Reform (religion)

Last updated April 04, 2024

A religious reform (from Latin re-: "back, again", and formare: "to form"; i.e. put together: "to restore, reconstruct, rebuild") aims at the reform of religious teachings. It is not to be confused with an organizational reform of a religious community, though mostly this is a consequence of a reform of religious teachings.

Definition

Religious reforms are performed when a religious community reaches the conclusion that it deviated from its - assumed - true faith. Mostly religious reforms are started by parts of a religious community and meet resistance in other parts of the same religious community. Religious reforms usually lead to a reformulation of the religious teachings held for true, and to the condemnation resp. rejection of teachings held for wrong.^[1]

Mostly the deviation from the assumed true faith which gives reason for a religious reform crept in over a longer period of time, sometimes over centuries. A religious reform is always a reorientation at the historical beginnings of a religion (therefore: re-formare, reconstruct) under the perspective of the present time and with the knowledge of the present time. A typical example for deviations from an assumed true faith are social changes within society which lead a loss purpose for ethical prescriptions, so they have to be replaced by other ethical prescriptions in order to protect the underlying, unchanged value for the future. Another typical example is the factual falsification of traditional views, e.g. by better insights into historical events or into natural science, by which the traditional views are falsified.^[2]

The eternally continuing change of society and the progress of human knowledge are the reasons why a "final" reform of religious teachings is not possible. Religious teachings have to be reformed again and again. This realization was formulated in a concise Latin sentence, allegedly deriving from a saying of St. Augustine, and popularized by the Swiss Reformed theologian Karl Barth in 1947: Ecclesia semper reformanda est , which means "the Church must always be reformed".^[3]

Religious reforms do not aim at an adjustment to the spirit of the time in the first place, yet they naturally bring about certain adjustments to the present time, since the religious tradition is reconsidered and reformed under the perspective of the present time and with the knowledge of the present time. A full adjustment of a religious teaching to the spirit of the present time cannot be expected from a credible religious reform. Religious reforms which do not aim at the reestablishment of an assumed true faith in the first place, yet at a mere adjustment of religious teaching to the spirit of the time without respect to an assumed true faith are no religious reforms, strictly speaking. Their purpose is questionable since those reforms are not based on the faith of the believers. Reforms of this nature are often based on compulsion and are usually not long-lasting but are reversed in the next generations. An example is the attempt of the Roman emperor Julian the Apostate to restore paganism as state religion.^[4]

The opponents of justified religious reforms are called traditionalists, their ideology is traditionalism. The adherents of reforms to adjust to the spirit of the time in the first place without respect for an assumed true faith are called modernists, their ideology is modernism. Both concepts were coined by Christian-Catholic historical developments, yet today they are applied to all religions.^[5]

Famous examples of religious reforms

The Buddhist councils (from the 5th century BCE onwards), for the clarification on the fundamental teachings of Gautama Buddha among the early Buddhist schools.
The First Council of Nicaea (325 CE), for the clarification on the doctrine of the Trinity among the early Christian theologians.
The Muʿtazila school of Islamic theology, which existed between the 8th and 10th centuries.
The Protestant Reformation led by Martin Luther, John Calvin, and other Protestant Reformers between the 16th and 17th centuries.
Religious liberalism
- Liberal Christianity
  - Fundamentalist–Modernist controversy
  - The introduction of the historical-critical method in Biblical scholarship in the 19th and 20th centuries.
- Liberalism and progressivism within Islam
  - Islamic modernism
- Reform Judaism, otherwise referred to as Liberal Judaism.
The Second Vatican Council of the Catholic Church (1962–1965).

Related Research Articles

Faith is confidence or trust in a person, thing, or concept. In the context of religion, faith is "belief in God or in the doctrines or teachings of religion". According to Merriam-Webster's Dictionary, faith has multiple definitions, including "something that is believed especially with strong conviction," "complete trust", "belief and trust in and loyalty to God", as well as "a firm belief in something for which there is no proof".

Feminist theology is a movement found in several religions, including Buddhism, Hinduism, Sikhism, Neopaganism, Baháʼí Faith, Judaism, Islam, Christianity and New Thought, to reconsider the traditions, practices, scriptures, and theologies of those religions from a feminist perspective. Some of the goals of feminist theology include increasing the role of women among clergy and religious authorities, reinterpreting patriarchal (male-dominated) imagery and language about God, determining women's place in relation to career and motherhood, studying images of women in the religions' sacred texts, and matriarchal religion.

