Studying Religion and Interreligious Studies After Religion

Workshop 1:Studying

Religion and Interreligious

Studiesafter ReligionAssoc Prof Dr Paul Hedges

SRP, RSIS, NTU25th March 2015

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PRELIMINARY DISCUSSIONS

2Dr Paul Hedges, SRP, RSIS, NTU 2015

TOMATOES Nix v. Heddon 1893: US Supreme Court

1887 action against collector of port of NY recover dutiesTariff Act 1883 – schedule G

No tax imported fruit Tax imported vegetables

Decision: ‘Botanically speaking’ = fruit like ‘cucumbers, beans, squashes, peas’

Common usage = vegetablesCourt decides in favour of defendant

Opinions on the dispute:Oxforddictionaries.com:

‘differences in usage between scientists and cooks’Fruits: developed from the ovary at base of flower and contain seeds

‘Knowledge is knowing that a tomato is a fruit, wisdom is not putting it in a fruit salad’ Common knowledge = fruit, but not used as such

Issues:Who gets to decide on definitions – for what purpose?Whose interests are served by this definition? 3Dr Paul Hedges, SRP, RSIS, NTU 2015

WHAT DO TOMATOES TELL US ABOUT RELIGION Layers of definitions:

Legal (political)Scientific (academic)Common usage (everyday speech)Employment(culinary/ importer – practitioner)

What is being definedThe ‘essence’ of a thingIts usage/ employmentIts significance for an interested partyHow a society understands/ values that thingDependent upon which ‘power group’ is preferred


WHAT DO WE MEAN BY ‘RELIGION’? Can you come up with a definition – have a ponder and write down a brief (one or two sentence) answer?

Tell us your thoughts


TRACING THE HISTORY OF ‘RELIGION’


RELIGION: A BRIEF HISTORY:PRE-CHRISTIAN NOTIONS ‘Religion’ from Latin ‘religio’

Cicero, an ancient Greek (i.e. pre-Christian) related religio to relegere

relegere = ‘re-trace’ or ‘re-read’ Cicero: religio = retracing of the lore of the ritual of one’s ancestors

Religio therefore synonymous with traditio (‘tradition’)

Dr Paul Hedges, SRP, RSIS, NTU 2015 7

CHARACTERISTICS OF RELIGIO Tolerant of different traditions (as long as they didn’t interfere with civic duties)

pluralistic - there could never be only one religio

ritualistic - involved performing ancient ritual practices & paying homage to the gods

variations are inevitable they are human products One important consequence:

Christians are atheists: They did not acknowledge the gods of others They did not belong to a recognisable tradition:

no common ethnic identityno clearly established body of traditional practices (having rejected Mosaic law)


RE-LIGARE 3rd century CE: Lactantius, a Christian writer, rejected the pagan Cicero’s etymology

Instead religio roots in re-ligare, to ‘bind together’ or ‘link’

Religio came to denote the bond of piety, the covenant between ‘one true God’ and ‘man’

Monotheistic exclusivism became normative for understanding what religion is . . .Can only be one true religionReligion is exclusiveReligion is revealed


PAUSE FOR THOUGHT Look at your definitions of religionDo you think they are more in accord with/ influenced by Cicero’s or Lactantius’ understanding of religion?

How would we rethink ‘religion’ (our definitions) if the other presumption was dominant?


CHANGING RELIGION Wilfred Cantwell Smith

Medieval usage: religion = piety Hence piety = Christian (Catholic) piety = Christianity = religion

So used as a synonym for Christianity, but not ‘the Christian religion’

Reformation: Now different forms of piety So various forms of religion/ piety Potential usage: different denomination = different ‘religio’/ religion


DISCOVERY AND EMPIRES Around the C17th with the ‘discovery’ of new lands and beliefs a further usage for ‘religion’ starts to appear:Religion no longer ONLY means ChristianityThere are many ‘religions’:

Islam, Buddhism, etc. Note this changes some early presumptions:

“At Columbus first comming thether, the inhabitantes went naked, without shame, religion or knowledge of God” Richard Eden (1553) writing about the natives of the Canary Islands.

