The nature and the scope of Religious Studies (lectured by Mr. Jayanta Bogoda) 2011
Religious Studies is a discipline which examines the origin, evolution, diversity and characteristics of religion. There are many religions in the world which are very different from each other. The aim of religious studies is to find similarities and dissimilarities among these various religions.
One has to be careful to control his/her attitude from becoming biased towards his/her own personal religion when being involved in a religious study. Most people have a religion and everyman who follows a religion thinks that his religion is the best religion in the world. But praises of any religion and condemning any religion is not the aim of religious studies. Religious study examines all religions equally with a moderate mind.
Scope of Religious Studies
Classification of religions is also a very important issue in the scope of religious studies. Some classifications are given below:
(1) Pre-historical religions and historical religions.
(2) Primitive (tribal) religions and world religions.
(3) Theistic religions and atheistic religions.
(4) Monotheistic, polytheistic and henotheistic religions.
(5) Ancient religions and modern religions.
Definitions of “Religion” (lectured by Mr. Jayanta Bogoda) 2011 1.
1. “Religion is the sigh of an oppressed creature, the heart of a heartless world, just as it is the spirit of spiritless situation. It is the opium of people.” (Karl Marx)
2. “Religion is a daughter of Hope and Fear explaining to ignorance the nature of the unknowable.” (Ambrose Bierce)
3. “A religion is a unified system of beliefs and practices related to sacred things, that is to say, things set apart and forbidden beliefs and practices which unite into one single moral community called a church all those, who adhere to them.” (Emile Durkheim)
4. “It seems best to fall back at once on this essential source, and simply to claim as a minimum definition of the religion, the belief in spiritual beings.” (Edward Tyler)
5. “Religion is what the individual does with his solitariness.” (A. N. Whitehead)
6. “Psychoanalytic investigation of the unconscious mental life reveals that religious beliefs correspond closely with the fantasies of infantile life, mainly unconscious ones, concerning the sexual life of one’s parents and the conflicts this gives rise to.” (Sigmund Freud)
7. “Human recognition of superhuman controlling power and especially of a personal God entitled to obedience.” (The Concise Oxford Dictionary, 1990)
8. “Any specific system of belief and worship often involving a code of ethics and a philosophy” (Webster’sNew World Dictionary)
One has to be careful to control his/her attitude from becoming biased towards his/her own personal religion when being involved in a religious study. Most people have a religion and everyman who follows a religion thinks that his religion is the best religion in the world. But praises of any religion and condemning any religion is not the aim of religious studies. Religious study examines all religions equally with a moderate mind.
Scope of Religious Studies
Classification of religions is also a very important issue in the scope of religious studies. Some classifications are given below:
(1) Pre-historical religions and historical religions.
(2) Primitive (tribal) religions and world religions.
(3) Theistic religions and atheistic religions.
(4) Monotheistic, polytheistic and henotheistic religions.
(5) Ancient religions and modern religions.
Definitions of “Religion” (lectured by Mr. Jayanta Bogoda) 2011 1.
1. “Religion is the sigh of an oppressed creature, the heart of a heartless world, just as it is the spirit of spiritless situation. It is the opium of people.” (Karl Marx)
2. “Religion is a daughter of Hope and Fear explaining to ignorance the nature of the unknowable.” (Ambrose Bierce)
3. “A religion is a unified system of beliefs and practices related to sacred things, that is to say, things set apart and forbidden beliefs and practices which unite into one single moral community called a church all those, who adhere to them.” (Emile Durkheim)
4. “It seems best to fall back at once on this essential source, and simply to claim as a minimum definition of the religion, the belief in spiritual beings.” (Edward Tyler)
5. “Religion is what the individual does with his solitariness.” (A. N. Whitehead)
6. “Psychoanalytic investigation of the unconscious mental life reveals that religious beliefs correspond closely with the fantasies of infantile life, mainly unconscious ones, concerning the sexual life of one’s parents and the conflicts this gives rise to.” (Sigmund Freud)
7. “Human recognition of superhuman controlling power and especially of a personal God entitled to obedience.” (The Concise Oxford Dictionary, 1990)
8. “Any specific system of belief and worship often involving a code of ethics and a philosophy” (Webster’sNew World Dictionary)