Just popping in to say how refreshing I find your content. Most discussions about religion nowadays tends to get entangled in a relentlessly binary opposition that really robs these epistemological and moral frameworks of much of their depth and complexity. I'm thankful for your approach to handling this stuff!
Thanks so much for the encouragement. Comments like this keep me going. I agree 100%. Religion is interesting enough to study without all the ideological tribalism.
Of course, I tend to agree with this. Religion is a complex concept involving many "dimensions" (al la, Ninian Smart): beliefs, practices, community, values, etc... Though I would say you underestimate the "everyman" in the street. I ask my own students if they would identify themselves as religious, why or why not. I get a lot of "no" answers where the student goes on to say they "BELIEVE in god" (or a higher power) but do not "go to church" (practice, community). So for these students, they do NOT equate "being rellgious" with belief; they seem to equate "being religious" more with practices that they do not participate in. What they say is "I am spiritual, not religious" - for them, belief is equated with a personal, inner sense of spirituality while religion is equated with behavior and belonging that they do not identify with. Yet, ironically, when students are asked to "define religion" in a more abstract way (rather than thinking about themselves), they DO tend to go with something like "BELIEF in God". Thank you for this video. I will add it to my resources for my students.
it's because when they think of religion they think of "Organized Religion" and all its hierarchies, priests, rules, and (more recently) political influence, because that's what religion tends to become in society, *no matter where you are in the world*. so it's not so much a thing of belief vs practice, but of not wanting to be part of something they do not approve of, for whatever reason(s) they might personally have. when thinking in the abstract, they say religion is about belief, but when talking about themselves they consider themselves "spiritual but not religious" even though the main marker of that spirituality is also belief. their reasoning here just reflects their protestant background combined with their skepticism of organized religious structures. what it means is they are not really holding themselves to the same standards that they hold others to. so yes, they are in effect contracticting themselves. but it's not so much a belief vs practice thing.
@@ianism3 *it's because when they think of religion they think of "Organized Religion" and all its hierarchies, priests, rules, and (more recently) political influence* There's no such thing as "organized religion", because religion by itself is already an organized set of beliefs, and practices that are shared by a community. So, therefore, it's very redundant to say "organized religion".
Forgot to mention in my last comment: Loved the format.I thought it might take away from the feel, but your personality and presentation is still there so it was perfect. Also, I love the inclusion of the history of studies.
My friend and I have a working definition of belief, "to behave as though it is so." There is an obvious limitation to this, as what a person does cannot give you much insight into how they feel or what they think. Similar behavior can have different activities. I do appreciate you bringing this up with Ritual. Activities that have a nominal effect or rationale may not be so clear cut to the individual performing them. In this way belief does NOT equal behavior.
hey, this is a great video. do you think you could do another one focusing more on how modern western conceptions of Buddhism/Islam/Hinduism/etc were constructed by colonial-era protestant scholars? I have a degree in religious studies and I am very tired of explaining to otherwise well-educated people that "no, Buddhism isn't a philosophy because...." or "hinduism didn't even really exist as a concept prior to the 1800s, and it's almost as diverse as all the abrahamic traditions combined...." it would be nice to have a video to send them to back me up.
Great video. :) I teach Latin; I like fantasy; and I have friends who are outspoken atheists. In all those areas, that misconception of religion being essentially just about believing certain things, is turning up regularly. :)
When some people say that they're "spiritual, but not religious". What they usually meant to say is that they believe something that transcends the material world, but they don't belong to any particular religion that tells them what they should do. Just like there are certain types of people who do believe in the existence of an "afterlife" without the need for religion.
new subscuber here. This analisis is GENIUOS!! as a orthodox church member i trie to live acording to the BELIFE into MY EVERYDAY LIFE as a member of that COMUNITY. its not so easy as it seems:))) once more very good chanel!
Great video. Whilst religious faith and belief are the major thing are Abrahamic religions, religious practice and study are much more important for paganism.
Good video. I agree with you, the bias on belief stems from Christianity as Christianity turned on its head ancient religious practices which was focused more on proper worship and no on proper beliefs. Christianity care more about proper beliefs. The new format is also nice!
Angelo Nasios good point. In fact, I have found some christians say that Christianity is NOT a religion because it is not about the PRACTICES. they say it is "a relationship" (with god/christ).