“…observing no religion at all, as we understand it, nor is there any house of worship to be found” Pedro Cieza de Leon (1553) writing about the North Andean indigenous peoples

This provides a whole new way of using the word ‘religion’ and thinking about ‘religion’/ ‘religions’

It is underpinned by the dominant colonial powers (Germany, Holland, UK, later USA) – Protestant assumptions


WHY IS THIS DISCUSSION OF (ANCIENT) HISTORY IMPORTANT? It shows that the term ‘religion’ is not simple:By one definition Christians are shown to be atheists, i.e. without tradition and therefore not religious

By another definition Christianity becomes the norm for what religion is

Therefore when we decide what is, or is not, a religion our cultural assumptions become all importantSo, religion an imposed category, a human phenomena, and anthropological


IS THE MODERN DEFINITION OF RELIGION CHRISTIAN THEOLOGY? Religion is:

A set of beliefs Protestant presuppositions

Private and personal Secular presuppositions

Set down definitively in texts (original sources) Christian, especially Protestant presuppositions

Refers to a clear and distinct (bounded) tradition Western Christian, especially Protestant vs Catholic, organization

A universal human experience Natural theology

The ‘essence’ of religion is the ‘inner’ and ‘experiential’ vs ‘outer’ and ‘ritualistic’ Protestant vs Catholic polemicDr Paul Hedges, SRP, RSIS, NTU 2015 14

THE WORLD RELIGIONS Hence: various WRPs (World Religion Paradigms):Shapes what is classed as a religion (and what is not).

Shapes what we see as religion (and what is not part of religion).

Raises questions:Who benefits if something is classified as a religion?

What is lost? What aspects of religions dis-appear?


CASE STUDY 1: FALUN GONG


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WHAT IS FALUN GONG? Founded 1994: Li Hongzhi

1992 teach qigong Part of ‘qigong fever’

Qi Gong: C 18th & 19th –popularization of inner alchemy in non-esoteric forms Creates new popular systems of spirituality Daoist inspired self-cultivation, i.e. Qigong and tai chi/ taiji

Falun gong/ Falun dafa (Wheel of dharma ‘work/ practice/effort’/ great law)

Emphasis from qigong to moral developmentBuddhist-Daoist-folk religion-qigong synthesis

Ideas of: reincarnation – FG path from; cosmic worldview: Buddhas, Daos, Gods; evil spirits – Chinese government

Central text: Zhuan Falun (Revolving Dharma Wheel)

FALUN GONG AND THE CHINESE GOVERNMENT

1999: Protests in Tianjin and BeijingProtests at TV station met by police repression

Told to go to Beijing10,000 members outside government headquarters

Government responsePossibly met Zhu RongjiNext day: Jiang Zemin > outlaw ‘evil cult’Arrest, ‘conversion’ and torture

Self-immolation controversy:23 Jan 2001

7 attempt self-immolation3 survive (2 die in hospital)

Falun gong practitioners?

http://clearharmony.net/articles/200502/25076.html



RELIGION AND FALUN GONG FG never claimed to be a religion

Self-cultivation practiseWhat does ‘religion’ mean in the Chinese context?What does claiming to be a ‘religion’ mean itCc?

Chinese governmentBans FG as ‘xie jiao’Does not call FG a ‘religion’ (zongjiao)Is ‘xie jiao’/ ‘evil cult’ ‘religious’ terminology?

5 Official religions International Human Rights response – often freedom of religionOne interpretation is that FG is a belief systemFreedom to practise (manifest) religion denied


TERMS FOR/IN RELIGION Chinese has no native term for ‘religion’

Traditional term: jiao 教 Teaching/ doctrine/ lineage

E.g. fojiao daojiao rujiao

Zongjiao 教教 (ancestral [rite] traditionModern coinage (via Japan)Seen as related to superstition“a superstructure which consists of superstition, dogmas, rituals and institutions” (Yao, 2000, An Introduction to Confucianism, Cambridge: CUP, pp. 40-1)

MixinSuperstitionMuch of this not seen as part of ‘religion’Two often in opposition

‘HERESY’ AND ‘CULTS’ Long tradition of seeing some groups as ‘heterodox’/ outside the acceptable social sphere Xiejiao

