Comparative Religion
What is religion?

The English word "religion" is derived from the Middle English "religioun" which came from the
Old French "religion."

It may have been originally derived from the Latin word "religo" which means "__________
___________," "_____________," and other similar meanings.

Or it may have come from the Latin "religãre" which means "___ _______ ________."

Defining the word "religion" is fraught with difficulty.

Many attempts have been made.

Most seem to focus on too narrowly only a ________ ______________ of religion; they tend to
exclude those religions that ____ _______ ________ well.
As Kile Jones wrote in his essay on defining religion: "It is apparent that religion can be seen as a
t_________________, p_________________, a_______________________, s____________________,
and p__________________ phenomenon of human kind. To limit religion to only one of these
categories is to miss its multifaceted nature and lose out on the complete definition."
All of the definitions that we have encountered contain at least one deficiency:

Some exclude b_______________ and p___________________ that many people passionately
defend as religious. For example, their definition might include belief in a God or Goddess or
combination of Gods and Goddesses who are responsible for the creation of the universe and for its
continuing operation. This excludes such non-theistic religions as B___________________ and
many forms of religious S______________________ which have no such belief.

Some definitions equate "religion" with "C______________________," and thus define t______ out
of every t______________ humans in the world as non-religious.

Some definitions are so broadly written that they include beliefs and areas of study that most people
do not regard as religious. For example, D_____________ E________________ definition would
seem to include c___________________ and e____________________ within his definition of
religion -- fields of investigation that most people regard to be a s____________________ studies
and non-religious in nature.

Some define "religion" in terms of "the s_______________" and/or "the s_________________," and
thus require the creation of two more definitions.

Sometimes, definitions of "religion" contain more than one deficiency.
Comparative Religion
Dictionary definitions: Dictionaries have made many attempts to define the word religion:

Barns & Noble (Cambridge) Encyclopedia (1990):
"...no single definition will suffice to encompass the varied sets of t_________________,
p_____________________, and i_______________ which constitute different religions."

The Concise Oxford Dictionary (1990):
"Human recognition of s____________________ controlling power and especially of a personal God
entitled to o__________________."
This definition would not consider some Buddhist sects as religions. Many Unitarian Universalists are
excluded by this description. Strictly interpreted, it would also reject p_______________________
religions, since it refers to "a" p_____________________ God."

Merriam-Webster's Online Dictionary:
"a c________________, p__________________, or s_____________ of beliefs held to with
a________________ and f________________."
This is a curious definition because it does not require elements often associated with religion, such as
deity, morality, worldview, etc. Also it requires that a person pursue their religion with
e______________________. Many people i__________________ themselves with a specific religion,
but are not intensely engaged with their faith.

Webster's New World Dictionary (Third College Edition):
"any specific s_______________ of b______________ and w_________________, often involving a
code of e__________________ and a p_______________________."
This definition would exclude religions that do n____ e________________ in w____________. It
implies that there are two important components to religion:

one's belief and worship in a d______________ or d_____________________

one's e_______________ b_______________________ towards other persons
Comparative Religion
This dual nature of religion is expressed clearly in the C___________________ Scriptures (New
Testament) in Matthew 22:36-39: "Teacher, what is the great commandment in the law? Jesus said unto
him, Thou shalt l_________ the L_________ thy G______ with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and
with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt
love thy n______________________ as thyself."

Qumran Bet, "A Community Striving to Come to the Pure Essence of the Worship of
YHWH," cites definitions from an unknown dictionary: "religion (ri-lij'[uh]n) n.
o The beliefs, attitudes, emotions, behavior, etc., constituting man's r____________________
with the p_________________ and p________________ of the u____________________,
especially with a deity or deities; also, any particular system of such beliefs, attitudes, etc.
o An essential part or a practical t_________of the spiritual life.
o An o________________ of conscientious d______________________ or scrupulous care:
e.g. His work is a religion to him.
o Obs. Religious practice or belief." 15

The Christian Apologetics & Research Ministry (CARM): "An o______________________
system of belief that generally seeks to understand purpose, meaning, goals, and methods of spiritual
things. These spiritual things can be God, people in relation to God, salvation, after life, purpose of
life, order of the cosmos, etc."

