The Study of Religion

The Study of Religion
DouglasDavies
a Sociologists stress the social dimension of leligious ideas. Religion
Drovides an agreed way of looking at
ihe world. It gives rhe individual a
seDseol purpose ano meanlng.
describe religion in
aHistoriatrs
terms of events resulting from beliefs; tleologians are concerned with
the beliefs themselves, the question
ofwhether they are true or false, and
with people's response to them.
The different approaches are valid
in different ways and within their
own limitations. The basic difference
is rhat of standpoint: there is the way
of the believer and the way of rhe
scholar'
outward and visibleasDecrs
ofa relision. even when this meansdescribin-e
the narure of people's religious exi
periences, rather than DinDointins
the great issues of rrurh ind awarel
ness of God as felt by the believer
himsell It is possiblefor rhe religious
person to speak in one context as a
believer about the intimate thinqs
-asof
his religion, and in anorher
a
scholar about the way his fellowbelievers see things.
\What, rhen, are the different
methods scholars have adopred in
studying rhe whole subiecr of relieion? And whar are rhe kev ideas rhir
will help u-sunderstandrhe'scholarly
approacn i
The believer
Fveryadult male Muslim
]s requtred to make the
pilgrimage to lvecca ance
in hislifetime.These
pt19nhsate settingaut'
Whar is religion? There have been
many definirions.Some have simplv
described ir as 'belief in spirirual
oerngs . (Jthers have anempted more
comprehensivedefinitions in telms of
beliefs or a descrip on of pracrices.
Jome ot the dttferent approaches
to retrgtonare as follows:
a An^thropologists describe religious
DeLtetsand practices as thev nDLl
them in Iiving communiries.R;ligji,n
nelps.to unlte people in a sharud
experrenceand explanadon of life. Il
provides a paltern of human behaviour, often in response lo thc
hazards of life.
'No.ono can
undorsland mankind
wilhout
unde.!tandinq tho
faiths ol huminitv.
Som€limes naive-.
somolimea
ponelratinglynoble,
aomenmeactude.
somelimes subtld.
somelim€acrugl.
sometimea sulfuaod
by an overpowgring
gontloneSaand lovo,
som6lime8 worldaffirming, aomslimes
negating lhe world,
somglimes inward.
looking, Bometimes
univ€rsaliBticand
missionary minded,
somotimeEshallow
and ofleh profoundroligion has
permoalod human
lilo since oarly and
obscure timos.'
Reductionism
Theologtis the rerm usually given to
the study of one's own rcligion. It is The differenr approaches are nor, of
concelned with the meaning of rhe course, mutually exclusive. In facr
doctrines which have develooed over each method of study can add to our
the years, with the way docrrine is total picture.
This is in conrrasr to the 'reducderived from scipturcs, ^nd the
interpretatio.l of the sc prures. tionism' of some approaches which
N nian Smad, Rel/glors
try to explain everlthing in terms of
This often leads to rhe formation of
one theory. Religion is 'nothing bur'
different schools of tradirion and to
economic) sexual or evolutionary
sectarian divisions within major
ctrlves.
teligions.
For instance, Man
It also leads to the application of
explained
this knowledge ro ordinary behaviour religion in economic terms. Freud
--+tbi.cs----and to special acts of
explained it in sexual terms. Some
worsnlp-rt,l/g).
nineteenth-century anthropologisrs
explained ir simply in rerms of evoThese are the names used of
Chrisrian theology, bur similar
lution.
sttands can be found in orher world
religions.
Theology. rhen, is rhe srudy of a
r€ligion flom the inside. Ir assumes Anthrcpology is the srudy of human
that the fairh is true. Then ir seekslo
behaviour: religion as a pattern of
explore it more fully, and often ar- behaviour can be obseNed like any
rempts to relare rhat fairh to chaneine other humaD acriviry.
world situarions. Theolosv is aliavi
As a discipline ir has added enorgrounded in a relisious r;;dirion. mously to what we know of DeoDles
throughour rhe world. parricul;rly
The scholar
the more primirive tribes. Anthlopol'scholarly
rne
approach'ro relieion ogists from the last century on have
means a neurrli. non-commi'tted been particularly keen to study such
rorm of studv. It looksat the form of tribes becausethey wele interested to
a leligion: ir'does nor ask wherherit relate lhe new scienceto the rheory of
rs true.
evoluIl0n.
The anthropologists
.scholarlvaDDroach'
is
. The phrase
oecepdveif it meanslhar' relieious Evolution
peoplecannot adoor an inrelleirual
work of Charles Darwin proapproachro relieious thinss. Verv The
vided scholarswirh rhe kind ofrheoroltenthey canand do. But riheschol'a.rlY,obiecriveor scientificDe6Dec- etical explanation of religion which
uve is one which emohasizes'rhehad oot been present in the eighteenth-century arguments of philos-
--.'Jti 1l
r*
I
$a: .,
n.rr
E*&
E
,iilll l1 i .rr
.