The Catholics and birth control thing has ALWAYS confused me. I've been getting into Catholicism a bit lately, after participating in a Novena and learning the Rosary, and the understanding of the Tripartite Church explained a lot of this to me, and the idea that the church is larger than the priests. This seems very much in keeping with the Three Bs. In Re: ritual or behavior driving belief: I just listened yesterday to a podcast with Francis Young talking about his book on the history of exorcism in Catholic Christianity. In it the interviewer equated ritual with talking aloud. We talk aloud to think things through, he posited that we performatively do ritual to work through something beyond us that can't be expressed in words. P.S. Have you thought about doing an episode on mythicism? How about the Bajoran religion from Star Trek DS9?
I am planning a "What is Mythicism" video for the future and a "Star Trek on Religion" to publish at the same time as Star Trek Discovery in September. I love the analogy of ritual as "talking aloud." Very apt analogy. I've also heard it described as "a way of paying attention." That is to say, paying attention to something "beyond us."
"Paying attention." Nice! I'm looking forward to hearing what you think of mythicism. It's new to me, and I don't know what to think of it (I actually find it spiritually intriguing, but see how it could be offensive or problematic for some). If you want some interesting conspiracy stuff, Christopher Knowles draws some REALLY interesting parallels between Star Trek in general, and the Prophets of DS9 specifically, and the "Council of Nine" channeled alien teachings of Puharich from the 70s.
@@ReligionForBreakfast, the Church of the East takes that idea regarding ritual to the extreme by not including the words of insitution in the consecration of the Eucharist because the intent is shown through action already.
It's a bit tricky because , in the case of Buddhism, Tibetan beliefs may come into sharp contrast with the actual teachings of Buddha. Is it still Buddhism then?
I'd say it is definitely still Buddhism, just a different variety of Buddhism. Buddhism, just like any other religion, is more than its original founder.
"The Underground Church" by Robin Meyers a Christian minister suggests that we need to recapture the spirit of the early church with its emphasis on what Christians do rather than what they believe. The Jesus following was subversive in the best sense of the word. The defining characteristic of the Beloved Community was the love of justice and its countercultural compassion for all people. The early church had a wide diversity of beliefs but was unified by its love and willingness to stand up and transform the status quo. A unified Christian belief system was to come hundreds of years after the death of Jesus and has lead to endless theological and political arguments that are more concerned with being right than being loving. Robin Meyers is saying that "Actions based on God's love" are the defining feature of Christianity.
Thank you for the videos. I asked you in another comment to make a video about Orthodox, Orthopraxic and ritualistic religions. I see you already did one. Please tell me on which of these three categories corresponds the main focus of the different world religions. Is it correct to say Christianity is an Orthodox religion while Judaism and Islam are mainly orthopraxic religions? What about Buddhism? Is it a ritualistic religion?
I'd love to see you do a video on bokonism from cat's cradle mostly for the interesting way it plays with religious belief, having a 'sacred' text that opens by calling all of it's subsequent teachings lies, but framing them as beautiful and helpful lies nonetheless
What he's trying to do is redefine religion in a way to suit more how it's practiced than what it's all about. It's like including "drinking and partying" in the definition of college. He also completely conflates the ideas of faith and belief. If someone "believes" in Satan, does it mean they have "faith" in Satan? Belief is an outlook not a cognitive ascent to a set of presuppositions. Traditions and rituals either serve this outlook, or not. If not, it's not, it's a cultural aspect that doesn't define religion more than it does sports or art. Religion is like dancing. You can belong to a certain school of dance, you can dance in different styles, or you can just dance. Having a social life and cultural identity around dancing doesn't enter into the definition of religion that it does to dancing.
But my question is what makes a person religious.....the person who defend their religion, make their religion superior or the person who thanks the creator of this world, eternity so on..for this beautiful life? (Just don't go with my name please it's a nobel request)
Can you explain what "cult" means in the 4C-system? You've explained before that the meaning has changed a lot through the millenia, so which meaning is used here?
In this context, "cult" refers to religious rituals and practices - praying the rosary, performing the Hajj, sacrificing an animal, and things like that.
