Definition of religion

Religion definitions used in the study of religion and other cultural or social sciences to the subject matter of " religion to" define , ie to determine precisely and distinguished from other phenomena. There are now over a hundred religious definitions, but so far none has been accepted as generally accepted.

overview

The attempt is considered problematic if the definition is intended to cover everything that is commonly understood by religion. That turns out to be difficult because the complexity and diversity of religions hardly allow a uniform definition. The bandwidth of the understanding of religion extends from the monotheistic religions , such as Judaism , Christianity or Islam , which know a personal almighty God ( YHWH , Allah ), to henotheistic religions , such as Hinduism , which knows many, sometimes competing deities, to Religions that know no or no personal God, such as Buddhism , which as a religion gets along completely without God. Limitations of the subject area can, however, also be problematic insofar as they can promote a certain cultural, for example Eurocentric , perspective or the claim to validity of a certain, ideal-typical religion.

Within the multitude of definitions of religion, religious studies distinguish between two categories, the substantialist definition of religion and the functionalist definition of religion. Finally, there are also cultural studies approaches.

Substantial concept of religion

The substantialist or essentialist concept of religion refers to the content-related features of religion, since the definition is derived from the essence of religion and thus the essential attributes of religion are to be characterized. He understands religion as something that relates to the sacred , the transcendent , the absolute , the numinous or the all-encompassing . General substantialist definitions of religion relate religion to human confrontation with a numinous power or belief in supernatural beings. One of the classic definitions of religion is that of Gustav Mensching : "Religion is an experience-like encounter with the sacred and the responsive action of the person determined by the sacred". Representatives of the substantialist concept of religion are, for example, Rudolf Otto , who refers to “the sacred” as an irrational dimension, Mircea Eliade , who refers to hierophany and a dialectic between sacred and profane, and Max Weber . Nathan Söderblom , also a representative of the substantialist concept of religion, understands the essence of religion as power and the powerful that is the basis of a religion, but not the deity .

One field of research that explicitly deals with the nature of religion is the phenomenology of religion . A representative of this direction is, for example, Geo Widengren . Another religious phenomenologist , Gerardus van der Leeuw , also defined religion as the experience of superior power, which could be personal or impersonal. Defining religion in terms of what is powerful does not solve the problem of whether Buddhism, which does not refer to deities, is a religion, because in Buddhism there is no idea of an absolute or transcendent power and subordination to it .

The substantialist concept of religion was repeatedly exposed to criticism because it takes over the content of what is to be defined in the object definition.

Bernhard Uhde and Markus Enders developed the following definition of religion, which should formally encompass the five world religions (Christianity, Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism, Judaism) : Religions have their origin in the lack of a present, i.e. pure presence , of all earthly, spatiotemporal human existence indicates. The content peculiar to religion is the prerequisite for an authority that can make up for this deficiency - which can only be achieved by a reality that is itself pure present, that is, absolute unity . Religion therefore demands (explicitly or implicitly) the lifelong practice encompassing all life's activities in conforming to the rule of this unity over all things by attaching the self-referential self-will of man (explicitly or implicitly) to that simple principle, which is the human lack of presence able to repay, is assigned. Since you are also different, z. B. indifferent, can deal with this deficiency and the religious conduct requires the consent of one's own will, not every person is religious.

Functionalist concept of religion

The functionalist concept of religion defined religion about the feature. He assumes that religion plays a formative role for the individual and society and helps to shape them. Religion is here about the social function, i. i.e., defined in relation to social and individual contexts. Representatives of the functionalist definition of religion are Émile Durkheim , Ninian Smart and Thomas Luckmann . Durkheim defines religion as a solidary system of beliefs and practices that relate to sacred beliefs and practices that unites all persons who belong to it in a moral community called the church.

Functionalist definitions of religion are characterized by a large scope, so that they can often also be related to phenomena that are normally understood as non-religious, for example art, sport or political beliefs. The sociology of religion generally works with a functionalist concept of religion and also includes these quasi-religious areas in its research.

Typical functions of religion are firstly the reduction of fear or the emotional stabilization of the individual. A second function is to convey meaning for the individual and for society. Third, religion has the function of conveying ethical and moral values . The third function of conveying a value system in particular is very much welcomed from the outside today and is certainly one reason why in some countries - such as in Germany - religion is still a regular school subject and the substitute subject is ethics .

The religion critics of the Enlightenment in particular developed a critical position on functionality . Some functionalist definitions of religion are also called culturalist because they come from cultural studies. These try to integrate both the anthropological and the sociological definitions. The best-known culturalist definition of religion comes from Clifford Geertz . According to Geertz, religion is a symbolic system , the aim of which is to create strong, comprehensive and lasting moods and motivations in people by formulating ideas of a general order of being that are surrounded with such an aura of facticity that the moods and motivations are perfectly Seem to correspond to reality.

