“Religion” = “Propriety”? [Crisis in Terminology!]

“Propriety” has to do with appropriate (*prop*) behavior within a given social context.  Notions of appropriate vs. inappropriate are religious notions (see discussion of “should” here).

So Confucius summarized his teaching as “克己复礼 ke ji fu li – control the self and return to propriety“, and the Prophet Muhammad (ﷺ) said “Innama bu’ithtu li utammima makaarima al-aklaq (1)  -  I have not been sent except to perfect the standards of good character”.  Aklaq, good character, might also be translated as “good manners” or “proper conduct”.

These statements equate the concepts of “good conduct” or “propriety” with what we’ve been identifying with the terms “religion” or “دين deen” or “道　dao”.

What does this do for our understanding of what is/isn’t religion?

How does this affect the dialogs about religion on religion-bashing blogs, or the comments of Richard Dawkins?  Dawkins and the bloggers (not the name of a punk band… yet) certainly don’t intend to be writing polemics of good character or propriety.  But in criticizing something as difficult (or variable) to define as religion, this may be how their polemics are understood by some readers.

Due to the ambiguity of the meaning of these key terms such as “religion”, atheists sometimes regard religious people merely as “believers” as though believing (in irrational, made-up stories and archaic superstitions) is their primary activity in life.  And religious people sometimes get the impression that atheists advocate anarchical rejection of ethical behavior because they worship the satisfaction of their own desires rather than making use of a belief in God to develop the forbearance that allows one to avoid hurtful thoughts and deeds. [Let me catch my breath...]

Speaking of forbearance, the Qur’an, which Wikipedia says is some sort of religious text , contains this very clear statement of a reason to believe in God: “O humans! Serve [or "worship"] your Lord who created you and those before you so that you may guard against evil” (2:21).  The Qur’an also mentions previously revealed books: “…Take hold of the law (Torah) that we have given you with firmness and bear in mind what is in it, so that you may guard against evil” (2:63).  In both cases, what the translator has rendered as “so that you may guard against evil” is the phrase laAAallakum tattaqoona, which could also be rendered “so that you may be forbearing.”  The Arabic word tattaqoona is a plural noun form of the word taqwa which means “people who express the trait of taqwa“.  Taqwa and its variations are extremely difficult to translate, but the gist of it is that by [1]being mindful of God and an afterlife with the promise of just reward or punishment for deeds done during life, one will beware ([2]be wary of) committing evil deeds in order [3]to ward off an unpleasant fate.  The Dao (*) known as Islam is therefore a way of life that provides a methodology for maintaining good conduct– certainly a noble pursuit, as we should all be able to agree.

We are all humans [I don't think I've reached many readers from among the Jinn], and as I’ve said (*), basic human goodness is not divided along religious, ethnic, cultural, caste, or political lines.  Humans are humans: prone to mistakes but generally predisposed to wanting good for themselves and others.

We have a crisis in terminology, and it’s dividing people who don’t realize they’re pursuing the same goals.  And that’s why I join Confucius in emphatically saying… 必也正名乎，seriously folks. We have GOT to straighten out these words.

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1) إنمـا بعثت لأتمم مكـارم الأخلاق

2) Note: laAAallakum tattaqoona – “so that you may be forbearing” appears in several passages to identify a reason for aspects of Islam, for example:

- Serve/worship God (2:21)

- Perform fasting (2:183)

- Be mindful of the contents of what was revealed to Moses and stay on that Dao (2:63) and (7:171)

- Prefer forgiveness or compensation over capital punishment in cases of murder (2:178-9)

- Follow the upright, proper Dao/Path that God has revealed, rather than following other paths (6:153)

Muslims do these things in order to develop forbearance – guarding against committing improper/wrongful/harmful actions.  In other words, these are methods for propriety.

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Copyright © 2011 Brendan Newlon

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