Humanities 10
Fall 2012

What is Religion Anyway? The definition of religion is very subjective. Many people change their definition of religion to suite their own needs, or to justify their own beliefs. Each religion has its own take on being “religious”; I feel that it is important to have a foundation on which the term religion can be defined. To me, religion can be defined by the following three categories: the belief in a higher power that physically or mentally can have an affect on ones life and is the authority in a “religious culture”; having a set of written or oral scriptures that are passed through the generations, used to teach the people of the culture the ways and traditions of their religion and way of life; and rituals that are carried out within the Religion. A higher power must be one that the “religious culture” believes has an impact on the people and that they view as the one an only higher power. The written or oral scriptures are the center point of the teachings of the religion, detailing the past and helping to pave the future for the religion. Rituals are carried out at certain times, places and events in order to please or praise their “God” or higher power, and as celebrations in the religious culture. These rituals can be but are not limited to, song, dance, praise, worship, meditation, and acts of kindness. The primal religions believe in a “God” or higher power even though they do not identify who or what that higher power is specifically, “The Supreme being is not named because he is unknowable” (“Modes of contemplation through action: North American Indians” in Main Currents in Modern Thought 30, no 2 quoted in Smith, 378). They live their daily lives focused on their “God” and pleasing or worshiping that higher power. The people in the primal religions see the creator of all things as their higher power. One great example of this is their connection to the earth; their belief in being one with all things keeps them closer to their “God”. Primal religions believe that the people are a part of everything. A good example of this is when a member of the Onondagan tribe as the first to attend college. “Well, you have been to college; you must be pretty smart now…Let me ask you a question. Who are you? ....Why, I am your nephew….his uncle rejected his answer. You are that bluff…You are that pine…you are the water” (anecdote taken from the Onondaga tribe of Hau de no sau nee Smith, 371). The primal world sees everything in their world as sacred and as apart of something else; everything is tied together physically and spiritually. Primal religions also have a very distinct set of oral scriptures that the elders share with their younger group in order to educate the young about their religion and way of life. They didn’t know much of written form, in the more recent years the art or education of literacy has tried to make its way into the primal religion way of living, as all things naturally evolve; however, as Smith points out, “this changes little in our inquiry, for when it arrives, leaders usually shelter their tribe’s sacred lore from its encroachments” (Smith, 368). Part of their scripture holds that the “elders” human or non human are to be respected and held on high; the older a person or thing is, the closer to the beginning and to the “creator” they are. The primal religions hold ritual at the top part of their priority list. Their rituals are vast and sacred to their religion. They practice these rituals in their everyday life, because the primal culture did not use any form of written record, they relied on their elders to tell the stories of the past and share the traditions of culture with them. Most things that are done in their lives are viewed as ritualistic as seen in this passage, “A hunter, for example, does not set out simply to assuage his tribe’s hunger. He launches on a complex of meditative acts, all of which - whether preparatory prayer and purification, pursuit of the quarry, or the sacramental manner by which the animal is slain and subsequently treated – are imbued with sanctity” (Smith, 378). The ritual embedded in their daily life is quite amazing, they do not do things just to get to the next task or day, but rather, they surround their lives with their religion in everything they do. Confucians do believe in a higher power; their belief is centered on a specific view or way of living that focuses more on moral obligation but they worship this obligation as a higher power. Confucians believe that they are obligated to follow the moral and ethical teachings of Confucius and answer to their peers or elders if the rules are not followed. The higher power in this culture is more reliant on each as a higher power or “God” like figure. The Confucians have a set of scripture by which they live and worship. The basic view of this scripture is to treat others how you want to be treated. Confucius believed that, in order to be a ruler, or have people be in line with a ruler, you must live your life by the rules and set an example of how things are to be done. His belief was that it is one thing to set down a law, but it is another to set down a law and live