I have not seen the question specifically addressed here, and the dictionary definition is less interesting than what people have to say about it. Many people believe many things, many of which can easily be proven or disproven definitively by science. There are all different kinds of people who believe in many things such as in a deity, but do not believe in other things, like the Loch Ness Monster.
Back in the Golden post-Whitlam Years I was fortunate enough to be able to attend courses at Sydney University – for free - as a mature age student . I took non-graduate courses in Comparative religion, Divinity and Cultural Anthropology. The Divinity course of lectures started off with nearly 40 students. I found the course very interesting but some others didn’t. Some began to question (fair enough), argue ( ok, I guess, but a little disruptive) and get angry (interesting!) to the point where they stormed out of the lecture never to return. On a few agitated occasions these people directly challenged the lecturer as they felt what he was teaching did not conform to their particular outlook. The lecturer had to remind them that he WAS the Senior Lecturer of Divinity and Sydney University and what he was teaching WAS valid and the lecturer further explained to the agitated, would be, student that their own religious teachers had insisted they do the course at Sydney University before their training as a Pastor or whatever equivalent could take place and if they walked out they would not be able to continue that training. But it didn’t stop them from walking out. More and more left as the series of lectures went on. One day I commented how small the class had got, the Lecturer said, “Oh, you noticed that. That normally happens.” The last lecture in the course was attended by myself and 3 other students.
Comparative Religion and Divinity address issues other than specific religions, they also look at concepts such as belief, faith and cultural aspects.
Firstly, some definitions; What is religion?
Analysing the word itself; Religion , respect for what is sacred, reverence for the gods, obligation, the bond between man and the Gods is derived from the Latin religiō, the ultimate origins of which are obscure. One possibility is derivation from le-ligare, "read", i.e. re (again) + lego in the sense of "choose", "go over again" or "consider carefully". Modern scholars such as Joseph Campbell favor the derivation from ligare "bind, connect", or … "to reconnect," which was made prominent by St. Augustine.
According to Max Müller, the root of the English word "religion", the Latin religio, was originally used to mean only "reverence for God or the gods, careful pondering of divine things, Müller characterized many other cultures around the world, including Egypt, Persia, and India, as having a similar power structure at this point in history.
What is called ancient religion today, they would have only called "law".
Many languages have words that can be translated as "religion", but they may use them in a very different way, and some have no word for religion at all. For example, the Sanskrit word dharma, sometimes translated as "religion", also means law.
I dont think there is a precise equivalent of "religion" in Hebrew, or that Judaism does not distinguish clearly between religious, national, racial, or ethnic identities. One of its central concepts is "halakha", sometimes translated as "law"", which guides religious practice and belief and many aspects of daily life.
But what exactly IS religion?
Religion is a collection of cultural systems, belief systems, and worldviews that relate humanity to spirituality and, sometimes, to moral values. Many religions have narratives, symbols, traditions and sacred histories that are intended to give meaning to life or to explain the origin of life or the universe. They tend to derive morality, ethics, religious laws or a preferred lifestyle from their ideas about the cosmos and human nature.
The word religion is sometimes used interchangeably with faith or belief system, Some religions have organized behaviors, clergy, a definition of what constitutes adherence or membership, congregations of laity, regular meetings or services for the purposes of veneration of a deity or for prayer, holy places (either natural or architectural), and/or scriptures. The practice of a religion may also include sermons, commemoration of the activities of a god or gods, sacrifices, festivals, feasts, trance, initiations, funerary services, matrimonial services, meditation, music, art, dance, public service, or other aspects of human culture.
However, there are examples of religions for which some or many of these aspects of structure, belief, or practices are absent.
The development of religion has taken different forms in different cultures. Some religions place an emphasis on belief, while others emphasize practice. Some religions focus on the subjective experience of the religious individual, while others consider the activities of the religious community to be most important. Some religions claim to be universal, believing their laws and cosmology to be binding for everyone, while others are intended to be practiced only by a closely defined or localized group.
Anthropologists John Monoghan and Peter Just state that, "it seems apparent that one thing religion or belief helps us do is deal with problems of human life that are significant, persistent, and intolerable. One important way in which religious beliefs accomplish this is by providing a set of ideas about how and why the world is put together that allows people to accommodate anxieties and deal with misfortune."