Can i get a double triple grimace shake, on a gyatt, 4x4 sigma style with extra quandale dingles with a skibidi and squeeze. Light ohio grease grease, make it edge, rizz it, and let it mew
For the tree huger, it's the object he beholds of great desire, so much so, that he must hug it! I do have this burning question, is cessation still technically a theory or is it classified as doctrine now and by whom? Your friend and rogue scholar Jack
YOU ARE UNDERRATED THANK YOU AND THANK GOD YOU ARE HERE! NOTICE PEOPLE HOW HE SAID RELIGION IDENTITY. NO MY IDENTITY IS FOUND IN THE LORD ALL MIGHTY I AM JESUS CHIRST
Oxford english dictionary: religion (noun) 1. The belief in and worship of a superhuman controlling power, especially a personal God or gods. religious (adjective) 1. Relating to or believing in a religion. It's not so hard.
Thats one definition of the word. But then you have phrases like "I work out everyday religiously". Thats not referring to anything supernatural. The word has a wide range of usage.
Did you not watch the video? The issue concerning the word "Religion" is that it is based on Western experience of Christianity, specifically Protestantism. Religions that are non theistic like Buddhism don't really believe in God (in the Abrahamic sense) or it is an optional component. In practice, some religions emphasize more on actual work than simple belief. When you start looking at religions that aren't Christianity, the word becomes less feasible to be used as an accurate representation.
Just popping in to say how refreshing I find your content. Most discussions about religion nowadays tends to get entangled in a relentlessly binary opposition that really robs these epistemological and moral frameworks of much of their depth and complexity. I'm thankful for your approach to handling this stuff!
Thanks so much for the encouragement. Comments like this keep me going. I agree 100%. Religion is interesting enough to study without all the ideological tribalism.
@@ReligionForBreakfast i want to cite this video for my essay, please let me know what city this site is based in
@@Laadeenwaa Hi Nwabisa. Boston, MA, USA
Of course, I tend to agree with this. Religion is a complex concept involving many "dimensions" (al la, Ninian Smart): beliefs, practices, community, values, etc...
Though I would say you underestimate the "everyman" in the street. I ask my own students if they would identify themselves as religious, why or why not. I get a lot of "no" answers where the student goes on to say they "BELIEVE in god" (or a higher power) but do not "go to church" (practice, community). So for these students, they do NOT equate "being rellgious" with belief; they seem to equate "being religious" more with practices that they do not participate in. What they say is "I am spiritual, not religious" - for them, belief is equated with a personal, inner sense of spirituality while religion is equated with behavior and belonging that they do not identify with.
Yet, ironically, when students are asked to "define religion" in a more abstract way (rather than thinking about themselves), they DO tend to go with something like "BELIEF in God".
Thank you for this video. I will add it to my resources for my students.
it's because when they think of religion they think of "Organized Religion" and all its hierarchies, priests, rules, and (more recently) political influence, because that's what religion tends to become in society, *no matter where you are in the world*. so it's not so much a thing of belief vs practice, but of not wanting to be part of something they do not approve of, for whatever reason(s) they might personally have.
when thinking in the abstract, they say religion is about belief, but when talking about themselves they consider themselves "spiritual but not religious" even though the main marker of that spirituality is also belief.
their reasoning here just reflects their protestant background combined with their skepticism of organized religious structures. what it means is they are not really holding themselves to the same standards that they hold others to. so yes, they are in effect contracticting themselves. but it's not so much a belief vs practice thing.
@@ianism3 *it's because when they think of religion they think of "Organized Religion" and all its hierarchies, priests, rules, and (more recently) political influence*
There's no such thing as "organized religion", because religion by itself is already an organized set of beliefs, and practices that are shared by a community. So, therefore, it's very redundant to say "organized religion".
This is becoming one of my favourite channels.
Forgot to mention in my last comment:
Loved the format.I thought it might take away from the feel, but your personality and presentation is still there so it was perfect.
Also, I love the inclusion of the history of studies.
My friend and I have a working definition of belief, "to behave as though it is so."
There is an obvious limitation to this, as what a person does cannot give you much insight into how they feel or what they think.
Similar behavior can have different activities.
I do appreciate you bringing this up with Ritual. Activities that have a nominal effect or rationale may not be so clear cut to the individual performing them.
