Conclusion
Culture and religion are rarely easy to disentangle.
Perhaps the effort should not be made. Maybe the claim that something is ‘not religion but culture’ misunderstands the role of religion in many people’s lives.
Indeed, perhaps this is true in the lives of many communities and nations. The assertion seems to want us to decide between ‘either/or’ when reality is often a more messy affair of ‘both-and’.
Similar choices are often offered between ‘good religion’ and ‘bad religion’. The former is usually presented as quiet and peaceful; the celebration of cooperation and harmony. The latter is denigrated as extremist and prone to violence or division.
Messy lived reality suggests that religions can be all-encompassing, inviting commitments to make the world a particular way, but they can also be add-ons to busy lives of work and leisure, inviting people to inject meaning or value by occasionally participating in ceremonies.
Questions for discussion
- Is there anything you or your family do that is part of your ‘culture’ that might fit within this discussion of religion/culture being difficult to separate?
- Why might people join in ceremonies of religions to which they do not belong?
- Do you think religious music or activities should be protected from becoming entertainment? Should religious buildings be kept apart from tourism?
- Do you think (some) ecological movements have a religious element to their beliefs? Are you aware of other examples than the one discussed here?
- Can you think of other social movements or activities which could be considered to blur the boundary between religion and culture?
Classroom activity
Discuss the questions above as a group.