Various translations: ‘cult’, ‘evil religion’, etc. While using ‘jiao’ (tradition) generally clearly distinguished in Chinese discourse from ‘religion’

Trans: ‘unorthodox/ erroneous tradition’ Decision of ‘heterodoxy/ heresy’ not normally theological

Main categorization: threat to public order/ civil societyE.g. White Lotus Societies

Phenomena of c. C17th-C20th Revolutionary, anti-Manchu/ Qing Dynasty

Discussion of erroneous beliefs and practices often alluded to in decision

Authority to determine = Ministry of Rites/ State Administration for Religious Affairs (Tang Dynasty at least)

XIEJIAO: 2 CASES Christianity C18th/ Qing Dynasty:Anti-Chinese practices – vs. Confucius and ancestors

Insult to emperor

Discord amongst missionaries

Falun Gong C21st PRC:

Public Security Issue – fear of group

Unfounded claims of health and healing

Need to assert position against qi gong

CONSIDERATION What does it mean to define FG as a religion?Chinese context:

Is this politically dangerous? (automatically xiejiao).

Is self-cultivation different?If FG is a religion, why not other Qigong groups, Tai Chi and yoga classes?

As part of WRP: Does it fit the Western/ Protestant categories?

Who has the power to determine if something is a religion?

Is it analytically helpful? Does it have any political ramifications?


TRANSLATING RELIGION


IS RELIGION A MODERN WESTERN TERM?

Many critics observed two things: 1. What we know as ‘religion’ has no similar term in other languagesOther terms not cognate:

Dīn Dharma Jiao

2. Most ‘religions’ named by Western explorers/ academicsChanges self-understandings:

Hinduism: geographic signifier to ‘religion’, caste + lineage

Confucianism: tradition of scholars (rujiao) to Confucius-ism


TRANSLATING DĪN Quran 5:3

“This day I have perfected your religion for you, completed My favour to you. I have chosen Islam to be your faith.” N. J. Dawood (2003)

“This day I have perfected your customs for you, completed My favour to you. I have chosen submission to be your behaviour.” Paul Hedges (2015)

“This day will come, when I shall accomplish your Law, and my Grace shall be abundantly upon you: The Law of Salvation, is the Law that I desire to give you.” Alexander Ross (1649)

Dīn’s etymology:Dayn: debt, money, owingDîn: judgementUsage: ‘conformity, propriety, obedience… usages, customs, standard behaviour’

Encyclopaedia of Islam: custom, usage, judgement, direction, retribution

Dīn’s meaning:In Dawood’s translation, dīn gives a WRP sense – a specific tradition (Islam) with beliefs (faith)

However, this does not seem implied by the etymology, so could we say:

Other translations (older – before WRP) use ‘Law’:


DHARMA Pan-Indic Term:

Common thread Translations:

Religion Duty Tradition/ teachings

A British/ census problem: When asked for their ‘religion’

Common reply = caste Next signifier probably lineage, i.e. Vaishnava, etc.

Unnatural to reply ‘Hindu’

Hinduism(s) Traditions, e.g.

Shankara Dharma, etc. Duty – dharma

Varnashramadharma Sva-dharma – own duty + various others

Buddhism Tradition, i.e. Buddha Dharma Technical Uses:

2nd of 3 gems (dhamma) Samsara: changing realm of seeming reality

Jainism Used for Jain tradition, i.e. Jain Dharma Also technical term: uncreated medium/ realm

Sikhism Sikh Dharam – traditions/ teachings

Modern Hindu Term Sanatanadharma – the eternal teachings/ law

ISSUES Does ‘religion’ make us reshape the world:Do we misperceive other traditions, and the past, through the lens of ‘religion’

Is it an unnatural fit?What would the world look like if we used din/ dharma/ jiao as a model to rethink the WRP?


