Is real Religion being absorbed by people who think they are religious towards other objects or beings that aren’t necessarily of religious background ? That was the argument put forward at the beginning of our lesson in ‘Tools of the Trade’. We looked at football as a prime example of this. Every Saturday thousands of people will arrive at the place them deem to be of worship to support and sing their home team to victory. Football and Religion does have its similarities; for example, players are worshiped like a higher being would be in church, songs are sung in unison with the other visiting supports and fans will have certain rituals before games for luck. I am a huge Liverpool FC fan and I can definitely see the comparisons between the two subjects, before every game we sing ‘You’ll Never Walk Alone’ (Gerry and the Pacemakers, 1963).
Definitions of Religion
For Peter Berger, he tried to define Religion by asking what is it. Religion is all about its content or subject matter.
E.B Taylor was considered as one of the finest anthropologists of his time and he defined Religion as a belief in a Supernatural being beyond our presence.
Rudolph Otto (1869-1937) – He claimed to have experienced a number of Religious Experiences and this is what led him to become influenced by the works of Schleiermacher and Soderblom.
Numinous
Numinous is a word that I had heard of throughout my time in secondary school, all be it later on in secondary school mind you however it was something I never really had a grasp on so I was very interested when it came up during the lesson. Numinous comes from the Latin word Numen which means divine being. ‘Mysterium et Fascinons’. This is regarded as the reaction when you see something that is so enormous and out of our own mental limits that we reach a reaction of silence at the overwhelming power. This would be the reaction in the unlikely even you were contacted by God.
Ultimate Concern
Paul Tillich (1886 – 1965) – Tillich was a German theologian who coined the term ‘Ultimate Concern’. His idea of Religion is that you were grasped by an ultimate concern that allowed you to connect with Religion. “A brilliantly creative attempt to clarify the meaning of a word that tradition heavily burdened with theological baggage”
References
- SMITH, S., 2003. What is faith? An analysis of Tillich’s Ultimate Concern, Quodibet journal (volume 5 number 4)
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