On the Concept of ReligionErnst Feil Intensive discussions in recent years have been devoted to the question of whether “religion” has a future. Many answer this question in the affirmative, pointing in justification to many kinds of signs of religion, new religions, interest in the world religions, psychological groups, etc. Behind all this, however, there lies the more difficult question: what is meant by “religion” in the first place? The answers given here are so various that it is no longer possible to arrive at a definition that is even roughly satisfactory. Distinguished authors such as Wilfred Cantwell Smith or Franz Tenbruck draw the conclusion that one should therefore abandon this concept completely, whereas others plead that one should retain it as an umbrella term. The problem remains that it is no longer possible to tie down a meaning that can be stated with any degree of precision. |
Contents
Critique | 37 |
Friedrich Fürstenberg What do we learn from an analysis | 51 |
Alfred Jäger Religion or faith Faith or a life that is lived | 64 |
Copyright | |
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Common terms and phrases
Academic Commentary affirmation Ancient Judaism anthropological constant attempt Barth Bavli Tractate Bonhoeffer called religion Catholic Christian Christian faith church concept of religion context critical critique cultural define demarcation dharma dialog Documentary Form-History Enlightenment Ernst Feil Ernst Troeltsch essay existence existential fact facto Feil's Form-History of Rabbinic formulation Fourth Divisions Frankfurt a.M. function fundamental gion Hinduism human person ibid Idem individual interpretation Islam Karl Barth Land of Israel ligion Luhmann meaning modern period Munich Mynarek natural Neusner Neusner Neusner Niddah Otto paradigm perspective phenomena phenomenon philosophy of religion position possible praxis precisely problems Protestant Protestantism question Rabbah Rabbinic Documents Rabbinic Literature reality reflection reli religionless Religionsphilosophie Religionswissenschaft religious pedagogy Rudolf Otto Schleiermacher science of religion Shabbat significance social society sociology of religion speak specific Stietencron structure Talmud of Babylonia theologians theology tion Tosefta Tractate Berakhot understanding of religion vis-à-vis Volume Yerushalmi Tractate