6.

Religion
Monday, 16 January 2023 16:25

- Global rise in religious violence since 9/11

Aung San Suu Kyi protested against the military government in Myanmar
winning a Nobel Peace Prize in 1991. However, people have since called
for its revocation as she failed to acknowledge the extremist Buddhist
monks violent persecution of the Rohingyas.

- Image of peaceful Buddhist tarnished

Defining Religion
Assumptions;
1) Religion is inherent to mankind
2) Religion is focussed on the divine
3) Religion revolves around a set of beliefs
4) Religion pertains a community

- Disregards Buddhism & Nirvana

Does the emergence of civilizations relate to increasing religious

complexity?
- Organization, ritualization of society following Agrarian & Neolithic
Revolution (ca. 10,00-8000 BCE)
- Diversification of tasks
- Hierarchy
- Importance of seasonal markets in the roots of religious practice

Axial Age
800-200BCE
- Universally orientated thinking
- Buddhism, Confucianism and Daoism & Greek philosophy
World religion is large and internationally widespread.
- Christianity, Islam, Judaism, Hinduism and Buddhism
Local Religion relates to religious practices and beliefs deemed unique to
a specific region and community.

South & Southeast Asia contains all world religions as well as local.
Historiography
Word Religion; Buddhism
Religion is a set of beliefs inherent to humankind focused on the divine
which inform a set of practices which are carried out individually as well
as communally.

Elements of religion;
- Sacred scripture
Historiography
Word Religion; Buddhism
Religion is a set of beliefs inherent to humankind focused on the divine
which inform a set of practices which are carried out individually as well
as communally.

Elements of religion;
- Sacred scripture
- Community of believers
- A prophet
- Belief in God(s)

How, when, whom? - Buddhism

Conceptual frame work?
Is Buddhism an offshoot of Hinduism?
- Hinduism and Buddhism were only coined in the 18th and 19th
century
Ø Previously Heathenism, Paganism, Superstition and Idolatry
Ø Western, Christian vocabulary
Ø Burmese Buddhism & religion were coined by Western missionary
Adoniram Judson in the 1820s
Ø Scientific study of Buddhism; discovery, translation and analysis of
Sanskrit & Pali by British & German philologists in 19thc
Ø Jesuits and Catholic missionaries traced back to Gautama Buddha
Ø Jesuits lectured on Doctrina Orientalis, belief in reincarnation

- Colonisers were educated on their colonies

- Belief that Noah's sons had made Christianity universal
- Darwinism hadn't yet caught on
- Westerners thought religion was worldwide

Age of Discovery was the period in history from the fifteenth to the
eighteenth century when the European seafaring powers commanded the
sea and 'discovered' other parts of the globe.

Christian; adherents to the one true faith

Jewish; not accepted Christ as the Messiah
Muslim; accepted Mohammed as the last prophet
Heathen; worshipped something other than the god of Israel
Historiography
Local Religion; Burmese Buddhism
- Myanmar; Buddhism + local customs

Process of understanding;
1) Pre-Western colonization, first identification of a religious entity,
Burmese seen as heathens, idolaters and devil worshippers
2) Knowledge about Burmese 'religion' increased, still mapped on
Christianity, Burmese as false religion
3) Scholarly study, term Buddhism appears, primary and secondary
sources (Western reports), religion with core set of beliefs, heresies
within Buddhism

- Boosted by translation of Buddhist texts -> Burnouf 1837 Sanskrit

- Buddhism seen as a reformation of Hinduism as with Protestant Vs
 Christianity, Burmese as false religion
3) Scholarly study, term Buddhism appears, primary and secondary
sources (Western reports), religion with core set of beliefs, heresies
within Buddhism

- Boosted by translation of Buddhist texts -> Burnouf 1837 Sanskrit

- Buddhism seen as a reformation of Hinduism as with Protestant Vs
Catholic
- Recognition of local Buddhism
- Few Burmese were strict Buddhists, also Weikza cults and Nat
worship
Ø Blend of tradition demonstrated by the Shwedagon Pagoda
Ø Blessing ritual at the 8 planetary posts (Wednesday split)
Ø Architecturally diverse

Burmese Buddhism as a local religion

1) Burmese Buddhists adhere to 2+ religious systems
2) Burmese are adherent to Burmese Buddhism ( Buddhism + Weikza +
Nat worship)

Religious syncretism is a combination of different, usually opposing,

religious beliefs and practices.
- All religions
Ø Hence ranges in Christian manifestations worldwide

- Sukuma of West-Central Tanzania mix African religion (Ancestral

worship and witchcraft) with Christian tradition.
- Candomblé in Brazil mixes Roman Catholicism and West African
traditions, due to slave trade

The Burmese Reception of "Buddhism"

- Botdabada
Ø Botda = Pali Buddha, Bada = Pali text
Ø Closer to culture / traditions than religion

1) What is a world religion and why is Buddhism considered one?

