Lesson 2.3 — Belief

The term “belief” is frequently used when describing the elements of religion. However, the use of this term is problematic when applying it to the study of religion. The concept of belief carries theoretical and ideological baggage because it arose from Protestant Christians traditions of Western Europe and North America. After the period of internecine Christian violence “belief” shifted to the center of western understandings of “religion”. It began to label a way of being “religious” and eventually created a hierarchy between religions. A religion that contains a set of beliefs was viewed as the high form of religion while the superstitious practices of the lower classes were the lowest. Before this lesson, I did not realize that “belief” was such an ambiguous term. This means that the word belief does not apply to all religious practices. Belief is often assumed to be a fundamental component of religious studies but instead, it acts as a label and categorizes religions that are different from European and American culture. When thinking and talking about religion we should avoid using the word belief. It hinders our ability to understand religion instead of helping us get a clear idea.