The Future of Religion [antikvár]

PREFACE An eminent American sociologist, Professor Milton Yinger, has written the following, which might be taken as a verdict of lunacy on a writer who, having read his words, then ventures on a book with a title such as this one bears: Few would deny that an attempt to give a conclusive statement regarding the future of religion would be foolhardy indeed; there are too many different opinions, too much controversial evidence, for a definite statement. One consideration, however, may throw some light on the problem. Nothing stands out more clearly in the study of religious phenomena than the extreme variability and adaptability of religion on the one hand, accompanied, on the other, by a basic similarity which underlies various expressions. A 'conclusive statement' is far from my intention. I beheve that religion has a future for (among others) the reasons that Professor Yinger states, but I am no believer in the existence, or the possibihty, of some essence of all religion, or religion-as-such. What is common to all religions is, in my view, people and their needs. All behefs are held, all institutions created, by human beings, and they in their turn receive from these a part of the material that helps to make distinctive cultures. The 'crisis of religion' often spoken of today is of western origin, caused by the changes roughly described in such phrases as 'the industrial revolution', 'the development of science and technology', and so on. I have lived a part of my life in rural India, in a culture formed by a different religion,