What is Religion About the Author My is Lesego Simon Mothoa, I was born in 1991 March 10, I lives in Soweto in Dobsonville, I started my studies at the age of 6 years at Thabang Primary School in the very same town as I live, I then went to Boikanyo Higher Primary school where I completed my grade 7 and the progressed to Forte high School where I completed my matric in 2010. I am the last born of the four children of Mr. and Mrs. Mothoa; I have one brother Buti Mothoa (first born) and two sisters, Mpho (second born) and Lerato (third born). I am a Theological student at the University of Pretoria Given the opportunity by the African Institution of Missiology; I wanted so much to be an IT technician. But because I had a calling to be a minister, so I had to answer, I may give the world a big NO but a big YES to God. I’ve spend most of my time outdoor exploring things such as technology and nature, I’ve always had a vision that someday I would have my own IT company and provide training to all people who wish or have interest in computers. One of my major goals above all is to have an orphanage and take care of the children who are on the streets who are homeless, helpless and abundant by their parents some of them left their home because of certain valid reasons or forces. I was baptized and confirmed in Hervomder Kerk, now is called Maranatha Reformed of Christ in Dobsonville, that’s where most of my family and relatives church since their birth, they also were baptized and confirmed in the church and we are still in the members in the church. My passion is to serve the church with all my heart it has given me the reason to say “God lives in me.” It may be a small house but the welcome is always great. My mission is to study Psychology after completing my Theological studies and pursue the career which will benefit not only me but also the community as whole, because my vision is to see the community I live in at a better standard than what it is now. Though it’ll take me time but I’m willing to do so in Christ Jesus which Strengthen me.
Introduction In the world which we currently live in, there are many religion, beliefs and gods. In every society there’s a religion in which people put their faith and believe in its god. We have different type of religious parties, which have their own way of worshiping, offering sacrifices and rules of its religion. In this article we will be discussing the characteristics of Science of Religion, different types of religion, and their different types of definitions, i.e. what is religion? And where does it come from? We will also be illustrating how each religion was formed and by whom under which basis, its history. We will trace back the events of these religions and also to see their formulation. Some of the religions still exist and some do not. The most important part in the event of where does religion comes from, we will be looking on how these definitions are being categorized in their own group, namely: 1. Sociological statements on the origin of religion 2. Psychological statements on the origin of religion 3. Philosophical statements on the origin of religion In short I can state that science of religion doesn’t just focus on the contents and history of different religion but also on what lies behind these facets. “The fact that we all have to acknowledge that we live in a world of many religions is one of the major challenges of our time. Soon or later – at home or at school, in the neighbourhood, on the sport field or in the work place – we will encounter people who belong to other religion, or who do not belong to any organized form of religion at all.” 1 It’s unfortunate that the world we live in cannot be built on one religion and one god. However, our differences are different and we are not to force people what to believe, but to explain or show them what each religion is built upon and what do they believe and which god does it worship, who is the founder of that religion, what’s its constitution and the requirements. Some you need to go for initiation before you can be accepted in the group. Some of the religions are built upon the adoption of certain features of other religions (we can say borrowing interesting worshipping liturgy or sacrifices). This religion they somehow connected to one another. It is the duty of Science of Religion to reveal the truth or the existence of these religions to the people and not suggest any religion for people, but to remain neutral in all it reveals.
