Religion
A religion is an apparently-universal human social phenomenon involving beliefs, values, practices, and group identity. Scholars typically characterize religion as concerned with the supernatural; the sacred; or with subjects of ultimate concern (such as birth and death). Elements which are often associated with "religion" include:
- a distinctive worldview or belief-system
- group identity
- social institutions
- rituals
- rules or behavioral expectations
- a focus on the supernatural
Some religions are implicit, and consist of inherited ancestral traditions (a "way of life"). Others are organized, and promote themselves in conscious contrast to alternatives within the wider society. We may also distinguish between personal religious beliefs and experiences, and those which may be socially prescribed.
In the case of religions which are divided into sects or denominations, the word "religion" is generally reserved for the most fundamental level of spiritual identity. For example, Methodists generally do not describe Methodism as a "religion" in its own right, but as a denomination within the religion of Christianity. Sikhs, however, insist that they are a "religion," and not, for example, merely a sect of Hinduism (despite their many similarities).
The word "religion"
Major religions of the world
What makes a religion important, or worth studying? Common criteria include
- Size, i.e. number of followers. Major problems include definitional ones (e.g., are we to count "Catholics" according to the number of people baptized as Catholics, the number who say they are Catholics, or the number who attend mass at least occasionally?) as well as practical problems of enumeration. This list is organized according to size. Adherents.com is a well-known site which compiles population estimates for various religions.
- Antiquity, i.e. the age of a religion (with older ones generally being regarded as more venerable). This is not always easily calculated. For example, to many it seems obvious that Judaism is older than Christianity, which in turn is older than Islam; yet all three lay claim the same prophetic tradition. Moreover, the basic features of (rabbinic) Judaism and Christianity as we know them coalesced at about the same time, during the second-to-fourth centuries AD. And should the International Society for Krishna Consciousness be traced back to the 1960's activity of A.C. Bhaktivedanta Prabhupada; to the career of the fifteenth-century Bengali saint Caitanya; to the composition of the Bhagavadgita some two thousand years ago; or to Krishna himself (if he in fact existed as a historical figure)?
- Influence. While this is difficult to quantify with anything like objectivity, several religions have clearly influenced the world beyond what their numbers would suggest. For example, many of the characteristic features of the Abrahamic religions seem to have originated with Zoroastrianism, whose presence is now much reduced. And Jews have never been very numerous, but an intellectual history of the world could hardly be written without reference to them.
- Intrinsic interest. Often interest in a religion is inspired by some noteworthy event or attribute, whether good or bad.
Over 100 million followers
Christianity recognizes as its founder Jesus Christ, who is generally held to be God incarnate. Its holy scriptures are compiled into the (Christian) Bible. With as many as two billion followers, Christianity is probably the largest religion in the world. Major divisions include the "Oriental" churches (centered around Egypt, Ethiopia, Armenia, and Syria), Eastern Orthodoxy (Greece / Byzantium and Greater Russia), Roman Catholicism (various West European countries and their former colonies), and Protestantism (North Europe and the Anglophone world).
Islam is based on the teachings of the Qur'an, as revealed by God (Arabic Allah) through his messenger, the Prophet Muhammad. Muhammad is regarded as the final prophet in a series which also includes Moses, Jesus, and others. The name Islam is Arabic for "submission" (i.e., to God), and a Muslim is "one who has submitted." (Abraham is said to have been the first "Muslim" in this wider sense.) The major division within Islam--between Sunni and Shi'a--stems from a disagreement over who should have succeeded Muhammad as leader of the Muslim community. The world's Muslim population may have passed one billion and is divided into Arabic, Persian, Turkish, sub-Saharan African, Indian sub-continental, (Hui) Chinese, and Malay-Indonesian regions.
Hinduism encompasses a variety of Indian deity-cults (the most popular being those of Vishnu and Shiva) united through their shared acknowledgement of the Vedas and other sacred texts and traditions. More than a set of doctrines, Hinduism is perhaps most easily visible as complex sets of duties and relationships around which much of Indian society is organized. This Brahmanical-derived system became dominant some two thousand years ago by integrating what had formerly been independent local cults into a pan-imperial religious culture. The term itself seems to have been chosen by Muslims, to describe the religion of people living on the "other" side of the Indus River.
