More
than any other time, there is an increasing global awareness of the importance
and crucial role of religion in human life and society.
Contacts
between and among cultures and societies have made it possible for traditional
and modern, developing and developed societies to become globally aware of
different kinds of religions.
This
awareness has developed a great appreciation for other people’s religions and
religious values. This great awareness has resulted from such factors as
development of extensive trade, tourism, economic interdependence, efficient
transportation, rapid means of communication and technological advancement.
For instance, instead of the old-fashioned way of sending messages, you can now use the Internet services to send mails electronically. You can now browse on the Internet to search for information on subjects of interest.
People of different
faiths who want to advertise or give information about their religious
traditions post them on the Internet. Millions of these could be downloaded
from the Internet.
Fast
and efficient search engines are available for use as will. A few examples of
such search engines are google.com, mamma.com, ask.com, etc.
There is also available a constant stream of journals and books, documentaries and films. It is important to note that apart from hard copies of these materials, most of them are made available online. It is also noteworthy that this century has been witnessing crises, wars, and disasters from politics, economy, ethical and social issues including: family, marital and sexuality issues, terminal diseases and sexuality related diseases including HIV/AIDS.
Most of these
issues, on one hand, are linked to religions.
On
the other hand, most people particularly in traditional societies seek for
religious explanations to certain issues that defy commonsense or medical
explanations.
In
contemporary times, modern western societies have begun to realize the imposing
influence of religion on human social life.
Hence,
pertinent questions of religious and spiritual concerns have been posed as
solutions to human wellbeing, peaceful coexistence, interpersonal
relationships, international politics and relations.
In
so many cases, answers to such questions focus on religious ideas and ideals.
It is these concerns that make the academic study of religion to be of much
significance within the local and global contexts.
It
is hoped that by the end of this article, you should be able to explain the
etymology of religion, give reasons for problems in defining religion with
precision and identify the two perspectives in the definition of religion.
Etymology of the Word “Religion”
When
you come in contact with a word or phenomenon or concept that engages the
attention of a person or group of persons, and the word is used in diverse
ways, or the word is applied to so many situations, it is natural for an
inquisitive mind to ask for its origin.
Such
questions that are asked are: “what is the source of this phenomenon or
concept?” That is, how did it begin? Who was the first person who used the word
or phenomenon? Where was the word or phenomenon first used? How did the word
gain its prominence and what transformations had occurred to the word or
phenomenon that have given it the current usage and application? The question
of the source calls into mind the time of origin.
Philologists,
that is, specialists dealing with the origin of human language would provide
helpful hints by going into the root or roots that explain the word. It needs
to be stated however that confusions may arise from such inquiry or searching
into the roots of words. H.F. Hall, in his The Hearts of Men identified two
difficulties in searching for the roots of words:
(1)
People often use words in different senses
(2)
They may not have clear idea themselves of what they mean by the words.
This
would not stop us from attempting the find out the etymology of religion. A.C.
Bouquet argued in his book, Comparative Religion that the word ‘religion’ is of
European origin and that it acquired a lot of meanings in Europe. He however
observed that scholars in the ancient world did not agree on the etymological
connotation of the word.
Some
scholars connected religious with other Latin terms relegere which means to
reread; relinquere which is to relinquish; or religare which means to relegate,
to unite, to bind together. Bouquet examined the two of the various views:
The
Roman Cicero, and Roman writer Servius Cicero took the word from relegere, to
gather things together, or to pass over the same ground repeatedly. Another possible
meaning, according to Cicero, was ‘to count or observe.’ Cicero focused on the
term ‘observe’ to be appropriate in understanding the term ‘religion’.
Using
the word ‘observe’ would have religion interpreted as “to observe the signs of
divine communication.” For Servius and most others, religion was to be
associated with the Latin religare, to bind things together.
The
possibility of accepting this root origin is obvious in that this notion
expresses the most important feature of religion. That is, “religion binds
people together in common practices and beliefs, drawing them together in a
common enterprise of life”.
This notion shows religio as pointing to
relationship. Bouquet strongly felt that both roots could be combined to give
the sense of the meaning of religion: “a communion between the human and the
superhuman. Thus, he interpreted religion to mean “a fixed relationship between
the human self and some non-human entity, the Sacred, the Supernatural, the Self
existent, the Absolute, or simply ‘God’.
