- Paul Tillich (1886-1965) – Religion is the “ultimate

concern for the ground of Being”

- William James (1842-1910) – Religion is “the feeling,
acts, and experiences of individual people in their solitude
DEFINING RELIGION as they stand in relation to whatever they may consider
the divine.”
- Victor Frankl (1905-1997) – Religion is a “function of the
spiritual unconscious, which is the source of the will to
meaning.”
- Religion: powerful dimension of human experience; basic
- Emile Durkheim (1858-1917) – Religion is “a unified
human concern
system of beliefs and practices relative to sacred things
˃ model of & for reality as experienced by
which unite into one single moral community all those
individuals in the context of social, natural, &
who adhere to them.”
cosmic existence
˃ United Nations’ Universal Declaration of Human
Approaches in Defining Religion
Rights stated that everyone has the right to
freedom of thought, conscience, & religion; to Approaches Meanings
excludes and limits the subject matter of
change one’s religion and freedom to manifest
Substantive religion to beliefs, institutions &
his religion or belief in teaching, practice, Definition practices; content-oriented; tries to look
worship and observance into essential characteristics of religion
- Accdg. to Viktor Frankl, “Being human always points, and -accommodates other important ideas
is directed to something, or someone, other than oneself – like creeds & principles
be it a meaning to fulfill, or another human being to -does not specify necessary content or
encounter. The more one forgets himself – by giving elements as conditions for qualifying as
Functional Definition
himself to a cause to serve or another person to love – the religion unlike what the substantive
approach does; focuses on how
more human he is and the more he actualizes himself.”
religion(s) function(s) in the lives of
˃ referring to the void within our hearts; something adherents
that we want to find, but still we can’t find it;
sometimes we find our purpose/meaning in our
- Religion is therefore one among a significant variety of
own unique different ways and passions ways through which human beings seek meaning and
˃ just like religion, the void in our hearts can be fulfillment.
filled with the idea and belief of a God - Each particular religion is a worldview, a lens through
- Homo Religiosus: nature of human beings to be religious. which human beings see themselves and their ultimate
go beyond oneself in the service of something or purpose and engage with their fellow human beings
someone usually perceived as greater than oneself and (human and nonhuman)
as source of meaning and well-being
- Each religious worldview, rooted in and shaped by a
˃ naturally religious: the moment when we were
specific historico-cultural and sociological context,
born, we are already looking up to someone and
manifests itself concretely through its creed, code and cult
giving praise to someone
˃ seek patterns of meaning & action that are
Study of Religion
ultimately transformative
Studies Meanings
- religious belief, expressions, & worldviews have inspired
-way of engaging in a formal study of a
& influenced humanity’s artistic, philosophical, ethical, particular religious tradition; formal,
political, scientific, & economic endeavors systematic attempt to give a rational
- ignorance about religion & traditions promotes explanation of the beliefs and practices
misunderstanding that weakens respect for diversity Theology of a religious institution and of the
religious experiences of its adherents
Some Other Definitions of Religion ˃ done by insiders as practitioners of a
- Accdg. to Oxford English Dictionary, it is an “action or religion expressing personal convictions
within a like-minded community
conduct indicating belief in, obedience to, & reverence for
-conducted by people who are ‘insiders’
a god or similar superhuman power; performance of of the religion, scholarship in religious
religious rites or observances.” studies is written to purposely include
˃ 2 Important Components of Religion: readers who are ‘outsiders’ – those who
▪ Belief in a supernatural being (attitude have little/no previous knowledge of or
to the object of belief) investment in that particular religious
▪ Effort or commitment (performative; tradition
belief by practice) Religious Studies ˃ audience is assumed to be open to
the logical persuasion of evidence, but
- By etymology, it comes from 4 Latin variants:
not expected to make religious
˃ Religare: “to bind” (commitment to one’s commitment
religion) ˃ includes history of religions,
˃ Relegere: “constantly return to” (religious philosophy of religion, psychology of
observances) religion, sociology of religion, &
˃ Re-eligere: “to choose again” (conversion; going anthropology of religion
back to one’s roots) -philosophical study of the nature &
Philosophy of meaning of religion, consists in analyzing
˃ Religio: “conscientiousness” or “reverence”
Religion religious concepts, beliefs, & practices of
(behavior; awe or fear felt)
religious adherents
 -asks more critical questions pertaining which involves a search for the meaning & ultimate value
to a religious tradition, as it claims to be of one’s life
free from the religious assumptions ˃ way of life that is shaped by the believer’s
taken for granted by adherents
encounter with the Sacred/Transcendent
therefore, supposedly more objective
˃ spirituality is suggested to be the active
Psychology of attempts to explain religious behavior by
making use of current theories in ingredient of world religions & belief systems
Religion - Christians = Christian Spirituality
psychology
Sociology of describes religious phenomena in terms - Basic Components of Spirituality:
Religion of their function in human societies ˃ Prayer/attending to her interior life;
studies cultural significance of religious
˃ Striving to live out the ethical demands of the
Anthropology of
experiences, ideas and institutions religious tradition on social or communal level;
Religion
˃ Active involvement in a community of believers;
˃ * When all these components are present, they
Religion & Spirituality keep an adherent well-grounded and influenced
- One of the basic principles of religion: belief that humans by core beliefs, mesh with the ethical, cultic, and
have material & nonmaterial dimensions communitarian dimensions of religion.
