Understanding Religion
© Thomas Hilgers
First Encounter
For months you have wanted to take a break from work and everyday life, and recently some
friends invited you to vacation with them at their mountain cabin. At first you hesitate. This is
not the kind of trip you had in mind. After reconsidering, you realize that a remote getaway with
friends is just the change of pace you need.
Now, three weeks later, you have been traveling all day and have just arrived at the cabin. It is
late afternoon, and the air is so cold you can see your breath. Your friends welcome you warmly,
and there’s a nice fire in the living room. Your hosts show you to your room and give you a short
tour. Soon you are all fixing supper together—pasta, mushrooms, salad. During the meal you
discuss your work, your zany relatives, and your mutual friends. Everyone is laughing and
having a good time. It’s confirmed: coming here was a great idea.
After supper, your friends won’t let you help with the dishes. “I think I’ll go out for a walk,” you
say, putting on your heavy, hooded jacket. As the front door closes behind you, you step into a
world transformed by twilight.
What strikes you first is the smell in the air. There is nothing quite like the scent of burning
wood—almost like incense. It fits perfectly with the chill. You walk farther, beyond the clearing
that surrounds the house, and suddenly you are on a path beneath tall pine trees. As a strong
breeze rises, the trees make an eerie, whispering sound. It is not exactly a rustle; it is more like a
rush. You recall reading once that the sound of wind in pines is the sound of eternity.
Moving on, you find yourself walking along the mountain’s ridge. To your left, you see the
evening star against the blue-black sky. To your right, it’s still light and you see why you are
cold: you are literally above the clouds. You sit down on a flat rock, pull up your hood, and
watch the pine tree silhouettes disappear as darkness spreads its thickening veil.
It’s difficult to pull yourself away. All around you stars begin to pop out, and soon they are
blooming thick as wildflowers. Overhead, the mass of stars resembles a river—it must be the
Milky Way. You get up and slowly turn full circle to take it all in. You had almost forgotten
about stars. You don’t see them much back home, let alone think of them. Where you live, stars
appear in movies. Here, though, stars are mysterious points of light. You remember what you
once learned: stars are so distant that their light can take millions of years to reach earth. You
realize that some of the stars you see may no longer exist. Only their light remains.
At last you begin to walk back to the cabin. A cluster of clouds emerges on the horizon, lit from
behind by the rising moon. You see your friends’ wooden cabin in the distance. From here it
looks so small. The stars seem like the permanent, real world, while the house appears little and
temporary—more like a question mark in the great book of the universe. Questions flood your
mind. Who are we human beings? Do we make any difference to the universe? Are we part of
any cosmic plan? Is there any point to the universe at all? What is it all about?
What is Religion?
The Starry Night, one of the world’s most loved paintings, depicts a sky full of luminous,
spinning stars. Painted near the end of its creator’s life, the work summarizes the vision of
Vincent van Gogh (1853–1890). Van Gogh was an intensely religious man who had planned to
be an ordained minister in the Dutch Reformed Church, as was his father. But he struggled with
his studies and had a falling-out with Church authorities. For a time, he lived as a lay preacher,
working with poor miners in Belgium. When he was 27, his brother Theo, an art dealer,
encouraged him to take up painting.
Despite his new career, van Gogh continued to think of himself as a minister. If he could not
preach in words, he would preach in pictures. His subjects were the simple things of life: trees,
sunflowers, a wicker chair, a bridge, his postman, a farmer sowing seeds, peasants eating a meal,
workers bringing in the harvest. His paintings express a quiet awe before the wonder that he
sensed in everyday objects and ordinary people. It was his special sense of the sacredness he saw
all around him that he wanted to share. Almost as a reminder, in The Starry Night van Gogh
placed the little church tower below the night sky, pointing like a compass needle upward to the
stars. The heavenly realm with its spinning fires illuminates van Gogh’s vision of the sacred
character of the entire universe.
Vincent van Gogh’s The Starry Night provides a startling perspective. The familiar world that we
know, with a steeple in the middle, is dwarfed by the vast, mysterious cosmos.
Digital Image © The Museum of Modern Art/Licensed by SCALA/Art Resource, NY
Key Characteristics of Religion
When people begin their study of religions, they bring ideas from the religion in which they were
raised or from the predominant religion of their society. They may assume, for example, that
every religion has a sacred book or that it worships a divine being or that it has a set of
commandments. Indeed, many religions do share all these characteristics, but some do not.
Shinto, for example, does not have a set of commandments, nor does it preach a moral code; Zen
Buddhism does not worship a divine being; and many tribal religions have no written sacred
scripture. Nevertheless, we call them all religions. What, then—if not a common set of
elements—must be present for something to be called a religion?
