THE

World's Religions
Second Edition

Ninian Smart

.·,. .::.,, , .CAMBRIDGE

;:: UNIVERSITY PRESS
 Introduction

The Importance of Understanding the World's Worldviews

Understand in g the world's religion s and ideologies is important in three ways.
First, they are a vital ingred ient in the varied story of humankind's various
experiment s in living.Th e religio ns and ideas of apcient Greece or of the Maya
are worth our recapturin g, so far as we can, as part of the great heritage of
human civilization . Second, and of more immediate importance, is the fact that
in order to grasp the meanings and values of the plural cultures of today's
world, we need to know something of the worldv iew s which underlie them.
To understand the Middle East you need to know something about Islam, not
to mention Christian it y and Judaism; and to understand Japan you need some
insight into Buddhism, Shinto, and the Confucian heritage. Third, we may as
individuals be trying to form our own coherent and emotionally satisfying
picture of reality, and it is always relevant to see the great ideas and practices of
various important cultures and civilization s. To make judgments about
philosoph ies and ways of life we need a comparative perspectiv e -to know
something of the quest of the Christian mystic and the Hindu yogin, and of the
spiritualit y of the Hasidic Jew and the Mahayana Buddhist. In a number of
ways, the individua l cultures of the world contribute to human civilizat io n, and
the religion s and ideologies permeating those cultures are not to be neglected.
In undertaking a voyage into the world's religion s we should not define
religio n too narrowly . It is important for us to recognize secular ideologies as
part of the story of human worldv iews. It is artificial to divide them too
sharply from religio ns, partly because they sometimes function in society like
religio ns, and partly because the distinct ion between religiou s and secular
beliefs and practices is a modern Western one and does not represent the way
in which other cultures categorize human values. Essentially , this book is a
history of ideas and practices which have moved human beings.

10
 INTRODUCTION

To und erstand religious and secu lar worldv iews and their p ractical meanin g
we have to use imagination . We have to enter into the liv es of those fo r whom
such ideas and actions are important. As the Native American prov erb says,
"Never judge a person until you have walk ed a m ile in h is moccasins." Mu ch
of this book will b e in a broad way informativ e; but it will also , I hope, convey
something of the spirit of the human quest for crosscultural communication.
Once a Ch rist ian th eo lo gian comp la in ed t o me in a p ub lic d iscu ssio n
becau se I had d ealt amon g ot her t hemes with Bu ddh ist att it udes t o creation:
"What n eed do we have t o co n sider B udd h ism, sin ce it is incompat ib le with
the Go spel, and the C h rist ian Go sp el is a ll th e t ruth we need ?" It seem s t o m e
inap prop riate to be so def en siv e, and a lim itat io n o n t h is man 's k no wled ge of
the fo rces an imatin g d ifferent part s of hu man ity . Any wa y, I craft ily rep lied:
"You mu st ind eed have read a lot , to kno w that B udd h ism is in com patib le
with the Christian Gospel."
Th e voya ge into oth er fo lk s' b eliefs an d p ract ices may tu rn o ut to b e a
jou rney int o y ou r n eigh bo rh ood . It is com mon t oday fo r va riet ies of p eop le
to live to geth er in t he great cit ies. In Lond on , New Yo rk, Lo s An geles, Syd ney,
Sin gapo re, Fran kfu rt, an d Paris, mo st of th e great religion s and ideo lo gies are
present . Th is p lu ralism is th e rich er becau se each of t he t rad it io ns in clu des
many fo rm s: Catho lics, Orth odo x, Luth erans, Bapt ists; Sh i'a an d Sun n i
Mu slims, and M uslim s f ro m Mo rocco , In don esia, and Egypt; Bu ddh ist s f ro m
Sri Lanka, Vietnam , and Ko rea, as well a s An glo con vert s; and so on . It often
happen s, t hen , that cit ies are m icroco sms of t he wh o le wo rld . Th is is an add ed
rea son why it is imp ortant to kn o w som eth in g of o thers, so that mutua l
und erstand in g, t hou gh maybe not agreement, may an imate com mun ity
relations.
Inevitably the Vietnamese migrant to Corpus Christi, Texas, and the Indian
villa ger listen in g t o a rad io are affect ed to some degree by mod ern it y and in a
measu re by Western va lu es. The t remen dou s impact of th e West has h elp ed to
shape the o ld religion s in th eir vo ya ge into t he con tempo rary wo rld. Th ey
have ch erished their root s, b ut th ey hav e also adapt ed . Th e H in du ism of t oday
bears deep ly the im print of it s st ru ggle a gainst the im peria l m enta lity , and t he
same is t rue, mu ch mo re clea rly , of th e way sma ller-scale cu lt u res have b ent to
the win ds of Western -d ictated chan ge. Co n seq uent ly in th is boo k th e p eriod
of West ern navigat ion , exp lorat io n, ex p lo itat io n, an d im peria l ru le ma rk s a
wat ershed in th e st ory. B efo re, th ere is th e narrat iv e of th e rise and fall of
religio us cu lt ures in d ifferin g pa rts of t he glob e; afterwa rd s, we see pattern s of
int eract io n, and ev entua lly t he em ergence of a globa l civ ilizat io n, in wh ich
in ev itab ly religiou s and secu lar wo rldv iews have t o lea rn to adapt to o ne
another.

