Typology of religion, principles and criteria for classifying forms of religion

2024 Author: Miguel Ramacey | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 06:11

To understand the whole variety of different world beliefs, it is necessary to touch upon such an issue as the typology of religion. This article will be of interest not only to specialists in this field, but also to people who just want to understand the worldview of those who live side by side with him in a multinational country.

First of all, it is necessary to say what a typology is. This is the division of a phenomenon into separate categories, according to essential distinguishing features.

Many sets

Next, the question of the typology of religion and its classification will be considered.

All attempts ever made to systematize beliefs can be classified as one of the items below. So, here is this simple classification of typologies of religion.

1. Evolutionary approach.
2. Morphological approach.

A number of scientists considered all beliefs from ancient times to the present as the evolution of religious consciousness. primitive mystical cultswere considered primitive examples of culture, which were later improved.

This typology of religion describes monotheism and polytheism as the next step in the development of human consciousness. These scientists associate the appearance of these beliefs with the completion of the formation of certain thought processes, such as synthesis, analysis, and so on.

This typology of religion is called the evolutionary approach.

Monotheism and polytheism

Monotheism and polytheism, their essence will be described below. Evolutionary theologians say that the second of these phenomena arose earlier. The worship of the forces of nature, which existed in the primitive world, gradually led to the fact that a person began to identify each element with the personality of a particular god, its patron.

Each tribe also had its own heavenly intercessor. Gradually, this deity acquired primary significance in relation to others. Thus arose monotheism - the worship of one and only god. As examples of polytheistic religions, one can cite the worship of the host of ancient Greek Olympian gods. They, as a rule, did not differ much in their behavior and external characteristics from ordinary mortal people.

These gods, just like man, did not possess moral perfection. They were inherent in all the vices and sins characteristic of people.

The pinnacle of the development of religious consciousness, according to scientists who develop this typology of religion, is monotheism - belief in one God.

Among philosophers who adhered to the evolutionary pointview of religion, was an outstanding thinker Hegel.

Morphological approach

Speaking about the typology of religions and its classification, it is worth mentioning that other, no less eminent scientists, were inclined to share all beliefs, based on individual characteristics of the religions themselves. This campaign was called morphological, that is, considering the individual components of the teachings.

According to these principles of typology, the diversity of religions and their varieties has been considered repeatedly in the history of science. Further information will be given about such attempts to systematize beliefs.

Distribution area

According to the territorial feature, all beliefs are shared by another typology of religions. Tribal, national, world religions - these are its points.

All the most ancient cults that existed among primitive man before the advent of statehood were spread, as a rule, within relatively small groups of people. That is why they are called tribal. Another interpretation of this term says that his name indicates the primitive communal system in which people created such cults.

National religions

They appeared in the era of the formation of the first civilizations, that is, with the beginning of statehood. As a rule, these beliefs had a pronounced national character. That is, they were intended for a particular people, taking into account its traditions, customs, mentality, and so on.

Usually nations, carriers of such religions had an idea of their God's chosen people. For example,Judaism contains the doctrine that the Almighty provides his patronage primarily to the Jews.

World Religions

Summarizing the question of the typology of religion, it is impossible to ignore beliefs that do not contain any national features and are intended for people living in different parts of the world, regardless of their moral beliefs, cultural characteristics and environment their habitats.

Such religions are called world. At the moment, they include Christianity, Islam and Buddhism. Although many scientists say that the last of the listed religions should be attributed to philosophical concepts. This is because classical Buddhism denies the existence of God as such.

This is why it is often called the most atheistic creed.

Easier than pie

Currently, there is no single, generally accepted typology of religion.

Human belief is such a multifaceted phenomenon that all its nuances do not fit into any of the existing classifications.

The most concise typology of religion can be represented as follows. Many people divide for themselves all beliefs existing in the world into true and false. As a rule, they classify only their own religion in full as the former, and sometimes some related to it, but with a number of reservations. A number of other typologies of religion are based on the principle of "fidelity", the most famous of which is the Muslim one. According to this theory, there are three kinds of beliefs.

To the first of them, which is commonly called the true religion, Islamic theologians rank only Islam.

The second type includes the so-called patronizing or religion books. They include Christianity and Judaism. That is, this group includes those religions that fully or partially recognize the Old Testament. There is another name for this group in theology. So, some scholars call them Abrahamic by the name of Abraham - the man who first received the law from God.

All other beliefs are classified as false according to this classification.

Thus, it can be argued that many typologies of religion and their classifications are based on the principle of truth.

Attitude towards Jesus Christ

Within this "Islamic" typology of religion, its second point, which includes Abrahamic beliefs, can in turn be divided into sub-points, depending on the attitude of a particular religion to the person of Jesus Christ. For example, in Judaism, the Son of God is not revered. Jesus Christ in this religion is considered a false prophet, and Christianity itself is a Nazarene heresy.