An obvious starting point for many scholars is to examine linguistic clues: What are the
linguistic roots of the term religion? Intriguingly, the word’s Latin roots are re-, meaning
“again,” and lig-, meaning “join” or “connect” (as in the word ligament). 1 Thus the common
translation of religion is “to join again,” “to reconnect.” If this derivation is correct, then the
word religion suggests the joining of our natural, human world to the sacred world. In classical
Latin, the term religio meant awe for the gods and concern for proper ritual. 2 We must
recognize, though, that the term religion arose in Western culture and may not be entirely
appropriate when applied across cultures; spiritual path, for example, might be a more fitting
designation to refer to other religious systems. We will keep these things in mind when we use
the long-established term religion.
Religion [is] a way of life founded upon the apprehension of sacredness in existence.
Julian Huxley, biologist 3
People have constantly tried to define religion, and there are thus many notable attempts. These
definitions may emphasize a sense of dependence on a higher power, awareness of the passing
nature of life, the use of symbolism and ritual, the structuring of time, or the acceptance of moral
rules. But reading these definitions makes one aware of their limitations. The definitions often
seem inadequate and time-bound, the product of a particular culture or period or discipline.
Perhaps, for the time being, it is better to simply be open to many possible definitions, without as
yet embracing any single one. After studying the major world religions, we will undoubtedly
come closer to our own definition of religion.
The problem of how to define religion continues to plague scholars, who love definition. A
definition may apply well to some religions, but not to others. A definition may apply to
religions of the past, but may not be suitable for a religion of the future.
Traditional dictionary definitions of religion read something like this: a system of belief that
involves worship of a God or gods, prayer, ritual, and a moral code. But there are so many
exceptions to that definition that it is neither comprehensive nor accurate. So instead of saying
that a religion must have certain characteristics, it is more useful to list a series of characteristics
that are found in what are commonly accepted as religions. Scholars note that what we ordinarily
call religions manifest to some degree the following eight elements: 4
Belief system Several beliefs fit together into a fairly complete and systematic
interpretation of the universe and the human being’s place in it; this is also called a
worldview.
Community The belief system is shared, and its ideals are practiced by a group.
Central myths Stories that express the religious beliefs of a group are retold and often
reenacted. Examples of central myths include the major events in the life of the Hindu
god Krishna, the enlightenment experience of the Buddha, the exodus of the Israelites
from oppression in Egypt, the death and resurrection of Jesus, or Muhammad’s escape
from Mecca to Medina. Scholars call such central stories myths. We should note that the
term myth, as scholars use it, is a specialized term. It does not in itself mean that the
stories are historically untrue (as in popular usage) but only that the stories are central to
the religion.
Ritual Beliefs are enacted and made real through ceremonies.
Ethics Rules about human behavior are established. These are often viewed as having
been revealed from a supernatural realm, but they can also be viewed as socially
generated guidelines. Characteristic emotional experiences Among the emotional
experiences typically associated with religions are dread, guilt, awe, mystery, devotion,
conversion, “rebirth,” liberation, ecstasy, bliss, and inner peace.
Material expression Religions make use of an astonishing variety of physical elements—
statues, paintings, musical compositions, musical instruments, ritual objects, flowers,
incense, clothing, architecture, and specific locations.
Sacredness A distinction is made between the sacred and the ordinary; ceremonies often
emphasize this distinction through the deliberate use of different language, clothing, and
architecture. Certain objects, actions, people, and places may share in the sacredness or
express it.
Each of the traditions that we will study in the pages ahead will exhibit most of these
characteristics. But the religious traditions, like the people who practice them, will manifest the
characteristics in different ways and at different times.
The Sacred
All religions are concerned with the deepest level of reality, and for most religions the core or
origin of everything is sacred and mysterious. This sense of a mysterious, originating holiness is
called by many names: Brahman, Dao, Great Mother, Divine Parent, Great Spirit, Ground of
Being, Great Mysterious, the Ultimate, the Absolute, the Divine, the Holy. People, however,
experience and explain sacred reality in different ways, as we shall see in the chapters that
follow.
Religious rituals are often symbolic reenactments of a religion’s key stories. The presentation of
crowns to the bride and groom reminds them of the crowns that await them in heaven.
