Defining Religion "Religion is only the illusory sun which revolves round man as long as
he does not revolve round himself". Karl Marx.
Before we can look at the Marxist theory of religion we must first
have some understanding of what religion is. For many in todays world
religion is becoming something alien, only 3% of the population of
Britain attend Church! Religion is, however, much more than simple
Church attendance, something that has never been high amongst the
British working-class. Religion for me involves two things: beliefs
and practices, or, rituals. Roland Robertson defines religion in the
following succinct manner:
"(religion) refers to the existence of supernatural beings that have a
governing effect on life"
This is as clear a definition of religion as I have come across.
Religion refers to the existence of beings that transcend nature, that
is, they do not conform to the laws of nature. These supernatural
beings are superhuman, they can perform tasks that no creature on
earth could possibly perform. This definition of religion may,
however, lead to some religions not being defined as religions. No
definition is perfect.
Religion also involves practices or rituals. What is a ritual? For me
it is simply some repeated pattern of human action which has some
religious significance or connection. For example, marriage ceremonies
in churches, baptism, prayer, confession, confirmation are all
rituals. Such rituals can be conceived of in ideological terms, or in
terms of control. They are symbolic in nature often expressi...
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Did Jesus not tell his disciples to cast off their worldly
possessions, and not to think of tomorrow?
Conclusion
While it may indeed be true that religion and religious movements have
challenged the status quo at given times it remains the case that
throughout the history of religion the vast majority of religious
organisations and beliefs have served the interests of the
ruling-class. Even those religions and religious movements that have
at one time challenged the status quo have been turned over the course
of time into a tool of the powerful, that is, into ruling class
ideology. The Marxist case with regard to religion is very
comprehensive, even if we accept that in some cases religion can be a
force for change. Certainly no other theory explains religion in so
comprehensive and compelling a manner.
What is religion? Each person’s definition of religion is different. Each person’s faith is different. This is a question that has been asked for centuries, and regardless of the answer given there is no right or wrong answer. Religion can be defined as a group of people who have shared beliefs who feel their life has purpose or meaning. This feeling or belief that their life has meaning can come from outside of themselves, as well as within. Taking this one step further, these shared beliefs put into action in the form of worship, can be easily identified because they happen regularly. It can be said the Primal religions were in fact not religions. Some may argue Confucianism is not a religion. Others may say Taoism is not a religion. However, one argument can be made. All three of these “religions” share “features.” Huston Smith, author of World’s Religions, says “six features of religion appear so regularly as to suggest that their seeds are in the human makeup.” These six features discussed in World’s Religions are as follows: authority, ritual, explanation, tradition, grace, and mystery (World’s, Page 67). First is authority, Smith argues religion is so complex that people will need assistance or guidance from those held in a higher light, or of a higher authority. Next is ritual, which can be happy (a wedding) or sad (a funeral), rituals are shared between people of the same religion in many forms as a sign of common beliefs. Following rituals, some explanation is required. Many of a religion’s followers ask for explanations, some ask, “What is my purpose in life?” Others may ask, “Who is God?” Depending on one’s religion, the questions or
Throughout the day’s observation, a plethora of sociological concepts become abundantly apparent. However, for the purpose of this paper, we will only focus on the day’s greatest prevalent concepts. The first concept that strikes as a significant sociological concept is family as it is the opening and closing concept of the day. Next, the concept of gender roles appears as important because of the masculine groups that are so prevalent during observation. Third, the theory of religion grabs its place in prevalence due to its ability to center and focus the entire day. Lastly, the concept of stage theory rears into the spot as a result of interactions in the work center. When reviewing these sociological concepts, it becomes abundantly clear
Religion; a complex idea that originated many centuries ago by various groups of individuals and has continued to shape and change the world ever since. Early history of many of the different religions, such as Buddhism, Judaism, Christianity, etc., seem to start off with a society stuck in this state of un-happiness, and a world that needs to be changed for the better. Ultimately there is one goal… to be happy and live by morals/codes to be able to reach this happiness. While there may be several differences in the various religions in the world such as how they practice or interpret ideas, they all have the same purpose just shown at a different angle. Religion has provided liberation and purpose to individuals, especially in the earlier centuries where chaos and disorder were more common. A leader or prophet was needed to speak what they believed was the
Religion is a very important factor to a variety of believers. People have the liberty to decide what they want to follow and believe. Conflicts have emerged in Christianity due to the abundant amount of sects that broke off from Christianity. Not having the significant amount of information on religions has led to insignificant remarks and rumors. Each sect has different values and perspectives. The Church of Latter Day Saints and The Roman Catholic Church have different beliefs that reveal different values.
