How wide is the “definition” of religion and how far does it extend today? For example, encompassing many spiritual beliefs and practices, new religions, new practices. Is religion a static concept or ever evolving?
The definition of religion is broad, complex and highly dynamic, reflecting its evolution across cultures, societies, and historical periods. Today, religion extends beyond traditional, organized faiths to encompass a wide array of spiritual beliefs, practices, and emerging movements. This expansion challenges the notion of religion as a static concept, suggesting instead that it is an ever-evolving phenomenon shaped by human experience, culture and the modern world.
Established Definition of Religion
Generally, religion has been defined by several core elements, including:
* Belief in a transcendental entity, higher power or divine form or divine beings (e.g. monotheistic or polytheistic systems like Christianity, Islam, Hinduism).
* Sacred texts or scriptures or spiritual philosophy that provide explanation, guidance and spiritual teachings (e.g. the Bible, Quran, Bhagavad Gita, Mahabharata).
* Rituals and worship practices, which range from prayer, praise songs (including kiirtan), dances and ceremonies to festivals and communal gatherings.
* Moral and ethical codes as canons of conduct. Many religions, including spiritual paths, provide guidelines for living a virtuous life (e.g. Ten Commandments, ive Pillars of Islam, Yama and Niyama).
* Community and institutions are prevalent in organized religions often have structured institutions (churches, temples, mosques, meditation centres) and religious leaders (priests, imams, rabbis, acaryas) who guide followers.
This framework has been the dominant understanding for centuries. Generally, it still holds. However, to some extent it has proven insufficient to account for the diversity of religious expression today. In particular, there is a trend for people to claim they are ‘spiritual’ rather than ‘religious’. But as religion is such a broad concept, it includes matters of spirituality (which goes beyond mere ethics and doing good) when the system practised encompasses belief in something divine, has canons of conduct, and has forms of worship or expression that purport to connect followers to the sense of the Divine, as well as ceremonies to that end.
Broadening the Definition of Religion – Contemporary Spiritual Beliefs and Practices
In the modern era, the definition of religion has expanded to include a wide range of spiritual beliefs and practices, many of which do not fit neatly into the traditional categories of religion. Or do they? These include the following.
Spirituality without formal religion
Many people today identify as ‘spiritual but not religious’ (SBNR). This group focuses on personal spiritual exploration, often outside the framework of organized religion. Practices such as meditation, mindfulness, and yoga for inner peace can be considered as common forms of spiritual expression for SBNR individuals. Especially, when people follow codes or rules for those practices, and have a preceptor who developed those codes or rules, they would likely fall into the definition of religion. This is particularly so when there are canons of conduct, a spiritual philosophy, and ceremonies and expected customs to follow.
New Religious Movements (NRMs)
The 20th and 21st centuries have seen the rise of NRMs, such as Scientology, the Baha’i Faith, Falun Gong, Self-Realization Fellowship (Yogananda), Ananda Marga, and even the Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster. These movements introduce new or further evolved theologies, cosmologies, practices and rituals, challenging the boundaries of what constitutes ‘religion’. Many can easily fall into the established definition of religion, even if its followers purport to be ‘spiritual but not religious’.
Neo-paganism and Indigenous spiritualities
The revival of ancient practices such as Wicca, Druidry, and neo-paganism has brought attention to religions that prioritize nature worship, animism (e.g. places and objects have a spiritual vibration) and polytheism. Still, they have some sense of divinity in their teachings. Similarly, there has been a resurgence of interest in Indigenous spiritualities, which often incorporate beliefs in the sacredness of nature, ancestral worship or spirits, and holistic understandings of existence.
Eastern philosophies as religion
Eastern philosophies such as Buddhism, Taoism, and Confucianism often blur the line between religion and philosophy. While some followers treat these systems as formal religions, others approach them as ethical frameworks or ways of life without supernatural elements. They do though tend to have some concept of higher knowledge.
