What is the meaning of the term “religion”? A talk by Tatiana P. Lifintseva at the Oxford Symposium on Religious Studies

Professor Tatiana P. Lifintseva gave a lecture at the Oxford Symposium on Religious Studies at the Old Library of the University Church of St Mary the Virgin (August 1-3 2016)

"What is the meaning of the term “religion”?  Quite often not only in ordinary language, but even in special literature the term "religion" is used without clarification of sense and volume of the concept. Perhaps, we just pragmatically use it as required – in literal (as it seems to us) or in a metaphorical sense.  And, really, when we read that the Cro-Magnons buried their died tribesmen (most often – the head to the East) and made over them a funeral ceremony, we understand that it was the manifestation of the archaic religiousness. Ritual eating of the crocodile by the tribe of Hottentots is a religiousness manifestation too; Sunday mass; the shamanistic ritual; meditations of Taoists or Buddhists; the yogi who is stiffened in a lotus pose; crying of the Prophet Jeremiah; the dervish who is infinitely turning under the flute sounds; the murder ("the sacrifice") of 666 cats by the modern Satanist – is there anything in common between them?! And, on the other hand, the Russian Bolsheviks going to death for the sake of their faith in the bright future of the mankind; or people, tremblingly and with delight tears looking at the flag of their state or listening to its anthem – are they not religious?... Perhaps, any person is religious even if he does not know it as Moliere’s  Monsieur Jourdain did not know that he had told all his life by prose?... Is not “religion” an empty concept, in this case?"

 

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