinctions, but when defined too narrowly it can also exclude some phenomena. Many other American historians, sociologists, and academics have also tried and failed to apply a clear definition to religion, but “people still know how to use it in a meaningful way.” Religion is defined in the dictionary as the “belief in and worship of a superhuman controlling power, especially a personal God or gods.” We use the word religion often, yet we never really stop and think, what does it really mean? I think religion is a set of beliefs that make me live my life a certain way. It dictates my words and actions because it makes me act in an intentional way that requires a response from others. Religion adds structure to one’s life and creates patterns that are formulated through beliefs in a god. Religion allows humans to grow intellectually and spiritually because we can derive principles of morality and ethics from its general rules, and we are able to find a larger purpose in life. Lastly, religion gives humans beliefs and practices that can unite people in a community with those who share the same faith.
- Comment
- Reblog
-
Subscribe
Subscribed
Already have a WordPress.com account? Log in now.
Mollie's Blog 
Your response was great to read, but I especially loved the ending. From “I think religion is a set of beliefs” to the end, you really convey the importance and significance of religion. I said in my response that religion is a way of life that brings understanding to the mysterious world and human nature, but your piece shows how people’s “actions” are shaped, how “structure” is brought to people’s lives, how “morality and ethics” are derived, and how “communit[ies]” are formed. And most importantly, you highlight that belief in God (or faith in God) is at the center, further driving home the idea of “fides quaerens intellectum.”
LikeLike
I found the reading explaining Marty’s five features of religion also very helpful in trying to decide the definition of religion. They are successful in beginning the conversation of what religion truly means, however these five characteristics are not a final way in defining the term in any means. I agree that religion includes beliefs that guide one’s life and I think that this is an essential part of what separates religion from followers of a secular institution, such as politics. Your argument that religion allows humans to grow intellectually and spiritually is also a great point and relates to the topic of theology present in Cavadini’s readings. Why do you think it is so hard to define religion?
LikeLike
I think you made an interesting point about religion, that trying to classify it misses something important about its nature. I feel like religion, being the study of something we can’t quite study, probably /should/ be unclassifiable. As Augustine said in our reading for Tuesday, religion is not something we can deduce from prior knowledge. It is an experience with something beyond our understanding. So maybe it makes sense that we can’t put labels on what is and isn’t religion.
LikeLike