,g
\\.N\
il
il
ophcrs sLrches (i.\l'.F- Hegcl and
'[ . ( i . I I e r d e r .
Instcad of abstract ideas of pro_
qressand derclofmcnt. scholarssuch
is Il.B. 1'r1or, J.G. F'razerand \\'.
RobertsonSmith. $hose $'orksspanncd the pcriod belrveen 1870 and
1920, souShI Io idenrif-! specific
Dcriods lhrough {hich man had
oassecl,bv characterizinglhe belieis
held during these succcssiveeras.
Thcv namcd lheseslegcsof religjous
lifc according lo thcir own, largclY
speculalive.theoJl' of,lhe dominant
conccrn presenl ln cacn one,
Often rcligjon \eas said to ceasclo
bc signilicanloncc sciencereplaccdit
as ir sllge jir human thought. This
was a characteristicargumcnt of Sjr
T.(i. Fr.rzcr, $'hose book The Golden
lloag, is still in prinr cven though it
is morc a work olspcculationthan of
fact.
Functionalism
Thc twcntieth centurv saw a mlrked
diffcrenceof approachro the srudl of
religion, and in particular the question ol rhe der'clopmentof religion
changed iIS li)rm. Instead of asking
the c\'(tulrontrv quesllon ol ho\\'
rcligion lirst originarcd. anlhropologistschoscto ask s hat function $as
scrvcd bl religion in each parucular
sociclv rr hcrc it occurred. Ihc
anlhropologislE.E. F-r'ansPritchard
cxprr:ssedrhis neall!, saling lhal
'religion is $hirt religion does'.
Bronisla\\' Malioowski ( 188'+ l9'12)
abandonedlhc historicaldimension,
prolerring ro studl intcnsively rhc
role playcd by religion in the Trobriand lsland community rvhere,as an
Austrian citizen, he u'as inlerned
during \vorld \{'ar L
MaLinorvski hclieved that therc
wcre scicntilic la*s of culture and
thrt rhe_vcould also be applied to
rcligion. I'he indi!idual biological
necds ol laod, shcltcr, sex and
sccuritv c()uld also be vie.,vedas
socialnccdswhich peopleprovidc tbr
corporirlelvrhrough economic,politi
cir1, kinship and religious insritullons. llirgic \!as uselul becauseit
broughr one tuiln irLro a lcadership
Posrlx)n during rimes of crisis in
sociel\'.It mrdc somesorl ol positive
actnn possible and rherebl pre-
vcnled chaotic bchaviour. Rcligion
alonE!\\,ilh magic providcd thc basjc
integratingforcr in socicl\'.ior it rvas
thc responselo thc human dcsir!'for
sur|ival. Ilagic. pcriirrnred in the
face of natural calamitr', providcd a
psrchological supporl li)r pcoPlc's
fear. ,\luch of this lhcorl rcsulted
from,\{alino$ski's obscrvelion ol
primiri\'c socioly. bul as his privdte
diarics shorv published long llter
his dcath his own lcars of lonelincss.thc dark. and ol dcalh probably
guidcd the way hc constructedhis
thcory ol rcligion.
Structuralism
Aficr thc | 95()s, anlhropologisls
turncd thclr rltcnli{)D more to the
ot the
rolc ol religionasan cxprcssi()n
valucs and
structLlrc of thc idcas.
'lhcy
Llrew a
beliefs of a socielv.
picrurc of thc relationshipsrvhich
existcd bctrvccn doclrirlcs.'lhcv
askcd horv people ergued, horv thcv
organizrd thcir bclici.s.and rvhetrvas
lhe inncr logicalprltcrn ol a rcligion.
For cxanrplc. r'illuge l) uddhists
cscapepainlul expcritncesb) mcans
of etorcists: ho\! do lhcv squarethis
u ith thc Buddhist idcal stich denics
thc validil\ of such cxorcism? Or
ho\\ do Christlangroups relatethcir
belieli about c\trldav lrle lo lhe
concefl of thc l rinit\'? l his slructuralist approachdrir*s tllcnlron to
Ihc organizalionoi hurnan thought,
and to lhc wr]' nllo brtnlls an or_
dered pettern lo his c()mplex$orld.
IioL insrancc.lhc l'reDch rnlhropologist Claudc Lrvi Slrausshas sludicd
tlic questionof how {his works out in
thc case()l mYths.
