What is Religion?
Religion is a very complex word that is near impossible to describe. You could ask 100 people to define religion and they would all have unqiue responses. As Cavanaugh describes, religion can lead to violence. Looking back in time, so many major conflicts and wars have been fought over religion. When people separate into groups, tensions inevitably rise causing conflict. Though the reason why so many wars have been fought over religion is because of the deep value so many people place on it. So what makes religion so important to so many people? Cavanaugh highlights Marty’s five key features that outline religion. They are that it draws focus to our primary concerns, builds community, appeals to myths and symbols, involves rites and ceremonies, and requires rules and behaviors. These attributes can almost all be applied to politics as well, which may be a reason why politics are also a popular instigator of war. So how do we distinguish religion from political ideologies, such as nationalism? I think that the main difference is that religion requires strong faith and devotion to an unknown higher power. Religion is believing in things we cannot see and believing that there is something greater than all of us on Earth. Ultimately, we all must define religion for ourselves. I like to think of religion as a personal faith experience, as we all have our own beliefs and relationships with God (or some other higher power). More than that, religion is a community and can strengthen us through others with similar beliefs.
You mention the so-called religious wars that have been fought throughout history. Do you believe these wars are legitimately religiously motivated or do you think there are political factors that come in to play. In other words, do you think political and economic aims have influenced religious wars more than religion itself?
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