Religio
therefore implies a relationship between human beings and some spiritual
beings. As we shall see in our study of religion, religion involves
relationships both in essence and functions.
Read on: Eastern (Asian) Philosophical Tradition
Problems in the Study of Religion
Everyone,
both those who are engaged in the study of religion and those who are not,
think they understand the nature of religion, and hence its study.
Thus,
each explains or describes religion using his or her own bias whether positive
or negative. More than all other endeavours, people seem so much familiar with
religion that they do not feel they need to learn or be tutored in a formal,
structured and academic way.
To
some, the word appears to be self-explanatory since everybody seems to belongs
to one religious tradition or the other, or that he or she daily encounters
people who belong to some religious traditions. The situation could be captured
using the famous Indian legend The Blind Men and the Elephant. The version of
this Hindu parable by John Godfrey Saxe (1816-1887) runs thus:
Six Blind Men & the
Elephant
It
was six men of Hindustan
To
learning much inclined,
Who
went to see the Elephant
(Though
all of them were blind),
That
each by observation
Might
satisfys his mind.
The
First approached the Elephant,
And
happening to fall
Against
his broad and sturdy side,
At
once began to bawl:
"God
bless me! but the Elephant Is very like a wall!"
The
Second, feeling of the tusk Cried,
"Ho!
what have we here,
So
very round and smooth and sharp?
To
me 'tis mighty clear
This
wonder of an Elephant Is very like a spear!"
The
Third approached the animal,
And
happening to take
The
squirming trunk within his hands,
Thus
boldly up he spake:
"I
see," quoth he,
"the
Elephant Is very like a snake!"
The
Fourth reached out an eager hand,
And
felt about the knee:
"What most this wondrous beast is like
Is
mighty plain," quoth he;
"'Tis clear enough the Elephant Is very
like a tree!"
The
Fifth, who chanced to touch the ear,
Said: "E'en the blindest man
Can
tell what this resembles most;
Deny
the fact who can,
This
marvel of an Elephant Is very like a fan!"
The
Sixth no sooner had begun
About
the beast to grope,
Than,
seizing on the swinging tail
That
fell within his scope.
"I
see," quoth he,
"the
Elephant Is very like a rope!"
And
so these men of Hindustan
Disputed
loud and long,
Each
in his own opinion
Exceeding
stiff and strong,
Though
each was partly in the right,
And
all were in the wrong!
So
oft in theologic wars,
The
disputants, I won,
Rail
on in utter ignorance
Of
what each other mean,
And
prate about an Elephant
Not
one of them has seen.
This
parable reveals the different perceptions of the incapable individuals in
having a full grasp of the whole phenomenon of religion. In fact, the last
verse which shows the moral in the parable exposes the whole idea in the
parable.
That
is, that people dispute endlessly in ignorance of the elephant which exists but
the sense of which each has not been able to decipher though explained in
different ways. Their ways of explaining the different parts felt show that
each is informed of an idea about something each is familiar with.
Our
societies have so much tenacity to religious ideas and ideals. The person who
explains religion as a concept bases his or her idea mostly on personal religious
feeling, experience or practice of the people who are involved in some
religions.
We
need to emphasize that religion is not as easy to understand as subjects like
economics, political science, sociology, philosophy, science, etc.
It
defies precise definition because it carries different meanings for different
people within different social or cultural contexts and at different times.
The
following are some of the problems that make it possible for understanding the
phenomenon of religion.
The nature of religion
Religion
belongs to two worlds: the profane and the sacred. It will be necessary for us
to combine the senses of the two worlds to be able to understand religion.
There are many elements across different human cultures that constitute the
subject matter of religion. These are so wide and diverse.
Not
all of these elements are observable.
For
instance, most religious traditions recognize the existence of spirits or gods
and spiritual beings. There are religious experiences which are inexpressible in
human language. Examples of such experiences are meditation, mysticism,
glossolalia, dreams, visions, etc.
Such practices as healing and miracles have no
systematic descriptions. Thus, most descriptions or explanations that are given
in current books express ambiguity, insufficiency, inadequacy or bias. In
attempting to understand religion, therefore, all important elements such as
mentioned, and countless others, have to be included and made intelligible and
accurate.
