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rug

(82,333 posts)
Sat Apr 13, 2013, 02:06 PM Apr 2013

Ask the Religion Experts: How do you define religion?

Ottawa Citizen April 13, 2013 11:04 AM

KEVIN SMITH is on the board of directors for the Centre for Inquiry, Canada’s premier venue for humanists, skeptics and freethinkers.

A casual observer of my weekly posts might conclude that I have a religious zeal for atheism. It’s a definition of my character that I accept with pride.

Some people will go further, arguing that this apparent obsession with God’s non-existence must be a kind of neo-atheist religion. While the definition of religion is open to interpretation, there are basic characteristics that differentiate it from atheism.

Religion will often be based on stories central to one’s belief system, such as the Virgin birth in Christianity or Siddhartha’s enlightenment under the Bodhi tree in Buddhist mythology. Non-believers reject supernatural myths for a rational, scientific explanation of our human condition. Religious morals are made-to-measure sets of rules that adherents must remain faithful to, and in some sects risk eternal damnation if they don’t.

http://www.ottawacitizen.com/life/Religion+Experts+define+religion/8239383/story.html

The other seven comments at the link are from a Catholic priest, a Muslim, a Sikh attorney, an Anglican priest, a Bahá’í scholar, a Pentecostal pastor, and a Rabbi. (Sorry, there's no punchline.)

5 replies = new reply since forum marked as read
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Ask the Religion Experts: How do you define religion? (Original Post) rug Apr 2013 OP
i like this bit.. Phillip McCleod Apr 2013 #1
I like the Bahá’í response: rug Apr 2013 #2
yes the multiplicity of meanings for terms keeps popping up lately.. Phillip McCleod Apr 2013 #3
Indeed. This is a good article. longship Apr 2013 #4
I would disagree Laochtine Apr 2013 #5
 

Phillip McCleod

(1,837 posts)
1. i like this bit..
Sat Apr 13, 2013, 02:11 PM
Apr 2013
Atheism and religion are similar in that they’re paths leading to a philosophy about our existence. The difference between the two is religion has a pre-determined destination, while atheism is a beginning, a launching-off point where one is inspired to discover the mysteries of the universe and allowed the freedom to ask questions about our place within it.
 

rug

(82,333 posts)
2. I like the Bahá’í response:
Sat Apr 13, 2013, 02:16 PM
Apr 2013
The answer to this question depends on the perspective of the respondent. Is it the atheist’s definition of religion? The believer’s? The academic’s? No one definition will satisfy all.


This newspaper does a good job of getting a wide range of responses from different perspectives on religious issues. I think it's a weekly feature but I haven't been following it regularly.
 

Phillip McCleod

(1,837 posts)
3. yes the multiplicity of meanings for terms keeps popping up lately..
Sat Apr 13, 2013, 02:36 PM
Apr 2013

..some food for thought. the snarky geek in me wants to settle on some definitions or call psychology a soft science, but the fact remains that human beings are complicated critters. several non-contradictory meanings for religion.. or even contradictory meanings.. cannot surprise anyone who has ever referenced a dictionary.

i always kind of like these multi-POV pieces when i see them.. thx for the read.

here's another excellent quote. from the rabbi..

Your simple question actually is quite complex. The major religions of the world have perpetrated unspeakable atrocities in the past. Some have actually apologized for that. Others have not. If I understand your question correctly, you are not seeking a definition of what constitutes a religion. Rather, you are seeking to more accurately pinpoint what about religion is deserving of any protection that the Office of Religious Freedom may offer.

In that vein, it may be best to think more in terms of what the office should protect “from,” rather than “for.” The office should be a protector, assuring to whatever extent possible that all religions are free “from” oppression, and therefore never free to oppress.

longship

(40,416 posts)
4. Indeed. This is a good article.
Sat Apr 13, 2013, 03:32 PM
Apr 2013

Many atheists would characterize religion differently. But I am comfortable with these responses (as long as they do not characterize atheism as a religion, that is).

Laochtine

(394 posts)
5. I would disagree
Sat Apr 13, 2013, 05:09 PM
Apr 2013

I would classify Religion as cults. Members that follow traditions and rituals.
Members that are willing to overlook their hierarchy's many disgusting cover ups
and still tithe to feed their preferred beast, but that's just my opinion.

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