The psychologists
!flhcrcas in Ihe niDelcenlh centurY
scholars \{erc happy () comblne
anthropologicxl idens wilh thosc
conccrninlt lhc hunl.rn mind. in lhe
rwcntirth ccntLtrvth(j mind hds bccn
singled out iirr specirl altcntion bv
thc pslchologist\. Sigmund Irreud
dren heevill lion c\1)hrtlonlry anthropolog\'. cspeci.rlhirorr \\'illiam
Robertson Snrith s frnrous 1-,irrr['s
llil89 .
01 th. Rtltgutttr, 11. .S,Lrrrt'r
but his sish \\'iis lo \hoN how thL'
underlying po*cr ol the human
;r,--i.s r,r.i . 1.,-:
s.-a,-:jf,,:.s jt-art ."sl/ii'
ai. ',,a-.h a/,rr
Gj.:rrj
liLi r,:r ra araia irfris a:
:tl]a sriJ :i,i
The sociologists
nrinJ. grounilcd rn ir kind of sc\url
'fhe
cDcrg\ crllcd thc librtlo. asrribcdto a
disciplinc ol socrrlogr ll:o tl
go.l ligurr rllitudc uhich ori.qrnelcd
r ' e l ( r p e dr r p r L i l r i n t h c c l t l l v t u t n t i i . r
i n r h c c h i l t ls r c l a t i o n s h i pl i t h h i s
centur\. Ilere lor lhc idcu ol nrL)jrL
l r u n L Ul r l h c r .
I'roiodion
'lhis
inlf(r(luccsu mlior- conccpl in
r c l i g i o u ss t L r r l i c st h: l l l o l ' p r o i c c t i o n ' .
il lt'lll \\'hi!lr cnrLrllcesnot onlv tlre
f : , r c h o I r g r c rul p p r o a c ho l l : r e u db u t
l rgu.rl:o thc rurlrcr philosophiela
r n ! n l o 1 I r r L l r r h i r r h l l l 0 . 17 l r . n h r r
. l . r i | l r f . ll h r r : r l r c n r c n t st l b o u t ( i o d
\trf rfllll\ l(Jlrr LlndffslooLl as sl,Lrerrrnl\ rlr(irlt nrln. ,\\rn hiid lcndrd io
f o n \ l r u ! i 1 ( i c r i \( ) 1 ( ; o d a n d t h c n I o
I r , l i r t t l r r r r l s r h , ) L r g hi h c l h r d r
reillrt\ '.1 rirajr (J\\n For l pfoFer
(ii
L r n ( l r r \ r . r, l i r q
Lhr()lollr one
s h o u l J r . r r r , . t h i q n r o c r s s. r n J i n t c r '
hunrin
l)rrr rrlrgiLii\ docirlnr i
r ( f n l . . l ' . r . l r rh . l . h l n l l u f n . . J . \ 1 a r \
lnrl I:ngc1'. ir:rJ thcrcb| th. risc oi
! ( i r l l r n l r n r \ r n j i r c l \ u i l d l 1 \ ' .r r \ \ o l
f r l i t r ( ) r r r s u n l , L L l n r ( ) J c\Lr \l t , l i n l c r l r r r l l n ! l i lr
l : r LL r J l l . r ' i l c i r J c L l t h r t r c l r g i o L t s
f o \ r l i L i n \ ! \ c r . n t i l o ! s c r u \ c i L t Ll d
r r r . r n .u ' h r h o , , k 7 l r , I r r t r l l J t . : , r
-/1irr.r,,ir I,.rl- .1,:.rrh 'hLurtLt hcrt
i r l ( r r a a l l t , nt ( ' f f D l t ( r l L u i i L i n .i h a
l r L r n r . r rn r r n J l c . r d r n ! : n r . r n . i \ r . r ! f r o n r
l r u l l l . L n Jr . r l l r l \ . r r t t l t h c r c l , r r t o t ' t
depL,r'cJ.
'lhr
rsr chli,rr:rst \\1ll1rnr J.rm.!
r(l(iflf(l .l frllr .f nr(irc po\rii\'a irttl
1u(lr ro jhr r,,lr rt Icligron. ln Tlii
l,rrr,tr,'
r ' 1 / i , l ; r ' , r r r l : r 1 ' .n , r r ' r
I 9 1 ) 1. h e s r ! . . r l L r l l J r \ r r i n l r o n o l
r.llSlor.ls r\Jrrricnrrs fos\.s\trll h\
v.rrious ptople. c()nrlriirjng rnd con
t r . r s r r r r \gh u h c c i r l l e . i r h c r . ' l i g r o no f
hurllh\ mil]dfllne\s \\i1h lhal of lhe
s r . k \ ( ) ul '
Iirl J.rnrts. rclrgiln t,rr o1 ,,lltte.in
hclflng nrrn to li',e lL positire antl
c ( ) r l r r g c o u \L i l c . I t K a s s e e n i r s u l r i nralclr ebout thc lact rhrt rherr- rs
s()urclhirrg $rong rvith us. rnrl \rth
\\ll|s 01 sx!ir1[j us liom lhar \\rongncrs. In othcr \!ords. rcltgion hclps
nlrn 1o ir..cfr liilnsclf .rnd his lil_ec(mdilioD rrrhcr lhrn l:llling prcv to
t h c i n i i r n l i t i e so f h i s l i l e . ; \ l l t h i s i s o l
Posrti\'c rd!anlagc Io IJlrn. so thal
Jrmcs rlici nol scc rcligion ds an
lllusion wilh no rcal lururc as Freud
l h ( r u s h 1r t l o b c .
