Terminology: the case for stopping using the word "religion" with no qualification.

[LuisDantas]

You always raise important points.

Thanks.

You are for long associated with this ‘Religiousforums’. So, what is your take? Under what context you continue to participate? Your view on the matter should be important for this thread.

The thread is not necessarily oriented towards my perception. As stated previously, personally I tend to consider Dharma as the one true, natural meaning of religion.

 

[Ponder This]

Do you feel that there is still a clear or consensual meaning for "religion"? If so, what can be done to lessen this confusion?

I agree that religion is a broad term. I don't think we would necessarily benefit from a strict consensual meaning for the word. It must be interpreted broadly and understood more precisely by context. If the word "religion" didn't do this, we would simply invent another word that would.

I think a reason for this is that groups of people identify themselves according to the common religion that they hold as a group. The individual practices of members of a religion are subject to variance. In a very real sense, you can't say that all the members of a given religion really agree on all the particulars. We need to be able to talk about what people believe as individuals as well as what they believe as a group in a general way.

The study of a religion is an attempt to understand the core beliefs of a religion as well as the many contexts in which individuals understand and apply them.

 

[Tmac]

Right now I feel that far too much of the effort spent in good will discussions is wasted because the word may well have lost its meaning due to a lot of abuse in various forms.

Depending on the person and perhaps on the context, "religion" is variously understood to be a virtual synonym for any of these other words and ideas, among others:

• Dogma
• Christianity
• Populist politics
• Theism / Belief in God
• Belief in an afterlife
• Social gatherings for prayer and worship

Many a thread has stalled without quite discussing its subject matter simply because people mean different things by "religion".

Do you feel that there is still a clear or consensual meaning for "religion"? If so, what can be done to lessen this confusion?

It must have never have had a clear or consensual meaning erstwhile how could it have bled off into these other areas, maybe that's the problem, we haven't come to a consensus.

 

[David T]

Right now I feel that far too much of the effort spent in good will discussions is wasted because the word may well have lost its meaning due to a lot of abuse in various forms.

Depending on the person and perhaps on the context, "religion" is variously understood to be a virtual synonym for any of these other words and ideas, among others:

• Dogma
• Christianity
• Populist politics
• Theism / Belief in God
• Belief in an afterlife
• Social gatherings for prayer and worship

Many a thread has stalled without quite discussing its subject matter simply because people mean different things by "religion".

Do you feel that there is still a clear or consensual meaning for "religion"? If so, what can be done to lessen this confusion?

REM sang a song called losing my religion.
Oh, life is bigger
It's bigger than you
And you are not me
The lengths that I will go to
The distance in your eyes
Oh no, I've said too much
I set it up.

The question becomes are they being way larger in their understanding of the term religion than even what you have posted as what is defined as religion?

 

[atanu]

Thanks.

The thread is not necessarily oriented towards my perception. As stated previously, personally I tend to consider Dharma as the one true, natural meaning of religion.

But is unambiguous meaning of dharma?

 

[LuisDantas]

But is unambiguous meaning of dharma?

Dharma as a word has an intentionally, perhaps necessary wide-ranging meaning.

In that sense it is probably fair to call it ambiguous in meaning. Then again, I think context is not optional for understanding its meaning.