Additionally, with the prominence of colonialism at the time, it was clear how much further advanced the Western world was. All these advancements impressed Frazer, and he saw them as ways human beings could control their environment. During his lifetime he saw the development of the hearing aid, incandescent light, the electric streetcar, the long distance telephone, the gas powered car, the first Kodak box camera, and the X-Ray. 54a).įrazer believed that science would eventually replace religion entirely and it is easy to see how he would come to that conclusion by looking at the technological advancements during his time.
53b).Īs I will expand upon later, Frazer says that religion implies that nature is elastic, with the all mighty able to “to deflect, for our benefit, the current of events from the channel in which they would otherwise flow” (Frazer, p. “If the one acts from the love or fear of God, he is religious if the other acts from the love or fear of man, he is moral or immoral according as his behaviour comports or conflicts with the general good” (Frazer, p. Frazer says that it is possible for two people to behave in the same way, and for only one of the two’s actions be religious. At the same time, practice by itself without a corresponding belief is also not religion. Frazer says, “…no man is religious who does not govern his conduct in some measure by the fear or love of God” (Frazer, p. 53b).Īccording to Frazer, if a belief(s) does not lead to a corresponding practice(s), it is not religion, but rather a theology.
The belief aspect has to come first because you need to believe in a divine being before you can attempt to please it (Frazer, p.
Religion therefore consisted of two parts: the theoretical (belief in higher powers) and the practical (man needs to please these higher powers). Religion to Frazer meant the “propitiation or conciliation of powers superior to man which are believed to direct and control the course of nature and of human life” (Frazer, p. It is important to understand what exactly Frazer was rejecting when he talked about religion. Correspondence with Roscoe and his experience in this war clearly had an impact on Frazer’s views (Thorton, 1988). However during Frazer’s time, it was uncommon for a marriage between a Catholic and a Protestant! Additionally, one of Frazer best friends, John Roscoe, was involved in a war between Catholics and Protestants in Buganda. When we hear the term mixed marriages nowadays, we generally think about an interracial marriage. In England at the time, it was not common for mixed marriages. That being said, it could be argued that Frazer really just had an issue with priests and the “oppression of the organized, institutionalized church” (Thorton, 1988).Īlso playing into his contempt for religion was the relationship between class and religion.
HOME LIGHTING OF FRAZER FULL
Ivan Strenski says that he was more than just a critic of religion and was a full on undertaker. However, Frazer said, “I am not a Christian, on the contrary I reject the Christian religion as utterly false” (Strenski, p. Secondly, he was known to read the Bible, in Hebrew no less, every morning and proudly kept track of how many times he read it (Thorton, 1988). Religion was very important in his family, as he was steered away from Oxford due to its Catholic ties.
HOME LIGHTING OF FRAZER FREE
First off, he was brought up in the Free Church of Scotland. This may seem strange for a couple of reasons.
0 kommentar(er)
