宗教研究與人文精神的理解問題擴展——自說自話的樂趣與困境Humanism&ReligiousStudiesIrrational&Modernity,Belief&Ration,Scientific&TestableMysterious&Miraculous,Weird&DailyAcademy&Believer,Induction&ReductionofConversionTheology,Belief&KnowledgecalledReligiousStudiesSacredness&Church,Sacredness&Hierophany宗教學與神學(Theology)不是一回事。宗教學是一門“世俗學問”，跟神學不相干。神學是在某個特定的宗教體系內研究神的本質，神與人的關系，信仰的本質等等。宗教學研究的是宗教信仰的本質，宗教的來源(心理的，社會的，歷史的等等)，其社會功能，心理功能等等，宗教史也可以算在宗教學內。宗教學的研究目的不是為了證明某種宗教優于別種宗教，也不是站在無神論的立場上反宗教。從宗教學的角度來看，任何一種宗教都是人類文化現像，是人類共同的文化創造，都有研究價值。研究宗教是為了盡可能全面地了解它，跟人類學，社會學等人文學科一樣。宗教經驗在人類眾多經驗之中的確具有其獨特、自主及自足存在的性質；宗教經驗的核心乃是在于人與超越者之間的一種感通關系宗教經驗分別存在于其他日常世俗或理性的活動范圍；宗教理解的工作首先不能將宗教信仰者的經驗約化，必須是要從宗教信仰者本身的觀點出發，同情地理解他們的宗教經驗（與超越者相遇的經驗），以及由他們的宗教經驗而產生的各種存在于他們生活之中的意義宗教研究的合法性問題CollectiveConcept,DefinitioncreatedbyDefiningDefinitionwithinAcademicandCulturalContext,Cross-cultureUtilityoftheConceptrootedinWesternChurch,tobeexact,ChristianChurchandTrendofModernizationReligion,Religions,ReligiousReligion,teaching,moral,doctrine,Church,Monk,Temple,Sect,Heresy,School,HeterodoxyReligiousStudies,StudiesofReligion,HistoryofReligions,TheoriesofReligiousStudiesScientificStudiesonReligion,ReligionasaModelandParadigmSoulandHeart,EmotionalandphysicalWeshouldfirstlymakeitclearthattowardswhatwedeliverourstudiesofreligion?LegitimacyofReligiousStudies:Subject,Approaches,Neutralstand,endstowardsApproaches:Borrowinginnameofself-containJonathanZ.SmithwritesinImaginingReligion:“...whilethereisastaggeringamountofdata,phenomena,ofhumanexperiencesandexpressionsthatmightbecharacterizedinonecultureoranother,byonecriterionoranother,asreligion—thereisnodataforreligion.Religionissolelythecreationofthescholar’sstudy.Itiscreatedforthescholar’sanalyticpurposesbyhisimaginativeactsofcomparisonandgeneralization.Religionhasnoexistenceapartfromtheacademy.”Definitionsofreligiontendtosufferfromoneoftwoproblems:theyareeithertoonarrowandexcludemanybeliefsystemswhichmostagreearereligious,ortheyaretoovagueandambiguous,suggestingthatjustaboutanyandeverythingisareligioItisapparentthatreligioncanbeseenasatheological,philosophical,anthropological,sociological,andpsychologicalphenomenonofhumankind.Tolimitreligiontoonlyoneofthesecategoriesistomissitsmultifacetednatureandloseoutonthecompletedefinition.Definitionsofreligionnecessarilyinvolveassumptionsaboutitsunderlyingnature.“[E]achandeverydefinitionofreligionimpliesatleastsometheoreticalconclusions....”Oneofthemanydifficultiesencounteredinreachingaconsensusonalegaldefinitionofthetermisthat,atroot,“noconvincinggeneraltheoryofreligionexists.”Threeoftheprincipaltheoriesaboutreligionare:first,religioninitsmetaphysicalortheologicalsense(e.g.,theunderlyingtruthoftheexistenceofGod,thedharma,etc.);second,religionasitispsychologicallyexperiencedbypeople(e.g.,thefeelingsofthereligiousbelieveraboutdivinityorultimateconcerns,theholy,etc.);andthird,religionasaculturalorsocialforce(e.g.,symbolismthatbindsa