Theories of Religion

1
Theories of Religion

• How many of them are there?

2
Four Men

• Edward B. Tylor
• James George Frazer
• F Max Muller
• Lucien Levi-Bruhl

3
Edward B. Tylor

• 1832-1917
• English Anthropologist
• Primitive Culture
• Developed a theory of culture it is made up of a
  wide range of human activity.

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4
The Start

• Taylor addresses the question whether or not
  primitive people have a concept of religion.
• Yes they do the problem is that their concept of
  religion does not correspond the Western
  notion.
• What looks irreligious is actually religious.
• What the scientific community needs to do is to
  widen its definition.
• The community needs to rely on observations and
  not merely theoretical conjecture.

5
The Definition

• Religion among primitive people is basically
  Animism
• . . . in its full development, includes the
  belief in souls and in a future state, in
  controlling deities and subordinate spirits,
  these doctrines practically resulting in some
  kind of active worship.

6
The Parts

• It has two components
• 1. Souls of small creatures capable of existing
  after the death of the body.
• 2. Other spirits including powerful deities who
  control life and now and in the hereafter.

7
The Summary

• Since humans have souls so do animals to a lesser
  degree as do trees to a lesser degree as do
  inanimate objects.
• Taylor wants us to remember that souls in modern
  thinking is in the realm of metaphysics and no
  longer used to explain events.
• However, it is still an animating, separable,
  surviving entity, the vehicle of personal
  existence.

8
James George Frazer

• 1854-1941
• Scottish Anthropologist
• The Golden Bough A Study in Comparative Religion
• Developed a theory of religion

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The Start

• He contends that magic and science have the same
  element which under girds them bothnamely faith.
• The scientist and the magician believe in his or
  her craft.
• Magic has the fatal flaw it is the misconception
  of similarity of thought and ideals.
• Magic is the bastard child of science.

10
The Definition

• . . . A propitiation or conciliation of powers
  superior to man which are believed to direct and
  control the course of nature and of human life.

11
The Parts

• Magic consist of two parts
• Theoreticalthat is a belief in higher powers.
• Practicalan attempt to propitiate or please
  them.
• Totem is part of magic. Totem protects the
  person and the person shows respect to the totem
  in various ways.

12
The Summary

• Magic is the mistaken application of thoughts and
  ideas to resemble or to be congruous to certain
  actions.
• Magic preceded religion and therefore, modern
  civilization has magic in the background.
• Religion is the outgrowth of the recognition of
  powers superior to humans.
• Magic, Religion and Science are theories of
  thought.

13
Friedrich Max Muller

• 1823-1900
• German Scholar
• Introduction to the Science of Religion
• He articulated the idea of doing a comparative
  study of religion.

http//www.as.ua.edu/rel/images/aboutmuller.jpg
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The Start

• Muller wants to develop the science of religion
  as a way of comparing religion. Christianity had
  been severely criticized. He hopes to exonerate
  Christianity by showing its superiority.

15
The Definition

• Religion has a deity, sacred text or words and
  rituals. Religion produces a yearning for a
  higher life.
• It has two sides dialectic
• Growth
• The tendency to convey ideas through wordsto
  coalesce the thought.
• Decay
• The tendency to highlight the material instead of
  the spiritualit vacillates between the two

16
The Parts

• What the Science of Religion should be able to
  do
• Withstand any scrutiny
• Errors of religion can be discovered
• No religion is superior to others
• Comparing religions leads to a greater understand
  of them

17
The Summary

• Comparative study of religion will lead to a
  greater understanding of religion.
• Christianity is the best religion in this regard
  because it has the kind of platform which allows
  for the comparison to be made.
• The problem with religion is with language.

18
Lucien Levi-Bruhl

• 1857-1938
• French Philosopher
• How Natives Think
• His thinking gave new perspective on
  understanding how peoples of past cultures think.

http//www.todayinsci.com/L/LevyBruhl_Lucien/LevyB
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The Start

• People act in groups and as individuals.
• For past cultures the only way you could
  understand the culture was to look at the whole
  culture.

20
The Definition

• Religion is mysticismanimism
• Religion was best understood as part of the
  group dynamics.
• People act differently in groups than they do as
  individuals.

21
The Parts

• As a collective group when certain things are
  present, certain qualities exist in objects.
• The objects have certain qualities present
  ascribed to it by the group.
• Just because we do not see it, this does not mean
  that it is not present for the group.

22
The Summary

• Primitive man, therefore, lives and acts in
  environment of beings and objects, all of which,
  in addition to the properties that we recognize
  them to possess, are endured with mystical
  attributes. He perceives their objective reality
  mingled with another reality.