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Pseudoreligion

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Pseudoreligion or pseudotheology is a pejorative term which is a combination of the Greek prefix "pseudo", meaning false, and "religion." The term is sometimes avoided in religious scholarship as it is seen as polemic, but it is used colloquially in multiple ways, and is generally used for a belief system, philosophy, or movement which is functionally similar to a religious movement, often having a founder, principal text, liturgy, or faith-based beliefs. It is also used for movements or ideologies which are not ostensibly religious but have qualities identified as "religious" qualities such as extreme devotion among adherents. The term quasi-religion has also been used, sometimes synonymously and sometimes distinctly from the term pseudoreligion.

Difference with religion

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There is no legal definition for "religion" which makes it difficult to legally define a "pseudoreligion" as well, and has led to inconsistencies in laws around the world, and which has sometimes led to courts making rulings over "acceptable" and "unacceptable" religions.[1] In the United States, all beliefs are be protected equally, but the law must protect citizens from harm. Illegal conduct cannot be excused by religious beliefs, and the law must be upheld even in morally complex situations.[2] In other countries, such as China, different groups are treated differently, and labels such as religion or pseudoreligion can be lead to persecution.[3]

The term pseudoreligion derives from the Greek word pseúdos, meaning "lie" or "falsehood", and religion. Religious scholar Hartmut Zinser notes that the phrase is often applied both to movements which claim a religious quality, such as new religious movements, and those which are not related to religion, such as political movements, which nonetheless have been identified as having a religious quality or "fascination" to them. According to Zinser however, terms such as pseudoreligion "should be avoided by religious studies, since ... it is generally impossible to decide what is a religion and what is not", and therefore they "belong to the realm of religious polemic and have no scientific merit."[4]

Nevertheless, some scholars have used the term,[4] such as historian Kees W. Bolle who argues that it is important to differentiate between a religion and a pseudo-religion.[5] According to Richard E. Creel, "Authentic religion... should be thought of as holistic, wholehearted, and transcendent. It involves the whole person in relation to the whole of life— indeed, in relation to the whole of existence," and if it does not include these things then it should be considered pseudoreligion.[6] According to Fenggang Yang, belief in the supernatural is not necessarily a feature of pseudoreligion, whereas it is for a "full religion."[7] Bruce Francis Biever defines a pseudoreligion as "a set of beliefs and practices which take on many of the aspects of religion, but which do not necessarily have all, or even the majority, of the characteristics".[8] Another definition of pseudoreligion which as been used is the "appropriation of religious symbolism and discourse for predominantly political purposes, and to justify permanent war and violence" such as the September 11 attacks or the subsequent war on terror.[9] Author Garry Wills on the other hand, while acknowledging a tendency within certain groups to see a charismatic ruler as "superhuman", believes that "we should not quibble on theological matters like 'true religion' and 'pseudoreligion.'"[10]

Sociologist Phil Zuckerman has proposed a "substitution hypothesis," in which those who leave religion can become involved with alternative belief systems or communities including spiritual groups, political ideologies, or conspiracy theories as a replacement or substitute for their previous religion. Atheist scholar Peter Boghossian argues that these alternatives to religion qualify as "pseudo-religions" or "pseudo-ideologies" and only through proper education in "philosophy, logic, and critical reasoning" can people leaving religion avoid this effect.[11]

Quasi-religions

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In 1963, German-American philosopher Paul Tillich introduced a distinction between pseudo-religions and quasi-religions. He described pseudo-religions as movements which intentionally deceive adherents through their similarities with mainstream religions, while quasi-religions are non-religious movements which have unintended similarities to religions, such as political movements.[12]

Examples of pseudoreligions

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According to Kees W. Bolle, the World War II Axis powers of Nazi Germany, fascist Italy, and imperialistic Japan "yield powerful examples" of pseudo-religious mythologies being used to justify actions.[13] Nazism especially has often been characterized as pseudoreligious, with its focus on ritual which has been described as "Catholicism without Christianity."[14] Quasi-religious ceremonies included "holy days" celebrating events like the Nazi party's rise to power or Adolf Hitler's birthday, and festivals mimicking Christian festivals.[15][16] Nazi movements like Positive Christianity and Völkisch, as well as Nazi leaders like Joseph Goebbels and Rudolf Hess, actively sought to replace God with Hitler and replace Christianity with a Nazi pseudoreligion;[17][18] and their efforts coincided with rapid declines in traditional Christian churches.[19]

