4 Matching Annotations
  1. Sep 2021
    1. Some con- clude that instead of attempting to define religion the study of religion\s should focus its efforts elsewhere: to “focus on deconstructing the category and analyzing its function within popular discourse” (Arnal 2000, 30); to abandon “the tendency to regard religion as a relatively well-define

      This goes back to the main idea of whether or not a definition for the word religion is actually necessary or if we should instead stop devoting so much time and energy to that and now focus on breaking it down and analyzing other details. Although I do think it would be beneficial to have a definition, I also think this section makes a very good point because there are bigger things at hand, besides a simple definition.

    2. Definitions of religion are not value-free;

      There is bias within definitions because people use their strong beliefs and experiences to influence their thoughts and definitions.

    3. art, football (aka soccer), nationalism, ism are routinely referred to as religions,

      I have never heard of this concept before and I think it would be slightly odd to hear this being used in every day life because to me I believe people use religion to refer to something sacred to them and although hobbies, sports, and things they are passionate about are important, they are not as extreme as a belief system that they use to base their beliefs, traditions, and life values off of.

    4. There are differences of opinion over whether defining religion is necessary or even possible.

      I do understand that it may be pretty hard and seem nearly impossible, but I do definitely think it is necessary.