An Interpretation Of Religion

A summary of:

Hick, J. (1989). An Interpretation of Religion. Yale University Press: New Haven.

Hick’s mass attempts to line a mutual thread betwixt the world’s religious/spiritual traditions, as well as piece he admits “there is no such essence” of religion, at that spot are distinct trends as well as commonalities; main with them beingness that “nevertheless most forms of faith convey affirmed a salvific reality that transcends (while also commonly beingness thought of equally immanent within) human beings as well as the world, this reality beingness variously conceived equally a personal God or non-personal Absolute, or equally the cosmic construction or procedure or terra firma of the universe” (6). Hick’s declaration is that religions universally offering what he prefers to telephone band yesteryear the hybridized “salvation/liberation”: “for they both utter of the transformation of our human province of affairs from a nation of alienation from the truthful construction of reality to a radically ameliorate nation inwards harmony with reality” (10).

The of import characteristic of this transcendental facial expression of faith is that it begins with a recognition of our imperfection, mythologically speaking, our autumn from grace. As Hick writes, “Each of the neat post-axial streams of religious sense as well as belief has been shown to exhibit a soteriological structure: a recognition of our human moral weakness as well as failure or of the pervasive insecurity as well as liability-to-suffering of all life; the annunciation of a limitlessly ameliorate possibility arising from around other reality, transcendent to our acquaint selves; as well as the teaching of a way, whether yesteryear ‘own-power’ spiritual dependent area or the ‘other-power’ of divine grace, to its realisation" (56).

But the other characteristic is hope; or a faith inwards the belief that things tin live improved: “It is the affirmation that human life is inwards reality to a greater extent than than the harsh sense that has e'er (68) been the lot of hence many; as well as it offers a promise of salvation or liberation or fulfillment which tin fifty-fifty directly suffuse our life with a positive pregnant as well as value” (69). What is interesting, though, is that this promise is a specific characteristic of post-axial religion: “What yet nosotros create non detect inwards archaic faith is the hope, key to the post-axial movements, for a radically new, dissimilar as well as ameliorate existence, whether inwards this life or inwards a farther life to come” (28). And I would scrap that this promise has move embodied yesteryear engineering scientific discipline – engineering scientific discipline volition relieve us from our burdens as well as brand our lives livable as well as happy, etc.. In a sense, then, engineering scientific discipline is a contemporary manifestation of the soteriological worldview. And my research, too, draws on this same salvation/liberation thinking; hence long equally nosotros larn ourselves oriented properly to our technology, nosotros shall live saved! That does non detract from its value, equally volition live discussed presently inwards relation to the purpose of myth. The indicate is that technological development, as well as fifty-fifty the evolution of an option technological development, draws on the “soteriological structure” that nosotros convey move familiar with through exposure to Christianity, Judaism, etc.: “The neat post-axial traditions, equally nosotros convey seen, exhibit inwards their dissimilar ways a soteriological construction which identifies the misery, unreality, triviality as well as perversity of ordinary human life, affirms an ultimate unity of reality as well as value inwards which or inwards relation to which a limitlessly ameliorate character of existence is possible, as well as shows the means to realise that radically ameliorate possibility” (36).

Now for the 2d crucial contribution from Hick (the first, again, beingness that the mutual subject of religions is salvation/liberation), namely his nuanced give-and-take of ‘meaning’. Hick identifies 3 levels of pregnant – physical, ethical, as well as religious (13) – which fulfill dissimilar needs inwards dissimilar contexts (and corresponds nicely with Maslow’s hierarchy of needs). Furthermore, the dissimilar meanings are solely appropriately contemplated relative to the context. When the physical is challenged, say inwards a nutrient shortage, nosotros run across how chop-chop ethics goes out the window – people revert to an every human being for himself mentality. Similarly, shout out upwardly how impractical it would live for a starving individual to worry most how spiritual his engineering scientific discipline is! It is a luxury to live able to contemplate the religious meanings of one’s situation. Nonetheless, religious pregnant is hugely important.

Hick elaborates these 3 levels of meaning: “There are of course of didactics rattling many, indeed innumerable, dissimilar forms of non-linguistic pregnant corresponding to the dissimilar characters that nosotros detect objects to have; as well as at that spot are also, I shall suggest, diverse orders or ‘levels’ of meaning, namely the physical or natural, the socio-ethical as well as the religious. In price of the natural pregnant nosotros inhabit the physical world, moving most inwards it equally brute organisms. In price of ethical pregnant nosotros inhabit this same terra firma equally an environmental mediating personal relationships as well as moral claims. And inwards price of religious pregnant nosotros inhabit this same terra firma again, with both its physical as well as its ethical significance, equally an environs either mediating or manifesting the ultimately Real. Thus meaning, equally the perceived graphic symbol of an facial expression of our environs which renders a detail type of response appropriate, occurs at diverse levels: all knowledge is a tentative grasping of pregnant on the terra firma of which nosotros act, thereby confirming, developing or refuting our cognitive hypothesies. And at each score of awareness – natural, ethical as well as religious – nosotros practice a cognitive liberty which is at its minimum inwards relation to the immediate physical environs as well as at its maximum inwards relation to that ultimate environs of which the religions speak” (132).

