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Originally Posted by maverickstruth
Interesting perspective. I majored in religious studies at the U of C, and I remember in one of my first courses and it being suggested that the best attitude you can take when studying someone else's religion is to say that 'X is true in so long as its true to someone.' For me, this perspective didn't so much imply being sensitive to the teachings (as you suggest), but more about being sensitive to the people who believe those teachings. A basis for common understanding, if you will.
Interesting enough, it was actually through my religious studies program that I 'lost my faith' (so to speak). Of course, for many of my classmates, it did the complete opposite. And, to be fair, I was focused on the socio-historical context for these religions -- which isn't so much about theological issues as it is about understanding how the religion impacted the culture, and vice versa.
In that kind of study, whether the beliefs were true or false aren't so important; what's important is that those beliefs were vital to those who held them, and you can't try to understand them without at least accepting that this is what they believed. I think the same can be said of modern religions.
Learning about other people's beliefs (that is, studying a religion as a cultural/psychological/etc. phenomenon as opposed to learning the doctrines and practices for potential application to one's own life) can give a basis for understanding, even if you personally think those beliefs are whack or don't agree with the implications of those beliefs. It doesn't imply agreement, but it often makes it easier to understand where others are coming from. And if you really want to change someone's behaviour or thought-patterns, you'll have a lot better chance at success if you understand where they're coming from.
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I absolutely agree with you 100%. I just think in
addition to what you've described above, I would also like to see a little religious fact checking perhaps as an offshoot to religious studies, but still under that umbrella.
When you have entire groups of people carrying out actions based on fubared beliefs (eg Nazi Germany), the results can be horrific. It is from this angle I'd like to see religion studied at the university level, anyway.
Religion can be a dangerous force and I don't believe it's healthy to blithely brush the dangers aside with the attitude that "'X is true in so long as it's true to someone.' "X" may not be true at all in spite of people believing it to be true, and belief in "X" can put scores of other people at risk. That attitude can, has and will get people killed.