An Exploration into the

definition of ‘religion.’
Religion is a universal part of human
experience.
Extremely difficult to define religion
because religions vary in various
ways.
Religion is as old as humans.
Every human society, including the
earliest society, had a way to
appease spirits or powers.
 Definitions usually lean toward some kind of
theism, that is a belief in a God or gods.
 “Religion is the belief in an ever living God,
that is, in a Divine Mind and Will ruling the
Universe and holding moral relations with
mankind” – James Martineau
 This definition excludes parts of Hinduism,
Buddhism and Chinese religions. It is too
narrow of a definition.
Immanuel Kant defines religion as:
“The recognition of all our duties as
divine commands.”
This definition is problematic because
it reduces religion to an ethical
systems.
Adherents of religion see religion as
providing a foundation for more than
just an ethical life.
Freud said that “Religion is
comparable to a childhood neurosis.”
Marx said, “Religion is the sign of the
oppressed creature…It is the opium
of the people…”
Both of these definitions suffer from
what is called the GENTIC FALLACY
The genetic fallacy, simply stated is:
• If you can show the origins of a belief then
you have disproved that belief.
• There is a difference between why
something is believed and why something is
true.
Freud commits the genetic fallacy
• He states that religion is like a childhood
neurosis
• This explains the origin of religious belief
• This claim does not deal with the truth of
religious claims but only their origin.
 Marx, like Freud, commits the Genetic
Fallacy
• Marx explains that the reason people belief
religion is twofold.
 They are oppressed
It is an opium for their oppression .
• This explains why someone might believe a
religion but not the truth or falsity of the religion.
• In order to show that the religion is not true then
you must be able to refute the claims of the
religion and not purely the origin of religion.
 Tillich: “Religion is the state of being grasped by an
ultimate concern, a concern which qualifies all other
concerns as preliminary and which itself contains the
answer to the question of the meaning of our
life.”
 AOS claims that this definition is too wide because a
political zealot could make politics their religion.-
Everything and anything can become religious
 AOS then claims that “If everything human is religious
then it would seem to be synonymous with politics…
and not a very informative concept.”
 The bold part above is the key to Tillich’s definition.
 Everything can become religious but is not inherently
religious in and of itself.
“Religion is that system of activities and
beliefs directed toward and in response
to that which is perceived to be of
sacred value and transforming power.”
This is a good definition but I still prefer
Tillich’s definition.
Tillich’s definition includes the idea of
religion being directed toward an
ultimate concern.
 In answer to this question keep a few
things in mind:
• It is easy to slip into the genetic fallacy
• The answer could be twofold: both naturalistic
and existential.
 Humans desire deliverance from moral
guilt and desire to experience joy, not
dread, in a world that provides
significant meaning to our life and
death.
Tounderstand what it means to be
Human.
• If it is true that humans are universally
religious then in order to understand
humans, we must understand religion.
 To avoid ignorance.
• Humans often have an ethnocentric view of
life. We tend to think that our culture is the
best way to do things. Best food, best style,
best religion.
• This can lead to prejudices, racism and hatred
(i.e. The Ugly American).
• Knowing about other cultures and religions
helps you learn about other cultures and
move out of being ethnocentric
 "For some reason, the
[American] people I meet
in my country are not the
same as the ones I knew
in the United States. A
mysterious change
seems to come over
Americans when they go
to a foreign land. They
isolate themselves
socially. They live
pretentiously. They're
loud and ostentatious."
 To help us formulate our own philosophy of life.
 In this class, be willing to examine your belief system
• A good belief system can stand up to scrutiny and is typically
strengthened by encountering tough questions.
 AOS says, “To be self-conscious and reflective about our
beliefs does not mean, of course, that we become so
open that our minds being to resemble the proverbial
sieve that cannot retain anything and through which all
beliefs pass as though equally true and valuable. That is
spiritual promiscuity.”