Lecture 4: Religion and Religion

Our Discussion Today:

1.

2.
3. 4.

Introduction Worldview Religion Conclusion

1. Introduction

In the introduction to the last lecture, we pointed out that family, community (country), and worldview (religion) were three of the earliest markers in the evolution of what we now call culture. We noted that these three social organizations work in combination to transmit the most important beliefs of a culture. Having earlier explained family and community in detail, we now turn our attention to the topic of worldview.

2. Worldview (page 97)

There are perhaps as many definitions of worldview as there are definitions for the words communication and culture. Perhaps the most succinct and useful definition for our purposes is the one suggested by Walsh and Middleton: A worldview provides a model of the world which guides its adherents in the world. (note 1)

The appeal of this definition is found in the use of the word guide, which indicates that worldview functions as a guide to help people determine what the world looks like and how they should function within that world:
What is the purpose of life. Is the world ruled by law, chance, or God? What is the right way to live? How did the world begin? What happens when we die?

2.1: Forms of Worldview

Religious and nonreligious worldviews intersect on a number of different questions, yet they often have dissimilar answers for inquiries concerning life, death, human nature, ways of knowing, and the like. Let us pause for a moment and look at these three worldviews in general terms before we move to a specific analysis of each of them.
Religion as a Worldview Secularism as a Worldview Spirituality as a Worldview

A. B. C.

A. RELIGION AS A WORLDVIEW

Religion as a worldview has been found in every culture for thousands of years. As Haviland and his colleagues specify, worldview is intricately intertwined with religious beliefs and practices. (note 2) Put in slightly different terms, All societies have spiritual beliefs and practices [generally referred to as] religion. (note 3).
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B. SECULARISM AS A WORLDVIEW

We should point out that, as with traditional religions, there are many definitions for the term secularism.
At the heart of secularism is the view that human beings can get along fine without God. (note 4) This core premise is based on the belief that there is a social order and deep structure belief system that can exist without God or organized religion.
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They also take evolution as a fact, since they usually hold a strong belief in the centrality of science and the scientific method. They also maintain that because death is final and there is no heaven or hell, a person should engage in acts that contribute to the good of humanity in this world. In fact, the word secular is actually the Latin word for of this world.

C. SPIRITUALITY AS A WORLDVIEW

This concept has reemerged and gained a large following. Part of that appeal is that spirituality, especially as defined by its followers, directly relates to the value of individualism. This is because at the core of this worldview is the belief that each person can use his or her individual resources to discover inner peace.

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Followers of this approach would say that knowing yourself would give you a sense of purpose, allow you to achieve your full potential, and connect you to others and a higher source. They would also say that your spirituality can be expressed in a host of ways, ranging from contemplation and art to meditation, prayer, and even traditional religious worship.
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Spirituality attempts (1) to focus on the sacred aspects of life instead of the materialistic ones. Unlike organized religion, spirituality seeks (2) to challenge the individual rather than the collective. In addition, (3) spirituality does not expect or require a distinguishing format or traditional organization.

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2. RELIGION

The word religion comes from the Latin word religare, which means to tie. (note 5) The obvious implication is that a religion ties people to what is sacred. Kimball makes this important point in the following manner: For the vast majority of people worldwide, their religious traditionlike family, tribe, or nationanchors them in the world. Religious traditions provide structure, discipline, and social participation in a community. (note 6)

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It is very likely that you have asked yourself the following question: Why am I studying about religion in a course dealing with intercultural communication? I would suggest such a query is a good one, and one worthy of an answer. Our reply comes in two parts. First, religion, perception, and behavior are inexplicitly linked. Second, never in the history of civilization has the behavioral dimension of religion been so widespread, relevant, and volatile.

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2.1: Functions of Religion

What is intriguing about religion is that it has been linking people together while creating and preserving their cultures worldviews for thousands of years.

