Editing Religious studies (section)

==Defining "religion"==
{{Further|Definition of religion}}
[[File:Totem poles.jpg|thumb|right|[[Totem pole]]s reflect the beliefs of the [[Indigenous peoples of the Pacific Northwest Coast]]; some scholars of religious studies argue that the term "religion" is too [[Eurocentrism|Western-centric]] to encompass the beliefs and practices of non-Western civilizations.{{sfn|Stausberg|2021|pp=109–114}}]]

Throughout the history of religious studies, there have been many attempts to define the term "religion".{{sfn|Capps|1995|p=xviii}} Many of these have been ''monothetic'', seeking to determine a key, essential element which all religions share, which can be used to define "religion" as a category, and which must be necessary in order for something to be classified as a "religion".{{sfnm|1a1=Capps|1y=1995|1p=xviii|2a1=Herling|2y=2016|2p=37}} There are two forms of monothetic definition; the first are ''substantive'', seeking to identify a specific core as being at the heart of religion, such as a belief in a God or gods, or an emphasis on power.{{sfn|Herling|2016|p=37}} The second are ''functional'', seeking to define "religion" in terms of what it does for humans, for instance defining it by the argument that it exists to assuage fear of death, unite a community, or reinforce the control of one group over another.{{sfn|Herling|2016|p=37}} Other forms of definition are ''[[wiktionary:polythetic|polythetic]]'', producing a list of characteristics that are common to religion. In this definition there is no one characteristic that need to be common in every form of religion.{{sfn|Herling|2016|p=37}}

Causing further complications is the fact that there are various [[secularism|secular]] world views, such as [[nationalism]] and [[Marxism]], which bear many of the same characteristics that are commonly associated with religion, but which rarely consider themselves to be religious.{{sfn|Smart|1998|pp=22–26}}

Conversely, other scholars of religious studies have argued that the discipline should reject the term "religion" altogether and cease trying to define it.{{sfn|Herling|2016|p=36}} In this perspective, "religion" is argued to be a Western concept that has been forced upon other cultures in an act of intellectual imperialism.{{sfn|Hinnells|2005|p=2}} According to scholar of religion [[Russell T. McCutcheon]], "many of the peoples that we study by means of this category have no equivalent term or concept at all".{{sfn|McCutcheon|2001|p=10}} There is, for instance, no word for "religion" in languages like [[Sanskrit]].{{sfn|Hinnells|2005|p=2}}