Which elements are important for most religions?

[Brutha]

I am currently listening to a lecture about comparative religion, and was wondering which caracteristics/elements are typical for religion. I am thinking about things such as holy books, communication with the divine, dress code etc.

Here is an copy from the lecture (I can't post the whole thing, since I don't own the rights)

In the book Religions of the World, Niels Nielsen presents 12 common characteristics found in most religions

Most religions include belief in the supernatural (spirits, gods, God) or belief in some other Ultimate Reality beyond, yet connected to, human experience and existence.


Religions distinguish between the sacred and profane (or ordinary) in terms of time, space, objects, and people

 

[LuisDantas]

Ken Wilber has about a dozen definitions of religion in one of his books.

Personally, I don't think belief in the supernatural or in an ultimate reality are important or even desirable in Religion.

What a religion makes is the search for virtue or transcendality with the tools of this imperfect world.

 

[Riverwolf]

Ritual, mythology(the narrative form of ritual), and philosophy(the reason for, and explanation of, ritual). My meditations have led me to consider those three things as the aggregate of religion.

 

[Jiggerj]

Can't be a shepherd without any sheep. So I guess the founding fathers of any religion must have followers.
Fear.
Money.
Belief that one religion is right and all others are wrong.

 

[Riverwolf]

Can't be a shepherd without any sheep. So I guess the founding fathers of any religion must have followers.
Fear.
Money.
Belief that one religion is right and all others are wrong.

And what of the religions that don't use fear, don't have for-profit organizations, and don't teach that all other religions are wrong?

 

[Jiggerj]

And what of the religions that don't use fear, don't have for-profit organizations, and don't teach that all other religions are wrong?

Notice how they aren't listed in the top three monotheistic religions.

 

[Riverwolf]

Notice how they aren't listed in the top three monotheistic religions.

And considering there's hundreds of religions, and the question was asked of most religions, that's relevant... why? (BTW, Buddhism isn't monotheistic in any sense of the word, and last I checked, Hinduism is the third largest religion in the world at 1 billion adherents.)

 

[Me Myself]

Notice how they aren't listed in the top three monotheistic religions.

Judaism doesnt teach through fear. Not as anywhere near its main rethoric at least for the very little I know.

Also, Judaism doesnt at all say it is the only valid religion. Also, why count just the three monotheistic religions

Also, buddhists and hindus are huge religions too.

Of course, any ideology cause fear.

 

[Jiggerj]

Judaism doesnt teach through fear.

Also, why count just the three monotheistic religions

Of course, any ideology cause fear.

I think of them as the most successful at what they do.

Judaism used to stone people to death. It was a religion of fear.

 

[Riverwolf]

I think of them as the most successful at what they do.

Judaism used to stone people to death. It was a religion of fear.

Sounds more like it was simply reinforcing something that people did (and often still do) anyway, regardless of religion, by outlining clear rules for when it's "okay", and when it's "not okay." ('Course, modern sensibilities teach us that it's never okay, and, as Judaism is a living religion, Jews recognize this, as well.)

'Sides, it's not one of the three major religions. The third major religion after Christianity and Islam is Buddhism. The only reason they're so major is because they're proselytizing religions.

 

[Jiggerj]

'Sides, [Judaism] it's not one of the three major religions.

Thanks for that. I didn't know. Checked this morning before work and Hinduism came up as the third. I was curious to see if this religion also boasted of a hell to frighten people with. Yup, it's called Naraka. It's a religion of fear.

 

[Riverwolf]

Nice job focusing in on only a single part of my post and apparently pretending that the rest of the post didn't exist.

Thanks for that. I didn't know. Checked this morning before work and Hinduism came up as the third. I was curious to see if this religion also boasted of a hell to frighten people with. Yup, it's called Naraka. It's a religion of fear.

Funny, then, how during my two years of practicing Hinduism, I was never threatened with Naraka, nor was I told that I was in any danger of going there. Nor was anyone else. Heck, Naraka hardly ever came up at all! Hardly a boast.

Furthermore, Naraka isn't permanent, nor is it a place. Hinduism teaches that EVERYONE, without exception, will reach Mahasamadhi, whatever that means (different schools teach different things.)

Hinduism teaches that everyone is inherently divine by default. Hence the greeting of Namaste. That hardly sounds like a religion of fear.

'Sides, you still haven't answered my question. I wonder why?

 

[Jiggerj]

Nice job focusing in on only a single part of my post and apparently pretending that the rest of the post didn't exist.

Hinduism teaches that everyone is inherently divine by default. Hence the greeting of Namaste. That hardly sounds like a religion of fear.

'Sides, you still haven't answered my question. I wonder why?

Sorry if I missed something. I'm in ill health and I'm tired all the time. I also tend to focus only on those parts of a reply that interest me.

As for the fear part, it doesn't matter if it is taught, but rather if it is there at all in a religion.

 

[BruceDLimber]

For Baha'is, the single most important quality is unity:

• of God (there being only one, known by many different names in the various languages and cultures),
• of humanity (all of us being brothers and sisters), and
• of religion (all the great religions being successive stages in the one ever-evolving faith, the Faith of God).

Peace,

Bruce

 

[Riverwolf]

Sorry if I missed something. I'm in ill health and I'm tired all the time. I also tend to focus only on those parts of a reply that interest me.

Wes ðu hal.

As for the fear part, it doesn't matter if it is taught, but rather if it is there at all in a religion.

And how much experience do you have with comparative religion, comparative mythology, cultural anthropology, human psychology, or human behavior?

'Cause I tell you this: even being an amateur in these fields reveals immediately that that's not even remotely the case.

 

[Sha'irullah]

Myth, ritual, lore, and dogma(loose or strict).

These elements combined will form a religion although the mixture may differ in importance. Religion is an old archaic social institution that plays importance to the emotional spectrum of human beings.

 

[1137]

The most important question a religion, philosophy, worldview, what have you must answer is "why should I (the individual) not kill myself right now?