tion \\its o1 trrt.rt signilicurree. I.iI
tlcuLnrl\'lir l-:nrilc I)urkh!inr I l35li
1917r. IIis llmoLts stLtdr rrl 71'
I:lontnt<tn l.ornts tl tltt llrltgunts l.t
o$ed lllllch lo lhc sxrrrc lellLlrrs I
lLobeflson Smith $hich hrcl rlso rr
flu|.nccLl Iircud. lr prcsLlpl)('srd
c\1)lLlIlonrn Nffro.lah l() rcllgror
buI cliLl n('r lc.cpl lhc vic\
rlr
roliSious idcrs \\'crc simpl\ nrislu,
ing products ol lha hulnlrl rlrinl
I Ierc l )urkheinr rs l \(\ roltjq'
h(ilh \\ ilh
r
Filrled eompinv
f j s \ . h o l o g \ { i l l r r l r L r Lr rl ) L ll h . . l ] e f l r l
ri\'. rnlhr(Jlolog\ ol IirTd
l)Lrl
Ilcim \vit\ L('n\1n.,j(l rhrr rher. \\
s o m a t h r n g 1 . l : . l il n f a l i g r o n - . r n r l t l r
ml]n \\e! nol Jcecrrrng hinrsell
i d e n l i l \ i n g t h d r . r l i t r L r r r r l t r lrrr r ! r
l j e i o u \ h . h r t r i ( ) u r h f r l : r ' p r L r t t . t. , , : :
1 1 . l n \ \' \ ' i l h l h c ( , l r g r f r l l ( r l l u n . L l r L , r l
lor thc rcrlitr lnllLr.n(lncf.li!ir)n.
cnnle lt, bclic\f. i' rrerct'. rt'cll
I)urkhcrnr \\.r\ ur nrro.r'ut,r,
\ r ' i t l t I h c i d r ' . i 1 , 1\ L , i r r i \ r r \ I r f L r r l \ !
\\'itlt il-f ilrlarin\!1()u\ nriir!1 lrf I
liertJ rh.rt Lhcfc!\r\ r LlrllrIcnt .
o1 rcriil\ .rl \ijrli in \o.riri rroll
i ; t i l r r h r l r n l n J r \ i J u r ! 1l i ! . . S , t r r .
.lrulLl hf \tLlLll.Jolurh.r: hLrr.tnL.
tl
stLlr.Ll flrntr.
l{clrgr,rn l.r.
humrn r;tiritr rrhiLh .polL .rl.,
\ L i . l r l r . l l r l \ \ h r l e u ' i n g \ \ 0 r r 1 .L r h , ,
g0Ltr
I n o n c s c n s cl ) L u k h c r n r r r u . . r . 1 , , t , ,
rng r siInrllr oull()rl t(, I fLr.rl).lrlr
Ihrt nr.rn rrlrr.l\ ser'ntr to hclrert, ,
rnrl t(i sfnk rhorl (ioJ. rrhr[.r'e.i]l
t r L k r n g L r b o L r ht t s o \ n r r c i u l r | r , r
\\ilhr)ul rclliring rr. IlLlr r(,r 1)Lrl
heim. *ho diJ nor belirrc in u (i,'
\\ho err\ts in his orrn riglrt rrr.
l n d ! ' l c n d c n l L \ ' o l n r i l 1 1 .\ o c r r l \ i s s u !
r n i n r l l r r r l i r n lt h i n g t h r t r t e . r r r . , r r r ,
p l c l c l \ h l l I h c p h c c o l ( i o d . S o i r r : t rr
Ihcrc bciore I urn l.rrrn rn.l crirr
ailcr mv darth. It gives nrc irlcas ull
l e n g u a g el o l h i n k r n d \ p c r k \ \ ' i l h . I
p r o t c c r s n t e i n e l n r i r k r s l r .c l e ,
\rorthv of lile. So. d|sPitc tht 1r,.
thdt man projcclsrll lhcs. idcls ()nr,
a g o d h g u r c . r h c i d c r : l h r l l l s r l v i \ r r rt
true. lrnd Nhat r\ nr()rc. lhrv llrr
ntcessar\ if socicl\' is ro b( h.1,1
l o g c l h c r i 1 sr n o r r l c o m n r r i r \
fli!|tii,li'dil?".