Whether through institutions such as the Catholic Church, spiritual and social leaders like the Buddha and Confucius, or the teachings of the Bible, Vedas, Koran, Torah, and I- Ching, people have always felt a need to look outside themselves for the values they use to manage their lives.
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Perhaps religions most enduring aspect has been its attempt to address questions about mortality and immortality, suffering, and the origins of the universe. As Malefijt notes, Religion provides explanations and assigns values to otherwise inexplicable phenomena. (note 7)

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Religion also helps its adherents deal with issues related to human conduct by serving as a mechanism of social control by establishing notions of right and wrong, transferring part of the burden of decision making from individuals to supernatural powers, and reducing stress and frustration that often leads to social conflict. (note 8)

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Nanda adds to the list of functions religion provides when she observes that religion deals with the nature of life and death, the creation of the universe, the origin of society and groups within the society, the relationship of individuals and groups to one another, and the relation of humankind to nature. (note 9)

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You will notice that the items highlighted by Nanda offer credence to the basic theme of this lecture: that the deep structure of culture deals with issues that matter most to people. Whether they are wondering about the first cause of all things, or the reason for natural occurrences such as comets, floods, lightning, thunder, drought, famine, disease, or an abundance of food, many people rely on religious explanations

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2.2: Religious Similarities

It should not be surprising that there are numerous similarities among the worlds great religions since they all have the same major goalto make life and death comprehensible for their followers.

As Kimball points out, despite distinctive worldviews and conflicting truth claims, most religious traditions function in similar ways and even share some foundational teachings. (note 10)

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Let us now look at some of these similarities:

A. B. C. D. E.

Speculation Sacred Scriptures Rituals Ethics Safe Haven

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A. SPECULATION

Most people, from the moment of birth to the time of their death, ask many of the same questions and face many of the same challenges concerning bewilderments and uncertainties about life.

As Osborne notes, They all express awe and humility before the mysteries of the 22 universe. (Note 11)

From creation stories, such as the Bibles book of Genesis, to detailed descriptions of heaven and hell, all religions assist us in understanding where people came from, why they are here, what happens when they die, and why there is suffering. In short, it falls to religion to supply the answers to these difficult and universal questions.

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C. RITUALS

Most place a heavy emphasis on ritual. The Catholic is enjoined to attend Mass weekly. The Muslim is told to pray five times daily, according to a set formula. The Hindu attends temple rituals frequently. The Theravada Buddhist will often make a trip to the temple to pay his or her respects to the Buddha. (note 12) Just what are these religious rituals? In their strictest form, Ritual consists of symbolic actions that represent religious meaning. (note 13)

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The function of ritual to a religion and culture is clearly spelled out by Malefijt: Ritual recalls past events, preserving and transmitting the foundations of society. Participants in the ritual become identified with the sacred past, thus perpetuating traditions as they re-establish the principles by which the group lives and functions. (note 14)
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By engaging in rituals, members not only recall and reaffirm important beliefs; they also feel spiritually connected to their religion, develop a sense of identity by increasing social bonds with those who share their views, and sense that their life has meaning and structure.

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According to Haviland and colleagues,Rituals, or ceremonial acts, are not all religious in nature. . . . Ritual serves to relieve social tensions and reinforce a groups collective bonds. More than this, it provides a means of marking many important events and lessening the social disruption and individual suffering of crises such as death. (note 15)

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Rituals take a variety of forms. They include traditions such as the lighting of candles or incense, the wearing of certain attire, and sitting, standing, or kneeling during prayer. There are rituals dealing with space (Muslims turning toward Mecca when they pray) and others that call attention to events (Christians celebrating Christmas and Easter, and Jews marking the importance of Passover).

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The most common of all rituals are rites of passage that mark key stages in the human cycle of life.

According to Angrosino, rites of passage are social occasions marking the transition of members of the group from one important life stage to the next. Birth, puberty, marriage, and death are transition points that are important in many different cultures. (note 16)
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Rituals can also be indirect. A good example of an indirect ritual is the Japanese tea ceremony. At fi rst glance, it would appear that the tea ceremony is simply the preparation and drinking of tea, but the importance of the ritual to Buddhism is far greater.

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D. ETHICS

Religion has played a prominent role in the regulation of human behavior. Almost every religious tradition discriminates between acceptable and unacceptable conduct. (note 17)

These ethical teachings about what is right and wrong also have much to say about a cultures core values. (note 18) In most instances the bond between religion and ethics can be seen in specific religious laws.