- Spirituality: connected with nonmaterial dimension of - While it is possible to be spiritual without being religious
man and vice versa, the practice of a religious faith helps one
- Spirit: primarily thought to refer to incorporeal substance to better express her experience of the
of any animate beings like humans Sacred/Transcendent in words & actions by providing a
˃ In Christian context, “spirit” is used well-trodden path & support of a community of fellow
interchangeably with “soul” because both are pilgrims
thought to be non-corporeal or nonphysical - spirituality & religion intertwine to lead the believer into
substances an authentic & dynamic search for meaning & wholeness
˃ came from the Latin word “spiritus” = “breath”
while soul is psyche (refers to human mind &
personality)
˃ has wider range of usage depending on the HINDU DHARMA
context unlike soul
- Religion & spirituality were formerly linked; a dictionary
definition of spirituality as “quality or state of being
concerned with religion or religious matters,” but now,
more common for people to consider religion & - Sanskrit: official language
spirituality as being distinct & separate - Hindu: transliteration of the Sanskrit word Sindhu
- some describe themselves as being spiritual but not meaning “of the Indus [river valley]
necessarily religious, & vice versa ˃ first used by Muslim conquerors of India to refer
- According to a certain book on psychology of religion, its inhabitants who refused to adopt Islam & was
“Spirituality is about a person’s beliefs, values and later used by British imperialists
behavior, while religiousness is about the person’s ˃ rarely referred to as Hinduism; many prefer to
involvement with a religious tradition and institution.” call it Dharma or Hindu Dharma
˃ religiosity appears to be more exterior, while ˃ some refer it as Sanatama Dharma, the timeless
spirituality goes much deeper within oneself universal Dharma
- Just like religion, spirituality is a complex human - referring to a family of religions that originated in the
experience & no single definition can accommodate all its Indian subcontinent as early as 3000 BCE with no clear
diverse expressions identifiable founders
- John Macquarrie describes that dynamic mode of being - described as the “cradle of spirituality” & “the mother of
called spirit as “a capacity for going out of oneself and all religions” because of its influence on virtually every
beyond oneself… The more man goes out from himself or major religion
goes beyond himself, the more the spiritual dimension of - way of life embracing all aspects of human existence,
his life is deepened, the more he becomes truly [hu]man… including family and societal life, arts and sciences,
On the other hand, the more he turns inward and encloses business and politics, & health
himself in self-interest, the less human does he become.