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(JS Kruger, 2009)
What is religion? When attempting to define religion, we end up with an already existing list of definitions. So instead of adding just one more definition to an already existing list, we can decide to rather study the types of definition in order to determine how scholars have gone about over the centuries. Many people when they are faced with this question they all give different answers, true, I agree with them, in terms of defining what religion is come from a person’s point of view, because we belong to different types of religious societies, and one would force to be right in terms of the background of his or her religion. Philosophers will answer you in a philosophical way or mind set, same goes also to the theologians, traditional leaders, sociologist and psychologist. We all give the answer fromthe point where we stand. But it’s important to view all these answers to get to one departure of one answer. We’re not saying they’re a final and accepted answer but can be a primary one to lead us to others definitions. Moreover, I could ask, do we really understand what religion is? Here islittle point of views on how other people view or understand “what is religion”? Ø In Schopenhauer’s view “the various forms of Religion are no less a product of human ingenuity than Art or Science.” Ø The anthropologist Clifford Geertz defined religion as a "system of symbols which acts to establish powerful, pervasive, and long-lasting moods and motivations in men by formulating conceptions of a general order of existence and clothing these conceptions with such an aura of factuality that the moods and motivations seem uniquely realistic”2 Ø The sociologist Durkheim, in his seminal book The Elementary Forms of the Religious Life, defined religion as a "unified system of beliefs and practices relative to sacred things"3 Ø The theologian Antoine Vergote also emphasized the "cultural reality" of religion, which he defined as "the entirety of the linguistic expressions, emotions and, actions and signs that refer to a supernatural being or supernatural beings"; he took the term "supernatural" simply to mean whatever transcends the powers of nature or human agency.4 Ø The psychologist William James defined religion as "the feelings, acts, and experiences of individual men in their solitude, so far as they apprehend themselves to stand in relation to whatever they may consider the divine"5
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Geertz, C. (1993) Religion as a cultural system. In: The interpretation of cultures: selected essays, Geertz, Clifford, pp.87-125. Fontana Press 3 Durkheim, E. (1915). The Elementary Forms of the Religious Life. London: George Allen &Unwin 4 Vergote, A. (1996) Religion, belief and unbelief. A Psychological Study, Leuven University Press. (p. 16) 5 James, W. (1902) The Varieties of Religious Experience. A Study in Human Nature. Longmans, Green, and Co. (p. 31)
To name few people from different profession, we can see that already that their views are not the same and each would want to be correct in terms of answers. It is a difficult question to answer, but we have to take all their views into consideration. Due to an already exiting list, we cannot list all of the definitions but, we can group then in the following (4) four categories: 1. Minimal- these are the definitions that are so narrow- minded and limiting that many aspects of religions are excluded. 2. Maximal- definitions so vague or encompassing that it can include structures that are not necessarily seen as religion. 3. Substantive and Metaphysical- are definitions that use the terms and concepts that religions themselves use when they talk about themselves. 4. Functional- these are the definitions that focus on what religion does instead of what religion is. In my own understanding, I’d define religion the as belief in and worship of a superhuman controlling power, especially a personal God or gods as a nature in which a person sets his or her mind-set to a certain group practising what they do and putting his or her faith in all that happens, worshipping and offering of sacrifices. Religion is what you as a human being can create and name, having your own thoughts and adapting from other religions group the certain things which you think can best be involved in your religion. Battling about what is religion won’t get us anywhere, due to different types of religions we have. Possibly, we can only try to understand that religion does exists and in a mass form. Now that we have seen how the definitions of what religion is have been grouped or categorised according to their definition. Now we will be looking at how these religions are grouped in different types of religions, they may look as follows: 1. Ethnical- are religions belong exclusively to one culture. 2. Local or localised- these religions have borders or boundaries and are only found in one place in the world. 3. Universal or world- this type of religion can be found across the world in all countries. 4. Natural or tradition- this type of religion is described by some as the most basic from of religion. 5. Revelation- the origin these types of religion can be traced back to a form of revelation made by a deity to a nation or to an individual. 6. Ethical- this religion function on the conviction that it is better to do the right things than to believe the right things. 7. Founder- this religion can be traced back to a person.
Just to mention few, we can already see that we have many types of religion and therefore, instead of mentioning them we can just easily categorise them according to their group belonging or class of identification. In short, religion is anything which a person places his or her believe on, and we have many people who defines what religion in their different profession is. These definitions can be categorised in their point of departure. We have also seen that we have many religions in the world, and if it were to be named the list would be endless, the best and possible way was to name few categories in which they are being placed according to their preference.
