Religion and Its Role in Society

Unit II, Topic IV

"Under this heading we are going to discuss Religion and its

aspects. Also we will discuss the role of Religion in law making
process."
Introduction
What is Religion?

There are three different aspects of religious consciousness,

viz., intellect, feeling and action. But while defining religion
different thinkers emphasise either of the aspects.
According to Herber Spencer, religion is a type of hypothesis
by which people attempt to comprehend the universe. His
definition thus emphasizes the intellectual aspect of religion.
Thinkers like Mc Taggard emphasizes on the emotional aspect
neglecting other aspects.
Similarly, Frazer‟s definition of religion emphasizes only the
volition and action. But the definition of religion seems to be
more or less satisfactory is put forwarded by Robert Flint, as he
embraces all the three aspects of religion. According to him,
“Religion is man‟s belief in a being or beings mightier than
himself and inaccessible to his senses but not indifferent to his
sentiments and actions, with the feelings and practices which
flow from such a belief.”

There are so many definitions of religion given by different

thinkers at different period of history but none can give us a
complete picture of it. “Religion is hard to define, not because
there is so little of it, but because there is so much.” It is fact
that God is the central element of religion and men have
implicit confidence on Him and they exercise all their attempts
to make commune with Him. Thus without mentioning this
aspect of religion no definition of it can give us a complete
picture of religion.

Origin of the concept of religion

There are different theories regarding the origin of the

concept of religion. But it cannot be certainly said that when
and how religious ideas emerged in man. It is also certainly
cannot be said that what is the origin of the ideas of religion. All
these are due to the fact that there is no broad consensus
amongst the thinkers of this field regarding the origin of
religion.
Man can be distinguished from other animals from two
angles: Reason and Religion. Man possesses reason while
other animals do not and that is why men are called „rational
animals‟. Similarly, men are religious while other animals are
not. Men bear both finite and infinite features.
At the very inception of human race on earth, men were
totally ignorant about the different events that occurred in
nature around them. But they were curious to know the
happenings and accordingly, they applied their own efforts.
They had to face the different natural calamities like storms,
floods, lightning; dangerous animals, famine etc. and they were
unable to overcome these situations. As a result, they had to
imagine an invisible power mightier than themselves upon
whom they depended for assistance, strength and relief. Thus
fear and curiosity are the main factors responsible for the
emergence of religious tendency in ancient people. They also
believed that this unseen and invisible power would be helpful
in their birth, sorrow, old age and finally in obtaining salvation.

Different aspects of religion

There are different aspects of religion such as, internal and

external, individual and social.
In religious consciousness an emotional element is present. The
emotional elements are- ideas, thoughts and feelings. Not only
that, it also concerns man‟s relation to God. Thus these
emotional elements as well as intellectual elements are
referred by internal aspect.
Apart from this an important aspect of religion is practical
activities such as, rites and ceremonies. These practical activities
are different ways through which men express their religious
feelings. Thus these practical activities are referred in
external aspect of religion.
But although it is claimed that God is the central element of
religion, there are religion without God or gods. Some of these
religions are-Buddhism, Jainism and Comte‟s religion of
humanity. Crawley also holds that the fundamental feature of
religion is „sacred ceremony‟. He believes that religion is
possible without making any reference to God or gods. But there
are thinkers who are of the opinion that without reference to
God the true sense of religion is not possible. Many others claim
that those who do not believe the reality of God in their religion,
there is reference of communion between „man‟ and something
beyond man‟ in their religion. Religion is, in fact, an
individual matter. It is individual who acquires religious
experience and he has conviction on it. He personally realizes
religious experiences in his life. He believes that salvation can
be attained through performing religious activities.
But to a social philosopher, social aspect of religion is more
important and carries greatest significance. This social
aspect is emphasized by all the great religions of the world. It is
because of the fact that religion plays an important role in
maintaining social unity, its promotion and maintenance. The
religion which emphasizes this social aspect is the religion of
humanity, although in traditional sense this aspect is not
recognized as religion. In emphasizing the social aspect of
religion Blackmar and Gillin, the famous sociologists say that
without community worship, no religious faith can survive for
long time. They are of the opinion that a living religion may lose
all its importance if the believer and worshiper of that religion
ceases to worship together.
 Characteristics of Religion

definitions of religion tend to suffer from one of two

problems: they are either too narrow and exclude many belief
systems which most agree are religions, or they are too vague
and ambiguous, suggesting that just about anything and
everything is a religion. A better way to explain the nature
of religion is to identify basic characteristics common to
religions. These characteristics may be shared with other belief
systems, but taken together they make religion distinct.

1. Belief in Supernatural Beings :

Belief in the supernatural,
especially gods, is one of the most obvious characteristics of
religion. It's so common, in fact, that some people mistake mere
theism for religion itself; yet that is incorrect. Theism can occur
outside of religion and some religions are atheistic. Despite
this, supernatural beliefs are a common and fundamental aspect
to most religions, while the existence of supernatural beings is
almost never stipulated in non-religious belief systems.
2. Sacred vs Profane Objects, Places, Times :
Distinguishing between the
sacred and the profane is common and important enough in
religions that some scholars of religion, notably Mircea Eliade,
have argued that this distinction should be considered the
defining characteristic of religion. The creation of such a
distinction can help direct believers to focus on transcendental
values and supernatural, but hidden, aspects of the world around
us. Sacred times, places, and object remind us that there is more
to life than what we see.

