6: Religion

Billions of people on the planet have some belief in supernatural events. Most consider those sacred. Those beliefs help people cope with the stresses and joys of life. In the past, those stresses and joys were very often a product of people’s interaction with the natural environment. Today, religion continues to reflect and condition our interaction with the natural environment, as well as many other aspects of our daily lives.

Religion comes in many forms. Most scholars characterize religion as a system of beliefs that connects humans to the supernatural. Religious beliefs and practices are generally considered sacred because practitioners believe these rules, rituals, and beliefs were conceived by a supernatural power, god(s) or person that has extraordinary power or insight. Religion is also generally practiced in a group setting, so those committed to a religion, known as adherents, are bound by beliefs and practices that become the basis for group and individual identities. Many religious beliefs and practices are a product of the natural and social environments from which they evolved, and in turn critically inform adherents in the ways they should think and act about a wide range of issues, from politics to economics to their interactions with the natural environment.

Religion in general is hard to characterize because it comes in so many different forms. Several daily rituals that one group might think of as “religious” might not seem religious to another person or group. One way of categorizing religions is to consider how a religion gets new members. Some religions actively recruit people into their faith. These are known as profile proselytic faiths. You may have had young men in white shirts and black ties come to your door to encourage you to join the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. These fellows are commonly known as Mormons, and because they have come to your door to recruit you to join their faith, they are also missionaries. Proselytic faiths also tend to be universal religions because anyone can join. Most Christians actively seek to convert others to Christianity, sometimes going to extraordinary lengths to welcome new members to the faith. Islam and Buddhism are the other major religions that seek converts. Other religions rarely proselytize. Closed religions are called ethnic religions, and generally you must be born into them to become part of that religious group. Judaism and Hinduism are the two best-known ethnic religions. It would be very rare to have a Jewish rabbi invite you to temple so that you might consider becoming Jewish.

Religions can also be lumped together on other criteria. For example, religions may be categorized by the number and the nature of their deities. Those focused on a single deity are called monotheistic. Islam, Christianity and Judaism consider themselves monotheistic religions. Other religions are called polytheistic because have multiple deities, with various responsibilities, personalities and capabilities. The religions of Ancient Greece and Rome are well-known polytheistic religions. Some religions are pantheistic in which the divine is everywhere and in everything. Practitioners of some religions are less focused on deities. Instead, individual adherents direct their energies inward to achieve an elevated state of mind, or to seek a beneficial afterlife through outward deeds or acts of devotion. Frequently these categories are messy and overlap in various fashions.

Some religions are easy to recognize for Americans. Most Christian groups are easy to recognize and count because they meet regularly as a group, known as a congregation, in a purpose-built structure called a church. Other religions and their adherents are harder to recognize and count. Some religious adherents may not meet regularly in church or building purposefully built for worship. Some many not meet regularly in a group.

On the other hand, some presumably profane or secular belief and behavioral systems exhibit characteristics of a religion. Some groups have texts that are treated as if they are sacred, or nearly sacred. Secular groups may have many followers who engage in well-practiced rituals and they may even have holidays, and special clothes for priest-like figures who keep secret tidbits of knowledge and interpret special texts. Many of these groups even meet regularly in a specially constructed building. Sociologists have likened Fascism and Marxism to religions, though such ideas are certainly open to debate. Others might point to the fraternal organizations like the Freemasons or the Odd Fellows as taking on quasi-religious characteristics.

Within many religions, there are many sub-divisions, called denominations, and within those sub-divisions there may be additional sub-divisions. Even with a single small group of believers or within a congregation, individuals will interpret or understand religious doctrine or engage religious practices differently than fellow members. These numerous divisions within belief systems make it difficult to write definitive statements about specific religions.

Frequently, small religions, or denominations, within a religion are called cults. Among the general population, that word carries a derogatory connotation, but is not necessarily so among academics. Many conservative Christians characterize the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints as a “cult”. So, when Mitt Romney, a Mormon, ran for President in 2012, there was some consternation from some sectors. Of course, many of these same people believe that President Obama is/was a Muslim, so opinions about Romney’s religion may have had a negligible effect on the outcome of the election.