Chinese religion is a complex of folk traditions, professional religious services operating under the names of "Buddhism" and "Taoism," a "Confucian" social ethic, and various sectarian movements which partake of this ethos. As the name suggests, Chinese religion is largely confined to ethnic (Han) Chinese, whether in China proper or overseas. Many of its presumed adherents describe themselves as irreligious (i.e. not regarding this complex as a religion), or as Buddhists, an identity which is often found in combination with it.
Buddhism was historically founded by Siddhartha Gautama, but recognizes Buddhas who predate him as a part of its sacred history. The major objects of worship are the "three jewels" (Buddha, dharma, sangha); and a commonly-expressed goal within the religion is enlightenment, or escape from the cycle of reincarnation. Culturally and theologically, Buddhism naturally divides into (1) Southern Buddhism, or Theravada, and (2) Northern Buddhism, or Mahayana; with the latter capable of being subdivided into (2a) Tibetan / Mongolian / Himalayan Buddhism, and (2b) East Asian Buddhism. ("Vajrayana" or "Tantric" Buddhism is a special subcategory of Mahayana.)
Over 10 million followers
Sikhismrecognizes a series of ten gurus beginning with Guru Nanak in the sixteenth century. Its spiritual homeland is India's Punjab region. Sikhism is sometimes described as a form of local resistance to Islam, which incorporated crucial features of its enemy such as monotheism and militancy, and gradually developed an identity independent of Hinduism.
Judaism is the religion associated with the Hebrew Bible, including the "written and oral Torahs"; and with the "people of Israel" represented today by ethnic Jews. Its sacred history recognizes Abraham as its greatest patriarch; Moses as its greatest prophet and lawgiver; and David as its greatest king. From its sacred homeland of Israel, Judaism has been indelibly shaped by its history of exile, and experience of anti-Semitism. For most Jews, perhaps, Judaism is primarily an ethnic identity, for which the religion serves as a useful marker or anchor.
Over one million followers
The Baha'i religion -- followers of 19th-century Persian prophet Baha'u'llah. A major emphasis is the unity of humanity transcending all divisions of race, nationality, gender, etc. The religion has spread to numerous countries worldwide.
Caodaism -- a Vietnamese religion founded in 1925, and emphasizing mediumistic messages received from such spirits as Victor Hugo or Sun Yat-sen. The Vietnamese government strictly regulates its activities so that, for example, seances are no longer practiced. "Caodai" means "high tower" and is their name for God.
Yiguandao (or I-Kuan Tao) -- a Chinese sectarian movement most visible in Taiwan. Yiguandao ("Unity Religion") claims a series of "patriarchs" from the primordial Chinese or Buddhist past. Its historical roots lie in late-Ching Dynasty teachers Lu Zhongyi (identified with Maitreya) and Zhang Tianran.
Chondogyo A 19th-century Korean movement that arose in opposition to Roman Catholicism. The name means "Teachings of the Way of Heaven." Its earlier name was Donghak ("Eastern Teachings"), in contrast to the Western teachings which it was confronting.
Less than one million followers
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Neopaganism includes a variety of revivals of
"New Age") is a term that was coined to describe the modern trend of new religions which have a strong belief in the supernatural. Some religions strongly reject the label as it has been used derisively by scholars of other faiths, while some religions accept the label proudly. These religions are very diverse.
Borderline cases
There is no agreement as to the proper meaning and scope of the term "religion." Following are some debateable examples:
Confucianism. Textbooks on religion often include Confucianism, but its adherents often disagree, pointing to Confucius' reluctance to discuss the supernatural.
Freemasonry. Masonic tradition contains ample references to God (called "the Grand Architect of the Universe") and biblical imagery (such as the Temple of Solomon). Like religions, the Masons perform solemn rituals, cultivate group soliarity, and stress the cultivation of ethical virtues. However, Freemasons deny that their fraternity qualifies as a "religion," on the grounds that it is meant to complement and encourage--not replace--its members' previous religious identities. Men from any religion (but not atheists) are eligible to join.