Religion is a range of social-cultural systems, including designated behaviors and practices, morals, beliefs, worldviews, texts, sanctified places, prophecies, ethics, or organizations, that generally relate humanity to supernatural, transcendental, and spiritual elements—although there is no scholarly consensus over what precisely constitutes a religion. Different religions may or may not contain various elements ranging from the divine, sacredness, faith, and a supernatural being or beings.

Religious conversion is the adoption of a set of beliefs identified with one particular religious denomination to the exclusion of others. Thus "religious conversion" would describe the abandoning of adherence to one denomination and affiliating with another. This might be from one to another denomination within the same religion, for example, from Protestant Christianity to Roman Catholicism or from Sunnī Islam to Shīʿa Islam. In some cases, religious conversion "marks a transformation of religious identity and is symbolized by special rituals".

Supersessionism, also called replacement theology, is the Christian doctrine that the Christian Church has superseded the Jewish people, assuming their role as God's covenanted people, thus asserting that the New Covenant through Jesus Christ has superseded or replaced the Mosaic covenant. Supersessionists hold that the universal Church has become God's true Israel and so Christians, whether Jew or gentile, are the people of God.

Theology is the study of religious belief from a religious perspective. More narrowly it is the study of the nature of the divine. It is taught as an academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itself with the unique content of analyzing the supernatural, but also deals with religious epistemology, asks and seeks to answer the question of revelation. Revelation pertains to the acceptance of God, gods, or deities, as not only transcendent or above the natural world, but also willing and able to interact with the natural world and to reveal themselves to humankind.

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Orthodoxy is adherence to correct or accepted creeds, especially in religion.

Christianity and other religions documents Christianity's relationship with other world religions, and the differences and similarities.

The religious perspectives on Jesus vary among world religions. Jesus' teachings and the retelling of his life story have significantly influenced the course of human history, and have directly or indirectly affected the lives of billions of people, including non-Christians. He is considered by many to be one of the most influential persons to have ever lived, finding a significant place in numerous cultural contexts.

Religiocentrism or religio-centrism is defined as the "conviction that a person's own religion is more important or superior to other religions." In analogy to ethnocentrism, religiocentrism is a value-neutral term for psychological attitude.

Islamic schools and branches have different understandings of Islam. There are many different sects or denominations, schools of Islamic jurisprudence, and schools of Islamic theology, or ʿaqīdah (creed). Within Islamic groups themselves there may be differences, such as different orders (tariqa) within Sufism, and within Sunnī Islam different schools of theology and jurisprudence. Groups in Islam may be numerous, or relatively small in size.

Early criticism of Judaism and its texts, laws, and practices originated in inter-faith polemics between Christianity and Judaism. Important disputations in the Middle Ages gave rise to widely publicized criticisms. Modern criticisms also reflect the inter-branch Jewish schisms between Orthodox Judaism, Conservative Judaism, and Reform Judaism.

Islam and modernity is a topic of discussion in contemporary sociology of religion. The history of Islam chronicles different interpretations and approaches. Modernity is a complex and multidimensional phenomenon rather than a unified and coherent one. It has historically had different schools of thought moving in many directions.

Religious views on truth vary both between and within religions. The most universal concept of religion that holds true in every case is the inseparable nature of truth and religious belief. Each religion sees itself as the only path to truth. Religious truth, therefore, is never relative, always absolute.

The term Abrahamic religion groups three of the major religions together due to their historical coexistence and competition; it refers to Abraham, a figure mentioned in the Hebrew Bible, the Christian Bible, and the Quran, and is used to show similarities between these religions and put them in contrast to Indian religions, Iranian religions, and the East Asian religions. Furthermore, some religions categorized as "Abrahamic" also share elements from other categories, such as Indian religions, or for example, Islam with Eastern religions.

Ecclesia semper reformanda est is a phrase first greatly popularized by the Swiss Reformed theologian Karl Barth in 1947, allegedly deriving from a saying of St. Augustine. It most often refers to the conviction of certain Reformed Protestant theologians that the Christian Church must continually re-examine itself in order to maintain its purity of doctrine and practice.

