Likewise, Judaism as the name of the communal Jewish religion, also referred originally to the community rather than to the religion as such. It was first used in its Greek form, Ioudaismos, in the Second Book of Maccabees, written soon after 124 BCE, in reference to the Maccabean revolt of 167–160 BCE, in which the Jews overthrew their Seleucid rulers and established an independent Jewish kingdom. In the Second Book of Maccabees the Maccabean Revolt is described as a fight “to defend Judaism” — clearly a reference to Jewish society as a whole and not just to the religion. Judaism, and with it the modern English Jew and Jewish, is derived from the geographical name, called by the Romans Judaea, which ultimately derives from the name Judah, one of the two Jewish kingdoms that resulted from the split of the Kingdom of Israel after the death of King Solomon in about 931 BCE. That name came from the name of the Tribe of Judah, one of the twelve Jewish tribes, which in turn was supposedly named after Judah, one of the sons of the patriarch Jacob, who plays a major part in the Book of Genesis. All in all, therefore, the terms Jew, Jewish and Judaism all refer to a nation, a people or a community, which includes religion as an integral part of its identity, but these terms do not refer specifically to the religion.
Hindu and Hinduism, another communal religion, similarly originated from the name of the people, the society and the geographical area rather than as a specific name of the religion. See below for a fuller discussion on Hinduism.
Creed Religions — Distinctive Name
By contrast with communal religions creed religions and their subdivisions normally have distinctive names.
Islam is a good example. The word Islam, usually translated as “voluntary submission to God”, derives from the semitic triliteral root SLM, from which come the Arabic salaam (“peace” — also used as a greeting) and the Hebrew shalom (“peace” — and also used as a greeting). Muslim, the word for a member of the Islamic faith, is another formation from the same triliteral root.
Jesus never called himself a “Christian”. But there was a very good reason for this — Jesus never was a Christian: he was born and died a Jew. It was Paul, not Jesus, who invented Christianity, about 20 years after Jesus’s death. Paul never met Jesus and completely transformed a small Jewish reform movement — which was still part of the Jewish communal religion — into a whole new creed religion. And it was only then that the new name “Christian” started to be used. We read in Acts of the Apostles: “And the disciples were called Christians first in Antioch”, probably in about 50 CE.169 The “Christian” label may possibly have been intended to have a pejorative sense, but that is not certain. When Paul was tried before the Roman procurator Porcius Festus and King Herod Agrippa II in about 60 CE, the King is reported to have said to Paul: “In a short time you think to make me a Christian!”170 This appears to mean: “Do you really expect to persuade me to become a Christian in such a short time?” Was this ironic? It is hard to tell, because the King, though nominally Jewish, was evidently not at all hostile to Paul. In his response to this remark of the King’s Paul studiously avoids the use of the word “Christian”, so it is possible that it still had derogatory connotations, which however it soon lost, becoming instead a badge of pride. The point though is that Christianity is a label descriptive of a religion, not of a state, a society or a community. It relates directly to the central tenet of that religion, namely a belief in Jesus as the “Christ” — very different from the sort of labels used to describe communal religions.
Beliefs
Every creed religion, and every denomination, group or sect within each creed religion, has a definite set of beliefs, or profession of faith, which forms the core of the religion or sect concerned. It is by accepting these beliefs that one becomes a member of the religion or sect. There may be a simple formula — like the Islamic Shahada — which believers are required to accept and recite, or there may be a more elaborate creed, like the 39 Articles of Faith of the Church of England. Communal religions by contrast tend to place much less emphasis on belief, and their beliefs tend to be much less clear-cut. Acceptance of a communal religion’s beliefs, insofar as they have any, does not entitle one to become a member of that religion. Membership depends rather on being or becoming a member of the community or society concerned, which may not be possible for outsiders to do regardless of their beliefs.
