WEEK SEVEN LECTURE ONE

RLCT 1026 “ Introduction to the Study of Religion”

October 18-22, 2021

MEANIG AND PURPOSE

Having looked at the topic of sacred narratives we were

discussing the ways in which stories orient people in the world.
Another function that religion has served across culture and is at the
very heart of all religions is the idea of a higher order or law that
transcends, and is woven into, everyday life. While traditions differ on
the details of how to interpret this principle, all share a sense of larger
pattern or ordering principle.

Secularists and materialists would argue that we can live perfectly

well without it, however, from a religious perspective lacking a sense of
the transcendent means falling into chaos and states of moral
disorientation, or at best clinging to the fading outlines of religious and
moral codes. But lived religion is holistic and this also explains why
religious people tend to be healthier because all of these aspects shore
up mental and social stability.

From a religious point of view the sacred is the founding order on

which all else is built. As scholar of religion Mircea Eliade (1987) writes
the, “ revelation of a sacred space makes it possible to obtain a fixed
point and hence to acquire orientation…to ‘found the world’ and to live
in a real sense” (23). Basic to religions and philosophy is a focus and

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priority on first principles. Conceptions of law that exist and control the
phenomena of the world stand in direct contrast to post-modern modes
of thinking, which emphasizes only the creation of personal
idiosyncratic worldviews.

First principles also include laws related to those that rule the
natural world and the ordering of the seasons and the periodicity of day
and night. In the Hindu tradition the earliest scriptures of the Rig Veda
refer to a similar principle as rta, which binds all within the order of
creation (O’Flaherty 1981, 47). Systems of ritual, understanding of
human health, and ordering of society all relate back to these first
principles. The well being of both the individual and society are linked
directly to alignment to the higher order of principles.

Religion has also traditionally provided the individual with a

sense of essential trust. Faith in a higher order principle allows for a
sense of security at the most unconscious and basic level. Philosopher
Anthony Giddens has argued that in order for individuals to function
each must achieve a sense of trust in order for stable and continuous
social relations to exist. Trust is tied to ontological security and Giddens
writes that for individuals who fail to establish what he calls “basic
trust” the outcome “persistent existential anxiety.”

Religious and spiritual traditions place core principles at the

centre ensuring that all other aspects of life revolve around an
understanding of a higher order—a point of orientation outside the self

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that provides a sense of security and safety. The Islamic understanding
of submission and faith speaks directly to this sense of trust. The root
meaning of the word iman (faith) is “to be at peace, to be safe”. A sense
of faith in providence and that life has meaning and purpose allows for
attitudes of hopefulness and optimism even in the face of suffering
(144).

(Arabic calligraphy of word for trust/faith in Islam)

The belief in a higher ordering principle is the opposite of

believing oneself to be in complete control and recognizes the limits of a
human condition. While most religious traditions recognize the need for
individual effort, it is always undertaken with the understanding that
there are complex forces beyond the self. Submission to a higher will is a
central feature of the Abrahamic traditions of Judaism, Christianity and
Lslam,

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 Sociologist Peter Berger (1969) described the key role of religion
in creating a worldview and sense of meaning in his work The Sacred
Canopy. and argued that traditionally religion creates a nomos that
orders and relates, as opposed to chaos that fragments (20). Religions
offer assurance that there is a sense of participating in a meaningful
journey, no matter how challenging. The individual remains largely
unconscious of much of this blueprint, which nevertheless forms the
matrix of identity and “ an embedded framework for valuation, and a
mode of belonging and embodied social practice” (Butler 2009, 72).

Codes of mortality and ethics are also developed by religious

traditions built out from their belief in a higher order. The philosophical
heirs of philosophers like Frederic Nietzsche fail to account for the fact
that most people are ill-equipped to develop their own morality. And
because morality is fundamentally based upon relationality, and so the
idea of each individual creating their own is an exercise in futility that
leaves society without a shared vision of the “good,” and at risk of
plunging into modes of individualism destructive to both the person and
the community as a whole.

At vital contribution that religious belief makes to both mental

and physical health is the concept of a higher principle and law. This
sense of providential order offers a sense of a stable and meaningful
existence. Evidence indicates that most human beings simply cannot
thrive without this sense of a larger purpose.. For example, the

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Nishnaabeg teachings of Seven Grandfathers teaches that each
individual and society must think of the well being of the generations
that come after them.

Belief in a higher or transcendent law, therefore, has profound

implications for structuring both social systems and individual lives. It
assumes a principle of value that exists outside of and beyond the
desires of particular groups or individuals. It moves beyond even the
most ambitious and utopian of political programmes. These values
allow us to think deeply about problems in ways that go beyond mere
crisis management and slipshod solutions that do not address deeper
causes.

A worldview that incorporates higher order principles provides a

powerful bulwark against the disintegrative forces of our society and
offers a point of ballast that shores up a sense of meaning and purpose.
This anchoring provides a source ofpsychological stability through the
many changes and challenges in a human life. The systems, guidelines
and maps created over millennia by spiritual leaders also offer guidance
to those attempting to create lives that are meaningful and respectful of
the dignity of other living beings.

On an individual level the sense of a given order and purpose is a

powerful antidote to apathy and anomie a sense of profound
disconnection as presented by sociologist Emile Durkheim. seem
pointless. Rabbi Jonathan Sacks (2005) emphasizes the belief in a

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providential order that operates within each individual life. He writes,
“so each of us has our task, our unique gifts, our singular contribution to
make” (82).

In what he calls “The Great Reversal,” political scientist David

Tabachnick (2013) argues that contemporary society has inverted the
classical model where virtue and first principles superseded empirical
and mechanical systems of knowledge. Traditionally, for example,
“technology is good only when subordinated by higher virtues such as
ethics and politics” (33), but it is now presented as a good in itself. . The
many promises made by the creators of the various forms of social
media have, instead, proven to be largely hollow and in many cases
actually exacerbated feelings of alienation and isolation.
This understanding traditionally binds the individual to their
communities, to the natural environment and provides the deepest
sense of personal meaning. Higher Law makes compassion and care an
obligation rather than a choice and knits each person into the web of a
greater world picture or story. It provides solace in times of grief and
pain and emphasizes the solidarity of all living things.

The imagery used in religious traditions is protection, safety,

refuge. A Buddhist takes refuge is the Buddha, the Dharma (teachings)
and the Sangha (community). In the 99 names of Allah we are told that
God and these names may be recited. Allah is Al-Raheem – the bestower
of mercy, Al-Quddus – the Most Pure, As-Salam – the Giver of Peace, Al-
Mumim, the One who gives security.

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 In the Bible the psalm states:

He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High,

who abides in the shadow of the Almightly,
will say to the Lord, “My refuge and
my fortress;
my God, in whom I trust.”

Psalm 91

Codes of mortality and ethics are also developed by religious

traditions built out from their belief in a higher order. These codes of
conduct operate far beyond even legal codes and are part of the pre-
conscious identity of religious people. They don’t need a police officer
watching over them as these beliefs are so deeply embedded and they
will feel profound guilt and discomfort if they go against them.

Even in our increasingly secular society the basic outline of these

codes remain. We have talked about the variety of ways that religious
people are expected to assist one another. Often Jews and Christians
will use the example from the Story of Cain and Abel where Cain’s
retort, “Am I my brother’s keeper” shows that he has fallen out of
alignment with his religion.

These codes and commandments are remarkably similar across

culture This is unsurprising as religious traditions are generally
concerned with prosocial valued that allow people to live together.. So

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you can see that religious traditions offer story, sacred narrative and
also codes of conduct that structure human and social relationships.