Religion as a System of Symbols

Abstract

The author presents the influence of reflections on religion in the last decades, which radically changed the way of perceiving the reality which this concept define. The author claims that the main factor on these changes had cultural anthropology, and its influence on theology. In this context Clifford Geertz formulated the most famous definition of religion. Religion is an open process which is subjected to a constant progress, elaborations, and alterations. The most radical attitude was held by C.W. Smith who, already in the sixties, suggested to reject the concept of religion itself and postulated to concentrate on the context of the believers’ experiences. For the cultural anthropologist the changes in theology are a fascinating field of observation. The concept of „symbol” was called to mind for using two realities – human and divine – which it evoked. The intensity of the debate is not a new phenomenon, it only confirms the vitality of this field of research. Its uncertain methodological status is not a limitation, but rather a peculiar challenge.