Religion is a symbolic representation of society. The sociological approach to religious belief looks at how society behaves on a whole, to answer the question, “Why are people religious?” We express our participation in religious events through plays, acts of confession, religious dances, etc. To begin to understand why we have such term, let’s understand the common elements of religion. There are different types in which people believe in or follow and that is: animatism, animism, ancestral spirits, god and goddesses, and minor supernatural beings. Beyond these different elements, such one is to have religious leaders to follow.
Over the years, society has come to evolve and progressively become more efficient as society’s viewpoints and perspectives on various aspects of life have also changed. However, the one aspect of life that has stayed constant has been religion. The impact of a constant religious opinion on a changing society has detrimental and benign effects on the populace of such a society.
Religion is an ever-growing idea that has no set date of origin. Throughout history religion has served as an answer to the questions that man could not resolve. The word religion is derived from the Latin word “religio” meaning restraint in collaboration with the Greek word “relegere” which means to repeat or to read again. Religion is currently defined as an organized system of beliefs and practices revolving around, or leading to, a transcendent spiritual experience. Throughout time, there has yet to be a culture that lacks a religion of some form, whether it is a branch of paganism, a mythological based religion or mono/polytheistic religion. Many religions have been forgotten due to the fact that they were ethnic religions and globalizing religions were fighting to be recognized, annihilating these ancient and ethnic religions. Some of these faiths include: Finnish Paganism, Atenism, Minoan Religion, Mithraism, Manichaeism, Vedism, Zoroastrianism, Asatru, and the Olmec Religion. Religion is an imperative part of our contemporary world but mod...
84% of the people on earth claim to be religious.(2) One third of the world claims to be Christians, 1.6 billion people in the world claim to be Islamic, (3) and one out of five people in the world claim to be spiritual but not religious. (1) Spirituality and religion are often thought to be synonymous, but it’s important to understand the differences between the two. The two have been around for ages, but even though they contrast; they are not the same. One could be described as an outer look on acts and laws, the other more as an internal look of oneself.
Scholars have been trying to come up with a well-founded, acceptable and universal definition of religion for years; however, none of these definitions so far are a perfect fit for all religions of the world. There are many things in our life that are well defined and well understood but, unfortunately, religion is not one of them. There is no common ground and understanding of what religion really means. Religion is what we make of it, so no one can truly define religion in a way that is meaningful across all borders as it is outside of the realm of reason and rationale and the definitions we give could be either too exclusive or inclusive.
that religion is the existence of subjective consciousness, is the spiritual life of people, belonging
In my opinion, Atheism is not considered to be a religion. The world today is moving towards Atheism as secularism expands and churches start to go out of business. The modern age is believed to be moving away from religion as people see no point in having religion in a more scientific and technological day and age where most universal questions can be answered through science. This doesn’t mean that Atheism is a religion, though. Even if the world decides to branch from religion and move towards a more secular view of existence without a super being, it doesn’t mean that a belief in no god is considered a religion.
According to the Merriam-Webster dictionary, the definition of religion is as follows: “the belief in a god or in a group of gods, an organized system of beliefs, ceremonies, and rules used to worship a god or a group of gods, or an interest, a belief, or an activity that is very important to a person or group” (Merriam-Webster.) My personal definition of religion is that it is a set of beliefs and practices that generally pertain the worship of one or more than one spiritual beings or representations of a spiritual power. Religion can be personal belief or an organization or group of people who have similar beliefs and values. There are many different types of religions in the world and have been since the history of mankind.
The simplest definition states, "In many cultures and times, religion has been the basic foundation of life, permeating all aspects of human existence (pg 12, Fisher)." Another more extensive definition read,
Religion is the one element of life that has connected the races and societies of the world for hundreds of years. It has given meaning to lives that may seem otherwise hopeless. Religion has provided for a universal language and culture among those who believe in a higher power. The spirit or being receiving the worship and praise may not be the same, but the practices are usually similar and serve the same purpose--to give direction, insight, courage, and a divine connection.
The definition of religion is the belief in and worship of a superhuman controlling power, especially a personal God or gods(Merriam-Webster). After this semester I have come to realize that religion is a much more advanced, complicated, and personal definition. Religion can’t be defined in one word or one term because there is a lot that religion entails. There really is no concrete answer of what religion is and the definition varies among different groups of people and individuals.