Pseudoreligion or pseudotheology is a pejorative for a non-mainstream belief-system or philosophy which is functionally similar to a religious movement, typically having a founder, principal text, liturgy and faith-based beliefs.[1][2]
Belief systems such as Christian Science[3] or Nation of Islam[4] have been referred to as pseudoreligions, as have various New Age religions, as well as political ideologies such as Nazism and Positive Christianity.[5]
Examples of marginal movements with founding figures, liturgies and recently invented traditions that have been studied as legitimate social practices include various New Age movements,[6] and millennaristic movements such as the Ghost Dance and South Pacific cargo cults.[7]
Difference with religion
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Pseudoreligion and religion are concepts at opposite ends of a spectrum. A pseudoreligion is a quasi-religious group led by a charismatic leader with unorthodox or extremist views, while religion involves belief in a divine power, ethics, and philosophy. These definitions aid in categorization but can lead to labeling and discrimination.
The U.S. Supreme Court defines religion, determining protected beliefs. All beliefs are protected under the First Amendment, but actions based on those beliefs are not if they involve illegal activities. Pseudoreligions claiming religious motivation for illegal acts do not necessarily receive protection.
There is no legal difference between a pseudoreligion and a religion. All beliefs should 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.[8]
Quasi-religions
editIn 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.[9]
See also
edit- Fictional religion
- Folk religion – Expressions of religion distinct from the official doctrines of organized religion
- Pseudophilosophy – Philosophical idea or system which does not meet an expected set of standards
- Pseudoscience – Unscientific claims wrongly presented as scientific
- Religion – Social-cultural system
References
edit- ^ Biever, Bruce (1976). Religion, Culture and Values: A Cross-Cultural Analysis of Motivational Factors in Native Irish and American Irish Catholicism. Arno Press, a New York Times Company. p. 165. ISBN 0-405-09319-5.
- ^ Nasr, Seyyed Hossein (1993). The Need for a Sacred Science. SUNY Press. p. 61. ISBN 0-7914-1517-1.
- ^ Olston, Albert B. (1 February 2003). Facts and Fables of Christian Science. Kessinger Publishing. p. 303. ISBN 978-0-7661-2991-7. Retrieved 14 December 2012.
- ^ McCloud, Sean (1 March 2004). "Monitoring the Marginal Masses". Making the American Religious Fringe: Exotics, Subversives, and Journalists, 1955–1993. UNC Press. ISBN 0-8078-5496-4.
William Buckley's more conservative National Review dubbed the group a "pseudo-religion." Writing in Ebony, Hans J. Massaquoi concurred, calling the Nation of Islam a "quasi-religion."
- ^ Grunberger, Richard (1995). The 12-Year Reich: A Social History of Nazi Germany 1933–1945. Da Capo Press. pp. 72–75. ISBN 0-306-80660-6.
- ^ 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.
- ^ Errington, Frederick (May 1974). "Indigenous Ideas of Order, Time, and Transition in a New Guinea Cargo Movement". American Ethnologist. 1 (2): 255–267. doi:10.1525/ae.1974.1.2.02a00030.
- ^ "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.
- ^
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.
External links
edit- "Pseudo-Science and Pseudo-Theology: (A) Cult and Occult"; Bube, Dr. Richard A., Journal of the American Scientific Affiliation, Issue 29, March 1977.
- "Bad Religions and Good Religions"; Carmine, Professor James D, IntellectualConservative.com, 14 December 2005.