WILLIAM
JAMES
(r8{2-r9r0)
W ll arnJames,the
broiherofthe ce ebrated
Amercan noveist Henry
James.waschiefly
r e s p o n s b en t h e y e a r s
aroLrncithe tLrrn ot the
EDWARDAURNETT
centurytor popularz ng
wLoR (r832*19r7)
the newsubjectof the
psychoogyof religion.
In its earyyearsthe
studyoi comparative
A s 6oak The Varietiesaf
.omoaratve re lg on ,
re g on was mLrch
ReligiousExperience
ch Mar Mul er was
Firecir
g
(
' 1 9 0 2s)a c a s s c , a n d
concerned
w ih theor n
thesono1a Geranan
gion
and evoluion of rel
s1| \ ridelyreadtoday
RornanticPoel rle
as a !rnversahuman
Trainedn medicne he
studed n LeP2l9ano In
phenomenon.
E B. Tylor
taughtbothphyso ogy
Pars wherelreDegan
who
n
1896
becarne
ano psycnorogy
ar
h s frst malorworK a
Br la n s frst professor
of jlarvardas eary as the
edltronol
monLrrnenta
ln
anthropcogy, the
1870sand n 1890
ihe Sanskrt iextol the
publlshed
1860sco nedthe term
a celebraleci
R/grYeda,P!blrsneoln
m
an
sii
tc
descr
be
textbook IhePrirclpies
lourvo umesDelween
ed
what
he
bei
eved
io
be
the
of PsychoiogyMost ol
1849and 1862He sett
earlests:agen thrs
and
hisoiherbooks rnciucng
n Engand In_1846
o^lr^^,r,.,^.oc.i
The Will to Belteve\1896)
spentraostoTlhe.
r
t
u
a
l
lTe
n
b
e
r
e
i
n
nls
s
n
p
e
s
p
Prcgmatisnll9Al)anj
remainderoT
ngs
.
iy
;n
be
or
studred
Hunan
i.r,.norlelty
Oxiord,becomrng
(r908)wereor grnaly
Professoroi Col.nPafaiive Mexco.th s r sI res{rtei
n h s frst book Anahuac co! rsesoi leclures
Phio ogyrn 1868.A
(l861I l1es!rsectuentl/
prolifcwr ter.h s ater
n h s Ydrie|eshe are!!
p!b strecResearahes
.iany va !able
booksIncudecl
Mvlhology
tn!athe Ea.if Histarycf
Camparattve
d st nctons between
(1856J.
lnltoducttonto the
Mankrno(-865).anc h s
typeso{ relg o'Js
r'roslmacrlantlvor(
Scienceaf Reltgian
exoerenae lne oesl
(1813).lndta. Whatcan tl
I n.ni!t /e C! ilti re (1811,)
knc,r','.re ng thal
teachus?(l883) ancl
n r,'hcl'ihe an .n srn
betwee.the coi ..l'sia
manyotherworks
i h e o . rs c e a | " i s t a t e c
re!gronoi heath!.
ncludnq threeserresci
8r eily t ,s iFateai y
rn no€dness(iyDfec b_
G fJordLeciur-as
and rwc
.-4. s:!cer encescl
Cl-r'sian ScrenceJ
and
v ou m e so l 0 e r s c n a l
,jreamanai.anc3 ec n if
tie oessian'st
a fe q oa
rem nrsceraesFi€\,!as
i . - r t ' aa : i e ; . ;
cl i'e s af 3aL:
alsoresponsbeior
aeSaraieaci anr,'ral.
{ i . a c i c l l aC ar n s r n l
edrtnq thefftV.volLrrne fr fi'seI anc aterto
Hea so hac mLchto sa,r'
seriesoi Sacr;o Eooksof
postLr
atethe existence
ol
or mystlcsm anc
the Fast-st ll an
sun,/,ngsous (ghosts).
nvauabe soLtrce
forthe
and oi manysuch so! s'
many
of conscrcusness
sludyof relcton
n an ma s. plants lhe
yearsoelorethe s!b)ecl
MaxMu lerbrouqhithe atmosphereetc.Outof
becameJashonable.He
19 qlonsol th-"wor d lor
thisbe el in sou s or
camelrorna
Ine trrstf me to ihe not ce
<^ r t< lFo'. o ,.n1 ':1 |
an
S\,!edenborg
ot lhe EngIshspeal"rna . l o , o . . o n
F,o oJ ,. .^.1(
background.