This is the strange paradox of spiritual being – that
precisely by going out and spending itself, it realizes itself” - Indian subcontinent in South Asia is agricultural
˃ For him, “fundamentally, spirituality has - Rich Alluvial Soil: supports a large population which tends
something to do with becoming a person in the to personify nature as a generously nurturing but
fullest sense.” sometimes moody mother
˃ His concept of spirituality could be explained: - persistent anxieties of farmers experiencing abundance
When a man offers himself to serve his and drought alternately influence this religious outlook
fellowmen and his god, he actualizes himself - Water: given importance in Indian worship
and becomes more of a human. Moreover, if he
spends his life fulfilling only his personal needs
and practices selfishness, he becomes less of a
human person. - Tradition may be found in the dark skinned Dravidian
- Spirituality can thus be understood as the human’s people of India who belonged to the Indus Valley
capacity for self-transcendence in relation to the absolute Civilization
- As early as 2500 BCE to 1500 BCE, a highly civilized used by ritual singers for it contains
people inhabited the Indus Valley Sama-Veda chants and holy songs which was
- Archeological findings indicate the Indus Valley people condensed from the Rig Veda
placed great importance in water and took great care in contains prayers, rituals and spells to
Atharva-Veda
ward off evil
handling it
- 1750 – 1200 BCE, warlike nomadic tribes of light-skinned - 4 Divided Sections in Each Vedas:
people known as the Aryans began migrating into India Sections Significance
from present-dayIran invocation or prayer that helps a devotee
- In their own language, Sanskrit, became the language of focus the mind on holy thoughts, or
Mantras
Hindu Dharma; Aryan:“noble” express devotion to a god through
- Rajas: chieftains that led Aryan tribes meaning, sound, & chanting style
- Aryans may have been the first one to tame wild horses & refer to utterance of a priest, or
use them to pull war-chariots; began to settle in the cities Brahman; used to refer to the
Brahmanas explanation and meaning of a sacred
of Indus Valley around 500 BCE, eventually overpowering
word, in ritual sacrifices & symbolic
the Dravidians who were of a different varna (Color in import of the priests’ actions
Sanskrit, later Caste) given over to secret explanations of the
- Basic classes in Aryan society, considered “twice born”: allegorical meaning of the ritual and to
˃ Kshatriya: rulers & warriors Aranyakas discussion of the internal, meditative
˃ Brahmin: priests meaning of the sacrifice, as contrasted to
˃ Vaishya: commoners like farmers, artisans & its actual, outward performance
merchants collections of philosophical writings
˃ Shudra: slaves doing manual labor & likely taken attached to the Vedas that go beyond
Upanishads
ceremonial actions, seeking the meaning
from the subjugated darker-skinned Dravidians.
of human existence
- This form of social stratification would be the origin of a
system of varnas or caste described in the law of Manu
- Laws of Manu: written around 200 BCE; most accepted
- Polytheistic & animist in nature, akin to Greco-Roman
code of ideal behavior; justification of the caste system &
mythology with gods & goddesses personifying forces of
the four stages in the life of Hindus
nature
- Ramayana: epic of almost 20,000 verses narrating the
- To these gods, Aryans offered libations of milk from their
love story of Rama, the seventh avatar or incarnation of
animals & made burnt offering of animals usually horses.
the god Vishnu, & his wife Sita, an avatar of the goddess
- As nomadic tribes, they built no temples
Lakshmi
- From ritual sacrifices would emerge the initial oral
˃ explores the essential concept of dharma in
tradition that would be written down as sacred lore or
relation to human endeavors
Veda (Sanskrit “knowledge”)
- Mahabharata: world’s longest poem; struggle for the
throne of the Kuru kingdom bet. 2 blood-related sets of
brothers
- Sacred writings are either directly heard from the gods
(divine revelation) or knowledge remembered from other
people’s account
- Conceptions of Ultimate Reality
- Shruti: combination of devotional hymns, ceremonial
˃ Polytheistic: 33 million deities
guidelines, & philosophical reflections comprising the
˃ acknowledges polarities of energy, expressed as
collections of the Vedas and its sections
a male principle manifested in the pairing of
˃ only appropriate for males in the “twice-born”
Hindu gods & goddesses
classes who possess the spiritual maturity
˃ Death follows life as creation is balanced by
needed to appreciate the wisdom contained in
destruction
them
˃ Images of these gods & goddesses are not to be
˃ Shruti (heard) or Smriti (remembered)
understood literally
˃ believed that Shruti belongs to a much higher
ground because it came directly from the gods
unlike Shruti which came only on human
knowledge from human elders
- Vedas: oral traditions passed among generations that
were later transcribed in Vedic language, early form of
Sanskrit; oldest sacred books in Hindu Dharma & basic
source of its worldview
˃ contain descriptions & mythologies of Pre-Aryan
& Aryan deities
- 4 Books/Collections in Vedas
Books Significance
collection of over a thousand mantras or
hymns to Aryan gods accompanied by
Rig-Veda
mythology and used by Hindu Dharma
priests officiating at sacrifices
(incantation) is a guide for Brhamins
Yajur-Veda assisting a certain ritual (sacrifices) to
ensure a successful offering