While reading the Jackson Pollock reading for tomorrow, I started to think. Is religion really a social phenomena? Is one of its major functions to create community? If the answer to these questions is no, then our entire discussion the last few days about the biggest arch in an individual's life would be irrelevant--because religion is not that largest arch.
In this scenario, religion would simply be defined by the set of ideas or practices that an individual believes are "right" in daily life(a previous post argued that just because actions don't mirror "morals" doesn't mean the belief that those morals are correct is nonexistent).
Religious institutions are communities that are formed around similar sets of religious beliefs in individuals. Religion does not exist outside of the individual--and therefore loses all community building rational for its existence. These groups of people are connected in the same way that an avid group of Packer Fans may be connected (weekly rituals and traditions), but it is not what defines religion.
I think that this explanation does do a fairly good job at clearing up some of the difficulties that we have had in the last couple of classes, but, like most ideas, leaves holes. I would argue, however, that these holes are not bigger than the original theory allowed to exist in its logic. While I am not all that certain in this thesis, I think it is definitely an issue worth thinking about. I have really enjoyed going over all of the lessons of this class with this new lens of religion--seeing what has changed and what hasn't. I would also really like to hear what other people think on this... post a response :-)
1 comment:
This is pretty influenced by stuff we talked about in Smith's Hajj class (I do buy some of the ideas he's selling after all) but I think the problem is solved if any person's "most important" arch can be any arch.
Religion or religion-analogous beliefs are still the largest arch, because they make the most all-encompassing claims.
BUT a person can identify themselves based on a subordnate arch -- in Hajj we made up an unfortunate person, a Welsh-American Mormon gay man. His personality is made up of different elements, but the 'importance' of each can come out or recede depending on circumstances -- Traveling to Stonewall he might identify himself primarily as a gay man, and visiting the WTC remains he might feel more connection to others as an American, traveling abroad he might identify with his ethnic group etc...
I'm done now...
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