and h sown
interOreted
Publc
to ll-re
As an evoLttronary
re ig on \,!asan ind strnct
west theancent and
theory,thrsrsof very ttle
irom
theism lar reffroved
modernrel q ons of n.l a
val!e. but t cioes
orthodoxChristan ty
n a vital f soanet
mes
represent
accLrrately
the
Aithoughhe s st I vvorth
o osyncratr wa,,.H s
w a v n w h c h p r m a l ( a n d reaong n s approacn
rneoaesthatre rdon
other)peopes lookonthe lvastoo ndividuast c.
arosethrouclhihi
Lrnseen
wor d Tyor s
ancihe had lttle to say
Persoffcationof natural exampre,
aswe as
abo!tthe corporate
Pnenomena
have on th-o providng forthef rsttime aspectsof re ig on. His
olnerhand beenv/holv
a wayof understand
ng
melnoos loo !!ere
:uperseded
re g on at a basic eve
serousy cal ed n
serve0to porf]l
questionbythe depth.
anthropooqyalonga
psychoog sts (Fre!d
paihwh ch t si lto some Jungandtheirlo lowers)
extentloliows
and arehardlyappllcabe
today.
Eric Sharpe
ffiil.#l{"ffi:r"'
WILLIAM
ROBERTSOiI
sMtTH (t816_91)
Robedson
S..ith best
knownior his ma!isteral
Dooklectures on lhF
Re/gionof ihe S-"miles
( 1 8 8 9w
) asamnsierof
the FreeChurcfrol
Scotland n lB70l-e
becameProlessor
of O1d
Testament
Studes at the
FreeChurchCo ege ri
Aberde-"n.
In the -"ary
T880she wasd snrssed
from hrschaiffor
unscnpturalteachnal
and n 1BB3
wasel-"cl-"(l
Professor
of Arabical
Cambridge.
A ibefti
evangecal ne was
responsib
10r
e
br ng nq
toqethertradt ona
phro og cal stldy ot lhe
B b e ani the new
ns qhls o{ anthroDo
ogy
Hefrsl v s led Nodh
Air ca n 1B;9.and ,\'as
rqpressed
bythe
exrstenc-o
oi tolemsrrl
an onlJth-oSrna
E e c o u r li.h s ' e s ! t e d .
h s firslTalor work
tF
Kinshrpaid M.1n)aQe
E r l / yA r a b / a( 1 8 8 5 )n h s
he
at-'r Lecirre.s
conce.lratedon the
acnceotol sacrf.e
,.rFCr ^e saw essas 3
ioa ira.saclon llan as
a ar:a: c3 n eansa_
establsh.g colrl'lJnioa
v\ th de ty He also
recogf'redthat n
r-olq on cuslornand
r t,.ralare oiten Trofe
s alnfcant ihaf systerrs
o i b e r e 1a. n di h a t t , s
v tal y mportanllhat the
StU0enl
0e an accurale
ano sympathetlc
obseryer
oi the prilci cal s d-"of
re igion.H s nfllence
ne
v\ras
wroespreaci:
nsp redJ 6. Frarerto
studytotemsm andwas
ol the
a forerunner
soco og ca studyol
re igion.-for wh ch
reasonne a mosr
a one amonQnrs
conlemporar
es s
st I respected
among
socloogrslsano
anihropoog sis Despte
hisbrushwith
r0 /
rtE lcvEepirrcrrtvr
r\clsrurl
ecclesiasticalauthority,
he remarnedwarmlY
l']is
evanoelicalin
personalbelie{s.
T{ATHAI{
SODERBLON
(r866-rofi)
The link between
religionand
comParative
was
Christiantheology
firmlv establishedin the
earlipart oJthe twentieth
centuryby a 0roup ol
scholarsof whom Nathan
Soderblomwas perhaps
the most outstanding.
Born the son ot a
Lutherancountryminister
in Sweden,from 1894to
1901he was Swedish
pastorin Paris;
legatron
in 1901he became
Professorof Comparative
Rell0ionin Uppsalaand
remainedin thispost
until h s elevationto the
archbishopricof Uppsala
in 1914,a posthe
occupledunt lhis deaih
in 1931.Hisscholarly
work spannedmany
flelds, among them
lranianstudies,Luther
studies,mysticism,
Catholicmodernismand
generalcomparative
reliaion.
Thoughfew of his
many oooxswere
translatedinto English,
his GiifordLectureslhe
llvlrg God(published
posthumously
ln 1931)
were wldeiyread in thelr
day. He endeavouredto
locatehistorica
Protestantsm within
Christianitv,
and
Christianitt
withinthe
religions
ofthe world.He
d rewva uable
distinctlonsbetween
mystical'and'revealed'
formsol religion,and
later betweentwo f orrns
ol mysticism,'mysUcism
oi personality'(Paul,
Luther)and'mysticlsn]ol
the inflnite'(lndian
religion).
