Defining Religion in an Academic Context

Defining "Religion"

• Technical/Academic Definition: Anthropological, descriptive, non-evaluative, cross-cultural, empirically detectable.

• Folk Definition: Theological, normative/prescriptive, pertains to specific faith communities.

• J.Z. Smith: Religion is solely the creation of the scholar for analytic purposes; it has no existence apart from the academy.

History of the Term "Religion"

• Derives from Latin "religio".

• Cicero ($106-43$ BCE): "relegere" – lore/ritual of ancestors, "religio = traditio".

• Lactantius ($250-325$ CE): "religare" – the bond between one true god and man.

• St. Augustine: "religere" – to bind together; to pay close attention.

Religion and Legal Traditions

• US Supreme Court (First Amendment):

  • Distinguish Establishment Clause from Free Exercise Clause.

  • Abington Township, PA v. Schempp ($1963$): Distinguishes religious instruction vs. instruction about religion.

• Canadian Legal Tradition (Constitution Acts $1867$, $1982$):

  • Section $2(a)$ of Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms: Freedom of conscience and religion.

  • Prohibits religious indoctrination but allows education about religion.

  • Canadian Civil Liberties Assn. v. Ontario ($1990$): Schools may sponsor study of religion, not practice; expose to views, not impose.

• Alberta Act ($1905$) & School Act: Allows religious/patriotic instruction/exercises, but students can be excluded upon parental request.

Approaches to Defining Religion

• Essentialist/Substantive: Defines religion by its inner, unseen essence; conceptual content.

  • Proponents: Rudolf Otto ("mysterium tremendum et fascinans"), Paul Tillich ("ultimate concern"), Mircea Eliade ("the sacred").

  • Often theistic, focuses on belief/experience, sees values as passively recognized.

• Functionalist: Defines religion by its purpose or role it fulfills; how it operates in human life.

  • Proponents: Karl Marx (economic oppression), Sigmund Freud (psychological "obsessive neurosis").

  • Often atheist, reductionistic, sees values as actively concocted.

Utilitarian Definition for Public Institutions

• A definition based on usefulness for the context of a public institution.

• Must be non-evaluative, empirically detectable, and cross-culturally present.

Anthropological Definition

• Melford E. Spiro ($1966$): "an institution consisting of culturally patterned interaction with culturally postulated superhuman beings."

• Focuses on human cultural activities and interaction with superhuman beings.