Truth
Every creed religion, denomination, group or sect believes that it alone holds the key to “truth” and “salvation”. According to St John’s Gospel, Jesus said: “I am the way, the truth and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.”171 Islam never portrays Mohammed as more than a prophet, but he is believed to be the prophet par excellence. Hence the Islamic creed, or Shahada, as it is called: “There is no god but Allah and Mohammed is the prophet of Allah.” Communal religions, by contrast, do not make any such claims. Moses — described simply as he usually is in Jewish sources as Moshe rabbenu (“Moses our teacher”) — is indeed identified in the “Thirteen Principles of Faith” compiled by the medieval Jewish philosopher Maimonides (c. 1135–1204) as the greatest of the prophets. But, although this compilation is nowadays generally recited in the synagogue service, it is (for Judaism) of comparatively recent vintage, has never been universally accepted by rabbinical authorities and does not enjoy the same status as a creed in the creed religions.
The well-known exchange between Jesus and Pontius Pilate brings out the difference between the two types of religion very well. Jesus says: “To this end was I born, and for this cause came I into the world, that I should bear witness unto the truth. Every one that is of the truth heareth my voice. Pilate saith unto him, What is truth?”172 Jesus probably did not actually make this arrogant claim himself. It is an early example of a claim to a monopoly of “truth” that is typical of a creed religion, which Christianity became only about 20 years after Jesus’s death. Pontius Pilate’s bemused reaction is credible, however, because the idea that any religion embodied “the truth” would have been alien to him as a member of the Roman state religion, a communal religion.
Arrogance
Both communal and creed religions are arrogant, but they are arrogant in different ways. The arrogance of creed religions is based on their certainty that they alone hold the key to “truth” and “salvation”. The arrogance of communal religions is based on a sense of the superiority not only of their religion but also of their nation or people. The Jewish belief that they are the “Chosen People” is probably the best-known example of this.
Conversion
The two different kinds of arrogance are reflected in two very different attitudes to conversion. Creed religions are anxious to show the light, as they see it, to as many outsiders as possible, to bring them into the fold and to “save” their souls. Hence the proselytising missionary zeal associated with Christianity — notably that of the Roman Catholic Church, the Mormons and Jehovah’s Witnesses — and also with Islam.
The word Propaganda was actually invented by the Catholic Church in 1622 as the name for a new administrative body, the Congregatio de Propaganda Fide (or the “Congregation for Propagating the Faith”) dedicated to “propagating the faith” among non-Catholics.
Evangelical “born again” Christian churches tend to make it as easy as possible to convert. For example, Joel Osteen, Senior Pastor of the nondenominational Lakewood Church in Houston, Texas, currently the largest Protestant church in the United States, ends every broadcast with an invitation to his viewers to become “born again” simply by reciting this prayer: “Lord Jesus, I repent of my sins. Come into my heart. I make you my Lord and savior.”173 It has to be said that this instant formula does have its critics! But Christianity is never difficult to convert to.
Christianity and Islam both owe their origin entirely to conversion, and their subsequent growth is also largely the result of proselytism. Communal religions, by contrast, tend to express their arrogance in exactly the opposite way. Instead of wanting to go out and enlist new co
nverts, they tend to adopt an exclusivist attitude which makes it difficult if not impossible for outsiders to join them. Orthodox Judaism, for example, is decidedly unwelcoming to prospective converts. Although more liberal branches of Judaism have a more positive attitude to conversion, the idea of sending out missionaries to recruit new members would be unthinkable to them as well.
Toleration
The differing attitudes of creed and communal religions to toleration are a reflection of their different attitudes to their own sense of superiority. As creed religions are anxious to win as many converts as possible, they tend to be intolerant of those who refuse to “see the light”. Hence the persecution of “infidels” or “heretics” and the numerous religious wars of past centuries. Communal religions, on the other hand, tend to be more tolerant. Because they do not seek converts themselves communal religions can hardly object to other communities keeping to their own religions. There are only two clear references to conversion to Judaism in the whole of the Hebrew Bible. In recent times, however, some branches of Judaism have become more intolerant of one another. (See Chapter 5 for more on this.) Even Hinduism, generally a very tolerant communal religion, has been caught up in the general rise of religious extremism in recent years. In 2002 there were riots in Gujarat in which it is estimated that about 2,000 Muslims were killed. However, these riots were evidently in retaliation for the so-called Godhra Train Burning, in which 50 Hindu pilgrims were burnt alive in a train.174
Case Study 1 — Hinduism
Hinduism, the oldest living communal religion in the world today, presents us with an excellent example of the integration of religion and society. Central to it is the caste system, which is at the heart of Indian society, and which is at one and the same time a social and a religious hierarchy, headed by the Brahmin priestly caste.