As wellas this
academicwork,
$derblom made an
invaluablecontributionto
tweniieth-centurv
Chrishanity
as oneof the
faihers
oftheecumenical Englishln 1923.ln t, he
attemptedio showthat
movement.
'the
the Inter'Relig
ous
League,whichwas not,l
religion
beginswilh
success.In his lastYear!
his internationalism
senseoTlne num nous,
RUDOLFOTTO
(r869-rs37)
is, of a mysteriously
that
causedhimto tallfoulof
'other'deity
in
both
the NaziOovernment
Educatedat Erlangenand
fearsomeand tascinating Germany,and he died r
Gdttingen,mostof Otto's
(numen = deity).This
1937.
careerwasspentIn
teachingpostsat
book becamea religious
Otto'smost lasting
Gottinqen,Breslauand
classrc.
contributionto the stud!
Marbuig. After earlywork
His later Indianstudies
of religionlay in his
in Lutherstudies,he
includedMysticlsmEasf
insistence
on the
importanceof immedlatl
iurned his attentionto the
and West(1932)and
philosophy
lndia's Religion of Grace
non-rational
experience
and
(1930),
psychologyof
religion,
and a critical
to any estimateoi the
'1911
and after
to the
natureof re igion.
edlUonof the thagavad
Athough lhe /deaof th.l
studyof Indianreliglons. Gi ta (The Otig inaI Gita,
His best-known
and mosf 1939).In 1921,convinced Hotwas not a wayswe
importantwork, Ihe /dea
of the importanceof
understood,t spoke
af the Holy,fi'sl appeared liv ng, inter-religious
direcilyto the mindot th'
in Germanin 1917,and in
dia ooue,he inaugurated twentiethcentury,and
helpedlaythe
foundaiions
for much
laterworkn the a.eaot
personarre rg ous
experencean0or
mystrcrsm.
Thenineteenth-century
intetestin anthropology
was arcu'ed by
expeditions such as
Charles DaNin s warla
voyageon boatd HMS
Beagle.
oi. rcligion
The posilive funcrion
''i
takcn.
s
o
m
c
t
h
i
n
g
"
was
.'9.Dt.llt^ "
\eDer ilno+ lYlu.\\no
l
l
a
x
logisr
rellglous- locJ\
.o-ueht to shol\ hu\r'
soLlal
J
inflienceJ the actlre
.lllc.ul
stuo\ ol / /,r 11rt_
sroup. His famt'u\
thc.slttlt.rt LLtltttll'
isun Lthit attt)
ho\ lnc LJI\lnl\l
t s r r S O L l S htto s h o \ \
led oelle\ cr\ l')
idea of prcdesllnallon
tdopl an earn(st dnd rallonJl-lll.'ln
whiih thel endcavoured to Iulnl lhtrr
or lrorl \
calling as good slc\taros
gracL- Thi\ led tu the \ltuaIInn In
which (ommcrce lno InousrrY coulo
develon raP,Jl\'. \rirh ma\jmunr in
vcslmcnt oI capllal ano nllnlnltlIll
loss of uncrgy bv thuse respunsible
for producli,'n nf goorjs- litligi,,us
idcas thus motlvate man s aclrcn ln
Malx
rather than-as
the world,
an anacsthclic
c l a i m ed - p r o v i d i n g
for worldly life.
ogv crnnol dcal $iIh qucslions of
trulh. Il c n onl! dcscribe\\hat can
bc sccn bv rn outsidc obscncr.
The historical approach
,\lircca Iilirde u as born in Bucharest
in 1907. and has rvorked and llught
in mrnt pNrlsol rhe !\'orld. IIe is the
bcsl-kno\\n !nd m()slinlluenlial reprcscnlrti\'c()l lhc slud! oJ the histolr
ol rcligrons. Ir is dilliculr lo disringDish clcrrl\ bcl\\'eenblsloriansand
phcnonrcnohgisrsof rcligion bccausc
thcir pcrspcetives are similar. So
rvhile llliadc sceks to discover how 4 C u . . _ r r l r risr .i . i r r . r,
religions hrve dcvelopcd throulth k l l e e l S0 l j - I l r t s1 | r , t 1 r r ,r.,,/
their hisloricxlphascs.his ajor con- l h e E r l n h ; n r : r l r r i r , r r r
ccrn is with the idca of rhc 'holy'.
Religion as
phenomenon
'Phenomcnologl' differs from thc
previous approachcsby concernrng
irselfneithc|rvith the hisloricalorigin
of religion nor \\'ith the funclion ol r
rcligion in conlemporar! siluatjons.