The Nature of a Religion

In think in g about religion, it is easy to be confused about what it is. Is there
some essence which is common to all religions? And cannot a person be

11
 INTRODUCTION

religio us wit hout belon gin g t o any of th e religio ns? The sea rch fo r an essence
end s up in va gueness -fo r instan ce in th e statem ent that a religion is som e
sy stem_ of wo rsh ip or o ther p ract ice reco gn izin g a t ranscend ent B ein g o r goa l.
Ou r p ro b lems b reak out a ga in in t ry in g t o d ef in e th e k ey t erm "t ran scend ent ."
And in an swer t o the seco nd qu est io n, why y es: th ere are p lenty of peop le
with deep sp irit ual co ncern s who do n ot a lly t hemselv es to any fo rma l
religio us m ov ement , and who may not t h em selv es reco gn ize anyth in g as
tran scend ent . They may see u lt imate sp iritua l mean in g in un ity with natu re o r
in relationsh ip s to other persons.
It is more practical to come to terms first of all not with what religion is in
general but with what a religion is. Can we find some sch eme of ideas wh ich
will help us to think about and to appreciate the nature of the religions?
Before I describ e such a scheme, let me f irst point to someth in g wh ich we
need to bear in m ind in look in g at religiou s t radit ions such as Christ ianity,
Buddhism, o r Islam. Thou gh we u se the sin gu lar label "Ch rist ianity ," in fact
there are a great many variet ies of Ch rist ianity, and there are some mov ements
about which we may have doubts as to wh ether they count as Christ ian. The
same is tru e of all t radit ions: they manifest th emselves as a loo sely held -
together family of subt radit ions. Consider: a Baptist chapel in Geo rgia is a very
different structu re from an Eastern Orthodox chu rch in Romania, with its
blazin g candles and rich ikon s; and the t wo hou se very d iverse serv ices-the
one plain , with hymns and B ib le -readin g, p rayC:.rs and impassioned p reachin g;
the other much more ritually anchored, with processions and chanting, and

The ritual dimension:

Easter celebrations in
Moscow led by
Russian Orthodox
bishops.

