Based on what I have read in the field of "religious studies", the term "religion" by no means has a universal definition. — darthbarracuda
The concept of the soul is one of the most fundamental parts of most religious beliefs and it states that every human being has unquestionable value that cannot be measured. Therefore you cannot compare people using it and, as it is the only meaningful value, makes every person equal. — Jacykow
The words "every" and "equal" sound pretty left leaning to me and the whole concept unites humanity in one group. — Jacykow
Christianity was like that from the start — Πετροκότσυφας
Correct me if I'm wrong but atheism is largely connected to left-wing politics and religiousness to the 'right'. I believe it should be the opposite and here is why. — Jacykow
Some scholars advocate abandoning the term "religion" altogether, but this just kicks the can down the road a bit further, as the proposed replacement terms are often even more vague than the word they are meant to replace.
I think it can be recognized to have meaning with respect to pre-modern and non-Western societies, but not in the sense of a Hegelian reification of the term, which would be ahistorical. — Thorongil
As long as the characteristics that you ascribed to the term were present during early Christianity, there's no need for the word "religion" to appear in any texts. If you wish to dispute that early Christianity had the characteristics that you talked about, say so and let's see if it did or not. — Πετροκότσυφας
There are many of the 'religious left', including many Catholic social democrats and intellectuals. Jacques Maritain, neo-Thomist philosopher, and Raimundo Panikkar, distinguished scholar of comparative religon, are both of the religious left. Dorothy Day - Catholic unionist and agitator for women's rights. Many contributors to the Commonweal Magazine. The Dalai Lama has said (somewhat puzzlingly) that he's communist. There are doubtless thousands of other examples. — Wayfarer
Can you give an example of a belief system that introduces the soul as something without an unquestionable value given to every person? — Jacykow
The central thesis is that religion in its "corporate", either/or exclusivist form didn't "fully" manifest in the Western mind until after the Enlightenment. This is especially true for Oriental religions. These have been attempted to be classified by Westerns as "Hinduism" or "Confucianism", etc, when in reality this simplifies things and leaves out the reality of the situation; that nowhere in India was there a unified religious sect that can be seen as "Hinduism" - there are Hindus, but there is no Hinduism. — darthbarracuda
If you take a materialists point of view there are no values apart from the ones you create. If you don't then this generalization is not about you since the stereotypical leftist is an atheist. — Jacykow
Can you give an example of a belief system that introduces the soul as something without an unquestionable value given to every person? — Jacykow
The whole point of the soul is to elevate people above any materialistic hierarchy.
atheism is largely connected to left-wing politics and religiousness to the 'right'. I believe it should be the opposite — Jacykow
The anti-Trump movement would be form of religion, by the broader definition, since it is a type of mythology where the archetypical evil leader takes on the traits of all things bad. It is a type of fairy tale. This is not reality but is a religion without deities. — wellwisher
Hidden versus open religion is why the left is more besides itself, and the right is able to maintain; conserve. — wellwisher
Hidden versus open religion is why the left is more besides itself, and the right is able to maintain; conserve. — well-wisher
Religion is a natural part of human experience, since it exercises parts of the brain. It works the frontal lobe; imagination, as well as various spatial or 3-D aspects of the brain. The concept of God merges opposites; left versus right is 2-D, into a neutral third, which is 3-D. Jesus on the cross in the center between two thieves is a 3-D concept. One attempts to merge opposites into a new center that is different from the two. — wellwisher
If you practice a religion, but are not aware you are doing so, due to denial it is a religion, the exercise still has the same unconscious affects. If you practice a religion, with open eyes, without denial, there is less unconsciousness. — wellwisher
The definition of religion that is now in use; religion defined by deities, allows plausible denial, by the left, based on a human tradition. — wellwisher
Manmade global warming is a religion. It is not coincidence that the right is less impacted, since they already have a core religion. They don't need another one. The left is still looking for a core replacement, that is not called a religion, based on the current definition, but which gives the same brain buzz. — wellwisher
The left was left scrambling for a new religion. It found it in Trump mythology, where Trump is the archetypical bad guy. — wellwisher
The atheist religion; based on the broader definition, is similar to a mirror image of Buddhism; opposites. Buddhism is introspective that denies the illusions of the world; cultural and materialism, in favor of developing the inner man and higher human potential. There is science in this; meditation, without the need of deities. The atheists seek a similar goal; human progress, but do so in an extroverted way, connected to materialism, technology, and cultural norms. — wellwisher
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