Wikipedia defines religion as: "... a system of s_____________ c___________________ based on a
common group of beliefs or attitudes concerning an object, person, unseen being, or system of
thought considered to be supernatural, sacred, divine or highest truth, and the moral codes, practices,
values, institutions, traditions, and rituals associated with such belief or system of thought.
Definitions by academics and others:
Dr. Irving Hexham of the University of Calgary in Alberta, Canada, has assembled a list of definitions
of religion from various authors and theologians. A few are:

William J____________: "the belief that there is an u______________ order, and that our
supreme good lies in harmoniously adjusting ourselves thereto."

Alfred North Whitehead: "what the individual does with his own solitariness."

George Hegel: "the knowledge possessed by the f________________ mind of its nature as
a_____________________ mind."
Comparative Religion
Clifford G_______________ defined religion as a cultural system:
"A religion is a system of s________________ which acts to establish powerful, pervasive, and longlasting moods and motivations in men by formulating conceptions of a general o_____________ of
e_______________________ and clothing these conceptions with such an aura of factuality that the
moods and motivations seem uniquely realistic."
B. Malinowski: "relieves a______________ and enhances s______________ i______________."
Anthony Wallace: "a set of r________________, rationalized by myth, which mobilizes supernatural
powers for the purpose of achieving or preventing transformations of state in man or nature."
Karl Marx: "Religion is the sigh of the o________________ c________________, the heart of a
heartless world, and the soul of soulless conditions. It is the o________________ of the people."
The Agnosticism / Atheism section on About.com uses an approach found in The Encyclopedia of
Philosophy. Rather than attempting to define religion, they describe some of the factors that are typically
found in religion. The About author came up with the following list:

Belief in something s________________ (for example, gods or other supernatural beings).

A distinction between s________________ and p________________ objects.

Ritual a________________ focused on sacred o________________

A m________________ c________________ believed to have a sacred or supernatural basis.

Characteristically religious f________________ (awe, sense of mystery, sense of guilt,
adoration), which tend to be aroused in the presence of sacred objects and during the practice of
ritual.

P________________ and other forms of c________________ with the supernatural.

A w________________ v________________, or a general picture of the world as a whole and
the place of the individual therein. This picture contains some specification of an over-all
purpose or point of the world and an indication of how the individual fits into it.

A more or less total o________________ of one's life based on the world view.

A s________________ g________________ bound together by the above
Comparative Religion
Some people do not consider their personal spiritual path to be a religion:

Many conservative C________________ refer to Christianity not as a religion but as an intensely
p________________ r________________________________ with Jesus Christ

Many N________________A________________ believe that their spiritual beliefs and practices are
not a religion in the normal sense of the term. They form an integral and seamless part of their very
being, totally integrated into their life experience.

Agnostics and A________________ often do not regard their beliefs to be a religion. To most,
Atheism and Agnosticism simply represent a single belief about the existence or non-existence of a
supreme being. They do not necessarily include ethical matters.

The N________________ is sometimes referred to as a religion. However, it is in reality a collection
of diverse beliefs and practices from which a practitioner may select those that appeal to her/him.
The individual often grafts these beliefs and practices onto an established religion.
Our compromise definition: Let’s use a very broad definition of religion:

"Religion is…

A worldview= is a set of b________________, foundational b________________ concerning
d________________, h________________ and the rest of the u________________.
o Thus the following would be considered religious:

C________________

I________________

J________________

N________________ A________________ S________________

W________________and other N________________ traditions
o We also include:

A________________

A________________

H________________ as religions, because they also contain a "b________________
about d________________." Their belief is that they do not know whether a deity exists,
or they have no knowledge of God, or they sincerely believe that God does not exist.