12
 INTRODUCTION

mysterio us ceremon ies in th e light b eh in d t he screen where th e ikon s han g,

con cea lin g mo st of th e p riest ly act iv it ies. Ask either of th e religiou s sp ecia lists,
the Bapt ist p reacher o r th e Orth odo x p riest , and he will t ell yo u t hat h is o wn
form of fa ith co rresp ond s to o rigina l C h rist ian ity . To list so me of t he
den om inat io ns of C h rist ian ity is to sh o w so met h in g of its d iv erse p ract ice-
Ortho dox , Catho lic, Co pt ic, Nesto rian , Armen ian , Mar Thoma , Luth eran,
Calv in ist , M etho d ist, Bapt ist , Un ita rian, Men non ite, Co n gregat iona list ,
Discip les of C h rist-an d we have not reached som e of th e n ewer, m o re
prob lemat ic fo rm s: Latt er-Da y Sa int s, Ch rist ian Scient ist s, Un if ication ists,
Zulu Zionists, and so forth.
Mo reov er, each fa ith is fo und in man y co unt ries, and tak es co lo r f rom each
region . German Lut heran ism d iff ers f ro m Am erican; Uk ra in ian Cath o licism
fro m I rish; Greek Orth odm ..7 f rom Ru ssian. Every religion ha s permeated an d
been permeated by a variety of d iv erse cu ltu res. Th is ad ds t o the rich ness of
human ex perience, but it makes o u r task s of t h ink in g and f eelin g about th e
variet y of fa ith s mo re co mp licated than we m ight at first su ppo se. We are
dealing with not just traditions but many subtraditions.
It may happen, b y th e way , that a p erson with in on e fam ily of su bt radit ion s
is d ra wn closer to some subt rad it io n of anot her fam ily than t o on e o r t wo
subt rad it ion s in h is o r her o wn fam ily (as wit h h uman fam ilies; t h is is h o w
marria ge o ccu rs). I happen to hav e had a lot to do wit h Bu ddh ist s in Sri Lanka
and in som e wa ys feel m uch closer to th em t han I d o t o som e group s_ with in
my own family of Christian ity .
Th e fact of p lu ra lism inside religiou s trad it ion s is en hanced by what goes on
bet ween t hem.The meet in g of d ifferent cu lt u res and t rad it ion s often p rodu ces
new religio us m ovements, such as th e many b lack ind ep en dent chu rches in
Af rica, co mb in in g cla ssica l Af rican m ot ifs and Ch rist ian it ies. All a rou nd u s in
Western countries are to be seen new movements and combinations.
Desp it e all t h is, it is po ssib le to make sen se of th e variety and t o d iscern som e
patterns in the lu xu rio us vegetat io n of th e wo rld 's religio ns and subt rad it ion s.
One approach is to look at the different aspects or dimension s of religio n.

The Practical and Ritual Dimension

Every tradition has some practices to which it adheres-for instance regular
worship , preaching, prayers, and so on. They are often known as rituals
(though they may well be more informal than this word implies). This practical
and ritual dimension is especially important with faiths of a strongly
sacramental kind, such as Eastern Orthodox Christian ity with its long and
elaborate service known as the Liturgy . The ancient Jewish tradition of the
Temple, before it was destroyed in 70 C.E., was preoccupied with the rituals of
sacrifice, and thereafter with the study of such rites seen as equivalent to their
performance, so that study itself becomes almost a ritual activity. Again,
sacrificia l rituals are important among Brahmin forms of the Hindu tradition.
Also important are other patterns of behavior which, while they may not
strictly count as rituals, fulfill a function in developin g spiritual awareness or

13
INTRODUCTION

eth ical in sight: p ract ices su ch as yo ga in t he B udd h ist and H in du t rad it ion s,
meth od s of st illin g th e self in East ern Ortho dox my st icism, med itation s wh ich
can help to in crease com passion an d lo ve, and so on . Such p ract ices can be
com b in ed wit h rit uals of wo rsh ip, wh ere m ed itat ion is d irect ed to wa rd u n ion
with Go d. Th ey can cou nt as a f orm of p rayer. I n such wa ys t hey ov erlap with
the more formal or explicit rites of religion .