Religious liberalism is a conception of religion which emphasizes personal and group liberty and rationality. It is an attitude towards one's own religion which contrasts with a traditionalist or orthodox approach, and it is directly opposed by trends of religious fundamentalism. It is related to religious liberty, which is the tolerance of different religious beliefs and practices, but not all promoters of religious liberty are in favor of religious liberalism, and vice versa.

Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that emphasizes justification by God through faith alone, the teaching that salvation comes by unmerited divine grace, the priesthood of all believers, and the Bible as the sole infallible source of authority for Christian faith and practice. The five solae summarize the basic theological beliefs of mainstream Protestantism.

References

↑ Ronald L. Johnstone: Religion in Society: A Sociology of Religion, Pearson/Prentice Hall, 2006. pp. 134 ff.
↑ Cf. e.g. Hassan Butt: My plea to fellow Muslims: you must renounce terror, in: The Guardian 01 July 2007; citation: "If our country is going to take on radicals and violent extremists, Muslim scholars must go back to the books and come forward with a refashioned set of rules and a revised understanding of the rights and responsibilities of Muslims whose homes and souls are firmly planted in what I'd like to term the Land of Co-existence. And when this new theological territory is opened up, Western Muslims will be able to liberate themselves from defunct models of the world, rewrite the rules of interaction and perhaps we will discover that the concept of killing in the name of Islam is no more than an anachronism."
↑ Theodor Mahlmann: Ecclesia semper reformanda. Eine historische Aufarbeitung. Neue Bearbeitung, in: Torbjörn Johansson, Robert Kolb, Johann Anselm Steiger (Hrsg.): Hermeneutica Sacra. Studien zur Auslegung der Heiligen Schrift im 16. und 17. Jahrhundert, Berlin - New York 2010, pp. 382-441, here pp. 384-388
↑ Cf. e.g. the struggle for the meaning of Aggiornamento in the Catholic Church.
↑ Cf. e.g. title of: J. Schacht: Modernism and Traditionalism in a History of Islamic Law, in: Middle Eastern Studies Vol. 1, No. 4 (Jul., 1965), pp. 388-400

Bibliography

Ronald L. Johnstone: Religion in Society: A Sociology of Religion, Pearson/Prentice Hall, 2006.
Armin W. Geertz, Jeppe Sinding Jensen: Religion, Tradition, and Renewal, Aarhus Universitetsforlag, 1991.
Michael Molloy, Richard C. Trussell: Experiencing the World's Religions: Tradition, Challenge and Change, McGraw-Hill Higher Education, 1998.
John P. Bradbury: Perpetually Reforming: A Theology of Church Reform and Renewal, 2013.

External links

Religious Reforms, General thoughts on reform on Almuslih.org.

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[1] Ronald L. Johnstone: Religion in Society: A Sociology of Religion, Pearson/Prentice Hall, 2006. pp. 134 ff.

[2] Cf. e.g. Hassan Butt: My plea to fellow Muslims: you must renounce terror, in: The Guardian 01 July 2007; citation: "If our country is going to take on radicals and violent extremists, Muslim scholars must go back to the books and come forward with a refashioned set of rules and a revised understanding of the rights and responsibilities of Muslims whose homes and souls are firmly planted in what I'd like to term the Land of Co-existence. And when this new theological territory is opened up, Western Muslims will be able to liberate themselves from defunct models of the world, rewrite the rules of interaction and perhaps we will discover that the concept of killing in the name of Islam is no more than an anachronism."

[3] Theodor Mahlmann: Ecclesia semper reformanda. Eine historische Aufarbeitung. Neue Bearbeitung, in: Torbjörn Johansson, Robert Kolb, Johann Anselm Steiger (Hrsg.): Hermeneutica Sacra. Studien zur Auslegung der Heiligen Schrift im 16. und 17. Jahrhundert, Berlin - New York 2010, pp. 382-441, here pp. 384-388

[4] Cf. e.g. the struggle for the meaning of Aggiornamento in the Catholic Church.

[5] Cf. e.g. title of: J. Schacht: Modernism and Traditionalism in a History of Islamic Law, in: Middle Eastern Studies Vol. 1, No. 4 (Jul., 1965), pp. 388-400

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