On Fri, 15 Sep 2000 18:25:31 -0700, Ken Stuart <[log in to unmask]>
wrote:

>On Fri, 15 Sep 2000 15:44:54 -0400, Brad Cooley <[log in to unmask]>
wrote:
>
>>All cultures have a "religion", or set of beliefs, that is a product of
the
>>culture.  In turn the culture is shaped, in part, by the geography, food
>>sources, methods of acquiring food, population density, etc.  Egalitarian
>>societies (hunter-gatherers) believe in spirits, or many "gods", that are
>>all equal in power just as all individuals within the society are
basically
>>equal.  In many agricultural societies with complex economies, monotheism
>>is prevalent.  Pastoral societies generally have religions based on a
>>hierarchy of gods.
>
>I've studied religion and philosophy for 25 years and I've never come
across a
>religion based on a hierarchy of gods.   Can you specify one?

The Pueblo Indians, ancient Greeks, and ancient Romans are examples.

>
>>The religion reflects the culture.
>
>Only in terms that people express everything in terms of their culture.
For
>example, in cultures that has beds, people usually have sex in beds.  In
>cultures that don't have beds, people don't have sex in beds.   However,
this
>does not mean that sex is determined by beds.  For example, people who
have king
>size beds don't have sex with three or four people, as opposed to people
who
>have double beds having sex with just one other person, and people with
single
>beds only having sex with themselves. :-)
>

My point is that many aspects of a religion are determined by aspects
of
the culture.  I realize that religion is an integral part of any
culture...culture is a complex subject.  As I said, my statements were
a
gross simplification.  Without going into detail here, I listed two
books
that go into much more detail.  BTW, I have a king size bed, but I
don't
usually have sex in it.

>People who don't understand religion are continually coming up with
theories to
>explain it (cf Karl Marx).
>

Karl Marx said that religion is the opium of the masses.  He was not
entirely wrong.  It depends on which "masses" you are talking about.

>"Religion is a set of beliefs" is one of the major myths of our era, along
with
>"Fat makes you fat" and a few others that I won't mention because one
>controversy per thread is enough ! :-)
>

>From the Cambridge International Dictionary of English, "religion" is
defined as "the belief in and worship of a god or gods, or any such
system
of belief and worship."

>From Merriam-Webster's WWWebster Dictionary, "religion" is defined as
1 a : the state of a religious <a nun in her 20th year of religion> b
(1) :
the service and worship of God or the supernatural (2) : commitment or
devotion to religious faith or observance
2 : a personal set or institutionalized system of religious attitudes,
beliefs, and practices
3 archaic : scrupulous conformity : CONSCIENTIOUSNESS
4 : a cause, principle, or system of beliefs held to with ardor and
faith
- re=B7li=B7gion=B7less adjective

>
>--
>Cheers,
>
>Ken
>[log in to unmask]

Brad