3. Ritual Acts Focused on Sacred Objects, Places,

Times :
Of course, merely noting the existence of the
sacred usually isn't sufficient. If a religion emphasizes the
sacred, then it will also emphasize ritual acts involving the
sacred. Special actions must occur at sacred times, in sacred
places, and/or with sacred objects. These rituals serve to unite
members of the current religious community not just with each
other, but also with their ancestors and their descendants. Rituals
can be important components of any social group, religious or
not.
4. Moral Code With Supernatural Origins :
Few religions don't include some sort
of basic moral code in their teachings. Because religions are
typically social and communal in nature, it's only to be expected
that they also have directions about how people should behave
and treat each other, not to mention outsiders. Justification for
this particular moral code rather than any other usually comes
in the form of the code's supernatural origins, for example from
gods which created both the code and humanity.

5. Characteristically Religious Feelings :

A sense of mystery, a sense of guilt,
and adoration are "religious feelings" which tend to be aroused
in religious believers when they come in the presence of sacred
objects, in sacred places, and during the practice of sacred
rituals. Usually, these feelings are connected with the
supernatural, for example, it may be thought that the feelings are
evidence of the immediate presence of divine beings. Like
rituals, this attribute often occurs outside religion.
6. Prayer and Other Forms of Communication :
Because the supernatural is so
often personalized in religions, it only makes sense that
believers would seek interaction and communication. Many
rituals, like sacrifices, are one type of attempted interaction.
Prayer is a very common form of attempted communication
which might occur quietly with a single person, loudly and
publicly, or in the context of a group of believers. There is no
single type of prayer or single type of effort to communicate,
just a common desire to reach out.

7. A World View & Organization of One’s Life Based on the

World View :
It's normal for religions to present believers
with a general picture of the world as a whole and the place of
the individual therein - for example, whether the world exists
for them of if they are a bit player in someone else's drama. This
picture will usually include some details of an overall purpose
or point of the world and an indication of how the individual fits
into that as well - for example, are they supposed to serve the
gods, or do the gods exist to help them along?
8. A Social Group Bound Together by the Above :
Religions are so commonly
organized socially that religious beliefs without a social
structure have acquired their own label, "spirituality." Religious
believers often join together with like-minded adherents to
worship or even live together. Religious beliefs are typically
transmitted not just by family, but by an entire community of
believers. Religious believers sometimes associate with each
other to the exclusion of non-adherents, and may place this
community at the center of their lives.
 Relationship between Religion and Law

Religion is the very basis of human life which is not

just following a belief but it is also a way of living
because the followers of a particular religion follows a
definite kind of livelihood and with this moral duty of
following certain rules. Now onwards we will discuss
how Religion becomes the base of Law.

Law and Religion

Religion is the very basis of human life which is not just
following a belief but it is also a way of living because the
followers of a particular religion follows a definite kind of
livelihood and with this moral duty of following certain
rules the religion enters the boundary of law whereby a
person is compelled to follow or not to break the rules
decided by a state (i.e. any country).
Hence it is very evident that the law and religion
 are dependent on each other because before the concept
of state or democracy, people were bound to follow the
religious duties and can claim religious rights. Thus in
this way religion was playing a very vital role of
maintaining law and order in ancient societies at different
parts of the world.

Family law
Family laws in India are different for different religions and
there is no uniform civil code. This system of distinct laws for
each religion began during the British Raj when Warren
Hastings in 1772 created provisions prescribing Hindu law for
Hindus and Islamic law for Muslims, for litigation relating to
personal matters. However, after independence, efforts have
been made to modernize various aspects of personal law and
bring about uniformity among various religions. Areas in which
reform has occurred recently are custody and guardianship
laws, adoption laws, succession law and laws relating to
domestic violence and child marriage.

Mohammedan law
Indian Muslims' personal laws are based on the Sharia, which
is partially applied in India. Despite being largely uncodified,
Mohammedan law has the same legal status as other codified
statutes. The development of the law is largely on the basis of
judicial precedent, which in recent times has been subject to
review by the courts.
The contribution of Justice V.R. Krishna Iyer in the
matter of interpretation of the statutory as well as personal
law is significant.

Christian Law
As for Christians, there is a distinct branch of law known as
Christian Law which is mostly based on specific statutes.
Christian laws of Succession and Divorce in India have
undergone changes in recent years. The Indian Divorce
(Amendment) Act of 2001 has brought in considerable
changes in the grounds available for divorce. By now
Christian law in India has emerged as a separate branch of
law. It covers the entire spectrum of family law so far as it
concerns Christians in India. Christian law, to a great
extent is based on English law but there are laws that
originated on the strength of customary practices and
precedents.

Christian family law has now distinct sub branches like laws on
marriage, divorce, restitution, judicial separation, succession,
adoption, guardianship, maintenance, custody of minor children
and relevance of canon law and all that regulates familial
relationship.