22.3. Historical Types and Forms of Religion

There are different modifications of religious beliefs:

Monotheism (from Theo – God, Supreme Being) is a religious belief in a single God, the creator;

Polytheism is a religious belief in many gods, which represent the forces of nature.

Theism is a philosophical conception of God as a supernatural transcendental person. In theism God is absolute omnipotent being, who created the universe, its laws and man. Judaism, Christianity and Islam are monotheistic and theistic religions. They personify God as Supreme Judger, loving Father or Redeemer. A man’s attitude to God’s personality is expressed in prayer. Although transcendence is defined as the opposite of immanence, the two are not necessarily mutually exclusive. Some theologians and metaphysicians of the great religious traditions affirm that God, or Brahman, is both within and beyond the universe; in it, but not of it; simultaneously pervading it and surpassing it. Mircea Eliade calls this phenomena “coincidentia oppositorum”, or the coincidence of opposites which is the basic characteristic of every religion and religious experience.

Deism is a philosophical conception of God as the supreme architect, or mathematician who created the world and its laws. God’s function is to “wind up the world just like the clock, stir it up and then fade away”, so that God never interferes or breaks into the world. Deistic God is absolutely transcendental, beyond our earthly life. Deism is represented by philosophers of French Enlightenment, such as Voltaire, Rousseau and later - Nietzsche).

Pantheism is the philosophical conception of God as immanent in all things. God and nature is the same. (Represented by B. Spinoza). Pantheism denotes the idea that “God” is best seen as a way of relating to the Universe. Although there are divergences within Pantheism, the central ideas found in almost all versions are the Cosmos as an all-encompassing unity and the sacredness of Nature. Immanent means permanently present throughout the whole universe.

There are various classifications of religions. According to theological classification, there are natural religions and religions of revelation. Natural religions are created and limited by man`s reason (intellect). Religions of revelation have supernatural divine source of origin, that is why the truths of revelations (dogmas) cannot be understood by means of pure intellect, but also by meditation, prayer, grace, gifts of Holy Spirit etc.

According to the classification commonly used in religious studies there are two major types of religion:

• National (or ethnic) religions: Judaism, Hinduism, Taoism, Zoroastrianism, Shinto and others. They are characterized in that adherents generally are defined by their ethnicity, and conversion of alien ethnical groups is forbidden or essentially equates to cultural assimilation.

• World religions: Christianity, Buddhism, Islam. They are characterized by cosmopolitanism.

According to general scientific classification all religions are divided into:

• Abrahamic religions which are by far the largest group, and these consist primarily of Christianity, Islam and Judaism. They are named for the patriarch Abraham, and are unified by the practice of monotheism. Today, around 3.4 billion people are followers of Abraham religions and are spread widely around the world apart from the regions around South-East Asia. Several Abraham organizations are vigorous proselytizers.

• Indian religions originated in Greater India and tend to share a number of key concepts, such as dharma and karma. They are of the most influence across the Indian subcontinent, East Asia, South East Asia, as well as isolated parts of Russia. The main Indian religions are Hinduism, Buddhism, Sikhism, and Jainism. Indian religions mutually influenced each other. Sikhism was also influenced by the Abraham tradition of Sufism.

• Far Eastern religions consist of several East Asian religions which make use of the concept of Tao (in Chinese) or Do (in Japanese or Korean). They include Taoism, Shinto, Chondogyo, Caodaism, and Yiguandao. Far Eastern Buddhism (in which the group overlaps with the "Indian" group) and Confucianism (which by some categorizations is not a religion) are also included.

• Iranic religions originated in Iran and include Zoroastrianism, Yazdanism and historical traditions of Gnosticism (Mandaeanism, Manichaeism). It has significant overlaps with Abraham traditions, e.g. in Sufism and in recent movements such as Bábísm and the Bahá'í Faith.

• African Diasporas religions practiced in America, imported as a result of the Atlantic slave trade of the 16th to 18th centuries, building of traditional religions of Central and West Africa.

