Discussion: When I say 'religion' I mean of course...

A forum member writes: "When I say 'religion' I mean of course Christianity, and when I say Christianity I mean, of course, the Church of England and when I say the Church of England, I mean, of course......." Have you noticed that, in the U.S. anyway, when people say "religion" they actually seem to be referring only to their particular brand of Christianity? For example, Public TV explored some aspects of the culture wars and Separation of Church and State earlier this week and I noticed that all of the participants: scholars, theologians, politicians, etc., used the term "religion", but really only discussed Christianity, and usually the Southern Baptist brand of it at that. Clearly, "religion" = Christianity. Period.

It does seem to be the case that the only relevant "religion" that people talk about is Christianity - or, if they want to be ecumenical, "Judeo-Christian traditions." Hinduism, Buddhism, Islam, and other religions are simply ignored. Even liberal Christianity can have a tough time being noticed. Why is that? Read More...