Introduction
Rarely, as we watch the television news or read the newspaper, is there a day when religion is not mentioned in some way. It may be in the context of wars between peoples of different religious and ethnic backgrounds, or it may be an item about social practice that stems from religious belief - celebration of Christmas or Easter, the wearing of particular items of clothing, particular family structures and practices. Religion is sometimes brought into debates about particular social or ethical issues because the views some people hold with regard to these issues appear to be linked to their religious beliefs. But what is meant by the word ‘religion’?
We can start to address the question by exploring the way various ‘religions’ are described. Look up at least TWO of the following links. Under the heading “Full list . . .” notice the different aspects of each religious tradition that are developed in this material. [You may like to click on some of these links to read further.]
From your reading, identify 3-4 of the elements that seem to be common to religions in general. Response sheet
The BBC website offers a way of categorizing various traits and characteristics which are often seen as being common to religions, no matter what its specific name.
We can go a step further, in terms of exploring the purpose and function of religion. Read the following explanations of religion and then look at the webpage.
1. Paul Tillich states “Religion is the state of being grasped by an ultimate concern, a concern which qualifies all other concerns as preliminary and which itself contains answers to the meaning of life”.
Paul Tillich, Christianity and the Encounter of World Religions (New York: Columbia University Press, 1963), 4.
2. Paul Knitter states “Religions recognize that there is a More, a Something Greater, a Transcendent, a Mystery that is at the foundation, or at the center, or at the end, of human existence”.
Brennan R Hill, Paul Knitter & William Madges, Faith, Religion and Theology: A Contemporary Introduction, (rev) Mystic CT: Twenty-Third Publications, 1997, 167.
3. Look up the following link. Scroll down the various headings listed on the left hand side of the webpage to view each comment relating to the headings, commencing with ‘Religion and Nature’.
http://wwwtest.swarthmore.edu/x6598.xml
In the light of these three explanations, now take the opportunity to put in your own words a brief definition/explanation of the purpose and function of religion. Response sheet
Summary
Congratulations, you have completed the first part of the activity. From this broad context of exploring religion in general as an aspect of human life we will now turn our attention to one specific dimension of religion in the next part of the activity.