It selsout to classifl thc phcnomena
that are associaled\\ith religioustraditionsrobiects.riruals,doctrines.or
fcclings. Each phenomcnologist
identifies{,har he rhinks is thc css
cnce of these phcnomena, and scts
aboutdescribingrhcir in{luenceupon
man.
Gcrardus van der Leeuw (1t90,
1950) was among rhe mosl dis
llnguished of phenomenoloqists
of
rcligion. For him, po.u,.er is rhe
source and underlying cssenceol_all
rctlglon; il is mdnifested in manv
wnys. lrom thc idca of nrrn in
Melanesranrcligjon ro the J\\e xnd
wonder expcrienced in the \rorld
rclrgrons. Hi\ nh!-nom<nolor\ i\ u
description
rhc man.,. ri;rvs rn
whic'h 'man "l
conducrshimself in his
rclatlon to po\\'er,. Sith,ationcomes
aboLrt whcn the source of po*.er is
possessed
oa a(tained.
n pcrson,s reliqious exocricncc
cannot, of coLrrse.-beobseiled bv
someoneelse. The phenomenoloeist
can only see the ionsequcnccs_
of
people's experience.
So phinomenol
I,j
I
i
{
6 /
|ie
ucve,!L[
c, r u
ne g u
TheenarmausHindu Wat
at Angkor,Kampuchea,
is almosta mtle square.
<) t,,-)
th.l..l
h\. )
v..l
cloisterand moat, the
centralshrine reprcsents
the hubofthe universe.
\(/hat are the various ways in which
mankind becomes aware of rhe holy?
His task leads him to discuss
'hierophanies' the ways in which
the sacred is manifested-including
sacled places and persons.
For instance, JesusChrist was said
to be the supreme hierophany
because in him the sacred, which
normally belongs ro a realm totally
different from our own, is manifested
in something belonging emirely ro
our world, his human nature. Eliade
believes that the Western world has
allowed its ability to perceive rhe
sacred to witherJ and that the task of
the history of religions is to help it to
regain this senseof the holy within its
materialistic life.
Eliade resembles Rudolf Otto
(1869 1937) whose famous book Z/te
Id.ea of the lloly asserted thar the
central reality oftrue religion lies in a
senseofthe magnetic and awe-inspiring nature of the source of religious
experience. Some critics argue that
this approach,which does not question the exislence of a divinity but
rather seemsto presupposethe exist
ence of a supernatural realm) has
sought to foster religion rather than
to be a dispassionate study. Historians and phenomenologistsmay reply
rhat they seek only to avoid reductionism and to treat the evidencewirh
the seriousnessit deserves and in a
method appropriate to it.
development of the names given to
the gods.
Miiller's study of religion is thus q
study of language. For instance, the
Latin derr, rhe Sanskrit de"a, and rhe
Greek rDeosare related and refer Io
the idea of brightness. He is usually
remembered for his notion of tl6
'diseaseof language': the descriptiot
given to something actually becomeg
its name, and then is imbued wirh a
narure all of its own. It is as thougfi
man forgets that he has given a nams
to something, and comes 10 believe
that it has a reality and power 14
itself, as in the caseof the bright sun
becoming a deity in its own right
Miiller's work has been largely forgotten in the rwest, but he is still
recalled in India as the man who
opened up the sludy of Eastern tex$
and stimulated an enlire generation
of later scholars of comparative rejigion. He laid the solid foundation of
attemp(ing to classify and order the
vast amounl ofmaterial in a systematrc way.
Theory of meaning
In place of the evolurionary approach
to religion inheriled from the nineteenlh century! there is now emerging another idea which may well
provide an inregrating theory for the
study of religion. This approach
stresses man)s drive to establish a
mcaningful world oflhought and lile.
I1 avoids all simple cause-and-effcct
arguments! and encouragesus to look
In 1888, the same year that Smith at the complex inter-relationshlps
gave the Burnen Lectures on 71rc rvhich exist between man and his
Religion of the Semites,Friedrich Max
envtronment.
'!fle
might call this approach the
Mi1ller delivered the Gifford Lec'theory
of meaning'. It is much more
tures entilled Natural Religion.
Miiller told how he became en- concerned with what religion does for
tranced as a young man with the idea people norv, than wilh how religio!
of translating the sacred texls of might have originated in the past- lt
India, how his early work in lhe sees each man as one pattner rn'science
of language' led him ro a volved in an exlensive series of co study ofmythology and linally ro 'rhe municalions with olhers, receiving
science of religion'. Religion is rhat feedback from rhem and changing his
mental state which'enables man to own oudook in the process. Thls
apprehend the Infinite under differmodel of meaning further emphasizcs
ent names', and the scienceof religthe dynamic nature of religion and cn
ron rs llre attempt to retrace the religious experience.
Comparative linguistics