Name: RIKA AYU LESTARI

Npm: 1901051055

Class: TBI A

AN APPROACH TO THE STUDY OF RELIGION

There is a crucial question about the study of religion. The question is "Is it possible to study
religion scientifically?" Religion is a social phenomenon as are politics, economics,
psychology. anthropology and the like. These social sciences can be studied scientifically, so

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can religion. Religion is a universal phenomenon and is the most important ingredient in the

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study of human life. There are two approaches to the study of religion. These approaches are
linked through the unbroken line of the two extremes. The first approach is normative aņd

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the other is descriptive. The-normative approach is based on the criteria of what is

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true and good and what is bad, what one ought to do and ought not to do. This is based on
the

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personal internal experiences of the religion founder or the messenger in contact with the
divinity the transcendental experience. This approach can be looked at two ways.

The first one is theology, that is an attempt to give a systematic traditional expression of

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religious experience. In Islam it is called the 'aqa'id, something which must be accepted and
believed. The second way is religious ethics or moral behaviour: how to act with" one's
fellow man, The second approach is descriptive which is based on intellectual curiosity
rather than on belief. a number of disciplines which help in understanding religion.

The first is the history of religion: looking at religious behaviour historically. The second is

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the psychology of religion: understanding the mental process and feeling of religious people,
and the last is the sociology of religion: trying to understand how religious groups

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organized themselves, the role of religious institutions , religious leaders, law, and the state.

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Using the descriptive approach, it is possible to study religion scientifically.