The aim of this paper is to give a detailed and succinct synopsis of “Willi Braun’s Religion.” In addition, salient points will be analyzed and critiqued. I will begin by reviewing the author’s arguments and conclude by chronologically addressing the contentious and most thought-provoking elements of the excerpt.
Braun begins his extract by focusing on the concept called religion. More specifically, he attempts to deconstruct the term with the intention of uncovering the individual elements, which constitute the term — the varying ways in which scholars have sought to construct this category and the underlying flaws and deficiencies — evident in pre-existing attempts by both the scholar and lay man to provide a definitive explanation to a
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The concept is a staple in the lexicon of individuals in the West — pervasive in both private and academic spheres. However this term, although omni present, is on the inside hollow. He explains that religion, although “appearing real,” is at its core a “Spectre” — a ghost-like entity which upon closer inspection fragments and disintegrates.
Braun posits a theory to explain the scholastic difficulty encountered by those who attempt to provide a foundation for this frail and feeble creation. He explains that the difficulties experienced when attempting to delimit religion is due not to a dearth of phenomena, which can be “deemed” as being religious, but to the overabundance of said phenomena. Essentially, religion encompasses and is ascribed with such a vast number of varying meanings, themselves often indeterminate, that the term provides little substance to academic
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The contemporary understanding and deployment of the concept lacks the nefarious underbelly it once had. The concept was used by colonialist as a tool of delineation — a creation used to separate the “savage” from the “civilized,” us from them. Varying faiths and their adherence, who lacked the recognizable religious markers or practices as those in the West, were labelled as uncivilized and relegated to the field of superstition. Contained in Braun’s belief is the idea that religion, rather than being this unchanging body of knowledge, has been instead consistently employed as a “marker of difference”
Religion is a part of society that is so closely bound to the rest of one’s life it becomes hard to distinguish what part of religion is actually being portrayed through themselves, or what is being portrayed through their culture and the rest of their society. In Holy Terrors, Bruce Lincoln states that religion is used as a justifiable mean of supporting violence and war throughout time (Lincoln 2). This becomes truly visible in times such as the practice of Jihad, the Reformation, and 9/11. The purpose of this essay is to show that as long as religion is bound to a political and cultural aspect of a community, religious war and destruction will always occur throughout the world. A historical methodology will be deployed in order to gain
In The Battle for the Mind, which was published in 1980, LaHaye discusses how conservative Christians could “take back America” around a conservative political agenda, and from the standpoint of the field of anthropology, focuses on the struggle with modernity among those who reject it, although LaHaye was unlikely to be thinking in those terms. In this book, LaHaye clearly identifies what he sees as the real enemy of American Christians. He uses the phrase “secular humanism” to describe the enemy, but gives it a new conspiratorial definition. Simply defined, humanism is man’s attempt to solve his problems independently of God. According to LaHaye, humanism seems so credible and logical to the man who does not understand God’s wisdom, that it is adopted readily by the masses. He also believes that today’s wave of crime and violence can be laid right at the door of secular humanism.
Just as there is a variety of identities involving race, gender, and class, so too are there a range of religious identities. Byzantine Catholics, Hindus, born-again Evangelicals, atheists, agnostics, and Buddhists are only a few religious identities I have encountered in America. This environment, at best, allows religious variety to be understood and embraced—and at worst, divides us. In Acts of Faith, author Eboo Patel discusses his belief that the “faith line” will define conflict and concord in the 21st century.
Molloy, Michael. Experiencing the World's Religions. 5th Edition. New York, NY: McGraw Hill, 2010. 320-322. Print.
Erich Fromm in his psychoanalytical approach to religion is distinct from the earlier works of Sigmund Freud. Fromm defines religion as “any system of thought and action shared by a group which gives the individual a frame of orientation and an object of devotion.” Fromm argues that irreligious systems including all the different kinds of idealism and “private” religions deserve being defined as a “religion.” Based on Fromm’s theory, it is explained that there is no human being who does not have a “religious need,” almost every part of human life reflects religious need and its fulfillment, in fact he states it to be “inherent” in man.
The purpose of this reflective outline is to demonstrate a thorough understanding of theories, concepts, and/or strategies relating to cultural and social religions. “Whale Rider” (Caro, 2002) , is a depictive representation of a cultural religion that has survived on the belief of male inheritance as their form of guidance; however, history has shown that change is inevitable. For example, throughout history, religion has played a pivotal role in the development of individuals, including the evolution of societies. This shows that because religion/s around the world have practiced their core beliefs in an attempt to guide humanities behaviors, yet , as we can observe with the “Whale Rider,” even the most influential community and cultural leaders can become miscued in their ideologies. Because The Maori of New Zealand have developed deep seated beliefs within natural creatures; Katu is term used to relate to their god (Maori.com, 2014) steaming for their ancestral Polynesian descendants. In addition to what can be observed, such as beliefs, practices, and/or symbolic terminologies, each religion will ensure its presidential knowledge is passed to those who receive it accordingly. The factual concept stands and history has proven is evolution that without guidance and continuous religious and cultural support, decedents of a heritage may become lost and/or miscued within their mislead ideology. Although many religions are centered on the belief of normality’s cultural expectance, often times we can observe drastic changes in the reorganization of a cultural religion.