CASE STUDY 2: ‘CONFUCIAN’ TRADITIONS OF ANCESTOR WORSHIP


THE JESUIT MISSION TO CHINA Part of European colonialism and mission:16th RC Missions – led by Jesuits

1582 Matteo Ricci (1552-1610) in MacauBuddhist monks – Confucian scholarsBecome members of imperial court

Jesuits very successful amongst Chinese hierarchy by late C17th 1692: Kangxi – edict of toleration However: envy/ friction other missionaries, especially Franciscans

THE (TERMS AND) RITES CONTROVERSIES The Terms and Rites Controversy:

Note: technically 2 distinct issues, but normally linked

Jesuits in China and in Europe - political problems

Comes to a head early C18th: Jesuit enemies claim they use inappropriate terms (native Chinese) and allow converts to engage in superstitious practices (sacrifices to ancestors and Confucius):

http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/mod/1715chineserites.html Rites:

Rituals to Confucius ancestor veneration

Terms: Tian (Heaven) or Shang Di (Lord on High) = God

http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/mod/1715chineserites.html

http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/mod/1715chineserites.html

THE OUTCOME Rulings and decrees:

Kangxi writes to Pope: Confucius not deity Ancestor rites = respect

1704: Pope decrees against rites Sends envoy

1706: Kangxi interviews anti-rites Catholics/ Papal envoy Incensed Kangxi: only Christians in accord with Ricci allowed

1724: Yongzheng declares Christianity = ‘evil cult’ – banned Xiejiao

2 QUESTIONS When is something ‘religious’ and when is it ‘cultural’?Theological Questions: Making sacrifices Burning incense Prayers and invocations

Political Questions: Can people convert/ leave own culture?

Which interest group is served by the decision?

Names: worship or veneration?

Religious or superstitious?Respectable/ high culturePrimitive/ low cultureDr Paul Hedges, SRP, RSIS, NTU 2015 33

AFTER RELIGION


IS ‘RELIGION’ MORE OF A HELP OR A HINDRANCE? Various issues/ disapperances of religion:E.g. Public-private, Secular-religiousLayers of definition: who is speaking?Essence and power groups – what is defined?

Interreligious Studies:In what sense are we inter ‘religions’

Assumptions and controlling paradigms of Protestant normativity

Do we misconstrue religionsWhat is invested in something being a religion (accepted in interfaith/ interreligious dialogue, atheists, pagans, etc.) Investment in WRP in IRD


SOURCES AND FURTHER READING Critiques of religion and sources include:

Asad, Talal, Genealogies of Religion: Discipline and Reasons of Power in Islam and Christianity, London: John Hopkins UP, 1993.

Fitzgerald, Timothy. Discourses on Civility and Barbarity: A Critical History of Religion and Related Categories. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2007.

Masuzawa, Tomoko. The Invention of World Religions. Chicago: The University of Chicago Press, 2005.

McCutcheon, Russell. Studying Religion. London: Equinox, 2007.Nongbri, Brent, Before Religion: A History of a Modern Concept, New Haven and London: Yale UP: 2013.

Smith, Jonathan Z. Imagining Religion: From Babylon to Jonestown. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1982.

Smith, Wilfred Cantwell. The Meaning and End of Religion. London: SCM, 1978 [1964]. Assessments of critiques and general discussion:

Flood, Gavin. The Importance of Religion: Meaning and Action in Our Strange World. Chichester: Wiley-Blackwell, 2012.

Hedges, Paul. Controversies in Interreligious Dialogue and the Theology of Religions. London: SCM 2010, pp. 64-87.

King, Anna and Paul Hedges, ‘What is Religion? Or, what is it we are talking about’, in Paul Hedges (ed.), Controversies in Contemporary Religion, vol. I, Santa Barbara, CA: Praeger, pp. 1-30.

Nye, Malory. Religion: the basics. London and New York: Routledge, 2008, 2nd edn, pp. 7-21.

Schilibrack, Kevin, “The Social Construction of ‘Religion’ and Its Limits: A Critical Reading of Timothy Fitzgerald,” Method and Theory in the Study of Religion 24 (2012).

Some relevant sources for case studies:Bays, Daniel, A New History of Christianity in China, Chichester: Wiley-Blackwell, 2012.Penny, Benjamin, The Religion of Falun Gong, Chicago, Chicago UP, 2012.


Studying Religion and Interreligious Studies After Religion

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