How to Define Religion - Essay Example

Religion Part I Defining Religion 1Religion is defined as the belief which provides a meaning to a person’s life. When considering the substantial part, it is considered as the faith in supernatural power. A religion is believed to mould a person into a better human being. But this does not guarantee that people involved in a religion are religious. The definition strikes a difference between religion and the being religious. Faith is considered as the trust in a particular concept, like religion. A person may be faithful towards a religion or an individual. Faith, in terms of a religion is termed as the acceptance of a religion or beliefs pertaining to a religion. Theology, in contrast to religion is defined as the concept which involves the detailed approach of divine. This proposes a study of God and the divine power. The main aim of theology is to acquire knowledge about the divine power, God. In general terms theology is a part of science which aims at analyzing the divinity. (Kessler, 2007). Theology is study of religion and hence one can study about a religion without being a part of it. A religious study is a field of research which analyzes the properties and concept of religion. It also interprets the difference and similarity among the religions and exhibits the cross religion aspects. It analyzes the individual elements of a religion and describes the nuances in an external manner. Spirituality is referred as a means by which a person realizes himself through several aspects like prayer, yoga and meditation. It can also be named as the path which combined with religion, helps a person to move forward to the eternal journey of life. These concepts are similar in one or more ways as each one of them relates to the religion and its concepts. Though they are different in their features, they are dependent as religion is the major underlying concept. Though Faith and Religion are considered to be the same, they differ from each other as faith is the ultimate belief on something while religion is something which is manmade. Faith can be considered as the trust and loyalty towards God whereas religion is manmade where a group of people believe in the existence of a superpower. Faith and religion complement each other and thus they coexist. Faith is the belief while religion teaches how to practice this faith. Part II Sacred Power 3 Metaphor is a term which is used for comparing any two distinct terms which do not have any relevance in common. These words do not share any common concept, but they might be similar in one of the important ways. Metaphor is used to describe a word by highlighting its similarity to another word. Comparing a noun with another is known as a metaphor. For example, the phrase I am like a flower, exhibits that a person is compared with the flower. Transcendence is a concept that transforms a pattern into another pattern. When considering transcendence in religion, it is considered as the one which transforms the world with the help of religion. Transcendence emphasizes on the fact that God is a supernatural power which is beyond the world’s reach. This term is often used with the study of theology. Metaphors are generally used to illustrate the sacred as transcendent. Immanence is often related with religion and its aspects and it emphasizes on the presence of the God. The divine is considered as the superior aspect and it surpasses all the other existing things in the world. Part III Sacred Actions 5 The five different ways in which humans worship are named as technological rituals, therapeutic and anti therapeutic rituals, ideological rituals, salvation rituals and revitalization rituals. Technological rituals help in preventing the change of state that occurs in the nature. It is carried out to ensure that the humans are benefited in some way or the other. The example for technological rituals includes conducting prayers for rain and weather. The next type of worship is the therapeutic and anti therapeutic rituals which aims at changing the health of a human being. People who suffer from some sort of sickness are brought back to normal by using this method. Conducting prayers to improve one’s health is an excellent example for this concept. Ideological rituals bring a change to a person’s behavior or action through the social ideologies. An ideal example for this concept is preaching the sacred concepts and reading sacred books. Salvation rituals are carried out to transform a person from a spiritually polluted state to a spiritual state where he gets rid of all the unhealthy habits and leads a better life. Examples for spiritual ritual include meditation and yoga which improves a person’s mental status. Revitalization rituals generally revitalize the entire community or a religion as a whole. (Kessler, 2007). This is exclusively done for the religions that are in a state of losing their identity. For example ghost dance and other activities generally relate to the revitalization ritual. Part IV Sacred Space and Time 7 Axis Mundi is defined as the connection between divine and the heavenly atmosphere. The earth is also connected to the divine and axis mundi is referred to as the pathway between these heavenly bodies. As it is considered as the road to divine, people consider it as the medium to connect with the sacred power. People believe that it helps to come in contact with the Sacred. This helps them to have a constant touch with the sacred power. This is clear from the explanation of axis mundi and the several ways it helps to connect with the sacred. The major difference between Profane time and Sacred time is the direction in which Profane time indicates the linear movement between one age to another. The concept of the past is not considered once the present arrives. The present scenario also dons the role of the past once the future arrives. The past period in the profane generally leaves behind a mark which indicates the past incidents and happenings. Sacred time is in complete contrast when compared to the profane time. Sacred time does not include the past, present and the future as it is cyclical. (Kessler, 2007). The past can also be experienced as the time will return back once again and makes its presence felt. The main difference between profane time and sacred time is the time period that remains the same in sacred time. In case of profane time, everything changes in a given time interval. Works Cited Kessler, Gary. Studying Religion: An Introduction through Cases. U.S.A: McGraw Hill, 2007. Print. Read More