From: Tim Hammerquist <tim@...>
Date: 2003-09-06T18:52:28+09:00
Subject: Re: Correction: "religious"

Daniel Carrera graced us by uttering:
>> I was using the word to describe people who think that
>> "something can make a better world" without giving rational
>> explainations, only based on their belive that this will
>> happen. This is religion.
> 
> Is that also a standard definition of the word "religious"?  I
> have never heard it.  But I think we just showed that I don't
> necessarily know what this word means.

In my group of friends we had a lot of people saying, "What does
X mean?"  We always kept a dictionary around for just that sort
of thing.  In that spirit, the following is from Webster's
Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913).  Note the "Note:"
especially.

| Religion \Re*li"gion\ (r[-e]*l[i^]j"[u^]n), n. [F., from L.
|    religio; cf. religens pious, revering the gods, Gr. 'ale`gein
|    to heed, have a care. Cf. Neglect.]
|    <snip>
|    4. Strictness of fidelity in conforming to any practice, as
|       if it were an enjoined rule of conduct. [R.]
| 
|             Those parts of pleading which in ancient times
|             might perhaps be material, but at this time are
|             become only mere styles and forms, are still
|             continued with much religion.
|             --Sir M. Hale.
| 
|    Note: Religion, as distinguished from theology, is
|          subjective, designating the feelings and acts of men
|          which relate to God; while theology is objective, and
|          denotes those ideas which man entertains respecting
|          the God whom he worships, especially his systematized
|          views of God. As distinguished from morality, religion
|          denotes the influences and motives to human duty which
|          are found in the character and will of God, while
|          morality describes the duties to man, to which true
|          religion always influences. As distinguished from
|          piety, religion is a high sense of moral obligation
|          and spirit of reverence or worship which affect the
|          heart of man with respect to the Deity, while piety,
|          which first expressed the feelings of a child toward a
|          parent, is used for that filial sentiment of
|          veneration and love which we owe to the Father of all.
|          As distinguished from sanctity, religion is the means
|          by which sanctity is achieved, sanctity denoting
|          primarily that purity of heart and life which results
|          from habitual communion with God, and a sense of his
|          continual presence.

HTH,
Tim Hammerquist
-- 
Hackers who anthropomorphize are expressing not a vitalistic view
of a program behavior but a mechanistic view of human behavior.
    -- Jargon File 4.3.1