THE DEFINITION OF RELIGION

Presentation on theme: "THE DEFINITION OF RELIGION"— Presentation transcript:

1 THE DEFINITION OF RELIGION
宗教的定義 THE DEFINITION OF RELIGION

2 什麼是巫術？ What is witchcraft?
WHAT ‘S DIFFERENT BETWEEN RELIGION AND WITCHCRAFT? 巫術與宗教有分別嗎？

3 巫術 Witchcraft Witch: a woman who is supposed to have magic powers, especially to do bad things Witchcraft: the use of magic to make things happen

4 1. Edward Taylor Animism is a Religion.
Animism is the belief that all things have a spirit or soul, including animals, plants, rivers, mountains, stars, the moon, and the sun. Each being is considered a spirit that can offer help or harm to humans. As such, spirits must either be worshiped or appeased in the existence of spirits separable from bodies .

5 2.保羅田立克(Paul Tillich) Religion was used by people to account for or explain things that occurred in the world. It was important for religions to have the ability to explain why and for what reason things occurred in the world.

6 2.保羅田立克(Paul Tillich) Faith is that which comes upon a person, deeply moving and taking hold of him or her. Faith as Ultimate Concern. Ultimate Concern refers both to the act of faith and to the content of faith .

7 2.保羅田立克(Paul Tillich) 神學家保羅田立克Paul Tillich：宗教就是人類終極的關懷。
終極的關懷不僅指「人生命的意義和存在目的」(content)，而且「以一生去追求、完成」(act)。

8 3. 歐大年 Daneil Overmyer 宗教就是對超越人類力量(superhuman power)的象徵物之崇拜。
宗教信仰與儀式是人類最深沉的願望與恐懼的表達。

9 5.崔默(William Calloley Tremmel)
宗教是人類行為的一個複雜的形式，藉此，個人(團體)在理智上和情緒上能有所準備，以便處理生存中那些懾(ㄓㄜˊ)人的、具高度威脅性的，以及無法控制的事物。 宗教是因為相信在人類經驗，甚或在所有萬事萬物的中心，有一個或數個神聖的存在實體，個人(或團體)可藉以超脫生存中一些否定生命意義的創傷，並克服那種人的力量有限的感覺。

10 6.宗教社會家殷格(J.Milton Yinger)
「一個信仰和實踐的體系，社群能藉著它面 對人生終極問題。它可使人在面對死亡時， 拒絕向死亡投降，面對挫折時拒絕放棄， 拒絕讓敵人破壞親情友誼。」 這是以功能的角度定義宗教，將宗教視為是 　　人用來處理生存中，一些可怕而無法控制的 　　層面—諸如死亡、痛苦、罪惡、人生無意義 　　這類問題。折

11 7.宗教心理學家威廉詹姆士 （Wlliam James, 1842-1910）
宗教是人與神聖者互動過程中產生的情感、行為與經驗。例如:雅各與神摔跤、財神爺於夢中啟示信徒。

12 宗教的向度 宗教學家斯馬特（Ninian Smart, 1927 ~ 2001）認為世界各宗教並未有共同的本質，承續同一傳統的宗教在不同國家、時代又有其次傳統，與原初的形式有所不同，因此為宗教下一個定義是很困難的。 他建議從七個不同向度去觀察宗教。（Smart, 許列民等譯2004：4-14）

13 There are seven dimensions that Smart uses to define the characteristics of a religion:
I. The Practical / Ritual Dimension II. The Narrative / Mythic Dimension III. The Experiential / Emotional Dimension IV. The Social / Institutional Dimension V. The Ethical / Legal Dimension VI. The Doctrinal / Philosophical Dimension VII. The Material Dimension

14 一、實踐與儀式的向度（Practice and Ritual Dimension）
宗教儀式是指具有神聖象徵 意涵，且一再重複的一套行為， 如收驚。 宗教實踐是將宗教要 求於實際生活中具體表 現出來，例如每日規律 的祈禱。

15 I. The Practical and Ritual Dimension
Every tradition has some practices—for instance regular worship, preaching, prayers, and so on. They are often known as rituals. This practical and ritual dimension is especially important with faiths of a strongly sacramental kind, such as Eastern Orthodox Christianity with its long and elaborate service known as the Liturgy.

16 二、神話的向度 （The Narrative / Mythic Dimension）
神話不是指虛構的故事，它通常是為傳遞 重要訊息而建構，例如： 基督教聖經記載上帝用七天創造宇宙的故事， 是一則關於世界如何開始及產生的故事； 2. 女媧煉石補天的故事，則是有關世界的毀滅 與神明拯救人類的故事。

17 It is the story side of religion
It is the story side of religion. It is typical of all faiths to hand down vital stories: some about things to come at the end of time; some about great heroes and saints; some about great founders, such as Moses, the Buddha, Jesus, and Muhammad; some about assaults by the Evil One; some parables and edifying tales; some about the adventures of the gods; and so on. These stories often are called myths. The term may be a bit misleading, however there is no implication that a myth is false.

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19 三、經驗與情感的向度 （Experiential and Emotional Dimension）
包括神秘經驗、皈依經驗、 出神經驗都可能激起個人的 畏懼感、罪惡感、內在的平 靜感與幸福感等情感或情緒。 Subjective, emotional side of religion such as dread, guilt, awe, mystery, devotion, liberation, ecstasy, inner peace, bliss .

20 四、社會與制度的向度 （Social and Institutional Dimension）
每一個宗教都由人組織起來，形成一個信仰的社群，有稱為教會、僧伽或烏瑪（umma，穆斯林的團體）； 這些社群又會建立一些共同制度，如 對神職人員的管理制度（如：出家制度 ）；信徒的管理（如：入教規定）。 The Social Dimension consists of the formal organization, such as the Church / mosque / umma / Sangha; as well as other institutions; for instance the Salvation Army and Hamas. This is the dimension of "how the religion works in people's lives".

21 五、倫理的向度 (The Ethical / Legal Dimension)
行為的準則─這些準則通常結合宗教的信仰、世界觀與價值觀，成為信仰團體中的規範。如佛教徒的五戒、猶太教的十誡都是信徒生活的準則；伊斯蘭教的沙里亞（shari’a）控制著信徒的日常生活，包括每天祈禱、為窮人布施等道德要求。 Ethics concerns what is good and bad, how one should live. eg., the ethic of love in Christianity; Covenantal ethic in Judaism. b. Law concerns what you must do and what will happen if you don't (rules and punishments). Eg., Shari'a (Law): pray (5) times daily, give alms, four wives.

22 六、教義的向度（Doctrinal Dimension）
教義是宗教中的知識份子或宗教領袖對信念、觀念進行智識性的陳述。 Systematic formulation of religious teachings, eg.,Systematic speculation about God and God's relationship with Human beings. 如佛教中的「因緣」意指世上所有事物的產生都沒有必然性，一切事情的發生，除了有內因（即為因果）之外，還要有外在因素（即外緣）的相助，才會產生。

23 七、物質的向度（Material Dimension）
具有神聖的象徵意義的物體或地方，如十字架是基督教拯救人類的象徵、麥加是伊斯蘭教教主被迫害的地方，後來成為該教聖地，以記念教主。 This dimension contains all the physical creations of a religion, including buildings and ikons, art, instruments of ritual, etc.　 All these objects or places symbolize or manifest the sacred or supernatural.