Philosophy Now Forum

My own definition of religion: religion is the individual or group devotion to what is considered sacred or supernatural, manifested by a simple or elaborate faith-bound knowledge, consisting of prescribed beliefs (creed), practices (cult), and norms of morality (code). Is there anything wrong with this definition?

Jori wrote: ↑Sun Sep 19, 2021 5:30 am My own definition of religion: religion is the individual or group devotion to what is considered sacred or supernatural, manifested by a simple or elaborate faith-bound knowledge, consisting of prescribed beliefs (creed), practices (cult), and norms of morality (code). Is there anything wrong with this definition?

It is 'the' definition that you have come up with and created. Therefore, HOW could there be ANY thing wrong with 'your' definition?

The POWER of faith is great
https://news.sky.com/story/espen-anders ... r-12433780

Jori wrote: ↑Sun Sep 19, 2021 5:30 am Is there anything wrong with this definition?

It's a very problematic term.

If you ever take a course in "World Religions" or "Comparative Religion" or any other such secular study of the phenomenon, you'll always find that the first class or two is devoted to revealing just how hard it is to pin down this term. Everybody seems to think they "know" what it means, but nobody is very good at proving their definition doesn't have holes. And it takes real knowledge of the field to be aware of just how difficult it is to say what it means definitively.

The best you're going to be able to do is to stipulate a definition -- which means to define the term your own way at the start, even though people will stipulate it differently -- and then use it consistently in the way you have defined afterward.

But getting everybody to agree on it...well, that you're never going to do.

Jori wrote: ↑Sun Sep 19, 2021 5:30 am My own definition of religion: religion is the individual or group devotion to what is considered sacred or supernatural, manifested by a simple or elaborate faith-bound knowledge, consisting of prescribed beliefs (creed), practices (cult), and norms of morality (code). Is there anything wrong with this definition?

Nothing wrong. Recently I've thought up this definition of religion:

A narrative or philosophy that includes ethical guidelines and yogic methods (prayer and/or meditation and/or physical yoga or the like) and the assertion that if it is believed and followed and practiced then soteriological effects like salvation or liberation or the like will ensue.