Religion（宗教信仰）

The word religion is derived from the Latin noun religio, which denotes both earnest observance of ritual obligations and an inward spirit of reverence. In modern usage, religion covers a wide spectrum of meaning that reflects the enormous variety of ways the term can be interpreted. At one extreme, many committed believers recognize only their own tradition as a religion, understanding expressions such as worship and prayer to refer exclusively to the practices of their tradition. Although many believers stop short of claiming an exclusive status for their tradition, they may nevertheless use vague or idealizing terms in defining religion for example, true love of God, or the path of enlightenment. At the other extreme, religion may be equated with ignorance, fanaticism, or wishful thinking.
单词“religion”源于拉丁文"religio"，它既表示对（宗教的）仪式义务的郑重其事的遵守，也表示内在的崇敬精神（对仪式的）。在现代用法中，宗教信仰包含了广阔多样的含义，它（含义）体现了这个术语能够被表达的种类繁多的方式（表达方式）。其中一个极端，许多忠于此极端的信徒只承认他们的传统为宗教信仰，他们把一些表达方式，比如崇拜和祈祷理解为他们自己的独有的对宗教信仰的实践。尽管许多信徒不再断言他们的宗教信仰的独有地位，他们可能仍然使用含糊的或者理想化的术语来定义宗教信仰。比如，上帝的真爱，或者文明之路。另一个极端，宗教信仰可能会等同于无知，狂热，痴心妄想。

　　By defining religion as a sacred engagement with what is taken to be a spiritual reality, it is possible to consider the importance of religion in human life without making claims about what it really is or ought to be. Religion is not an object with a single, fixed meaning, or even a zone with clear boundaries. It is an aspect of human experience that may intersect, incorporate, or transcend other aspects of life and society. Such a definition avoid the drawbacks of limiting the investigation of religion to Western or biblical categories such as monotheism (belief in one god only) or to church structure, which are not universal. For example, in tribal societies, religion unlike the Christian church usually is not a separate institution but pervades the whole of public and private life. In Buddhism, gods are not as central as the idea of a Buddha. In many traditional cultures, the idea of a sacred cosmic order is the most prominent religious belief. Because of this variety, some scholars prefer to use a general term such as the sacred to designate the common foundation of religious life.
通过把宗教信仰定义为一种神圣的信仰，这种信仰被当作是一种灵性的实相。在没有对“关于宗教信仰真正是什么或者它应该是什么”做出断言的情况下，考虑宗教信仰在人类生活中的重要性是合适的。宗教信仰不是一个单独的物体，固定的含义，或者甚至是一个有清晰分界线的区域。它是人类经验的一方面，这种经验可能交叉，混合，或者超越生活与社会的另一些方面。这样的定义避免了对“西方的或圣经范畴内的，比如一神论（信奉只有一个上帝）或不普遍的教会结构”等的宗教信仰的调查的限制所带来的缺点。比如，在部族社会，宗教信仰不像在基督教会中只是一个单独的公共机构，而是遍及了整个公共和私人的生活。因为这种多样性，一些学者喜欢用一些更广泛的术语，比如神圣的来指定宗教生活的共有基础。

　　Religion in this understanding includes a complex of activities that cannot be reduced to any single aspect of human experience. It is a part of individual life but also of group dynamics. Religion includes patterns of behavior but also patterns of language and thought. It is sometimes a highly organized institution that sets itself apart from a culture, and it is sometimes an integral part of a culture. Religious experience may be expressed in visual symbols, dance and performance, elaborate philosophical systems, legendary and imaginative stories, formal ceremonies, and detailed rules of ethical conduct and law. Each of these elements assumes innumerable cultural forms. In some ways there are as many forms of religious expression as there are human cultural environments.
基于这种理解，宗教信仰包含了一个行为集合体，这个行为集合体不能被归纳为任何人类经验中的任意一种面貌。它既是个体生活的一部分，也是团体动力的一部分。宗教信仰既包含了行为模式，也包含了语言以及思想模式。它有时候是一个将其自身远离文化的高度有组织的公共机构，
有时候也是一个文化的主要部分。宗教上的经历也许被表达为形象的符号，舞蹈以及表演，精细的哲学体系，传奇文学与虚构故事，正式的仪式，以及民族行为与法律的详细准则。这些元素中的每一个都呈现出了数不清的文化形态。在某些方面宗教性的表达方式的形态与人类文化环境一样繁多。