The Experiential and Emotional Dimension

We on ly have t o glan ce at religiou s h ist o ry t o see t he en ormo us v itality and
sign if icance of exp erience in th e f o rmat ion and developm ent of religiou s
trad it io ns. Co nsider th e v ision s of t he Prop het Mu hammad , th e co nv ersion of
Pau l, t he en lightenm ent of th e B udd ha. These were sem inal ev ent s in hu man
hist ory. And it is ob v iou s that th e emotions and experiences of men and wo men
are th e food on wh ich th e oth er d im en sio ns of religion feed: ritua l witho ut
feelin g is co ld, do ct rin es wit hout a we o r compa ssion are d ry , and myth s wh ich
do n ot m ov e h earers a re feeb le. So it is im po rtant in u nderstand in g a t rad it io n
to t ry to enter int o the f eelin gs wh ich it generates -to feel th e sacred a we, th e
calm p eace, the rou sin g inner dy nam ism , th e percep t ion of a b rilliant
empt iness with in , t he out pou rin g of lov e, th e sen sation s of hop e, t he gratitud e
for fav o rs wh ich have b een receiv ed . On e of t he ma in reason s why m usic is so
potent in religio n is t hat it has m yst erio us po wers to exp ress and en gend er
emotions.
Writers on religion have sin gled out d ifferin g experiences as bein g cent ral.
For instance, Rudo lf Otto (1869-1937) coined the wo rd "numino us." Fo r the
ancient Romans there were numina or sp irits all around them , present in
brooks and st reams, and in my steriou s cop ses, in mountain s and in d wellin g-
places; they were to be treated with a we and a kind of fear. From the wo rd,
Otto bu ilt up h is adjective, to refer to the feelin g aroused by a mysterium
tremendum etfascinans, a mysteriou s someth in g wh ich d raws you to it but at the
same time b rin gs an awe-permeated fear. It is a good characterization of many
religious experiences and vision s of God as Other. It captures the impact of
the prophetic experiences of Isaiah and Jerem iah, the theophany through
wh ich God appeared to Job, the conversion of Paul, the overwhelm in g v ision
given to Arjuna in the H indu Son g of the Lord (Bhagavadgua). At a gent ler
level it delineates too the sp irit of lov in g devot ion , in that the devotee sees
God as merciful and loving, yet Other, and to be worshiped and adored.
But t he num inou s is rather d iff erent in charact er f rom tho se oth er
exp eriences wh ich a re oft en ca lled "m y st ica l." My st icism is th e inn er o r
cont em p lative qu est fo r what lies with in -variou sly tho u ght of as th e Div ine
Bein g wit h in , o r t he et erna l so u l, o r th e C lo ud of Un kno win g, empt iness, a
dazzlin g dark ness. Th ere are th ose, su ch as Aldou s Hux ley (1894-1963), wh o
have t hou ght that t he ima geless, in sight -giv in g inn er my st ical exp erien ce lies
at the heart of all the major religio ns.
Th ere a re ot her related exp erien ces, su ch a s t he drama s of co nv ersion , b ein g
"born again," turning around from world ly to otherworld ly existence.There is

14
 INTRODUCTION

The experiential
dimension: casting out
demons in
Zimbabwe.

also the shamanist ic type of experience, where a person goes upon a v ision
quest and acquires po wers to h eal, often th rou gh sufferin g h im self and v ivid ly
travelin g to the netherwo rld to rescue the dy in g and brin g them to life again .
Shamans are common to many small-sca le societ ies and peop les that make
their liv in g by hunt in g, but many of the marks of the shamanist ic quest have
been left upon larger religions.

