subject: Religious Learning - A Certain Area of Human Knowledge [print this page] Religious Learning - A Certain Area of Human Knowledge
Religious studies are a very specific academic discipline which includes some areas of study and aims at the examination, description, comparison and explanation of religions. Religion is studied by various humanities:
1.Sociology regards religion as a social institution and examines the causes and prerequisites of religion in the society.
2.Psychology studies the religion and belief as the system of psychological defense, as the psychological norm as well as the mechanism of behavior management.
3.Philosophy works on the problem of existence of God or other unnatural forces and arguments regarding the nature of soul.
4.Theology looks upon the issue of religion from inside, the character of religious faith as a natural necessity of human being, the relationship between supernatural forces with human soul. In contrast to all these disciplines religious studies aim at the evaluation of religion and religious phenomena as such. Religion is regarded as the complex of religious consciousness, religious organization plus activities.
The study of religion employs the following fields:
1.The beginnings of religion as the phenomenon of society, its development at the first stages of society existence.
2.History of religions that is about the description of religions inthe context of the world history, the historicity of religion people and events and the development of various religions throughout history.
3.Sociological, anthropological plus psychological reasons and also foundation of religions.
4.Cultural anthropology of religions that concerns itself with the study of the variety of rituals, religious art as well as religion-connected human activities.
5.Geography of religion that is the complex study on the boundary of religious study and geography that dwells upon the distribution of different religions across the world and some other space-related factors of religion.
