What is religion?
Most people think they know what religion is, but nearly everybody has different ideas, even more so than with economic terms like Socialism, Capitalism, etc.
The pamphlet “Socialism and Religion” published by the party in 1911, and reprinted in 1925, and since then out of print, states that the fundamental idea of religion is a belief in the persistence of life after death. It goes on to say “Originally, and in essence throughout, religion is a belief in the existence of supernatural beings, and the observance of rites and ceremonies in order to avert their anger or gain their good-will. ‘Corpse-worship’ as it has been tersely called, is the protoplasm of religion.” This is more a description of the salient points of religion than a definition.
In the chapter on religion in the pamphlet “Questions of the Day” the following statement on religion occurs at its commencement “Religion is woven like a thread into the texture of human society from early times to the present day. It is based upon man’s ignorance of natural forces and has been propped up by rulers as a means of keeping slaves in subjection.” This again is scarcely a definition, but explains (quite correctly) what religion does.
Marx’s well-known statement that “Religion is the opiate of the people” (or a more correct translation “opium for the people”) which occurs in his letters to Kugelmann and his essay on Hegel, is scarcely a definition, but rather a statement on an aspect of religion.
Thousands of divines have had a shot at giving a definition of religion, but most of them define religion as “appreciating God’s love to mankind” or “accepting Jesus as our Savour,” etc. All such ideas could never be accepted as a basis of discussion if we wished to examine religion and its influence.
Matthew Arnold defined religion as “Morality touched with emotion.” But Matthew Arnold was himself touched with religion, and therefore somewhat unreliable.
One thing is very certain, and that is that all ideas of religion are bound up with belief in God or gods. God of some kind is essential to religion, and next to a God or gods, something which God does, i.e., performs miracles, gives us or promises after fife, writes or inspires men to write religious literature, and accepts prayers from those he has made or created. Religion, then can be said to consist of five things:—
1. Belief in God or gods.
2. Belief in Miracles.
3. Belief in Life after Death.
4. Belief in the Efficacy of Prayer.
5. Belief in Holy or Inspired Books.
It is true that not all religions have all these five characteristics. Buddhism for instance does not have a personal God or Deity as does the Christian religion and in that sense can be claimed as somewhat Agnostic although not Atheistic. But most religions have these characteristics, while Christianity—that cemetery of dead religions—is endowed with them all.
We do not place these in order of their importance, although everything emanates from the Belief in God or gods.
H. JARVIS