by that law in all you do. We see this very clearly written in the scriptures provide by Van Voorst. “Fine words and sly appearance are seldom associated with true virtue” (Analects 1.3 Van Voorst, 148). The rule of respect for ones parents is quite evident; one main part of this culture is the rites of passage, as expressed in the following, “After getting properly dressed [in the morning], sons and their wives should go to his parents. When they arrive, with bated breath and gentle voice they should ask if their parents’ clothes are too warm or too cold, whether their parents are ill or pained or uncomfortable in any part” (Analects 4 Van Voorst, 151). Their scripture tends to describe their ritualistic ways. As in the passage above, it is clearly stated how the ritual of a son and his wife’s daily lives should be lead. Ritual is almost a center of the Confucians’ way of life. They hold true to their ritualistic aspect in all they do. Their rituals can be seen in many different parts of their life, including but not limited to their view on sacred time and space; rites and ceremonies; and their daily worship and devotion. The Confucian life is one of living a specific way and following a specific path in order to obtain true greatness in life. Taoism seems to have a similarity to Confucianism, in that, their higher power is worshiped or held as high priority, but is not necessarily a physical “God”. While some may argue that the Taoists’ higher power is the Tao, their higher power is described as “the way of ultimate reality” (Smith, 198). Similarly to Confucianism, Taoism lends itself more to an ethical or moral way of living that they view as their higher power. Taoism has a descriptive set of written scripture that is set up much like a life path. Taoists follow the scripture in all that they do, viewing the teachings of the Tao Te Ching as their higher power. The people of this culture study the scripture and learn how to live in line with a less is more concept. Taoism draws its sense of peace from believing that all things are in a cycle. That life and death are part of the natural way, as portrayed in this passage, “ when Chuang Tzu’s wife died, his friend Hui-tzu visited him to express his condolences, only to find Chuang Tzu sitting on the ground with his legs spread wide apart, singing away and whacking out a tune in the back of a wooden bowl” (Smith, 216). In this passage it goes on to further detail why Tzu is not grieving in excess as some would expect one to be after the loss of a spouse. He clearly defines that she was she was not alive before she was born and so she again is not alive after her passing, following the cycle of life. Taoists drew true greatness from doing little; the teaching of the yin and yang are greatly portrayed in this way of life. Taoism also has distinct rituals in which it follows as well; achieving immortality is one of the more important rituals in this culture. The Pao-pu tzu is a detail of the way in which to achieve immortality. The rituals the people must follow are clearly depicted in the writings or the scriptures; it is believed that by following the ways of the scriptures rituals one will have a long and prosperous life. Taoists also believe that all things must be in alignment with one another. In order to achieve true peace and greatness, ones life must be in line with the earth and the planets. Feng Shui is one of the more popular rituals that many people in today’s society practice, without taking on the religion of Taoism. Feng Shui is a way of placing things in order to have a good flow of positive energy. Feng Shui, however; does not pertain to only a way of life. It also pertains to the dead and how they are buried. Taoists believe that their loved ones must be buried in a proper place that is in line with the earth; helping to regenerate the life from the death and create life again. Primal religions, Confucianism and Taoism all have a set scripture whether is be oral or written, that they rely on to get through their daily lives. Primal religion, however, seems to be the only one of the three that has a distinct higher power, or “God” like figure that they praise as having power to create things. All of theses religions differ in the way that they view and praise their higher power, but the importance for the purpose of defining religion lies in the fact that they view something as a higher power and they live their life as set out by rule of that higher power. Confucianism and Taoism seem to refer to a higher power, but they are speaking more generally in regard to a control over the people and a way of life to follow. Further, all three of these cultures have a very important set of rituals that their culture is based around. Their rituals are a part of daily life for all the cultures, drawing its lessons and processes from is scriptures. The three cultures or religions I have defined fall into the three categories in different degrees, and have vast differences; however, they are all considered a religion by definition. It is important to realize however, that it would be easy to change the definition just a bit and see a much different outcome.