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The word reciprocity is a good description for Confucian ethics. People should avoid doing to others what they would not want done to them. They should do those things that they would like done to themselves. (note 19)

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E. SAFE HAVEN

All religions provide their members with a sense of security. Macionis summarizes this sense of security: Religious beliefs offer the comforting sense that the vulnerable human condition serves a great purpose. Strengthened by such beliefs, people are less likely to collapse in despair when confronted by lifes calamities. (note 20)

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Reminder:

Please remember that religion is but one kind of worldview, and even a secular person who says, There is no God has likely found answers to the large questions about the nature of truth, how the world operates, life, death, suffering, and ethical relationships. One clear example of a secular worldview would be an extreme form of nationalism.

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According to Smart, nationalism as a worldview has many of the same appurtenances of a religion. (note 21) That is to say, its adherents have rituals, ethical precepts, and the like. The important point, as noted by Ridenour, is to realize that everyone has a worldview whether or not he or she can recognize or state it. (note 22)

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4. Conclusion

Worldview is a cultures orientation toward God, humanity, nature, the universe, life, death, sickness, and other philosophical issues concerning existence. Although worldview is communicated in a variety of ways (such as secularism and spirituality), religion is the predominant element of culture from which ones worldview is derived. Although all religions have some unique features, they share many similarities. These include, among other things, speculation about the meaning of life, sacred scriptures, rituals, ethics, and a safe haven for their members.
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Notes:
1. 2.

3.

4.

5.

6.

7.

8.

B. J. Walsh and J. R. Middleton, The Transforming Vision (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1984), 32. W. A. Haviland, H. E. L. Prins, D. Walrath, and B. McBride, Cultural Anthropology: The Human Challenge, 11th ed. (Belmont, CA: Wadsworth, 2005), 340. S. Nanda and R. L. Warms, Cultural Anthropology, 9th ed. (Belmont, CA: Wadsworth, 2007), 373. S. Prothero, Religious Literacy (New York: HarperCollins Publishers, 2007), 222. M. P. Osborne, One World, Many Religions: The Ways of Worship (New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1996), vii. C. Kimball, When Religion Becomes Evil (New York: HarperCollins Publishers, 2002), 196. A. Malefijt, Religion and Culture: An Introduction to Anthropology of Religion (Prospect Heights, IL: Waveland Press, 1968), 145. G. Ferraro, Cultural Anthropology: An Applied Perspective, 6th ed., (Belmont, CA: Thomson Wadsworth, 2006), 356360.
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9.

10.

11.

12.

13.

14.

15.

16.

S. Nanda, Cultural Anthropology, 5th ed. (Belmont, CA: Wadsworth, 1994), 349. C. Kimball, When Religion Becomes Evil (New York: HarperCollins Publishers, 2002), 22. M. P. Osborne, One World, Many Religions: The Ways of Worship (New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1996), iv N. Smart, Worldview: Crosscultural Explorations of Human Beliefs, 3rd. ed. (Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall, 2000), 9-10. M. B. McGuire, Religion: The Social Context, 5th ed. (Belmont, CA: Wadsworth, 2002), 17. A. Malefijt, Religion and Culture: An Introduction to Anthropology of Religion (Prospect Heights, IL: Waveland Press, 1968), 193 D. Prager and J. Telushkin, The Nine Questions People Ask About Judaism. (New York: Simon and Schuster, 1981), 112. M. V. Angrosino, The Culture of the Sacred: Exploring the Anthropology of Religion (Prospect Heights, IL: Waveland Press, 2004), 97.
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17.

18.

19.

20.

21.

22.

T. A. Robinson and H. Rodrigus, World Religions: A Guide to Essentials (Peabody, MA: Hendrickson Publishers, 2006), 14. J. Scarborough, The Origins of Cultural Differences and Their Impact on Management (Westport, CT: Quorum Books, 1998), 3. W. Matthews, World Religions (Belmont, CA: Thomson Wadsworth, 2007), 91 J. J. Macionis, Society: The Basics, 4th ed. (Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall, 1998), 319.. N. Smart, Worldview: Crosscultural Explorations of Human Beliefs, 3rd. ed. (Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall, 2000), 23. F. Ridenour, So Whats the Difference? (Ventura, CA: Regal Books, 2001), 7.

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Main Reference:
1.

Samovar, L. A., Porter, R. E., McDaniel, E. R. (2009). Communication between cultures (12th ed.). CA: Wadsworth.

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