Religion: concepts, methods, and contemporary study

Education - Religious Studies

THE MOTIVATION for STUDYING RELIGION Introduction:

Practically every known human culture ever discovered maintains specific beliefs about the origin of human beings on earth, their place in the universe, and the nature and character of a supposed supreme being called "God." Exposure to the religious beliefs of other cultures exposes a challenge to the most fundamental presumed truths of one's own religious beliefs and assumptions. Partly for this reason, religious plurality has resulted in more human warfare and atrocity than any other motivation. Still today, in many parts of the world, religious antagonism is the root cause of tremendous human tragedies.

The Psychological Significance of Religious Differences:

It is perfectly understandable that awareness of religious beliefs that, by definition, imply that all other religious beliefs are necessarily false can arouse profound psychological responses. For one common example in American society, the predominant religion is Christianity, practiced in numerous variations, all of which believe in a single Christian God who is the only God to have ever existed. Furthermore, most Christians also believe that they will eventually be reunited with their loved ones after their death on earth and that this is a specific reward of accepting Jesus Christ.

On the other hand, Jews, Muslims, Buddhists, Hindus, Sikhs, and many other religious traditions may recognize the historical significance of Jesus the man, while completely rejecting the belief that Jesus was the Son of God or that human beings reunite after death in Heaven. The fact that other religious beliefs imply the falsity of others, as well as the fact that religious beliefs tend to represent some of the individual's most fundamental elements of one's very psychological orientation can explain the degree of antagonism with which believers of different religions have feared and battled each other throughout recorded human history. Likewise, modern students of religion may gravitate to that course of study by virtue of some of the same deep psychological threat posed by opposing religious views.

However, instead of responding to the awareness of religious beliefs contrary to their own defensively, they focus their energies on understanding the evolution of human religious traditions partly to better understand their religious heritage and perhaps, to decide for themselves what to believe.

Concepts of Human Religion:

Beyond challenging specific religious beliefs, expanded awareness of other religious perspectives also has the capacity to change one's existing beliefs about what religion is, what constitutes morality in human life, and even the very character and significance of God. Despite their many other differences, all major Western religious traditions (in addition to Judaism) are monotheistic and conceive of a judgmental God who rewards, punishes, and/or otherwise interacts with human beings individually.

Eastern religions, on the other hand, conceive of much broader definitions of God and deemphasize any direct relationship between individuals and God, in addition to allowing for multiple Gods.

Other religious beliefs reject any supposed consciousness of a supreme being, conceiving God as representing nothing more than fundamental elements of the natural universe and objective principles. In that sense, in addition to increasing awareness and specific knowledge of other religions, the study of religion also introduces an entirely foreign concept, at least from the perspective of students socialized in any of the Western religious traditions. Specifically, the broadened understanding of different religious frameworks raises the possibility that the highest form of spirituality possible in human life is the complete acceptance of our absolute aloneness in the world and the relative meaninglessness of human concerns in a universe that may very well be finite in existence as well as entirely godless.

In that same regard, academic approaches to the study of religion may even view the extensive religious plurality evident in human societies as logical evidence that no religious beliefs are true, as much because of the obvious similarity in the process of their evolution in isolation as because of the mutual incompatibility of their contradictory specific beliefs. This approach to studying religion means that the study of religion per se is actually more a study of the history of human social values and cultural traditions.

In that sense, the literal truth or accuracy of specific theistic beliefs about the origin of religious traditions is not directly related to their importance, both historically and philosophically. Especially to the extent very different religious beliefs maintain philosophical similarities, the specific themes and principles represented within different human religions may play a role in the modern analyses of elements of human values.