Also read: Issues in African Philosophy
Theoretical Explanations and Descriptions
Most
scholars who attempted the descriptions and explanations of religion did not
focus on actual participation and experience of religion but from mere academic
deductions of people who have neither been emotionally or spiritually involved.
Each
provided different explanations and descriptions from personal biases, most of
which are negative and one-sided. They drew upon a few cases to generalize,
making explanations and descriptions more dangerous than revealing of the
phenomenon of religion.
Most
of them were not scholars in the discipline of religion, but economists and
social scientists and political analysts like Max Weber, Karl Marx, etc., and
psychoanalysts such as Sigmund Freud and Carl Justav Jung.
There
were yet others who did arm-chair researching.
Human Social Locations and Time-Space Contexts
It
is important to state that religion is a dynamic discipline. It is as dynamic
as human culture and society. Religious ideas, ideals and elements change with
time.
For
instance, if you read about a particular indigenous community, say of the 18th
century, and you have to observe the same community in the contemporary time,
you would perhaps feel that what you are reading of that 18th century community
did not exist.
The
fact is that the community has undergone and will still undergo changes. This
also affects one’s understanding of religion.
Furthermore,
let us imagine an indigenous community and a western society, and examine their
religious ideas and ideals, we will see how different our perceptions of those
two communities will be. All these necessarily influence what we understand as
to be religious, and religion.
Ideological Problems
Some
scholars who offered some descriptions and explanations of religion do so from
their personal ideological standpoint. For instance, explanations from an
atheist, an agnostic, or a theist would reflect such ideological positions.
We
can note a good example from the definition of Karl Marx. Unfortunately, their
readers would not take time in reading through their political contexts and
ideological stances. It is noted that because of their imposing influences,
many uninformed readers of their materials get easily carried away and use
their explanations as the truth.
Perspectives in the Study of Religion
We
shall list some perspectives from the scholars who have attempted to explain
and study religion. We shall discuss these fully in another article.
The
following are some of the perspectives that we have noted in the explanation
and study of religion:
(a)
Anthropological Perspectives focus on religion as the bedrock of the
relationship of the human beings to their cultural environments.
(b)
Sociological Perspectives examine the impact of religion and social
institutions. They focus on religious groups.
(c)
Psychological Perspectives centre on the role of emotions and feeling in the
practice of religion.
(d)
Historical Perspectives deal with the development of religions in time and
space.
(e)
Theological Perspectives focus on the different levels of relationship of God
to human beings, which emphasize among others the attitudes, faith, and
assumptions of human beings about God.
(f)
Ethical Perspectives emphasize human being’s interpersonal relationships.
(g)
Philosophical Perspectives focus on rational explanation of religious
behaviours and ideas. It asks questions about the universe and the place of
human beings in it. It seeks intellectual explanations to human religiousness
and religiosity and thus allows no role for faith or revelation.
(h)
Phenomenology Perspectives describe religious ideas as one observes them, and
as they appear to the practitioners.
Read on: Western Philosophical Tradition: Ancient, Medieval and Early Modern Periods
Conclusion on Etymology and the Study of Religion
Religion
is a universal phenomenon. It is as old as the existence of humankind in the
world. Religion is as diverse as human cultures, historic and prehistoric,
western and traditional or non-western. It is wide and thus difficult to define
with precision.
However, there are certain basic facts which we have to bear in mind if we attempt to give precise definition. It is essential to human life as it has several functions it performs for individuals and societies.
Different scholars from
different disciplines and ideological positions have contributed to the
definitions of religion which we can begin to examine and assess.
Moreover,
we observe that the word religion has its etymology from the Latin religio and
is thus of European origin. Whether or not the etymology fully expresses the
concept of religion, religion has assumed such meanings that are universal and
comprehensible to inquiring mind.
It
emphasizes relationships between the human being and the divine, and between
the human being and his or her environment, the several forms notwithstanding.
Oseovo
Onibere points out that the continued use of the word ‘religion’ is “in order,
more so as it refers to the outward form of faith, the practical expression
being no hidden fact”.
We
have explained the etymology of religion; we have examined the perspectives in
the definitions of religion and major classifications of the definitions of
religion.
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