In this way belief does NOT equal behavior.
hey, this is a great video. do you think you could do another one focusing more on how modern western conceptions of Buddhism/Islam/Hinduism/etc were constructed by colonial-era protestant scholars? I have a degree in religious studies and I am very tired of explaining to otherwise well-educated people that "no, Buddhism isn't a philosophy because...." or "hinduism didn't even really exist as a concept prior to the 1800s, and it's almost as diverse as all the abrahamic traditions combined...."
it would be nice to have a video to send them to back me up.
Always on point....I like the background...but I prefer the in my room look...feels a lot more personal!
Great video. :)
I teach Latin; I like fantasy; and I have friends who are outspoken atheists. In all those areas, that misconception of religion being essentially just about believing certain things, is turning up regularly. :)
We were given this video in social studies when we were doing a unit on religion. This was very helpful!! :D
Fantastic video. Keep them coming. I've enjoyed all of your videos that I've seen thus far. I also learn a lot too!
When some people say that they're "spiritual, but not religious". What they usually meant to say is that they believe something that transcends the material world, but they don't belong to any particular religion that tells them what they should do.
Just like there are certain types of people who do believe in the existence of an "afterlife" without the need for religion.
Great video-lots to think about! I like this format it feels "official", but your other format is great too for informality too.
new subscuber here. This analisis is GENIUOS!! as a orthodox church member i trie to live acording to the BELIFE into MY EVERYDAY LIFE as a member of that COMUNITY. its not so easy as it seems:))) once more very good chanel!
Yep. Some religions are orthodox heavy and some are orthopraxy heavy.
Great video.
Whilst religious faith and belief are the major thing are Abrahamic religions, religious practice and study are much more important for paganism.
Most insightful
Specifically the 3b's
Thank you
; )
Why didn't you mention Smart's 7 Dimensions of Religion?
Good video. I agree with you, the bias on belief stems from Christianity as Christianity turned on its head ancient religious practices which was focused more on proper worship and no on proper beliefs. Christianity care more about proper beliefs. The new format is also nice!
Angelo Nasios good point. In fact, I have found some christians say that Christianity is NOT a religion because it is not about the PRACTICES. they say it is "a relationship" (with god/christ).
The Catholics and birth control thing has ALWAYS confused me. I've been getting into Catholicism a bit lately, after participating in a Novena and learning the Rosary, and the understanding of the Tripartite Church explained a lot of this to me, and the idea that the church is larger than the priests. This seems very much in keeping with the Three Bs.
In Re: ritual or behavior driving belief:
I just listened yesterday to a podcast with Francis Young talking about his book on the history of exorcism in Catholic Christianity. In it the interviewer equated ritual with talking aloud. We talk aloud to think things through, he posited that we performatively do ritual to work through something beyond us that can't be expressed in words.
P.S.
Have you thought about doing an episode on mythicism?
How about the Bajoran religion from Star Trek DS9?
seadawg93 love that idea of exploring the religions of pop culture fiction (Bagoran)
I am planning a "What is Mythicism" video for the future and a "Star Trek on Religion" to publish at the same time as Star Trek Discovery in September.
I love the analogy of ritual as "talking aloud." Very apt analogy. I've also heard it described as "a way of paying attention." That is to say, paying attention to something "beyond us."
"Paying attention." Nice!
I'm looking forward to hearing what you think of mythicism. It's new to me, and I don't know what to think of it (I actually find it spiritually intriguing, but see how it could be offensive or problematic for some).
If you want some interesting conspiracy stuff, Christopher Knowles draws some REALLY interesting parallels between Star Trek in general, and the Prophets of DS9 specifically, and the "Council of Nine" channeled alien teachings of Puharich from the 70s.
@@ReligionForBreakfast, the Church of the East takes that idea regarding ritual to the extreme by not including the words of insitution in the consecration of the Eucharist because the intent is shown through action already.
It's a bit tricky because , in the case of Buddhism, Tibetan beliefs may come into sharp contrast with the actual teachings of Buddha. Is it still Buddhism then?
I'd say it is definitely still Buddhism, just a different variety of Buddhism. Buddhism, just like any other religion, is more than its original founder.