Later inwards the book, Hick addresses the consequence of the truth of whatever religious tradition. Firstly, it is of import to banking company annotation that Hick refers to ‘God’, the ‘Divine’, whatever you lot desire to telephone band it, equally “the Real.” And the Real, he insists, is “the ultimate mystery” (349). There is no means of answering questions most its truth. But the importance of faith is inwards its role equally myth:

“But nevertheless such literal as well as analogical linguistic communication most the objects of religious worship or meditation e'er intends to live most the Real itself. And equally such it functions mythologically: nosotros utter mythologically or analogically most its phenomenal manifestations. We convey seen (in Chapter 8) that all human awareness is inwards price of pregnant as well as that pregnant e'er has a practical dispositional aspect: to live aware of a thing or a province of affairs equally having a detail pregnant or graphic symbol is to live inwards a dispositional nation to conduct inwards relation to it inwards ways that are (believed to be) appropriate to its having that character. And the role of mythology is to limited the practical pregnant of its referent yesteryear evoking inwards us an appropriate dispositional response. Thus although nosotros cannot utter of the Real an sich inwards literal terms, nevertheless nosotros alive inescapably inwards relation to it, as well as inwards all that nosotros create as well as undergo nosotros are having to create with it equally good as, as well as inwards price of, our to a greater extent than proximate situations. Our actions are appropriate or inappropriate non solely inwards relation to our physical as well as social environments only also inwards relation to our ultimate environment, the Real. True religious myths are accordingly those that evoke inwards us attitudes as well as modes of behaviour which are appropriate to our province of affairs vis-à-vis the Real” (351).

The indicate is non whether at that spot is genuinely a God, inwards other words. What matters is what believing inwards that God compels us to do. It orients us towards an ideal. And inwards fact, this ideal is itself e'er unattainable. So too, for example, is the notion of Sustainable Design – it is a contemporary mythology – as well as piece nosotros probable volition never move completely sustainable, does that hateful nosotros should non strive towards beingness equally sustainable equally possible?

So nosotros lastly move far at the neat legacy of religious/spiritual traditions (whether or non nosotros concur with the specific tenets): they learn us how to live human inwards this world. And rattling often, this is communicated inwards price of how to relate to our boyfriend man. For example, Hick identifies the universality of The Golden Rule. Also universal is the “moral ideal of generous goodwill, love, compassion” (316), also known equally “agape”.

Now is a adept fourth dimension to recap. The major commonalities of traditional spirituality are the following:

1) Salvation/liberation

2) Some project design of The Real

3) Providing meaning

4) Valuing Selflessness/Egolessness

a. Agape/love/compassion (14)

b. The Golden Rule (316)

c. Orientation toward The Real (rather than self) (40-1)

d. Self-control (317)

e. Giving (317)

5) Valuing Stability (rather than change)

6) A sense of mystery (67)

In comparing to now, inwards before ages these religious meanings were much to a greater extent than highly integrated with daily life: “Whereas inwards the thinking of modern technological people ‘the spiritual’ is to a greater extent than oft than non relegated to a margin of private fantasy or ‘faith’, it seems that for pre-literate people it has e'er been component of the everyday world” (24). But pregnant has undergone a profound transformation inwards the post-industrial age. Meaning is associated with progress (see Taylor). Hick writes: “Love, compassion, self-sacrificing trouble organisation for the adept of others, generous kindness as well as forgiveness – which nosotros convey seen to constitute the basic ethical regulation of the neat traditions – is non an alien ideal imposed yesteryear supernatural say-so only 1 arising out of our human nature (though e'er inwards tension with other facial expression of that nature), reinforced, refined as well as elevated to novel levels inside the religious traditions” (325). Clearly, too, these values tin live de-elevated, as well as convey been, yesteryear the to a greater extent than aggressive (and hence much cooler!) technological values.

I believe that the selflessness promoted yesteryear all religious traditions is adaptive, i.e. it has evolutionary create goodness to us, equally explained yesteryear Richard Dawkins inwards The Selfish Gene. We are ameliorate off inwards the long run if nosotros are community oriented. I fearfulness that the argue nosotros convey solely of late begun to alive hence unsustainably is because we’ve lost bear on with our community-orientation. Technology promotes individuality.

So nosotros come upwardly back, finally, to the mission of this enquiry project. It is worth addressing this loss of religious pregnant within our technology. Hick ends his mass with this sentence: “Ethically its key subject should live the love/compassion to which all the neat traditions telephone band us; as well as inwards our sociologically witting historic menses this is probable to live increasingly a politically witting as well as active agape/karuna which seeks to alter the structures of social club hence equally to promote rather than hinder the transformation of all human life” (380). Applied to this project, engineering scientific discipline should live promoting these positive behaviors as well as values handed downward to us yesteryear traditional religion/spirituality.