Islam considers the Savior to be a great righteous man.

This religion puts Jesus Christ in second place in importance after the Prophet Muhammad.

The cardinal difference from Christianity in this matter lies in the fact that Islam does not recognize the divine nature of the Savior, but considers him only one of the most revered righteous, whose holiness allowed God to send them hisrevelation. Christians consider Jesus not just one of the people, but a person in which the divine essence was united with the human. Adherents of this religion perceive Him as the Savior, without whom none of the people who ever lived could enter the Kingdom of God because of their fallen, sinful nature.

Thus, according to this typology of the religion of relationship to Christ, all Abrahamic beliefs can be divided into the following groups:

1. Religions that recognize Jesus Christ and his divine nature.
2. Beliefs that honor the Savior but reject the doctrine of his unearthly nature.
3. Religions that do not recognize Jesus Christ, considering him a false prophet.

Typology of religion according to Osipov

The most prominent Orthodox theologian, teacher of the Moscow Theological Academy, Alexei Ilyich Osipov in his lectures gives his classification of beliefs.

His typology of religion is based on man's relationship to God.

According to this system, all existing beliefs can be divided into the following subgroups:

1. Mystic cults.
2. Legal religions.
3. Religions of predestination.
4. Synergy.

According to the professor, one and the same religion can be simultaneously included in several points of this classification. This typology of religions will be discussed briefly below.

Mystic cults

Religions of this type are characterized by an almost complete denial of the existence of God in the sense in whichconsiders Christianity. That is, for people with a mystical consciousness, there is no deity that has a personality, is capable of creative acts, and also participates in the life of mankind at its own will. A huge role in such religions is played by various rituals, ceremonies and so on. For adherents of the beliefs of this group, casting spells, performing certain actions in itself has a sacred meaning. Proper worship entails favorable changes in a person's life. At the same time, the believer himself most often should not make any spiritual efforts, except for control over the correct performance of rituals.

The aspirations, ideals and goals of life for adherents of such beliefs are limited to the visible, material world.

Such religions include the shamanic beliefs of the peoples of the north, the Voodoo cult, the religions of the American Indians, and so on. This group also includes various types of paganism, such as belief in the pantheon of Greek and Roman gods, ancient Slavic cults, and so on.

Legal religions

The second point of this typology of religions are beliefs based on the so-called legal perception of reality. That is, believing people who identify themselves with such confessions consider everything that happens in this world as a punishment or a reward that the Lord God sends to his children, that is, people. And accordingly, in order to be rewarded with the mercy of the Almighty, it is necessary to perform certain highly moral deeds. And if a person breaks the law,given to him from above, he is punished in proportion to the crime that was committed. Therefore, people who have realized their life potential, have a prestigious job, a certain financial condition, and so on, deserve the respect of fellow believers. This is explained by the fact that according to this worldview, a person to whom material blessings were sent down from above, without a doubt, is worthy of them, since the Lord shows His mercy only to those who fulfill all the commandments and laws of spiritual life.

These religions include Judaism, which meets all the criteria of this paragraph of this typology of religions. It is known that in ancient Judea there was a special rank of clergy, which was called Pharisaism. Its representatives were famous for their unquestioning observance of the commandments. These people were one of the most respected social classes. True, it is worth mentioning that along with them there were also other religious figures, such as the Sadducees, who denied all existing rules. These directions coexisted peacefully within the framework of one religion - Judaism.

Western Christianity

Elements of the legal type are also present in modern Catholicism, as well as in some other areas of so-called Western Christianity.

For example, the Catholic doctrine is based on the concept of merit before the Lord God. Thus, a person who performs an act that is approved by religious morality is considered a benefactor. His feelings, thoughts, andthe motives for committing this act are usually not taken into account. The only thing that matters is the fact that the action is performed. This religious dogma was embodied in such a phenomenon as indulgence. As you know, in medieval Catholic countries, a person, unsure of a sufficient number of his own noble deeds, could buy a paper testifying that the blessings that were committed by holy people were attributed to him. According to Catholic teaching, for some righteous people, the number of good deeds exceeds the number necessary for salvation. Therefore, the merits of the saints can serve for the benefit of their less godly fellow believers.

Such excessive beneficences are usually called beyond merit. Among other things, they include tonsure as a monk. Therefore, some Catholic saints in their prayers did not bring petitions to God for the salvation of their own souls, instead they asked the Almighty for mercy on others, including those bearing the priestly rank.

Predestination

The variety of religions and the principles of their typologies were reflected in the scientific works of many theologians. One of the most popular classifications is the system of the professor of the Moscow Theological Academy Alexei Ilyich Osipov. The third point of this typology is occupied by religions of predestination. As a rule, in these beliefs there is no cult of veneration of saints, icon-paintings, and so on. It also denies the need to fight against human sins. So, one of the religions of this type, Protestantism, speaks of the absence of the need for repentance.

