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  • Unknown Member

    Deleted User
    November 13, 2008 at 10:25 pm

    ORIGINAL: jackbauer

    First definition of “Religion” listed on dictionary.com:

    Religion: a set of beliefs concerning the cause, nature, and purpose of the universe, esp. when considered as the creation of a superhuman agency or agencies, usually involving devotional and ritual observances, and often containing a moral code governing the conduct of human affairs.

    I think [b]all[/b] moral beliefs fit into this definition (especially if I try to cram them into the definition for the sake of strengthening my argument!)

    That is indeed a pretty broad definition.

    The definition does say that a religion [b]often[/b] contains a moral code.  But it doesn’t say a religion must contain a moral code.  So religion does not need to have morals.  But do moral beliefs have to be  religious?  Well, if a set of moral beliefs concern themselves with the cause, nature and purpose of the universe, then they are by this definition a religion.  But if they do not, then they aren’t. 

    Consider “[i]Do onto others as you would[/i] [i]wish them[/i] [i]do onto you[/i]”.  I don’t think that moral principle pertains to the cause or purpose of the universe.  Maybe the nature of the universe; believing in such a policy could be considered a belief in a property of the universe.  However, the definition requires all three.  I think a lot of individual moral beliefs would fail to qualify as a religion or religious.  But if you assembled enough of them into a set, they could be.

    Let’s see now, does my example of “gang morals” fit that definition?  Gang morals would probably relate to the nature and purpose of the universe of the gang, although probably not the cause of the universe.  I don’t think the local hoods think or care about how the universe was made.  They just want to figure out how it works and then exploit it for all it is worth.  So the gangs collected moral beliefs probably do not qualify as a religion or as religious.  But they do have such moral beliefs as “don’t rat on your fellow gang members”.

    However, if you look hard enough, you could probably find some other “official” definition that does not require a belief or set of beliefs to concern itself with the cause of the universe.

    Strictly speaking, science would fit this definition nicely, since science most certainly does concern itself with a “set of beliefs concerning the cause, nature, and purpose of the universe”.  The definition says that something qualifies as a religion [b]especially[/b] when the set of beliefs are considered as the creation of a superhuman agency or agencies, [b]usually[/b] involving devotional and ritual observances, and [b]often[/b] containing a moral code governing the conduct of human affairs.  However, these additional conditions are not required.

    Science certainly has a moral code regarding human affairs, especially as it relates to how one conducts science.  For example, it is immoral to improperly use the scientific method, to lie about your experimental results, etc.  As for the creation of a superhuman agency (God) or involving devotional and ritual observances, science falls short.  But these two items are not absolutely required by the definition.  The definition just says [i]especially[/i] and [i]often[/i], not [i]always[/i].

    To me, what distinguishes religion from other practices or bodies of knowledge is “the creation of a superhuman agency or agencies, usually involving devotional and ritual observances”.  However, according to the dictionary.com definition, creation of the idea of God and ritualistic behavior is not necessary for something to be called a religion.

    Zen Buddhism is considered a religion, and if I understand it correctly, Zen Buddhists do not believe in any God.  The only “superhuman agency” they believe in is the physical universe itself.  Zen Buddhists do however have rituals.  It is hard to imagine a religion that does not.  But according to dictionary. com I guess there are religions without rituals.