Marxism and Maoism are other political ideologies which have been described as a pseudoreligious;[4][20][21] as have been Trumpism and QAnon.[22][23][24] Various new religious movements have been called pseudoreligions,[4] such the Nation of Islam[25][26] and Scientology.[27][28] New Age movements have also sometimes been studied as pseudoreligions,[29] as has fetishism.[7] Atheism and secular humanism have been viewed as pseudoreligions.[7][30] The term has even been used to attack schools of thought which claim to be scientific, such as Comtean positivism, as lacking actual scientific rigor.[4] In the sports world, Olympism has been called a pseudoreligion, quasi-religion, or civil religion.[31]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ Gunn, T. Jeremy (2003). "The Complexity of Religion and the Definition of "Religion" in International Law" (PDF). Harvard Human Rights Journal. 16: 189–215.
  2. ^ "FROM THE ASHES OF WACO: EXAMINING THE LEGAL DIFFERENCE BETWEEN A CULT AND A RELIGION". Brigham Young University. 4 September 2013. Retrieved 12 June 2024.
  3. ^ Yang 2012, p. 25-27.
  4. ^ a b c d e Zinser 2009.
  5. ^ Bolle 2017, p. 20.
  6. ^ Creel, Richard E. (1977). Religion and doubt: toward a faith of your own. Prentice-Hall. pp. 36–37. ISBN 978-0-13-771949-5.
  7. ^ a b c Yang 2012, p. 36.
  8. ^ Biever, Bruce Francis (1976). Religion, culture, and values: a cross-cultural analysis of motivational factors in native Irish and American Irish Catholicism. Arno Press. ISBN 978-0-405-09319-7.
  9. ^ Petchesky, Rosalind P. (2002). Reed, Betsy (ed.). Nothing sacred: women respond to religious fundamentalism and terror. Thunder's Mouth Press/Nation Books. ISBN 978-1-56025-450-8.
  10. ^ Wills, Garry (1994). Certain trumpets: the call of leaders. Simon & Schuster. p. 105. ISBN 978-0-671-65702-4.
  11. ^ Basu 2023.
  12. ^ Tillich, Paul (1963). "Christianity and the Encounter of the World Religions". In Scharlemann, Robert P. (ed.). ReSchriften [Religious writings]. Hauptwerke. Vol. 5. Walter de Gruyter (published 1988). p. 293. ISBN 9780899253817. Retrieved 26 December 2013. Sometimes, what I call quasi-religions are called pseudo-religions, but this is as imprecise as it is unfair. 'Pseudo' indicates an intended but deceptive similarity; 'quasi' indicates a genuine similarity, not intended, but based on points of identity, and this, certainly, is the situation in cases like Fascism and Communism, the most extreme examples of quasi-religions today.
  13. ^ Bolle 2017, p. 20-22.
  14. ^ Grunberger 1995, p. 72.
  15. ^ Mitchell 1983, p. 181.
  16. ^ Grunberger 1995, p. 72-75.
  17. ^ Mitchell 1983, p. 74, 126-127.
  18. ^ Early, Daniel W. (November 2018). Making God: Joseph Goebbels and the Veneration of Hitler (Thesis). East Carolina University.
  19. ^ Mitchell 1983, p. 126-127, 181.
  20. ^ Poetsch, Hans-Lutz (1973). Marxism and Christianity. Concordia Pub. House. p. 7. ISBN 978-0-570-06724-5.
  21. ^ Yeo, Khiok-Khng (2002). Chairman Mao meets the Apostle Paul: Christianity, communism, and the hope of China. Brazos Press. pp. 103, 150. ISBN 978-1-58743-034-3.
  22. ^ "Religious fervour is migrating into politics". The Economist. 25 March 2021.
  23. ^ DeVega, Chauncey (6 March 2024). ""They've told me he's Jesus": Unpacking Trump's empty pseudo-religion". Salon.
  24. ^ Conway, Philip R. (27 June 2024). "Repressive suspicion, or: the problem with conspiracy theories". Cultural Studies: 1–32. doi:10.1080/09502386.2024.2364260. ISSN 0950-2386.
  25. ^ McCloud, Sean (2004). Making the American Religious Fringe: Exotics, Subversives, and Journalists, 1955-1993. University of North Carolina Press. ISBN 978-0-8078-2829-8.
  26. ^ John L., Puckett. "West Philadelphia Collaborative History - Malcolm X, Part IV: Malcolm's Rendezvous with Death and Beyond". collaborativehistory.gse.upenn.edu. Retrieved 5 August 2024.
  27. ^ Carter, Chris (18 February 2016). "18 February 1954: the Church of Scientology is incorporated". MoneyWeek.
  28. ^ Hartog, Eva (25 March 2016). "Russia vs. Scientology: Kremlin Cracks Down on Controversial Church". The Moscow Times.
  29. ^ MacDonald, Jeffery L. (December 1995). "Inventing Traditions for the New Age: A Case Study of the Earth Energy Tradition". Anthropology of Consciousness. 6 (4): 31–45. doi:10.1525/ac.1995.6.4.31.
  30. ^ Appleby, R. Scott (1994). Religious Fundamentalisms and Global Conflict. Foreign Policy Association. p. 30. ISBN 978-0-87124-157-3.
  31. ^ Kuhn, Frank (28 October 2020). "Olympism as a Civil Religion?". Diagoras: International Academic Journal on Olympic Studies. 4: 196–218. ISSN 2565-196X.

Sources

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