The study of Religion is dynamic and broad in scope. Even the small task of defining the word “Religion” shifts as I grow academically and spiritually. Even scholarly sources do not agree on the definition of the term – Religion. Prior to taking this class, the definition of Religion was attached to my personal experiences and Christian cultural expectations. I have found that this point of view is considered ethnocentric. The ability to be open minded is essential to the academic study of Religion.
Ethnocentrism is the “technical name for the view of things in which one’s own group is the center of everything, and all others are scaled and rated with reference to it” (Merton & Sztompka, 1996, p. 248). It has been shown that being born into a culture with a given set of values and beliefs can often times lead the people within a culture to believe that their particular set of religious beliefs is normal throughout the world (Seidner, 1982). Prior to attending college, I can admit that because of my particular experiences and cultural exposure that I had some degree of closed-mindedness about how vast and dynamic the study of Religion truly was. I have learned that Eastern religious philosophy is different from the Western philosophy, in that, Western philosophy is written from a third party standpoint. There are countless religious differences such as this when comparing religions.
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The experience and understanding from being in this class has helped me tremendously in opening up my worldview of religion. I have learned that my definition of Religion can be ever-changing and can be adjusted and modified as new information and concepts come to light. The fundamental attitude that should be adopted in moving forward with Religious Studies is open-mindedness towards all values, beliefs, behaviors, and customs as they relate to various religions.
- Robert King Merton, R., & Sztompka, P. (1996). On social structure and science.
Chicago: University of Chicago Press. - Seidner, S. (1982). Ethnicity, language, and power from a psycholinguistic
perspective. Bruxelles: Centre de recherche sur le pluralinguisme.