I find that definition, most apt.
One modern academic theory of religion, social constructionism, says that religion is a modern concept that suggests all spiritual practice and worship follows a model similar to the Abrahamic religions as an orientation system that helps to interpret reality and define human beings, and thus religion, as a concept, has been applied inappropriately to non-Western cultures that are not based upon such systems, or in which these systems are a substantially simpler construct.
As stated above, preliminary studies in Comparative Religion and Divinity can include looking at questions such as; What is belief? What is the nature of belief? What is knowledge? How is knowledge acquired? Even; to what extent is it possible for a given subject or entity to be known.
How do we form beliefs? Psychologists study belief formation and the relationship between beliefs and actions. Beliefs form in a variety of ways: We tend to internalise the beliefs of the people around us during childhood. Political beliefs depend most strongly on the political beliefs most common in the community where we live. Most individuals believe the religion they were taught in childhood.
People may adopt the beliefs of a charismatic leader, even if those beliefs fly in the face of all previous beliefs, and produce actions that are clearly not in their own self-interest. Is belief voluntary? Rational individuals need to reconcile their direct reality with any said belief.
Physical trauma, especially to the head, can radically alter a person's beliefs. What does that say about belief?
However, even educated people, well aware of the process by which beliefs form, still strongly cling to their beliefs, and act on those beliefs sometimes, even against their own self-interest.
I remember years ago seeing a tv documentary on Scientology. The son of the founder of Scientology, L. Ron Hubbard, was being interviewed and he was asked the question; “Why did the memebrs go along with such crazy stuff, some of them were well educated and included professionals such as lawers, doctors, engineers and people who were quiet intelligent. Hubbard junior’s answer was, “They were intellectually smart but they were not emotionally smart.” – I find that food for thought and a key dynamic in the process we are dealing with here. How strongly are our beliefs connected to our emotions?
In Anna Rowley's Leadership Theory, she states "If you want your beliefs to change. It's proof that you are keeping your eyes open, living fully, and welcoming everything that the world and people around you can teach you." This means that peoples' beliefs should evolve as they gain new experiences.
To an extent we could link the purpose of belief with The purpose of religion in a personal and social context.
Again the quote; “One important way in which religious beliefs accomplish this is by providing a set of ideas about how and why the world is put together that allows people to accommodate anxieties and deal with misfortune."
Some things are established hoaxes, like the
Bermuda Triangle. Not only has it been shown to be a concoction of popular writers, but the numbers themselves show that there are not more crashes or sinkings in that area than in other comparable places (it is one of the most traversed areas on the globe). The Bermuda Triangle
does not exist. Yet, there are those who almost automatically believe, without further exploration. Some questions cannot be answered, like the existence of god(s) so belief in this case is understandable. But what is the difference between something that can be proven, and something that cannot be? Now, there may or may not be a monster in Loch Ness, but why the need to
believe?
I did plan to write an extensive post for the Loch Ness thread that addresses these questions (great ones too
- because humans have always had this dynamic and interaction with the world) ... but i was waiting for rain and more indoor activities opportunity ... its nice out there away from the computer
) .... I'll get to that - I find it a very interesting subject.
Why is that any different from having a theory, such as having roaches in your basement, checking it out and finding nothing? Do you have to believe in the roaches? Will you continue to believe you have them, even after overwhelming evidence you don't? Isn't that delusional? What is the line between belief and delusion, if there is one?
I have goannas living under my cabin - sometimes. Years ago when my then GF lived here she dreamed there was tunnel under the house and the Goannas and me were down in there. It feels like to me there is something under there. Some strange physical events have been witnessed here, not just by me. Here, goannas are supposed to be the guardians to underground entrances to 'psychic earth networks' (sorry, I cant even pronounce the correct term let alone spell it). An aboriginal elder stayed here and without the background info he talked about the tunnels and the network and where they went and other stuff. I have been under the cabin and looked ... and, of course, there are no tunnels or goannas nests of anything.
... although sometimes they get under there and hang out.
The why, wherefore and workings will be explained more in the, to come later, Lake Monster post [ Warning! Patrick Harpur alert
]
It, eventually, all comes down to the nature of 'reality' and how we perceive it.