The Narrative or Mythic Dimension

Of ten exp erience is chan neled and ex p ressed n ot on ly by ritual b ut a lso by
sacred narrat ive o r myth . Th is is t he th ird d imension -th e mythic o r narrative.
It is th e sto ry sid e of religion . It is typ ica l of a ll fait hs t o hand do wn v ital
sto ries: so me h ist o rica l; som e abou t that m y sterio us p rim o rd ia l t im e wh en t he
wo rld wa s in its t imeless da wn; som e abou t th in gs to com e at the en d of t ime;
som e ab out great heroes and saint s; som e about great fou nders, su ch as M oses,
the Bu ddha,Jesus, and M u hammad; som e about assaults b y t he Ev il On e; so me
parab les and ed ify in g ta les; so me ab out th e adv entu res of th e go d s; and so on .
Th ese st o ries oft en a re called myth s. The term may b e a b it m islead in g, fo r in
the modern study of religion there is no implication that a myth is false.
Th e sem ina l sto ries of a religion may b e roo ted in h isto ry o r th ey may n ot.
St ories of creat ion are bef o re h isto ry , as a re m yth s wh ich in d icate h o w d eath
and suffering came into the world. Others are about historica l events-for

15
INTROOUCTrON

Themythic dimension: a
Brahmin worshiping
Krsna, the eighth
incarnation of the god
Vi ryu.

in stan ce th e life of th e Prop het M uhammad , o r t he ex ecu t ion of Jesu s, and th e

en lightenm ent of t he B udd ha. H isto rian s have so met imes cast d oubt o n so me
aspects of th ese h isto rica l sto ries, b ut f rom th e stand po in t of t he stud ent of
religio n th is q uest io n is seconda ry t o th e m ean in g an d fun ct io n of th e m yth;
and to the believer, very often, these narratives are history.
Th is b elief is st ren gth ened b y t he fa ct that ma ny fa ith s lo o k u p on certa in
do cu m ent s, o rig ina lly may b e based u po n lo n g o ra l t ra d it io n s, a s t ru e
script u res. Th ey a re ca n on ica l o r reco gn ized b y t h e relevan t b od y of th e
fait hf u l (t h e C h u rch , t he co m m u n it y , B ra h m in s a n d ot hers in In d ia , th e
Bud dh ist San gha o r Order). They are oft en t reat ed as in sp ired d irect ly by God
o r as record s of t he v ery wo rd s of t he Fo un der. Th ey ha ve aut ho rit y , an d th ey
co nta in man y sto ries an d my th s wh ich a re tak en to be d iv in ely o r o th erwise
guaranteed. But other documents and oral traditions may also be important-

16
 INTRODUCTION

the liv es of the saint s, th e ch ro n icles of C ey lo n as a B udd h ist nat ion , the
sto ries of famou s ho ly m en of Ea stern Eu ro pe in th e Hasid ic t rad it io n,
trad it io ns con cern in g th e lif e of th e Proph et (l: iad it h ), and so fo rt h. These
sto ries may have lesser autho rit y b ut t hey can st ill be in sp irin g to the
followers.
St ories in religio n are often t ight ly int egrated into th e ritua l d im en sio n.The
Ch rist ian Ma ss o r com mun ion serv ice, fo r instance, comm em o rates and
present s t he sto ry of th e Last Su pper, when Jesu s celeb rated wit h h is d iscip les
his f o rthcom in g fate, b y wh ich (acco rd in g to Ch rist ian s) h e saved humank ind
and b rou ght u s back into harmon y with the Div in e Bein g. Th e Jewish
Passo ver ceremon ies co mm emo rate and mak e real to u s th e ev ent s of t he
Ex odu s from Egy pt, the sufferin gs of th e pe op le, an d t heir relat ion sh ip t o t he
Lo rd wh o led th em out of serv itu de in ancient Egy pt. As Jews share th e m ea l,
so they retrace the story. Ritual and story are bound together.

