RELIGIOUS STUDIES

APPROACHES AND INSIGHTS

DEFINITIONS AND CHARACTERISTICS OF RELIGION

PART ONE

RELIGION: TOUGH TO DEFINE• Very difficult for scholars to capture a full

definition• Latin roots of the word• Re (again)• Lig (join/connect)• Religion = to rejoin, reconnect• Reconnecting our human world

to the sacred• Connecting a community holding

common beliefs

Bound Roman tablets with magic inscriptions from late antiquity

RELIGION: CHARACTERISTICS• Components of religion:• A belief system or comprehensive worldview• A community that shares that belief system• Central stories that articulate and dramatize the belief

system• Rituals enacted by the community• Ethics/Rules of behavior• Material expression (visual arts, music, etc.)

RELIGION: SACRED REALITY

• All religions are concerned with the deepest levels of reality

• God is often defined by transcendence. That is, exceeding the limits of our reality

RELIGION: TRADITIONAL VIEWS• A way to deal with our

own mortality

• Social companionship among those with a shared worldview

• An outlet for to artistic expression

• Respond to humanity’s natural wonder at the world around us

RELIGION: MODERN IDEAS• William James in Varieties of Religious

Experience• Visible world is merely part of a spiritual

universe

• Union with the spiritual is our true destination

• Inner communion through prayer, the “law,” etc. produce effects in material world

• Adds a zestful quality to life

• Brings an assurance of safety to oneself and peaceful relations with others

William JamesNew York Review of Books

RELIGION: INTEGRAL WITH CULTURE• Religion is the substance of culture, and culture

the form of religion. — Paul Tillich, theologian

Tao ritual in China

APPROACHES TO STUDYING RELIGION

PART TWO

RELIGION: APPROACHES TO STUDY• Many disciplines take on religion as a subject of

study. None capture the entire picture, but provide valuable interdisciplinary insights.

• Some disciplinary approaches• Psychology: Mental effects of religion, from mystical states

to human development• Anthropology: How religion influences and shapes world

cultures• Linguistics: How religious ideas shape how we speak and

how we define the world around us

RELIGION: APPROACHES TO STUDY• Historic theories about religion:• “Great Founder” theory: Moses, Buddha, Muhammad, etc.

establish new tradition

RELIGION: APPROACHES TO STUDY• Historic theories about religion:• Sociological approach: Religion emerges from social

dynamic of whole tribes and peoples

RELIGION: APPROACHES TO STUDY• Historic theories about

religion:• Structuralism: The human

mind is pre-dispositioned to form ideas about morality, sacredness, etc.

RELIGION: APPROACHES TO STUDY• Historic theories about religion:• Post-structuralism: Religion found in the individuality of

experience

RELIGION: APPROACHES TO STUDY• Historic theories about religion:

• Deconstruction: Religious ideas are found in the meaning adherents assign to their sacred texts

RELIGION: APPROACHES TO STUDY• Clifford Geertz: Pioneered phenomenological

approach: • Relies on experiential observation over a long period• Tackles both ritual and beliefs along with their meanings

to adherents for “thick description”

Illustration by Bennett Klein

RELIGION: CRITICAL ISSUES• Can religious research capture the wide array of

perspectives within the religion itself?

RELIGIOUS STUDIES: ISSUES AND INSIGHTS

PART THREE

RELIGIOUS STUDIES: INSIGHTS

• Studying religion offers insight into: • Human values and creativity

• Grand patterns in human development

• The individuality of people

• The diversity of human expression

• Approaches to peaceful relationships

RELIGIOUS STUDIES: INSIGHTS• Studying religion offers insight into: • The role of religion in everyday life

• An appreciation for the arts

• Enriched experience in travel

• One’s own religious journey

© Walter R. Ratliff

WHAT IS RELIGION: AN APPROACH TO STUDY