- If one insists that the Masons are a religion, despite their protests to the contrary, what are we to make of the Boy Scouts, who boast many of the same features? Scounting has rituals (e.g., the flag ceremony), texts (the Boy Scout Handbook), a founder (Lord Baden-Powell), institutions with rank, and in some countries, required beliefs (such as God).
American civil religion. In the United States, various political rituals are practiced which some (such as Jehovah's Witnesses) reject as covertly religious. An example would be the "Pledge of Allegiance," in which Americans customarily stand facing their flag, right hands covering the heart, and recite a short oath which refers to the USA as "one nation under God."
Soviet Communism. For all its anti-religious rhetoric, the USSR boasted "sacred" texts, condemned "heretics", revered founders, conducted rituals (such as venerating Lenin's mummified body), and promoted an elaborate eschatological prophecy in the form of the future workers' utopia. Communism often played much the same organizing role in its citizens' lives as religion does elsewhere--for example, in sponsoring "coming of age" ceremonies.
Subud. Subud is an international network of people who practice a spiritual exercise called the Latihan, in which initiates "open" themselves to God or the Great Life-Force. Subud denies having doctrines, yet promotes numerous traditions (often derived from the teachings of its founder, Bapak Subuh). Subud sources deny that Subud is a religion, using reasoning similar to that of the Masons. (Atheists are however permitted.)
Esperanto. Enthusiasm for this artificial language resembles a religious movement in some ways. The movement has a revered founder (Dr. Zamenhof), martyrs, goals which some regard as of ultimate concern (world peace, Esperanto as a solution to "the language problem), and has even suffered schisms (with offshoots like Ido and Interlingua).
Traditional worldviews / traditional behavior. Many traditional societies make no clear distinction between "religious" and "nonreligious" aspects of daily life. How are we to decide, for example, whether a particular people's understanding of their place in the cosmos qualifies as a belief to which they adhere? And at what point does "social etiquette" become "religious custom"?
Scientific / secular values. Is the scientific worldview now prevailing within industrial societies, really just another religious option? If religion is banned in schools, does that amount to an endorsement of the "religion" of "secular humanism" or atheism?
Classification of Religions
The following categories are often encountered:
"Dharmic religions". Includes the several Indic religions which conceive of their teachings in terms of dharma (a word variously meaning "religion" or "duty"): Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism, and Sikhism.
"Abrahamic religions". This category includes the three religions which recognize Abraham as a part of their sacred histories: Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. The Baha'i religion also fits this description, but is often overlooked on account of its small size.
"Monotheistic religions". Religious which affirm belief on one God include Zoroastrianism, Sikhism, and the Abrahamic religions (listed above). Some strains of Hindu or ancient Egyptian religion arguably qualify. The concept becomes somewhat murky in view of the many theologies in which God or his equivalent boasts a heavenly retinue, or changes form. The concept of "henotheism" (in which any of various deities may be singled out for worship as the Supreme Being) has been proposed to describe Hinduism.
Pagan / Heathen religions. These represent a Christian religious category encompassing either (a) all non-Christians, or (b) all non-Christians except Jews, and perhaps Muslims. "Pagan" comes from the Latin paganus ("country bumpkin"); "heathen" ("heath-dweller") has much the same set of connotations. The terms recall a time when Christianity was making inroads in European cities, while rustics often continued to follow the old religions. For centuries the terms were assumed to be negative; however, "neo-pagan" groups began reclaiming them in the twentieth century.
"People of the Book" (Ahl al-Kitab). An Islamic term for other monotheistic religions founded by prophets who revealed holy books. The Qur'an recognizes Judaism, Christianity, and "Sabeanism." (Scholars are unsure as to what a Sabean was.) Muslim theologians debated the status of Zoroastrianism and Hinduism.
"Tribal religions." Include a wide variety of small-scale religions found in pre-modern societies. "Shamanism" describes one common religious-specialist role within many such societies (but neither exhausts the categeory, nor is limited to it).
"New Religious Movements" (NRM's) An umbrella term which encompasses groups which arose (at the very earliest) in the nineteenth century or later. Some scholars prefer World War II as a cutoff date. Not all NRM's claim to be religions per se; some say they are "spirtual movements," while others see themselves as part of another religion such as Christianity.