Where does religion comes from Now out next point to start with is “where does religion comes from”? We all know everything originate from somewhere before its existence. In the following article we will be looking at some of the religions. Explaining how they came their existence, when, where and by whom where these religions brought forth. There are a number of theories about where religion comes from, but the truth is every religion as its own origin. They cannot origin from one place. But some religion is derived from other religion to form their own. We will be looking in three different perspectives to try to explain where religion truly originates. The following are the perspectives we will be working on or with their views. 1. Sociological perspective. 2. Psychological perspective. 3. Philosophical and Theological perspectives. These perspectives are the identified tools to help us to understand where does religion comes from. Another which I can also recommend can be anthropology, due to its detailed definition. Starting with sociological statement on the origin of religion:
Sociological statements 1. Karl Marx (1818 – 1883). Believes that, religion was created by the rich in order to keep the oppressed masses content with their status. 2. Peter Berger (1929 –present). Religion is part of our understanding of reality. This makes religion a human construct that helps us to get a grasp on reality.
Psychological statements
1. Democritus (460BC- 370BC), states that, religion originates from human fears and uncertainties. He adds: religion helps to reduces human fears as well as to give meaning to life. 2. Ludwig Feuerbach (1804- 1872). The human hearts deepest wishes, dreams and desires are the origin of religion.
Philosophical and Theological statements 1. Immanuel Kant (1724- 1804): The existence of God, the Absolute, is essential to explain the ethical behaviour of man’s everyday life. Even just acknowledging the existence of God has ethical value. There has to be something larger than the human race which expects of us to live properly. Ethnic thus become the foundation of religion. 2. Theo Sundermeier (1940- present): Religion is the communal answer of man in response to the encounter with the transcendental. Religion finds expression in ethics and rituals. There are a number of theories regarding the origins of religion. According to anthropologists John Monaghan and Peter Just, many of the great world religions appear to have begun as revitalization movements of some sort, as the vision of a charismatic prophet fires the imaginations of people seeking a more comprehensive answer to their problems than they feel is provided by everyday beliefs. The development of religion has taken different forms in different cultures. Some religions place an emphasis on belief, while others emphasize practice. Some religions focus on the subjective experience of the religious individual, while others consider the activities of the religious community to be most important. Some religions claim to be universal, believing their laws and cosmology to be binding for everyone, while others are intended to be practiced only by a closely defined or localized group. In many places religion has been associated with public institutions such as education, hospitals, the family, government, and political hierarchies. Anthropologists John Monoghan and Peter Just state that, "it seems apparent that one thing religion or belief helps us do is deal with problems of human life that are significant, persistent, and intolerable. One important way in which religious beliefs accomplish this is by providing a set of ideas about how and why the world is put together that allows people to accommodate anxieties and deal with misfortune. One modern academic theory of religion, social constructionism, says that religion is a modern concept that suggests all spiritual practice and worship follows a model similar to the Abrahamic religions as an orientation system that helps to interpret reality and define human beings, and thus religion, as a concept, has been applied inappropriately to non-Western cultures that are not based upon such systems, or in which these systems are a substantially simpler construct.
References 1. Monaghan, John; Just, Peter (2000). Social & Cultural Anthropology. New York: Oxford University Press. p. 124. ISBN978-0-19-285346-2. 2. James, W. (1902) The Varieties of Religious Experience. A Study in Human Nature. Longmans, Green, and Co. (p. 31) 3. Geertz, C. (1993) Religion as a cultural system. In: The interpretation of cultures: selected essays, Geertz, Clifford, pp.87-125. Fontana Press 4. Durkheim, E. (1915). The Elementary Forms of the Religious Life. London: George Allen &Unwin 5. Vergote, A. (1996) Religion, belief and unbelief. A Psychological Study, Leuven University Press. (p. 16)