Is religion a philosophy?

Question

There seems to be two lines of thinking about this. Some are vehement in their denial , some equally vehement in their assent. So, which is it? Yes, or no?

Twice now an answer has contained the words...religion may be a philosophy, ut philosophy is not a religion..is this so?
The basic characterization of a religion (not any one in particular but religion in general) is that it features a doctrine, tenet and dogma. Well, philosophy contains all three also. "The word dogma (Gr. dogma from dokein) signifies, in the writings of the ancient classical authors, sometimes, an opinion or that which seems true to a person; sometimes, the philosophical doctrines or tenets, and especially the distinctive philosophical doctrines, of a particular school of philosophers and sometimes, a public decree or ordinance, as dogma poieisthai."
Doctrine; philosophical doctrine; a doctrine accepted by adherents to a philosophy
http://www.answers.com/topic/philosophical-doctrine-philosophical-theory
Interesting that people who follow the school of thought of a particular philosopher are called "adherents" , as in religion.

Think Richly....isn't that just what theologians do? analyze and use logic to debate the finer points of dogma and tenet?

Answer 1

Is religion just a type of philosophy? Is philosophy a religious activity? There seems to be some confusion at times over just whether and how religion and philosophy should be distinguished from each other — this confusion is not unjustified because there are some very strong similarities between the two.

The questions discussed in both religion and philosophy tend to be very much alike. Both religion and philosophy wrestle with problems like: What is good? What does it mean to live a good life? What is the nature of reality? Why are we here and what should we be doing? How should we treat each other? What is really most important in life?

Clearly, then, there are enough similarities that religions can be philosophical (but need not be) and philosophies can be religious (but again need not be).

Does this mean that we simply have two different words for the same fundamental concept? No; there are some real differences between religion and philosophy which warrant considering them to be two different types of systems even though they overlap in places.

To begin with, of the two only religions have rituals. In religions, there are ceremonies for important life events (birth, death, marriage, etc.) and for important times of the year (days commemorating spring, harvest, etc.). Philosophies, however, do not have their adherents engage in ritualistic actions. Students do not have to ritually wash their hands before studying Hegel and professors do not celebrate a “Utilitarian Day” every year.

Another difference is the fact that philosophy tends to emphasize just the use of reason and critical thinking whereas religions may make use of reason, but at the very least they also rely on faith, or even use faith to the exclusion of reason. Granted, there are any number of philosophers who have argued that reason alone cannot discover truth or who have tried to describe the limitations of reason in some manner — but that isn’t the quite the same thing.

You won’t find Hegel, Kant or Russell saying that their philosophies are revelations from a god or that their work should be taken on faith. Instead, they base their philosophies on rational arguments — those arguments may not also prove valid or successful, but it is the effort which differentiates their work from religion. In religion, and even in religious philosophy, reasoned arguments are ultimately traced back to some basic faith in God, gods, or religious principles which have been discovered in some revelation.

A separation between the sacred and the profane is something else lacking in philosophy. Certainly philosophers discuss the phenomena of religious awe, feelings of mystery, and the importance of sacred objects, but that is very different from having feelings of awe and mystery around such objects within philosophy. Many religions teach adherents to revere sacred scriptures, but no one teaches students to revere the collected notes of William James.

Finally, most religions tend to include some sort of belief in what can only be described as the “miraculous” — events which either defy normal explanation or which are, in principal, outside the boundaries of what should occur in our universe. Miracles may not play a very large role in every religion, but they are a common feature which you don’t find in philosophy. Nietzsche wasn’t born of a virgin, no angels appeared to announce the conception of Sartre, and Hume didn’t make the lame walk again.

The fact that religion and philosophy are distinct does not mean that they are entirely separate. Because they both address many of the same issues, it isn’t uncommon for a person to be engaged in both religion and philosophy simultaneously. They may refer to their activity with only one term and their choice of which term to use may reveal quite a lot about their individual perspective on life; nevertheless, it is important to keep their distinctness in mind when considering them

Answer 2

A religion has a philosophy. Religious philosophy is a type of philosophy, but philosophy is not necessarily religious.

Religion is a system of tenets or beliefs that attempt to explain the human condition, the universe, etc. It uses supernatural explanations, faulty reasoning, and faith to bolster their propositions.

Philosophy is a system of claims that attempt to explain the human condition (or really any realm of human experience). It uses reason, logic, and has built in self-correcting mechanisms allowing for the modification of positions and the deepening of understanding.

Religion can utilize the tools of philosophy (logic, reasoning, etc.) to justify their claims, however there is not a single extant religion that will embrace the full use of philosophy, because religion relies on claims that cannot, by their very nature, be modified or changed without changing or destroying the entire religion. This is why religion is not a philosophy. It does not accept the possiblity of changing views.

Answer 3

Some religions are philosophies. A religion is a philosophy if that religion doesn't depend on 'faith', such as a belief in a 'supreme being', but on experimentation, critical analysis, and logic.

So, which religion are you talking about? I can compare 2 very different religions here:

1. Christianity - this is a religion, because you need to have faith in a god.
2. Buddhism - this is a philosophy, because you don't need to have faith in a god.

You have to be very clear about the definition of philosophy: I am talking about the kind that requires critical thinking, not 'a way of thinking'. That's why most people get confused. A religion is a way of thinking, and therefore, it is a philosophy. But not all religions are philosophical in nature, since they are faith-based, and not based on critical thinking.

Answer 4

According to the Merriam-Webster online dictionary:

Philosophy: the most basic beliefs, concepts, and attitudes of an individual or group

Religion: a cause, principle, or system of beliefs held to with ardor and faith

Other dictionaries, online and physical, have similarly worded definitions.

I see similarities between the two definitions in that both are concerned with "beliefs". Thus, my answer is "Yes". Nice and simple. If you want to read "vehemence" in that, then you are certainly free to do so! ;)

Answer 5

Yes but that is only part of it. God is the inclusive theory of everything including us. Through meditation and the participation of the Holy Spirit we can explore the depths of God (1 Corinthians 2:10-16). In the end God is the only path to the truth and wisdom that survives this world and the only true Life Insurance that we have.

Answer 6

actually, in almost every other religion (excluding christianity and some forms of judaism) religion and philosophy are one and the same. take hinduism for example, they view their religion to be a philosophical expedition, as is in buddhism, and islam. so yes, religion can be a philosophy. i think the reason we steer away from such thinking is for political reasons not for rational.

Answer 7

I don't think so. Religion is a belief, while philosophy is open questioning and assertions that critical thinking makes. There's not much critical thinking in religion, if at all.

Answer 8

philosophy is the search for truth and religion is the idea that the truth has been discovered so i would say philosophy came from the thought that they may not be telling the truth about things in religion or politics for that matter.

Answer 9

No way, Philosophy means: Knowing well grounded, therefore this kind of knowledge is verifiable, experimentable and objective.

Religion is not, this only want us to believe their explanations trought faith.

Puuaaghhh !!!! What´s the matter with this guys, don´t you think?

Answer 10

Philosophy includes challenges among philosophers. The murder rate is low. Religion considers challenges to be weak faith transitioning to heresy. The murder rate is very high.