Phenomenology Approach in Studying Religion - Essay Example

The article recognizes the presence of a large number of religions across the world and appreciates the fact that there are distinctions between them. Past societal experiences are believed to have a great impact on various religions. The readings also share a common idea that their pioneers and the societal culture have influenced different religions’. The readings explain that there are some things that are shared amongst different religions such as negative things that should be avoided by the followers. The readings also show that every religion has its devotees who strongly believe in the doctrine and overall teachings of that religion. However, there are common ideas shared amongst religions including the concern about life and death and the reverencing of God. The readings further admit that issues to do with religions are very tough to handle and maybe a bit confusing. Religion plays a significant role when it comes to peaceful coexistence because most of the conflicts and world struggle originate from 9/11. Christianity tends to remain the dominant religion in both readings.

The readings tend to look at the aspect of religion in different styles by giving it a unique approach. They offer an understanding of the religion from various perspectives by relying on different sources and prior knowledge. The readings also reveal various things that guide different religious beliefs. The Second Vatican Council defines religion as a group of people gathered for a common goal of getting answers to the unresolved human riddles and sharing a common destiny, God. The council believes that acquiring answers to the unresolved life puzzles such as what happens when one is dead can only be answered by religion. Religions are the path through which the world attempts to overcome the restlessness of peoples’ hearts by outlining a program of life covering doctrine and sacred rites with high regard for the manner of life and conduct.

Prothero highlights eight rival religions that rule the world and believes that religion confuses minds. He believes that all religions are true and beautiful and that religions are just different paths towards the same destination. Religions are distinct are defined by differences in culture, history, geography, and collective temperament. Religion entails believing in God although issues of divinity vary with every religion. Prothero observes that religions share numerous ethical precepts and although the world’s religions are one and similar, there are always differences in some particulars.

 Religion focuses on the dimension of human experience and some societies define religion in a specific context. For instance, religion in America’s context is defined in terms of dissenting English Protestant Christians and the European enlightenment. The public image and civilization in America have an effect on the way religion is defined. Generally, America’s perception of religion is dependent on how the term is defined in different contexts including law, media, and political discourse in the modern world. Religions are deemed to be voluntary associations and modernity has changed people’s understanding of religion. Religion is a private issue that involves separation from shared daily life and focuses on personal beliefs. The Great Questions argues that the world is full of religions and that most cultures exhibit what may be intelligently recognized as religious behavior. In defining religion, human beings normally assume certain religious behaviors, religious faith, and the religious people believe that gods are real and they manifest themselves.

Religion may be studied using various approaches including Sociological, Anthropological, and Phenomenological.

Looking at phenomenology, the philosophers attempt to accurately describe the human experience instead of explaining it and further helps understand religion in its own terms. Phenology describes and understands the religious experience and prohibits reductionism. The purpose of phenomenology is to describe accurately religious beliefs and phenomena and in terms of perspective, it adopts the perspective of a devotee of the religion under study. Phenomenology assists in re-experiencing some religious phenomenon’s essential character or structure that is describing what it means. This method needs bracketing of convictions by refraining from asking “is it right” question. The use of bracketing of convictions is a temporal stance of neutrality where individuals retain their beliefs and attempt to understand the beliefs of others on their own terms.

The phenomenology approach in studying religion has both merits and demerits and some of the challenges may be an overly simplistic description. It may also be hard to decide if the perspective of an insider is accurate or explanations of the religious phenomena may be both necessary and valid. This kind of approach seeks to isolate and describe different types of religious phenomena through comparison and contrast thus leading to common and pervasive forms of religious experience. However, there are challenges of whether the explanations of religious beliefs are combined with an honest attempt to understand them and the effectiveness of multiple explanations while conducting the study.