• Indigenous tribal religions, formerly found on every continent, now marginalized by the major organized faiths, but persisting as undercurrents of folk religion. It includes African traditional religions, Asian Shamanism, Native American religions, Austronesian and Australian Aboriginal traditions and arguably Chinese folk religion (overlaps with Far Eastern religions). Under more traditional listings, this has been referred to as "Paganism" along with historical polytheism.

• New religious movements, a heterogeneous group of religious faiths emerging since the 19th century, often syncretizing, reinterpreting or reviving aspects of older traditions (Bahá'í, Hindu revivalism, polytheistic reconstructionism), some inspired by science-fiction (UFO religions).

Thus, the classification of Ukrainian religious scientists takes the following form: 1) ancient religious cults, 2) national religions, 3) world religions, and 4) alternative religions and syncretic movements and flows.

Basic concepts and categories

Abrahamic religions is the designation used for monotheistic faiths emphasizing and tracing their common origin to Abraham. Judaism regards itself as the religion of the descendants of Jacob, grandson of Abraham. Christianity began as a sect of Judaism in the 1st century AD and rapidly evolved into a separate religion with distinctive beliefs and practices, notably its replacement of the Jewish idea of an exclusive ethnic religious community with an inclusive, universal community, the Christian Church. Islam was founded by Muhammad in the VIIth century CE upon the teachings in the Quran, which draws on Judaism, Christianity and native Arab traditions;

Deism is a religious and philosophical belief that a supreme being created the universe, and that this (and religious truth in general) can be determined using reason and observation of the natural world alone, without the need for either faith or organized religion. Many Deists reject the notion that God intervenes in human affairs, for example through miracles and revelations.

Immanent (Immanence), derived from the Latin "to remain within" - refers to philosophical and metaphysical theories of divine presence, which hold that some divine being or essence manifests in and through all aspects of the material world. It is usually applied in monotheistic, or pantheistic faiths to suggest that the spiritual world permeates the non-spiritual one, and often contrasts the idea of transcendence.

Monotheism (fr. Greek “mono” meaning one) is the belief in theology that only one God, the Creator exists who created the world out of nothing. The concept of "monotheism" tends to be dominated by the concept of God in the Abrahamic religions, such as Judaism, Christianity and Islam.

Pantheism (fr. Greek ”pan” meaning all and “theo” meaning God.) is the view that the Universe (Nature) and God are identical. Pantheists thus do not believe in a personal, anthropomorphic or god creator.

Religion is the belief in and worship of God or gods, or in general a set of beliefs explaining the existence of and giving meaning to the universe, usually involving devotional and ritual observances, and often containing a moral code governing the conduct of human affairs.

Theism in the broadest sense is the belief that at least one deity exists. In a more specific sense, theism refers to a doctrine concerning the nature of a monotheistic God and his relationship to the universe. Theism, in this specific sense, conceives of God as personal, present and active in the governance and organization of the world and the universe. The use of the word theism as indicating a particular doctrine of monotheism arose in the wake of the scientific revolution of the seventeenth century to contrast with the then emerging deism that contended that God, though transcendent and supreme, did not intervene in the natural world and could be known rationally but not via revelation. The term theism derives from the Greek theos meaning God. The term theism was first used by Ralph Cudworth (1617–1688). The claim of no knowledge, no faith, and a complete rejection of theism is known as agnosticism, atheism, and antitheism, respectively.

Transcendental is a condition or state of being that surpasses physical existence and independent of it. Transcendence can be attributed to the divine not only in its being, but also in its knowledge. Thus, God transcends the universe, but also transcends knowledge (is beyond the grasp of the human mind).

Questions and tasks for self-control.

1. Proove the religious study as one of the philosophical sciences.

2. What is the structure of the religion study?

3. Define the term and the essence of religion.

4. What are the elements of religious faith?

5. Name the main functions of religion.

6. What religious institutes do you know?

7. What is the difference between denomination and cult?

8. Speak about the main theories of religion`s origin.

9. What are historical types and forms of religion?