When prompt with the question “What is religion?” my first instinct is to look up at the most common religions: Judaism, Catholicism, Lutheranism, Hinduism, Islam, etc. Upon observing these religions, I start by realizing a common focus to abide to a certain number of scriptures and follow the teachings of one or more gods into finding the purpose of life. However, Buddhism then steps into the picture as a godless religion and that throws me off track. Personally, regarding such a conflictive topic I would probably avoid attempting the question altogether. Fortunately, my unwillingness to write down a possible definition of God is unlike my willingness to judge Marty’s five features of religion.
On the one hand, I agree on Martyr’s concept of community as fundamental behind the idea of religion as well as ultimate concerns. Ultimate concern is in the text defined as what are you willing to kill for? However, since many religions oppose the idea of murdering, I would rephrase ultimate concerns for what would you be willing to die for. Since religions ask of their members to follow a fixed set of values and morals, then it is not hard to understand why people who think and behave alike would not create a community among each other. Not to mention that the value of community is one of the many values emphasized by religions. Finally, by defining what is good/worthy/valuable and what is the opposite, religion teaches its members to consider what is worth protecting and dying for as well as what should be least important in your life. Under these characteristics, and removing the fact that there must be a God(s) in religion, it would not be impossible to characterize nationalism/patriotism as faith and the a government/country as a religion to be followed.
Although Marty has some compelling points regarding how religion can be much anything that people place value into and rests at a place above the individual, I believe that religion has some distinctive features in that it attempts to answer the big questions that face us as humans, namely our purpose on earth and what happens after our time on it is up. This makes it distinct from politics or governments, giving it a greater purpose in thought than what is more commonplace on earth.
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