Alston on Religion

What is religion? Notoriously difficult question Most definitions work for some religions but not others Example: belief in a god or gods Problem: How can we talk about Buddhism, Judaism, Islam, and Christianity as “religions”, when they are so different? Solution: Observe the main characteristics of what we call religions

Some ideas to consider Religion is the experience of the holy, inspiring awe, fear, terror, love—Rudolf Otto (p14) Religion is what the individual does with his own solitariness—Alfred North Whitehead (p15) Religion responds to existential questions about death and suffering (pp17-18) Religion “in the largest and most basic sense of the word is ultimate concern”—Paul Tillich (pp21-22) Religion is a quest for sacred reality in human experience (SQ)

Proposal: Religion-making characteristics (RMC’s) Belief in supernatural beings Sacred vs. profane objects Ritual acts focused on sacred objects Moral code Religious feelings Prayer World view: where do we fit? Shaping one’s life around this world view Social group bound by these characteristics

Definition How can we use the RMC’s to create a definition of religion that works for all? Don’t have to have all of them But need to have “enough” to a “sufficient” degree Example: is Communism a religion? Are political beliefs a religion? Buddhism? Confucianism? Some religions have all the characteristics, but many have less Method: Outline clearest cases first, then less clear

SQ’s definition (p22) Religion is a notion of an irreducible sacred reality beyond ordinary experience (p21): Made manifest in human experience That produces traditions of belief and practice (thinking, feeling, and acting) And that helps people to order and understand their existence

Application Which RMC’s are found: in Buddhism? In Judaism? In Islam? In Christianity? Contrast: which are found in something that is not a religion: Marxism?

“Tendencies” of religion Religions can be distinguished into tendencies, based on how they think of the sacred and how people respond to the sacred Sacramental Things manifest the sacred (usually a god or spirit); focus on ritual Prophetic Sacred manifested in society—historical events, messages given by great figures, scriptures Focus on belief and morals (faith) Mystical Focus on immediate experience (consciousness) of the sacred

No religion has a single tendency But each religion usually has a predominant tendency Christianity is predominantly prophetic But Catholicism also has a sacramental tendency