The Doctrinal and Philosophical Dimension

Underp inn in g the narrativ e d imen sion is the doctrinal dimension. Thus, in the
Christ ian tradit ion, the sto ry of Jesu s' life and the ritual of th e communion
serv ice led to attempts to prov ide an analysis of the nature of the Div ine B ein g
wh ich wou ld preserve both th e idea of the Incarnation Qesu s as God ) and the
belief in one God . The resu lt was the do ctrine of the Trin ity , wh ich sees God
as three person s in one substance. Sim ilarly , with the m eet in g bet ween early
Christ ianity and the great Graeco -Roman philo sophical and intef lectual
heritage it became necessary to face quest ions about the u lt imate meaning of
creation , the inn er nature of God , the not ion of grace, the analysis of ho w
Christ could be both God and human bein g, and so on . These con cern s led to
the elaboration of Ch rist ian doctrine. In the case of Buddh ism, to take another
The doctrinal
example, doctrinal ideas were mo re crucial right f rom the start, fo r the dimension: the
Buddha presented a philosoph ical vision of the wo rld wh ich itself was an aid Buddha in his form as
to salvation. teacher.
In any event, do ct rin es com e to p lay a sign if icant part in a ll th e major
religio ns, pa rt ly because soo ner or lat er a fa ith has t o adapt to socia l realit y and
so to th e fact that m uch of th e leadersh ip is well educat ed and seek s so me
kind of intellectua l statement of the basis of the faith.
It happ en s t hat h ist o ries of religion have t end ed to exa ggerat e t he
im po rtance of scriptu res and doct rines; and t h is is n ot too su rp risin g since so
much of o u r k no wled ge of pa st religio n s mu st co me from th e docum ent s
wh ich have been passed on by th e scho la rly elit e. Also , and esp ecia lly in th e
case of C h rist ian ity , d oct rina l d isput es have often been th e ov ert exp ressio n of
sp lit s wit h in t he fabric of th e com mu n ity at la rge, so that f requ ent ly h ist o ries
of a fa ith con cent rate u pon th ese hot issues. Th is is clearly unba lanced; but I
wou ld not wa nt u s t o go t o t he o ther ext reme. There a re scho la rs t oday wh o
have been much imp ressed with th e symb o lic and psycho lo gica l fo rce of
myth , and have t en ded to neglect th e essent ia l int ellectua l com pon ent of
religio n.

17
 INTRODUCTION

Theethical
dimension: Zen
monks exhibit
discipline and the
desire for orderly
work as they set out
to tidy the grounds of
their monastery.

The Ethical and Legal Dimension

Both narrative and doctrin e affect the valu es of a tradit ion by layin g out the
shape of a wo rldv iew and addressin g the qu est ion of u lt imate liberation or
salvation. The law wh ich a tradit ion o r subt radit ion inco rporates into it s fabric
can be called the ethical dim ension of religion. In Buddh ism , for instance, there
are certain un iversally b ind in g p recepts, kno wn as the f ive p recepts or v irtues,
together with a set of fu rther regu lation s contro llin g the lives of monks and
nuns and monastic communit ies. In Judaism we have not merely the Ten
Commandments but a complex of over six hund red ru les impo sed upon the
community by the Div ine Bein g. All th is La w or Torah is a framewo rk for
liv in g for the Orthodox Jew. It a lso is part of the ritual d imension, b ecause, for
instance, the injun ction to k eep the Sabbath as a day of rest is also the
injunct ion to perfo rm certain sacred p ractices and rituals, such as attendin g the
synagogue and maintaining purity.