New Age movements
New Age spirituality emphasizes personal growth, healing, and connection to the universe through practices like astrology, crystal healing, channeling, and belief in metaphysical energy. These practices often incorporate elements from multiple religious traditions, creating hybrid forms of belief. These may or may not have transcendental concepts involved in their practices and teachings.
Secular religions
In recent years, the definition of religion has broadened to include secular systems of thought that offer a framework for meaning, ethics, and community. Humanism and atheism, while not religions in the traditional sense, are sometimes recognized as forms of belief systems with their own rituals, organizations, and moral codes. However, they lack transcendental concepts.
Religion as an Ever-Evolving Concept
Religion is not a static concept; it evolves in response to social, cultural and technological changes. Several factors contribute to this evolution, as follows.
Globalization
The movement of people, ideas and cultures across borders has introduced new religious traditions to different parts of the world. This has led to the blending of beliefs and practices, creating syncretic religions and movements that combine elements from different traditions (e.g., Vodou, which mixes Catholicism and West African spirituality).
Technology and the Internet
The rise of digital platforms has allowed for the virtual expression of religion. Online communities, virtual religious gatherings, and digital rituals have expanded how people practice and connect with their faith. Additionally, cyber-religions and movements like Jediism (inspired by “Star Wars”) demonstrate the fluidity of modern religious expression.
Postmodern and Postsecular Thought
The decline of institutional religion in some parts of the world (especially in the West) and the rise of postmodernism have led to more individualized, subjective approaches to spirituality. People increasingly mix and match beliefs from different traditions to create personalized religious experiences. The postsecular world acknowledges that even in secular societies, religion and spirituality continue to play important roles in public life and personal identity.
Science and Religion
The relationship between science and religion continues to evolve. For some, scientific discoveries deepen their spiritual beliefs (e.g. the awe of the universe and creation). In other cases, science-based ideologies, such as transhumanism (the belief in enhancing human abilities through technology), take on quasi-religious qualities, offering visions of human destiny and and even transcendence.
Legal and Academic Perspectives
Legally, courts in various jurisdictions, including the U.S. Supreme Court, have had to interpret what constitutes a religion. This has led to broad definitions that can encompass unconventional belief systems or spiritual practices, particularly when determining rights to religious freedom. Courts have generally held that religion need not include belief in God per se or a higher power, expanding the concept to include systems that provide answers to “ultimate” questions about existence. In academia, religion scholars often emphasize the functional approach to defining religion, focusing on what religion does rather than what it is. This approach looks at how religion provides meaning, community, ethics, and rituals for individuals and groups, regardless of whether it involves traditional concepts of divinity or sacred texts.
Challenges in Defining Religion
Despite these evolving definitions, defining religion does have an established base even if aspects remain contentious. Matters that make including belief system in religion contentious, include the following.
Subjectivity and Personalization
The increasing trend of individuals crafting their own spiritual paths challenges more universal definitions of religion. Religion becomes deeply personal and less tied to institutions.
Cultural Sensitivity
In the global context, different cultures have distinct understandings of what constitutes a religion. What is considered a religion in one society may be seen as superstition, philosophy, or custom in another.
Legal and Political Implications
The broadening of the definition of religion has legal and political consequences, particularly regarding rights to religious freedom and the protection of religious practices.
Conclusion
Religion today is an evolving and expansive concept that goes far beyond the traditional, organized faiths of the past. It now includes a wide range of spiritual practices, new religious movements, and individual expressions of belief. This dynamism helps develop the concept of religion and challenges any static definition of religion, showing that religion continuously adapts to cultural, social and even technological changes. While this evolution enriches the diversity of human belief, it also complicates efforts to define religion in legal, social and academic contexts. However, courts have tended (at least in the West or common law system) to widely interpret and characterise what is religion, so it is unlikely that any narrow definitions will prevail. In this regard, nearly all communities or movement that claim to be spiritual and acknowledge some idea of transcendental entity and have some codes of conduct are almost certainly going to fall within the concept of religion.
