Module 1: Introduction to Religions, Religious Experience and Spirituality

Module 1: Introduction to Religions, Religious Experience and Spirituality

Content

Questions to Ponder:

Have you ever wondered about the

commonalities among religions? What is Golden Mean?

Content/ Discussion

This part is the detailed discussion of this module. It is divided into three sections.

1.1 Religion- Nominal Definition- Religion might came from latin world relegare which means to
read again. On the other hand, most of the scholars believe that the etymology of religion is
“religare” which means “to bind” since the idea of religion is a system that binds a human
person to a social, moral, and legal duty and compels that same person to follow or avoid
particular courses of actions. It also binds that is to say to religion relates human being with the
divine being.
From the beginning, then, there has never been a universal denition of religion. We
could say that religion is concerned with the divine, but even that simple description raises
questions. Is the divine a single entity, or many? What about Theravada Buddhism, which is
clearly a religion but doesn’t worship the kind of god central to religions such as Judaism,
Christianity, and Islam? The same problem arises with religious texts. Is there one text, or set of
texts, that is particularly authoritative for a particular tradition? Is that “canon” closed, or can
new materials be added to it? What are the distinctions between established religions and
newer ones (sometimes referred to pejoratively as “cults”)? We may accept the idea that one
man (Moses) received revelations from God on Mount Sinai 3,200 years ago, or another
(Muhammad) received similar revelations in Mecca 1,400 years ago, but reject the idea that a
 third (Joseph Smith) received revelations in upstate New York 200 years ago. There is some
truth in the notion that today’s cult is tomorrow’s religion. Another way of looking at religion is in
terms of its functions. Thus a simple functional definition might be that religion is a way of
creating community. For some people, “church” has less to do with piety or Sunday worship
than with a community that offers a sense of belonging and activities to participate in. Karl Marx
defined religion in terms of economics, Sigmund Freud, in terms of interior psychological states.
Other scholars have approached the question from the perspective of sociology or
anthropology, looking at religion as a social phenomenon or a cultural product. The academic
study of religion is usually secular, undertaken without a particular faith commitment. One of the
key scholars in this area is Jonathan Z. Smith at the University of Chicago. His work on the
history of religions has had a profound impact on scholarly understanding of key terms such as
“myth” and “ritual,” and the way comparisons are made both within a single religious tradition
and across different traditions.

1.2 Fundamental Features of Religion

Since defining religion is a messy affair, this section will identify the fundamental features of
religion. These features are being shared by all religions; they are:

1. Cosmological dimension-All religions give explanations to the dimension of the world.

Religion stands as an avenue to answer big questions about the existence of the universe.
Religion also provides myths, theories and visions of the creation, nature, meaning, and form
of the universe, and the place of humanity in it.

2. Soteriological dimension- Most, if not all, religions provide a scheme for salvation. This is
the soteriological or salvific dimension of religion. In this way, religion provides an answer to
the proverbial human problem of destination after death. The general idea, as most religions'
salvation theories propose, is to live a life in accordance with the teachings of one's religions
in order to attain salvation or a state of perfection.

3. Anthropological dimension-Another feature is the sense of mystery in religion. Human's

experience and understanding are finite and temporal because of man’s limitations.
Therefore, religion is a dimension to empower the people to transcend from the finite
boundaries of human experience and offer a means for negotiating that which the human
mind cannot fully comprehend.

4. Symbolic dimension- A religion cannot be called a religion if there are no symbols and
rituals. Symbols are signs used for sacred objects or ideas. These symbols give meaning
and interpretation to human behavior. Religious rituals and practices are prescribed,
repeated behaviors with desired and intended outcomes for the enrichment of both the
religion and the person. Repeated ritual can give way to create a sound tradition, and
transform through religious tradition.
 5. Moral dimension- All religions have a sense that there is a right way to live and act -
morality. To live a moral life is to live out the precepts of the religion. Moreover, the idea of
good and evil is fundamental to many faiths, and religion often has a function of offering
moral guidance to society. "The major religions differ in their definitions of what constitutes a
good life - and the line between moral philosophy and religion is far from clear in belief
systems" (The Religions Book).

6. Organizational dimension-All religions have a sense of authority with regard to religious

matters. This is the organizational dimension of religion. Most religions today are headed by
priests or pastors who undergo years of training and education to fulfill their religious role as
leaders. In other religions, the emphasis is placed on an internal authority and personal
understanding of how to live in the world.

7. Theological dimension-Finally, the defining feature of religion is how it introduces the

existence and nature of a supreme being or, in some cases, a source of supreme authority. A
god is the primary object of all religious practice and devotion, and is rarely regarded as mere
conceptions or hypothetical entity. The understanding of a particular religion mainly involves
the necessary knowledge and appreciation of the Supreme Being or beings. All forms of
religious devotional systems are considered expressions of the divine.

1.3 Why Study Religion?

The first and most obvious reason to study religion is that it exists. Not all humans would lay
claim to religious beliefs, but humans in general have been religious from time immemorial. A
closely related reason is that religion has played such an important role in human affairs. People
organize their communities around religious identities, go to war over religious beliefs, make great
art in the service of religion, seek to change social norms, or to prevent change, out of religious
conviction. In short, religion so pervades the human world that it demands our attention regardless
of whether it plays a direct role in our own lives. It is also common to study religion for more
personal reasons. You may want to know more about the tradition you, or someone close to you,
grew up in. You may want to study other religions in order to understand other people’s beliefs, or to
look at your own beliefs from a different perspective. You may also want to arm yourself with
knowledge in order to bring others around to your way of thinking, or to defend your beliefs against
the arguments of those who might try to convert you to theirs.