18
 INTRODUCTION

Sin iilarly , Islamic life has t radit ionally been cont ro lled by the Law o r shar 'a,
wh ich shapes society as both a religiou s and a polit ical society, as well as
shapin g the moral life of the ind iv idual-p rescrib in g that he shou ld pray da ily ,
give alms to the poor, and so on, and that society shou ld have various
institutions, such as marriage, modes of banking, etc.
Oth er t rad it ion s can be less t ied to a sy stem of la w, but st ill d isp lay an eth ic
wh ich is inf lu en ced and ind eed co nt ro lled by t he myth and doctrine of t he
faith . Fo r in stance, t he cent ra l eth ical att itud e in th e Ch rist ian fait h is lov e.Th is
sp rin gs n ot ju st from Jesus' inju nct ion to h is fo llo wers to love God an d their
neighbo rs: it f lo ws to o f rom th e sto ry of C hrist h imself who gave h is lif e o ut
of love f or h is fello w h uman b ein gs. It also is ro oted in th e v ery id ea of t he
Trin it y, fo r God f rom a ll et ern it y is a so ciet y of th ree p erson s, Father, Son and
Ho ly Sp irit , kept to geth er by th e b ond of love. Th e C h rist ian j o in s a
com mun it y wh ich ref lect s, it is hop ed at any rate, th e life of th e Div in e B ein g,
both as Trin ity and a s sufferin g servant of the human race and indeed of all
creation.

The Social and Institutional Dimension

Th e d im en sio ns out lined so far-t he ex perient ia l, th e ritua l, th e m yth ic, the
The social dimension:
doct rinal, and the et h ica l-can be co nsidered in abst ract terms, with out b ein g
a Jewish family
emb od ied in externa l fo rm . The la st t wo d im en sion s hav e t o do with th e celebrating their first
in carnation of religio n. First , ev ery religiou s mov em ent is em bod i d in a Passover since arriving
group of people, and that is very ofteh rather formally organized-a s Church, in Israel.

19
 INTRODUCTION

or San gha, o r umma. The sixth d imen sion therefore is what may b e called the
social or institutional aspect of religion . To understand a faith we need to see
how it wo rk amon g peop le.Th i is one rea on why uch an important t ol of
the investigator of religion i that subdi cip lin e wh ich is kno wn as the
sociolo gy of religion. omet imes the ociaJ aspect of a woddv iew is simply
ident ical witb ociety itself, as in mall-scale group s such as t ribes. But there is
a variety of relations b tween o rganized religion and ociety at large: a faith
Thematerial may be the official religion , o r it may be ju t on denom ination among many
dimension: the holy or it may be m . what cut off from social life, as a sect. Within the
city of Benares on the
organizati 11 of one religion, moreover, there are many models-from the
banks of the river
Ganges. The Hindu
relative democratic governance of a radical Protestant con gregation to the
temples are overshad- bierarchical and monarchical system of the Church of Rome.
owed by the mosque, It is not , ho wever, the formal officials of a religion who may in th e lon g run
which was built by turn out to be th e most important persons in a tradit ion . For there are
the Mogul emperor charismatic o r acred p ersonage , whose pfritual po wer glo w tJu -ou gh their
Aurangzeb
den1eanor and acti n , and who v iv ify the faith of.mo re o rd ina1·y fo lk-saint ly
(1618-1707) as a sign
of the ultimate p opl , gu ru s, myst ics, and proph et , who se word s and example st ir up the
triumph of Islam. piritual 11thusias111 of the masses and who lend depth and m.eaning to th
 INTRODUCTION

rituals and values of a tradition. They can also be revolutiona ries and set
religio n on new courses.Th ey can, like John Wesley , become leaders of a new
denomination, almost against their will; or they can be founders of new
groups which may in du course emerge as separate religio ns-an example is
Joseph Smith II, Prophet of the nev faith of Mormonism . In short, the social
dimension of religio n includes not only the mass of persons but also the
outstanding individua ls through whose features glimmer old and new
thoughts of the heaven toward which they aspire.