Multidimensional definitions of religion are also seen as functionalist, although these approaches distinguish at least three dimensions: beliefs, practices and community, i.e. a theoretical, a practical and a social dimension. Ninian Smart distinguishes seven dimensions of religion. However, the multidimensional definitions are actually not definitions, but rather descriptions of aspects that are given in most religions. Udo Tworuschka (University of Jena) takes the mediation aspect into account in his definition: The subject of religious studies is the “concrete religions of the past and present. The religious scholar always confronts religion as a whole with different dimensions: community, actions, teachings, experiences. Research into religion (s) requires adequate consideration of the relationships between religions, their ideas about one another, the political, economic and social determinants and their diverse mediations ”.

Cultural-scientific approach to the concept of religion

In a globally networked world, irrespective of the failure of substantive or functionalist definitions of religion, a consensus-capable contemporary understanding of everyday life is assumed. This general understanding is also called the "unexplained religion," which refers to religious prototypes such as Christianity, Judaism and Islam. Thus, today's Western understanding of religion has grown historically over time and can be seen as a starting point for religious studies , which is not allowed to define the object of its analysis, namely religion, because of the fluidity of the term and its contingent historical attribution. Michael Bergunder historicizes the subject area "religion" with the theoretical concept of genealogy : In reference to Michel Foucault , the contingency of all historical events is assumed and any teleological perspective is excluded. Since no leap into the past can be made, the here and now must first be assumed. By rotating the timeline, continuities and discontinuities of the term “religion” in the sense of Jacques Derrida can be decontextualized. Genealogically, it can be seen that the contemporary concept of religion capable of consensus only developed in the course of dealing with the natural sciences and discovering the history of religion as a result of colonization . This development took place in the second half of the 19th century.

From a linguistic point of view, such a fluidity of terms can be justified with Ernesto Laclau's theory. Accordingly, a term is not based on an invariant reference. “Religion” has to be seen as an empty signifier in a certain field of discourse. This corresponds to a node of initially different significations, the difference of which is equated in the respective discourse . Historically, this fluidity of the concept of religion can be justified in the concept of postcolonialism . After the Orientalism debate initiated by Edward Said , the postcolonial studies emphasized the history of global interdependence, as a result of which general terms such as “religion” can no longer be seen from a Eurocentric perspective. Today's everyday understanding of religion corresponds to a - synchronous - discursive network "religion". Diachron's line of tradition and reception can only be traced back genealogically in continuity to the second half of the 19th century.

literature

Fritz Stolz : Fundamentals of Religious Studies . Goettingen 1988
Geo Widengren : Religious Phenomenology . Berlin 1969

Johann Figl (Hrsg.): Handbuch Religionswissenschaft . Innsbruck-Göttingen 2003

Udo Tworuschka : Religious Studies . Stuttgart 2006

Udo Tworuschka: Religious Studies. Trailblazers and classics . UTB 3492, Cologne-Weimar-Vienna 2011

Rudolf Otto : The Holy . 1917

Feil, E. (Ed.): Dispute "Religion". Discussions on the definition and delimitation of the term religion. 2001

Individual evidence

↑ Bernhard Uhde : Presence and Unity. Attempt on religion (habilitation thesis) Freiburg 1982. Markus Enders : Is 'religion' really indefinable? Reflections on a concept of religion that can be used interreligiously, in: ders., Holger Zaborowski (ed.), Phenomenology of Religion. Approaches and basic questions. Files of the international religious-philosophical congress Freiburg im Breisgau 2003, Freiburg i.Br./München 2004, pp. 49–87.
↑ Michael Bergunder : What is religion? Cultural studies considerations on the subject of religious studies . In: Christoph Auffarth et al. (Ed.): Journal for Religious Studies . tape 19 , issue 1/2. DE GRUYTER, Berlin 2011, p. 3-55 .
↑ Michael Bergunder: What is religion? Cultural studies considerations on the subject of religious studies . In: Christoph Auffarth et al. (Ed.): Journal for Religious Studies . tape 19 , issue 1/2. DE GRUYTER, Berlin 2011, p. 10 .

[1] Bernhard Uhde : Presence and Unity. Attempt on religion (habilitation thesis) Freiburg 1982. Markus Enders : Is 'religion' really indefinable? Reflections on a concept of religion that can be used interreligiously, in: ders., Holger Zaborowski (ed.), Phenomenology of Religion. Approaches and basic questions. Files of the international religious-philosophical congress Freiburg im Breisgau 2003, Freiburg i.Br./München 2004, pp. 49–87.

[2] Michael Bergunder : What is religion? Cultural studies considerations on the subject of religious studies . In: Christoph Auffarth et al. (Ed.): Journal for Religious Studies . tape 19 , issue 1/2. DE GRUYTER, Berlin 2011, p. 3-55 .

[3] Michael Bergunder: What is religion? Cultural studies considerations on the subject of religious studies . In: Christoph Auffarth et al. (Ed.): Journal for Religious Studies . tape 19 , issue 1/2. DE GRUYTER, Berlin 2011, p. 10 .