HU-IST203

Outline [HI.2.b]
This lecture’s notes are taken verbatim from the following sources:
Ninian Smart . The World’s Religions. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1992.
S.A. Nigosian. World Faiths. New York: St. Martin’s Press, 1994.

What a Religion is
o Etymological Definitions
• The Latin word Religio [to tie back, to tie again]
• The Greek word Θρησκεία, thrēskeia [the outward expression of belief]
• The Far Eastern concept: The Way [the process]
• The Western and Near Eastern concept: A Personal Contact with God [relationship between
‘God’ and Man]
o Subjective Definitions
• ‘Religion’ is both and individual and social activity.
• ‘Religion’ is both an intellectual and emotional activity.
o Objective Definitions
• Philological perspective [Frederick Max Müller (German, 1823-1900)-considered the first
historian of Religion]: Religion arose out of myths and cults based upon an original
personification of natural phenomena.
• Sociological perspective [Karl Marx (1818-1883)]: Religion is designed to promote the social
solidarity or well-being (welfare) of a group or tribe.
• Psychological perspective [Sigmund Freud (1856-1939)]: Religion arose from humanity’s
infantile wish to defend itself from the forces and terrors of life.

The 7 Dimensions of Religion (N. SMART)

o The Practical and Ritual Dimensions o The Ethical and Legal Dimensions
o The Experiential and Emotional Dimensions o The Social and Institutional Dimensions
o The Narrative or Mythic Dimensions o The Material Dimension
o The Doctrinal and Philosophical Dimensions
They help characterize religions as they exist in the world.

Grouping World Religions

Model 1
Monotheism is the belief in One God.
Polytheism is the belief in many gods.
Animism is the belief that a spirit or
divinity (animae) resides within every
object and natural force
Atheism refers to the theoretical or
practical denial of the existence of a
deity.
Agnosticism is the philosophical position
that it is impossible to know about the
existence of God.
Model 2
Ancient: Mesopotamian, Egyptian, Canaanite-Phoenician,
Greater Syrian, Greek, and Roman.
National/Ethnic: African (Africa), Hinduism (India), Jainism
(India), Sikhism (India), Shinto (Japan), Confucianism and
Taoism (China), and Judaism (Israel).
International/Universal: Buddhism, Christianity, and Islam.
Traditional: Dinka (Sudan), Ga (Ghana), Maori (the
Polynesians, Hawaii), and Shamanism (Korea)
Modern: Scientific Humanism, Marxism, Nationalism,
Patriotism, Secularism, Pluralism, Freemasonry, New Age,
kopimism, etc.

Rules of the Comparative Study of Religions

No Comparisons of religions as a whole / Comparisons only within the same dimensions /
Consideration of intra-religious pluralism / Distinction between “popular religion” and “normative
religion” / Differentiation between cultural and religious factors / Position of a phenomenon in the
overall context of religion
1
Page

Enjoy Learning
 HU-IST203
Outline [HI.2.b]

2
Page

Enjoy Learning