The Material Dimension

Th is socia l o r inst itut io nal d imension of religion a lm o st inev itably becom es
in carnate in a d ifferent wa y, in material fo rm , as bu ild in gs, wo rk s of art , and
other creat io ns. So me mov em ent s-such as Calv in ist Ch rist ian ity , especially in
the t im e b efo re th e p resent centu ry -esch ew external symb o ls as b ein g
potent ially id o latrou s; t heir bu ild in gs a re oft en beaut ifu l in th eir sim p licit y, but
their int ent io n is to b e with out art ist ic or o ther ima ges wh ich m ight sedu ce
peo p le f ro m th e t hou ght t hat Go d is a sp irit who t ranscen ds all
rep resentation s. Ho wever, t he materia l ex pression s of religio n a re mo re often
elabo rate, mov in g, and h igh ly impo rtant f o r b elievers in th eir app roach to th e
div in e. Ho w in deed cou ld we un derstand Eastern Ortho dox Ch rist ian ity
witho ut seein g what ik on s a re like and kno win g t hat they a re rega rded as
wind o ws onto heav en ? Ho w cou ld we get in side th e feel of H in du ism
without attending to the varied statues of God and the gods?
Also impo rtant materia l exp ressio ns of a religio n are t ho se natu ral featu res
of the wo rld wh ich a re sin gled out a s b ein g of sp ecia l sacredn ess an d
mean in g-t he river Gan ges, th e Jo rdan , th e sacred m ounta in s of Ch ina ,
Mo unt Fuj i in Japan, Ay ers Rock in Au stra lia, th e Mo unt of Oliv es, M ou nt
Sinai, and so fo rt h. So met imes of co u rse these sacred lan dmarks com b in e wit h
mo re d irect human creat io n s, such as t he h o ly city of Jerusa lem , th e sacred
sh rin es of Banara s, o r th e t em p le at Bo dh Gaya wh ich comm em o rates th e
Buddha's Enlightenm ent .

Uses of the Seven Dimensions

To sum up: we have su rveyed b rief ly the sev en d im en sio ns of religio n wh ich
help to charact erize religio ns as th ey ex ist in th e wo rld .Th e p o int of the list is
so that we can giv e a ba lanced descript io n of th e mov em ent s wh ich have
animated th e hu man sp irit and taken a p la ce in t he shap in g of society , with out
neglectin g either ideas or practices.
Naturally, there are religiou s movements o r manifestation s where one o r
other of the d imen sions is so weak as to be v irtually absent: non lit erate small-
scale societ ies do not have much means of exp ressin g the do ctrinal dim ension;
Buddhist modernists, concentratin g on med itation , eth ics, and ph ilo sophy, pay
scant regard to the narrative d imension of Buddh ism; some newly fo rmed
groups may not have evo lved anythin g much in the way of the material
dimension. Also there are so many people who are not formally part of any
INTR OD UC T IO N

so cial religiou s gro up in g, but have their o wn pa rt icu lar wo rldv iews and
pract ices, that we can ob serv e in society atom s of religion wh ich d o not
possess any well-fo rm ed socia l d im en sio n. But of cou rse in fo rm in g a
phenom eno n wit h in society they ref lect certa in t ren ds wh ich in a sen se fo rm
a shado w of th e socia l d imen sion Uu st as th ose who have n ot y et got
them selves a material d im en sio n a re n ev ertheless imp licit ly st o rin g on e up , fo r
with success come buildin gs and with rituals ikons, most likely ).
If our sev en -d imen siona l po rt ra it of religion s is adequate, th en we do not
need t o wo rry greatly abo ut fu rth er d ef in it ion of religion . I n any case, I sha ll
no w tu rn t o a mo st v ital q uest io n in und erstand in g th e way th e world wo rks,
namely to t he relat ion bet ween m ore o r less overt ly religio us system s and
those wh ich a re co mmo n ly ca lled secu lar: id eo lo gies o r worldv iews su ch a s
scient if ic human ism, Marx ism, Ex ist ent ia lism , nationa lism, and so on . I n
exam in in g these wo rld v iews we sha ll tak e on some of th e d iscu ssio n abo ut
what co unt as religiou s qu est io ns a nd themes. It is u sefu l to begin b y th ink in g
out whet her ou r sev en -d imen siona l analysis can app ly successf u lly t o such
secular worldv iew s.