© Thomas Hilgers
One familiar term for the sacred reality, particularly in the Western world, is God, and
monotheism * is the term that means a belief in one God. In some systems, the term God often
carries with it the notion of a Cosmic Person—a divine being with will and intelligence who is
just and compassionate and infinite in virtues. God is also called omnipotent (“having total
power over the universe”). Although God may be said to have personal aspects, all monotheistic
religions agree that the reality of God is beyond all categories: God is said to be pure spirit, not
fully definable in words. This notion of a powerful God, distinct from the universe, describes a
sacredness that is active in the world but also distinct from it. That is, God is transcendent—
unlimited by the world and all ordinary reality.
* Note: Words shown in boldface type are listed and defined in the “Key Terms” section at the
end of each chapter.
In some religions, however, the sacred reality is not viewed as having personal attributes but is
more like an energy or mysterious power. Frequently, the sacred is then spoken of as something
immanent within the universe. In some religions, there is a tendency to speak of the universe not
just as having been created but also as a manifestation of the sacred nature itself, in which
nothing is separate from the sacred. This view, called pantheism (Greek: “all divine”), sees the
sacred as being discoverable within the physical world and its processes. In other words, nature
itself is holy.
Some religions worship the sacred reality in the form of many coexisting gods, a view called
polytheism. The multiple gods may be fairly separate entities, each in charge of an aspect of
reality (such as nature gods), or they may be multiple manifestations of the same basic sacred
reality.
In recent centuries, we find a tendency to deny the existence of any God or gods (atheism), to
argue that the existence of God cannot be proven (agnosticism), or simply to take no position
(nontheism). (Such tendencies are not strictly modern; they can also be found in some ancient
systems, such as Jainism; see Chapter 5.) However, if one sees religion broadly, as a “spiritual
path,” then even systems based on these three views—particularly if they show other typical
characteristics of a religion—can also be called religions.
Religious Symbolism
Religions present views of reality, and most speak of the sacred. Nevertheless, because religions
are so varied in their teachings and because the teachings of some religions, when taken at face
value, conflict with those of others, it is common to assert that religions express truth
symbolically. A symbol is something fairly concrete, ordinary, and universal that can represent—
and help human beings intensely experience—something of greater complexity. For example,
water can represent spiritual cleansing; the sun, health; a mountain, strength; and a circle,
eternity. We frequently find symbolism, both deliberate and unconscious, in religious art and
ritual.
Symbols and their interpretation have long played an important part in analyzing dreams. It was
once common to think of dreams as messages from a supernatural realm that provided a key to
the future. Although this type of interpretation is less common nowadays, most people still think
that dreams are significant. Sigmund Freud introduced his view of the dream as a door into
subconscious levels of the mind; he argued that by understanding dreams symbolically we can
understand our hidden needs and fears. For example, a dream of being lost in a forest might be
interpreted as distress over losing one’s sense of direction in life, or a dream of flying could be
interpreted as a need to seek freedom.
The mandala, according to Jung, illustrates “the path to the center, to individuation.”
© Thomas Hilgers
Carl Gustav Jung extended the symbol-focused method of dream interpretation to the
interpretation of religion. Some religious leaders have been cautious about this approach—
popularized by the mythologist Joseph Campbell—lest everything be turned into a symbol and
all literal meaning be lost. And specialists in religion oppose the view that two religions are
basically the same simply because they share similar symbols.
Before entering a mosque, men symbolically purify themselves with water. Ablution and
purification rituals are found in most religions.
Nevertheless, there are many scholars and religious leaders who recognize the importance of
symbolic interpretation, because the use of religious symbols may point to some structure that
underlies all religions. There is no doubt that many of the same symbolic images and actions
appear repeatedly in religions throughout the world. Water, for instance, is used in all sorts of
religious rituals: Hindus bathe in the Ganges River; Christians use water for baptisms; Jews use
water for ritual purification; and Muslims and followers of Shinto wash before prayer. Ashes
also have widespread use among religious traditions to suggest death and the spirit world: ashes
are used by tribal religions in dance ceremonies, by Hindu holy men to represent asceticism and
detachment, and by some Christians, whose foreheads are marked by ashes in observance of Ash
Wednesday. Likewise, religious buildings are placed on hills or are raised on mounds and
reached by stairs—all suggesting the symbol of the holy mountain, where the sacred can be
encountered.
We also see in various religions the recurrence of a symbolic story of transformation: a state of
original purity degenerates into pollution or disorder, or a battle to fight disorder culminates in a
sacrificial death that results in a renewed sense of purity and order. Scholars point out, too, that
religions frequently use words in a symbolic way; for example, the divine is often described as
existing “up above,” insight can be “awakened,” and a person can feel “reborn.”
When viewed this way, religious symbols, myths, and terminology at times suggest a universal
symbolic “language” that all religions speak. Those interested in religious symbolism hope that
understanding the “language” of symbols will help uncover what is universally important in all
religions.