"The Underground Church" by Robin Meyers a Christian minister suggests that we need to recapture the spirit of the early church with its emphasis on what Christians do rather than what they believe. The Jesus following was subversive in the best sense of the word. The defining characteristic of the Beloved Community was the love of justice and its countercultural compassion for all people. The early church had a wide diversity of beliefs but was unified by its love and willingness to stand up and transform the status quo. A unified Christian belief system was to come hundreds of years after the death of Jesus and has lead to endless theological and political arguments that are more concerned with being right than being loving. Robin Meyers is saying that "Actions based on God's love" are the defining feature of Christianity.
Thank you for the videos. I asked you in another comment to make a video about Orthodox, Orthopraxic and ritualistic religions. I see you already did one. Please tell me on which of these three categories corresponds the main focus of the different world religions. Is it correct to say Christianity is an Orthodox religion while Judaism and Islam are mainly orthopraxic religions? What about Buddhism? Is it a ritualistic religion?
For me it's Culture which matters.
Belief doesn't. Belonging>Belief.
I'd love to see you do a video on bokonism from cat's cradle mostly for the interesting way it plays with religious belief, having a 'sacred' text that opens by calling all of it's subsequent teachings lies, but framing them as beautiful and helpful lies nonetheless
Interesting.
Great content.
Good points.
GREEN SCREEN?!
Whoa, well done!
+Gavers23 Yeah I have 4 green screened vids coming out in the next month or so! Summer project.
Can't wait!
What he's trying to do is redefine religion in a way to suit more how it's practiced than what it's all about. It's like including "drinking and partying" in the definition of college.
He also completely conflates the ideas of faith and belief. If someone "believes" in Satan, does it mean they have "faith" in Satan? Belief is an outlook not a cognitive ascent to a set of presuppositions.
Traditions and rituals either serve this outlook, or not. If not, it's not, it's a cultural aspect that doesn't define religion more than it does sports or art.
Religion is like dancing. You can belong to a certain school of dance, you can dance in different styles, or you can just dance. Having a social life and cultural identity around dancing doesn't enter into the definition of religion that it does to dancing.
Mohammed Shafei Pretty helpful, this took a long time probably
But my question is what makes a person religious.....the person who defend their religion, make their religion superior or the person who thanks the creator of this world, eternity so on..for this beautiful life?
(Just don't go with my name please it's a nobel request)
Can you explain what "cult" means in the 4C-system? You've explained before that the meaning has changed a lot through the millenia, so which meaning is used here?
In this context, "cult" refers to religious rituals and practices - praying the rosary, performing the Hajj, sacrificing an animal, and things like that.
How do you know?
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cult_(religious_practice)
Online class led me here
i dont get what this guy is trynna say
Can i get a double triple grimace shake, on a gyatt, 4x4 sigma style with extra quandale dingles with a skibidi and squeeze. Light ohio grease grease, make it edge, rizz it, and let it mew
Hi guy's
For the tree huger, it's the object he beholds of great desire, so much so, that he must hug it! I do have this burning question, is cessation still technically a theory or is it classified as doctrine now and by whom? Your friend and rogue scholar Jack
YOU ARE UNDERRATED THANK YOU AND THANK GOD YOU ARE HERE! NOTICE PEOPLE HOW HE SAID RELIGION IDENTITY. NO MY IDENTITY IS FOUND IN THE LORD ALL MIGHTY I AM JESUS CHIRST
Religion is the only way of true Evolution...
Oxford english dictionary:
religion (noun) 1. The belief in and worship of a superhuman controlling power, especially a personal God or gods.
religious (adjective) 1. Relating to or believing in a religion.
It's not so hard.
Thats one definition of the word. But then you have phrases like "I work out everyday religiously". Thats not referring to anything supernatural. The word has a wide range of usage.
Did you not watch the video? The issue concerning the word "Religion" is that it is based on Western experience of Christianity, specifically Protestantism. Religions that are non theistic like Buddhism don't really believe in God (in the Abrahamic sense) or it is an optional component. In practice, some religions emphasize more on actual work than simple belief. When you start looking at religions that aren't Christianity, the word becomes less feasible to be used as an accurate representation.
@@azn3000 Don't love when guys like that use a dictionary definition as if that's the end all be all of the conversations 😂
🏋️♀️
Hail satan amen