subject: One Of The Means For Classifying Religions? [print this page] The UN has stated that there are in excess of five thousand religions practiced throughout the world today. They were referring to the many ORGANIZED religions that are known. Whats more true is that, its probable that no 2 people on earth believe exactly the same thing; so, a more correct count would be that there are well in excess of 6,000,000,000 religions on the planet. This makes any analysis of religion into a tactical nightmare. If its a discussion of World Religions,like the one offered through the Universal Life Church, the question becomes which ones you go over. If it is a course in Theology, the issue revolves around which theology. Two of the 4 ways we classify religions is either problematically or Theistically. We will look at 1 of them here and more through the courses offered at the ULC Seminary.
Problematically
One of the means for classification to be discussed is: problematic classification. The problems that this means is addressing are the three primary problems of life how to get along with the physical world, how to get along with each other, and how to get to know ourselves so that we can make sense of it all. Although not original to him, this method has been well explained by Dr. Huston Smith, a world leader in religious studies. Doctor Smith refers to these 3 problem areas as the natural, the social, and the psychological. Using this means, the natural religions are most often the western religions (Christianity, Islam, Judaism, etc.). Its in these religions that followers tend to believe that God has given them dominion over the [fill in the blank]. Nature is there to serve them, and the physical world is frequently seen as dominated by the will of man. Obviously, these religions frequently have problems with ecological and environmental issues.
You will find more socially aware religions in the east. (Confucian, Taoist, et cetera). In these religions, followers are more focused on how humans get along with each other. Theyre usually so focused on this part of life that theyre sometimes called ethical systems rather than religions.
For Your Consideration
The 3 great problems of life have been espoused by a number of highly-respected philosophers well before Dr. Huston Smith so beautifully framed them as a classification model for religion. Can you think of any other huge human problems? Remember, they should be problems that cannot be subsumed under those already talked about.
