The Nature of Religion
Religion, belief in a supernatural power or in some sort of spiritual dimension or greater reality, seems to be a universal human need and experience. It gives a sense of purpose to people, and a way to interpret their life. It provides a basis for moral beliefs and behaviors, and some even say that it can influence health. Religion is also a major source of comfort and strength for many people, and can give them a sense of community.
The nature of religion is complex and diverse, and there are many different ways to approach it. The most common way of looking at it is through a philosophical lens. Theologians and philosophers tend to define it in terms of a particular concept of God or deities, or the idea of a transcendent reality that exists beyond the material world. Others, such as psychologists or neuroscientists, might argue that it has something to do with emotions or the need for a greater meaning to one’s life.
Other scholars take a more empirical approach, studying the specific practices and beliefs of people in a certain culture or historical period. Then, they compare that to other religious systems in a comparative study. This allows them to draw lessons that may apply to other religions. This is also known as a functionalist approach, since it focuses on the role that a particular religion plays in a society or person’s life rather than on its distinctive beliefs or ideas. One famous example of this is Emile Durkheim’s definition, which defines religion as whatever system of practices unite a group of people into a single moral community (whether or not those practices involve belief in any unusual realities).
Still other scholars take what might be called a phenomenological approach. This is based on the premise that all religions are subjective experiences that can be studied by examining the details of those experiences, or in other words, by studying a person’s inner state. For this reason, a number of scholars believe that to focus on the belief aspect of religion is to neglect a significant part of the phenomenon.
A variety of other approaches to religion have also emerged in recent decades. Some, such as Rudolf Otto’s concept of the holy, are rooted in modern existentialist concepts. Others, such as Hans Jonas’ intelligent application of a modern existentialist concept of Geworfenheit in his study of Gnosticism or Ninian Smart’s four-sided model, are derived from social science methodologies. The emergence of these various approaches shows how difficult it is to come up with a definitive definition of religion. However, there are some problems with most of these approaches. For example, stipulative definitions, which stipulate that a particular instance must have some specific properties in order to be classified as a religion, are problematic because they leave no room for criticism. Furthermore, they are likely to be based on cultural assumptions that may not be valid elsewhere. This is why most phenomenological approaches tend to avoid using stipulative definitions.