The adherents of this faith explain this circumstance by the fact that, in their opinion, Christ, having come into the world, atoned for all the past, present and future sins of mankind. By this, according to Protestant theologians, the Savior provided everyone who believed in him with the opportunity to enter the Kingdom of Heaven in the future life. Buddhism can be attributed to such religions, in addition to the mentioned Protestantism, since the adherents of this creed and their spiritual mentors themselves call for forgetting about their imperfections, and focusing only on the strengths of their character and personality.

Synergy

This word in Greek means "cooperation". Religions that consider the relationship between man and God as a manifestation of just such a principle make up the fourth group of this classification. Orthodoxy can be an example of such beliefs.

In this direction of Christianity, the purpose of human life is to exist according to the covenants that Jesus Christ gave to mankind, that is, in the struggle with one's own sins, with fallen nature.

But, according to this doctrine, such activity cannot bring a positive result without help from above, without communion with God and without the sacrament of communion. All this, in turn, is possible only if a person has faith, reverence for the Almighty and repentance for his sins. In support of this thesis, Orthodox preachers usually cite words from the Gospel, where the Lord says that heknocks on the door of human dwellings, and those people who open it will celebrate and make merry with him. This suggests that the Almighty cannot go against the free will of a person, people themselves must come out to meet Him, that is, live according to the commandments of God, since the Savior himself said that he is loved by the one who fulfills the commandments.

Regional specifics

In this chapter, another classification of beliefs will be presented. This typology of religions is based on the geographical features of the existence of confessions.

There are a huge number of points in this system. For example, they distinguish African religions, the beliefs of the peoples of the Far North, North American religions, and so on.

The division according to such criteria is interesting, first of all, not from the point of view of the characteristics of the area in which the followers of a particular religion live, its relief and minerals, but from the standpoint of considering sociocultural nuances.

Such information is extremely useful for deciphering the meaning of difficult to understand parts of religious literature. So, for example, a person who is not familiar with the nature of the life and life of the ancient Jews is unlikely to be able to understand why in the Old Testament it is recommended to sacrifice a one-year-old lamb.

The fact is that ancient Israel was essentially a livestock state. That is, the main source of income and subsistence was the cultivation of livestock. Mostly they were sheep. In the first year of life, animals require the most careful attitude to themselves and care. Therefore, an individual who has reached the age of one,is perceived in these conditions almost like a member of the family. Sacrificing such a pet is emotionally difficult.

Classification by source of religious knowledge

Typology of religion by origin suggests that all beliefs can be divided into natural and revelation.

The first should include those who deify the various forces of nature. Knowledge of their nature comes from everyday observation.

Revelation religion - a creed according to which all the necessary laws of life were revealed to people by God himself. Currently known in the typology of 3 religions: Christianity, Islam and Judaism.

Classification of States

This article cannot avoid another important issue. To fully understand the problem of classifying creeds, one also needs to know the typology of states in relation to religion.

Atheism

The first point in the typology of states in relation to religion are countries that reject the worship of God.

They carry out an anti-religious policy in a more or less rigid form. In such countries, there are often organizations designed to develop measures to combat various spiritual cults and their ministers. Sometimes drastic measures are taken in atheistic states, such as the repression of clergy.

Examples of such countries can be the USSR, North Korea and some states of the so-called socialist camp.

Secular countries

There are also states that do not prohibit their citizens from having anyor religious beliefs, participate in rituals, worship, and so on. The authorities do not interfere with the construction of places of worship and temples. However, in these countries the church is completely separated from the state and has no political power. In turn, the government does not interfere in the internal affairs of religious organizations, except in cases where the law is violated. A similar country is currently the Russian Federation.

clerical countries

This is the name given to states where church representatives play a certain political role. As a rule, there is a religion in them, which occupies a privileged position in relation to the rest. An example is the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, where the Church of England has some political power.

Theocracy

Such a political regime exists in countries where power is completely concentrated in the hands of the church. The head of the only official religious organization is also the political leader.

The most striking example of such a country is the small state of the Vatican. As you know, in this country, the Pope is at the same time the supreme ruler and the head of the Catholic Church.

Conclusion

This article considered the problem of the typology of religion and its foundations (various essential features of beliefs). This phenomenon, like faith itself, is a very complex and multifaceted concept. And therefore, there is no single generally accepted typology. Some of the currently availableday options have been covered in separate chapters.

The difficulty, and, according to many scientists, and the impossibility of creating a universal typology, lies in the fact that the question of what should be called religion has not yet been resolved. Is, for example, Catholicism a separate faith, or is it just one of the branches of Christianity? It is no less difficult to rank one or another denomination in the typology of religion as monotheism and polytheism.