Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel. According

¶ … Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel. According to the philosopher, "Religion is not consciousness of this or that truth in individual objects, but of the absolute truth, of truth as the universal, the all-comprehending, outside of which there lies nothing at all. The content of its consciousness is further the Universally True, which exists on its own account or in and for itself, which determines itself, and is not determined from without.

While the finite required the Other for its determinateness, the True has it determinateness, the limit, its end itself; it is not limited through an Other, but the Other is found in itself." (Hegel, 148) We can see that the key words and the main coordinates that we need to take into consideration when trying to define religion are: truth, universality, consciousness, limits of self.

Religion is defined by Hegel as an active process of consciousness through which a person comes into contact with god, having its nature changed, impacted by the very understanding of what god is. Individual objects are considered to be, through their very distinct existence, limited. Associated to them therefore is a limited type of truth.

Trying to understand god in and through this type of understanding is a road that will take you nowhere, since god is everything and the source of everything, its perfection and its universality being characteristics which are mutually supportive. God is identified with the absolute truth which is universal and includes everything.

From the fact that it includes all the things which exist or are either potential, we realize that the essence of the divine nature is a fundamentally active one, in the sense that it is the absolute truth of it which makes it exist and the other way around. If nothing exists outside the god-truth, then it means that god is the origin of Life and that what exists beyond him is death or the opposite of truth (lies, limited truth, etc.).

At this point we could think about the ethic connotations that truth and lying have, one being associated with morality, spirituality, goodness, salvation and the other one with evil, spiritual decay and death. Under these circumstances we might assume that death derives from an incapacity to become one with the truth and the universal. Therefore, in this definition we encounter the omniscient and the universal dimensions of the divine.

The access to them is translated in the process of life (through consciousness and self-awareness) and is given the name of religion ( the limited individual come to life through the contamination with the universal dimension). All- comprehending means not only that god includes everything, but he understands everything- hence his omnipotence (if one has absolute knowledge and understanding of things, then he has absolute power upon their existence and non-existence). Through that which Hegel calls "religion," the individual comes into direct contact with god.

Through the process of consciousness the person actively opens his mind and received the "universally true." Since it is the universally -- true which fills his consciousness, it would be safe to assume that they become synonymous (hence the contamination of the human with the divine, in other words, access to the truth which is a synonym of life). Moving on we reach another defining characteristic of god. The philosopher explains how god is existence (life) in the general sense.

The divine exists through itself, because of itself and for itself. Since nothing else touches it, or determines it from the outside, then it results that god can be associated with absolute freedom. It is at this point that we reach the fundamental triad represented by truth-life-freedom, with all the elements supporting each other in a manner which makes them become synonyms (although incomplete in the absence of just one of them).

Hegel makes a point about the fact that god's omnipotence results first and foremost from the fact that him and only him can determine his own existence, that his awareness of his self is powerful enough in order to act as a life creating factor. In other words it could be stated that when the truth is aware of itself, this consciousness becomes life (we must always bear in mind the universal dimension which characterizes the element under discussion).

The fact that god does not require anything or anyone else in order to exist, we understand that god is infinite (and through its infinity, perfect). The imperfection of people and things derives from the fact that they are limited. The limit is conceived as a dependency on other elements, on the Other. God not only is not limited by the Other, but he includes the other.

At this point we understand that when we say that god is infinite we mean that it is in god that there is an infinite potential of life- which through his will is realized and manifested as single human beings. If god is perfection, infinity, absolute truth, absolute freedom, then one might wonder what is the purpose of man on earth. God exists independently of the other, then why create one? Some might argue that the final fight between good and evil will have its result influenced by man.

The truth is that this point-of-view is very distant from the simple truth, which is that god created man because he loved man. It is only because of his infinite love that he gave man the gifts of life, consciousness and freedom, as well as the possibility to use them in a manner that would allow him to become an integrant part of the transcendent.

Therefore we understand that religion, in the opinion of Hegel is a process through which man becomes aware of himself, god and the relation between them. Religion is defined as a mental, spiritual process through which man conceives god and accepts him as well as his condition (of limited part torn out of the universal). The second definition of religion is given by Auguste Sabatier. According to him "We shall now be able to define the essence of religion.

It is a commerce, a conscious and willed relation into which the soul in distress enters with the mysterious power on which it feels that it and its destiny depend. This commerce with God is realized by prayer. Prayer is religion in act" that is to say, real religion. It is prayer which distinguishes religious phenomena from all those which resemble them or lie near them, from the moral sense, for instance, or aesthetic feeling.

If religion is a practical need, the response to it can only be a practical action…. This act is prayer, by which I mean, not an empty utterance of words, not the repetition of certain sacred formulas, but the movement of the soul putting itself into personal relation and contact with the mysterious power whose presence it feels even before it is able to give it a name.

