Religion is the symbolic and/or ritualized cultural system of knowledge, which informs behavior, that offers one means of surviving this complex thing we call ‘Life.’ Sociology of religion: A critical primer (2015; 9780970491923; pg.101)
According to [Dr. Erich] Fromm, what motivates so many Believers, regardless of religious affiliation, is the image of the Divine, an image that many Believers try to emulate (e.g. Imitatio Christi). Fromm states that within a humanistic religion, “God is the image of man’s [and/or woman’s] higher self, a symbol of what man [or woman] potentially is or ought to become” but “in an authoritarian religion, God becomes the sole possessor” of human’s reason and love. Erich Fromm's contributions to sociological theory (2017; 9780970491947; pg.34)
Ritual is a habit and/or a compulsion that at least fulfills one of the following functions: (1) to give worship to a particular divine agent; (2) to invoke remembrance of either a past or future religious event; and/or (3) a pseudo-technology that is used to control or change the believer’s environment. Sociology of religion: A critical primer (2015; 9780970491923; pg.101)
The difference between the sacred — be it an object or religious method — and the profane is self explanatory (Durkheim 1965:52-54), so let us move on to magic, which I define as production without labor. Sociology of religion: A critical primer (2015; 9780970491923; pg.9)