The vastly different traditions of religion forms in the United States show that how diversity of worldwide people merged into one society and formed separate traditions all while dealing boundaries between religions in America. The mystery of religious belief beyond the definition is still and will always be a much-debated topic. Regardless of whether these arguments are ever resolved, it is important to bear in mind about the powers from Albanese‘s theory, which is a system of symbols by means of which people orient themselves in a world with reference to both ordinary and extraordinary powers, meanings, and values (Albanese). She also identified
Religion is considered as a pervasive force in this world. It shapes people as to how they behave and interact with almost everything present in the society. Influencing behavior, character formations, ideals, policies, standards are just among the dimensions and societal perspectives affected and impacted by religion. Because of these applications and implications in human lives and existence, religion should be understood deeply, particularly, on how it affects the world. Looking at the American perspective of the term "religion," it could be simply
Religion has been around since the evolution of man. It expresses different myth unorganized and varies regions to regions, and it gives people something to believe in. As people became more religion has involved into becoming more organized and has both positive and negative effects around the world. For this assignment I was researching three questions. How the study of religion is different from the four main subjects-mathematics, science, history, and literature. How to best approach the study of religion when it differs from our personal views and beliefs. Methods I discovered
Smart, Ninian. "Blackboard, Religion 100." 6 March 2014. Seven Dimensions of Religion. Electronic Document. 6 March 2014.
Religion is an ever-growing idea that has no set date of origin. Throughout history religion has served as an answer to the questions that man could not resolve. The word religion is derived from the Latin word “religio” meaning restraint in collaboration with the Greek word “relegere” which means to repeat or to read again. Religion is currently defined as an organized system of beliefs and practices revolving around, or leading to, a transcendent spiritual experience. Throughout time, there has yet to be a culture that lacks a religion of some form, whether it is a branch of paganism, a mythological based religion or mono/polytheistic religion. Many religions have been forgotten due to the fact that they were ethnic religions and globalizing religions were fighting to be recognized, annihilating these ancient and ethnic religions. Some of these faiths include: Finnish Paganism, Atenism, Minoan Religion, Mithraism, Manichaeism, Vedism, Zoroastrianism, Asatru, and the Olmec Religion. Religion is an imperative part of our contemporary world but mod...
Barbour, Ian G. Religion in an Age of Science. San Francisco: Harper & Row, 1990. Print. (BL 240.2 .B368 1990)
Thus defining religion seems to be a matter of belief more than anything else where the opinion of the definer matters more than any objectively factual material. For a person's conception of how religion ought to be examined will determine to a large extent that person's view of the value (or lack of value) of being religious, whether or not that person actually examines religion in depth. The other important factor is what a person actually finds as a result of engaging in a religious search. Some approaches make it easier to find something religiously meaningful in life, while others make it more difficult. For example, some people would identify "examining religion" with discovering certain external facts, such as the "true" date and authorship of some religious texts, or observing people as they engage in religious practices in order to discover the social or psychological factors causing them to act in such a way.
Geertz defines religion as ‘(1) a system of symbols which acts to (2) establish powerful, pervasive, and long-lasting moods and motivations in men by (3) formulating conceptions of a general order of existence and (4) clothing these conceptions with such an aura of factuality that (5) the moods and motivations seem uniquely realistic.’ In this essay, I will focus on the Geertz’s idea, and Asad’s subsequent critique, of symbols. (Geertz, Clifford, and Michael Banton. "Religion as a cultural system." (1966).)
Together I believe these two definitions give a very clear example of what religion truly is. Religion cannot be defined as something with a one fixed meaning. It is unique to almost every individual. At times it can be vastly different from its surrounding culture. So it is easy to see why it has caused so many controversial world issues. Religion has existed as long as humans could think and wonder. A vast majority of people have always believed that there is a higher power or a divine being that controls the events that occur in our lives. Unfortunately, though, religion and its many components has commonly raised more questions for people. Why is it that wars and international tensions are, almost always, strongly influenced by a person's religion? A person's religious belief has the potential to get him killed. Why is it that religion creates so much turmoil? It is this question as well as others that create a hunger within people to seek out and ultimately discover the truths of the world, whatever that may be. Inevitably this search leads to a multitude of ideas and theories, or better known as philosophies.