Where this inward prayer is wanting there is no religion; on the other hand, wherever this prayer springs up in the soul and moves it, even in the absence of all form and doctrine clearly defined, there is true religion, living piety." (Sabatier, 27-28) Sabatier very interestingly defines the process as one of commerce, that is a relation of exchange between two entities. These are the soul and god. While god is defined as a mysterious presence, the circumstances in which the process is initiated are those of distress.

From this we understand that religion is activated when man feels that he can not do it on his own and needs the help of a superior entity which he does not understand (hence its mysterious dimension). yet acknowledging his dependence upon it. Right from the very beginning of the definition the author introduces key concepts such as destiny, the mystery of the divine, will, consciousness, etc.

Te idea of destiny allows us to understand the relation of dependence which exists between man and god, in the sense that man depends completely on god's will. God being omniscient and omnipotent then it is impossible to live outside him. Hence the idea that god determines the lives of people through his infinite power and knowledge ( if god knows what will happen before it happens, then this means that regardless of man's choices, he will perform an act of will which is not his but fundamentally god's).

Man is aware that his life as a whole depends on god, but reading between the lines we perceive the fact that man also knows he can choose on his on. God does not interfere on a daily basis, but is at the disposal of man if the latter one needs to be guided. From the present definition we also understand that god is omnibenevolent, otherwise man would fear him or stay away from him.

Instead, it is man who willingly and consciously calls god in order to receive his support. We also find here the limited condition of man who acknowledges his limitations and overtly seeks help ("a conscious and willed relation"). Therefore the commerce under analysis is not a mere relation of exchange, but is a relation in which two forces become actively involved. Since it is man who initiates the process then it results that man is free to act as he wishes and not determined in his actions.

The fact that this process is initiated in times of hardship demonstrate the fact that will and freedom are not enough in order to find the path towards the truth, freedom and serenity, and that god is needed in order to achieve this goal. If the exchange relationship is the mechanism through which god ad man communicate and unite, then prayer is the instrument which the process needs for its fulfilment. Prayer is considered to be the active manifestation of religion, its incarnation.

That is why the author argues that it is "real religion" as opposed to moral senses (the ethic dimension implied by religion) or aesthetic feelings (god is perfect, therefore beauty derives from god). Therefore true religion occurs when the individual is in need of god and acknowledging this fact he calls upon him, ready to communicate with the transcendent dimension.

Religion in act is the process through which man renders himself a sort of cup to be filled by the grace of god, a process through which man gives all of him into the hands of god, reciprocally being filled with divine grace (hence the exchange). The author insists that religion is a practical action because it derives from a practical need, the void of which it fulfils.

Therefore man needs god not because of moral precepts which have been taught to him by education, nor because man is an admirer of beauty as expressed in all of god's manifestations (such as nature, for example). Man needs god deep within his soul because he has been torn apart from the universal divine dimension and he needs it in order to feel complete. Man has been created by god through god (god and his power are the same thing).

Consequently man needs god in order to reach the state of perfection from which he derives (only through and in god can man become perfect as well). Religion as a process, with prayer as its tool is an enactment of these principles. In addition the act of praying is carefully defined in its profound dimension which is so much more than the mere pronunciation of words and formula which are considered to be sacred.

Praying is a sacred act because it opens the doors between the two worlds of the sacred and the profane, allowing man to be overwhelmed by and with the divine grace. Prayer is an act which activates the soul through the blind belief that man has in god. Through this act man has access to a deep and personal knowledge of god, a type of knowledge which goes beyond reason.

The fact that the mysterious power remains without a name is a sign that its complexity can not be grasped, nor closed by the realms of human reality ad reason. Religion, in order to manifest itself must fulfil the criterion of sincerity and humility. This is why the author underlines that mere willing, desire can not activate the process in the absence of real faith. It is the same thing with dogma and form generally speaking.

Knowing the moral principles and obeying the moral laws in the absence of a true understanding of god may only lead to a sterile attempt of invoking divinity, one which has nothing to do with the deep spiritual connection which gets enacted by faith. The third definition of religion that we will discuss is given by John Renard who states that ." "In its broadest sense, the term "religion" means adherence to a set of beliefs or teachings about the deepest and most elusive of life's mysteries.

The word comes from an ancient Latin root (religo) that means "to bind" or "to obligate." Religious Persons join together in a shared quest to understand a host of perplexing questions.

What is the origin of life? What does it mean to be human? Are there greater-than-human forces responsible for the shape of things? How should a person of good will behave? Is life as we know it all there is, or are we destined for an adventure that goes well beyond an earthly life-expectancy?" (Renard, 3) The first thing that draws the attention when discussing this definition is the Latin origin of the name, which means "to bind" or " to obligate." Unlike the other authors analyzed so far, Renard underlines the fact that faith (religion) binds people together in a spiritual community.

On the one hand the binding is made between people. On the other hand the binding is to be made by the individual to the beliefs. Religion can be defined as.