Axemancometh
Bluelighter
My scholarly research has me reading a whole ton of literature about the concept of 'religion' as we (in the West) know it. All of these sources have one thing in particular: that is the separate, 'definite' concept that we call 'religion' is one that has been defined by, and only makes sense within a western Christian (specifically Protestant) concept; not meaning that other peoples do not have anything we would call 'religious', but that the category and wilful distinction of it from everything else in society/culture is a very modern western thing.
A good example of this I can pull off the top of my head is ancient Greek/Roman rites and practices: (most of which revolve around sacrifice) These were considered essential for maintaining social order, so refusing to do so (unless you were a special exception like the Judeans) was considered not just insulting, but dangerous. You did not need to 'believe' in the Gods in order to perform the rites, it just mattered that you did them - this is the reason why Christians were so hated then.
Furthermore, our modern word religion stems from the Latin religio, but its meaning is not at all the same - religio essentially translates to 'obligation [with respect to the divine]'.
A weaker modern example would probably be whenever Hindus and Buddhists say 'it's not a religion, it's a lifestyle' - though there the way in which those 'religions' are approached varies significantly among people thus I cannot speak on something I don't really know about.
Wanna hear what y'all think, as the consensus about this sort of stuff is mixed on BL.
A good example of this I can pull off the top of my head is ancient Greek/Roman rites and practices: (most of which revolve around sacrifice) These were considered essential for maintaining social order, so refusing to do so (unless you were a special exception like the Judeans) was considered not just insulting, but dangerous. You did not need to 'believe' in the Gods in order to perform the rites, it just mattered that you did them - this is the reason why Christians were so hated then.
Furthermore, our modern word religion stems from the Latin religio, but its meaning is not at all the same - religio essentially translates to 'obligation [with respect to the divine]'.
A weaker modern example would probably be whenever Hindus and Buddhists say 'it's not a religion, it's a lifestyle' - though there the way in which those 'religions' are approached varies significantly among people thus I cannot speak on something I don't really know about.
Wanna hear what y'all think, as the consensus about this sort of stuff is mixed on BL.