A world religion is large an internationally widespread, thus Buddhism
is considered a world religion as it shared a conceptual framework
with the roots of Christianity to which it was compared.
2) What is a local religion and why is Burmese Buddhism considered
one?
A local religion is one which relates to religious practices and beliefs
deemed unique to a specific region and community. Burmese
Buddhism is seen as one as it is a syncretism of local practices such
as Nat worship and Weikza with Buddhism.
3) What does it mean for religion to be culturally universal and what is
the origin of this assumption?
Cultural universality has its origins in Christian theology which
assumed all societies to have religious capacity. A culturally universal
religion is assumed to be such due to its relation to Christian
framework. As such with Buddhism.
4) What did the discovery, translation and analysis of Buddhism’s
sacred texts add to what was already known about this ‘religion’?
The translation of Buddhist texts such as Sanskrit and Pali allowed
religious studies to recognise its individuality and move away from its
attempted parallel to Christianity
 religion is assumed to be such due to its relation to Christian
framework. As such with Buddhism.
4) What did the discovery, translation and analysis of Buddhism’s
sacred texts add to what was already known about this ‘religion’?
The translation of Buddhist texts such as Sanskrit and Pali allowed
religious studies to recognise its individuality and move away from its
attempted parallel to Christianity

Introduction
Religious violence has been undoubtedly on the rise since 9/11.
Islamophobia in North America, Hindu-Nationalism in India, the
persecution of Yazidis and militant Buddhist monks in Southeast Asia. Aung
San Suu Kyi was called upon to return her Nobel Peace Prize after her
failure to acknowledge the Burmese Buddhist extremists persecution of
Rohingyas.

Defining religion has always been a minefield in history, mainly in its

relation to the worship of a god(s), to which Buddhism does not subscribe.
Furthermore, many religion share beliefs thus the line between them is
unclear at times.

Specialization, organisation and diversification of tasks were all product of

civilizations, but too paved the way for religiosity in its enhancement of
hierarchies and reliance on seasons. Religion has always been a practice
of bringing together communities for a sense of belonging.

The Axial age is believed to hold the roots for religions such as Buddhism,
Confucianism and Daoism. These religions were able to spread their
message across territories.

Religious studies distinguishes between local and world religions. A local

religion is beliefs and practices that are unique to a specific region
whereas a world religion I a large and internationally widespread religion
such as Christianity, Buddhism, Judaism, Islam and Hinduism. All of the
latter can be found in the Southeast and South Asia regions.

Historiography
Buddhism is often traced back to have its roots in Hinduism. However, the
term Hinduism was only coined in 1787 CE and Buddhism in 1817,
previously they both fell into categories of heathenism and idolatry. Many
of the first scholars of Buddhism were Western, thus its historiography has
its roots in Western scholarship. The study was catalysed by the
translation of Sanskrit and Pali which disproved the belief that Buddhism
was an indigenous religion and led Jesuits to trace back to Gautama
Buddha. This knowledge became a means of power in colonial times. The
Western travellers in the Age of Discovery believed strongly that Noah's
sons had been the worlds first inhabitants, thus the idea that other world
civilizations would be deprived of religion was unfathomable. Thus all
world customs were observed with a Christian framework.

Historiography; Local Religion: Burmese Buddhism

The understanding of Burmese culture came in four stages; firstly Western
colonizers interacted with the Burmese and labelled them as devil
worshippers, secondly, knowledge about the religion increased but it was
still seen as a false religion as it was framed against Christianity. Then in
the third stage, the study of Buddhism was professionalized and finally
with a compendium of primary and secondary sources, Buddhism was
Historiography; Local Religion: Burmese Buddhism
The understanding of Burmese culture came in four stages; firstly Western
colonizers interacted with the Burmese and labelled them as devil
worshippers, secondly, knowledge about the religion increased but it was
still seen as a false religion as it was framed against Christianity. Then in
the third stage, the study of Buddhism was professionalized and finally
with a compendium of primary and secondary sources, Buddhism was
named and recognised as a religion with its own core. Finally the
translation of Buddhist texts massively developed existing knowledge
bases on origins and reasonings, and most importantly the biblical
framework somewhat disappeared. Hinduism and Buddhism were likened
to the conflict of Catholic and Protestant. Buddhism was finally considered
a world religion when its roots were traced back to India.

In the second half of the c20th scholars began to examine local

manifestations of Buddhism, such as Burmese Buddhism. They found that
it was not strictly following Buddhist scriptures and it incorporated Weikza
cults and Nat worship. The blending of traditions is illustrated in the
Shwedagon Pagoda in Myanmar.

Burmese Buddhism as a Local Religion

The Weikza beliefs align with immortality, thus proving Burmese Buddhism
apart from classical Buddhism and its beliefs of Nirvana. Thus Burmese
Buddhism is local as it absorbed local practices upon arrival in Burma.
This is known as religious syncretism. Another instance of such is
Candomblé in Brazil, which synchronises Roman Catholicism and West-
African traditions as a result of the slave trade.
The Burmese Reception of 'Buddhism'
The Burmese terminology is Botdabada, Botda, the Pali term for Buddha
and Bada, for language and text. Thus, 'Buddhism' is not featured in its
texts.