Discrimination against the so-called Dalits, previously known as “untouchables”, who now amount to 16.2% of the Indian population and who were excluded from the caste system altogether, is illegal under Article 15 of the Indian Constitution. This made the Dalits a ”Scheduled Caste”, who enjoy reserved quotas in certain types of education and employment, which has resulted in a degree of affirmative action or reverse discrimination. Interestingly enough, in a case where a student’s admission into a professional course reserved to members of a Scheduled Caste was cancelled two years into the course when it was discovered that she did not actually belong to such a caste by birth, the Supreme Court of India showed her no mercy. The clear ruling was: “A person’s caste cannot be changed.”175 This shows just how ingrained the caste system is — giving Hindus a hereditary social and communal status which is religious as well only because their religious identity is an integral part of their social and communal identity.
There have been some recent attempts to suggest that the caste system was created by 19th century British colonial rule. The British were indeed the first to use the term caste (from the Portuguese word casta) to describe what Hindus referred to as varnas and their sub-divisions, jatis, and 19th century British censuses of India certainly recorded people’s castes and possibly increased the formalisation of the caste system in the process, but there is ample evidence that the caste system had been in existence for many centuries before British rule.
The caste system appears to be referred to in early Hindu scriptures, including the Rigveda, composed around 1400 BCE, the Bhagavad Gita, probably dating from at least the third century BCE, and the 2nd century BCE Manusmriti, which contains some laws codifying the caste system. In the West the earliest record of the caste system occurs in the Indika of the Greek author and explorer Megasthenes, written in about 300 BCE.
The basis of the caste system appears to be ethnic, originating with the migration of Aryans to North India in about 1500 BCE, who spoke Sanskrit, a language related to Latin and Greek. It is from these migrants (previously generally referred to as invaders) that the many Indo-European languages now spoken in North India derive, notably Hindi, Bengali and Punjabi. These languages are unrelated to the Dravidian languages, such as Tamil and Telugu. When the light-skinned Aryans arrived in India they evidently pushed the dark-skinned Dravidians south, which is why those languages are now largely to be found in southern India.
As the dominant race politically and socially, the Aryans also occupied the upper echelons of the caste hierarchy. Varna, the Sanskrit word for caste, actually means “colour”, and it is still generally true that the higher castes tend to have a lighter complexion than those lower down in the pecking order of Indian society and of the Hindu religion.
Hindu Beliefs?
What are the beliefs of Hinduism? There is no shortage of Hindu gods, and the concepts of Dharma (“the way” of ethics and duties), Samsara (recurring cycle of birth, life, death and reincarnation) and Karma (action and reaction) are prominent in Hindu thought, but Hinduism allows its adherents complete freedom of belief. Concepts of heresy, apostasy and blasphemy play no role in Hinduism. The Supreme Court of India has defined Hinduism in these terms:
Unlike other religions in the world, the Hindu religion does not claim any one prophet, it does not worship any one God, it does not believe in any one philosophic concept, it does not follow any one act of religious rites or performances.176
Ritual
Ritual plays a major role in Hindu life, varying as it does from one region or village to another, or even from one worshipper to another. Purification by water, sacrifices and the chanting of Vedic mantras figure prominently among Hindu rituals, many of which are performed at home. The Hindu calendar is replete with festivals, some of which are celebrated across the nation while others are more local.
The Name “Hinduism”
The absence of a specific name for the religion of Hinduism, as distinct from the society of which it forms an integral part, is significant. The English word Hindu is of Persian origin and initially referred to all inhabitants of India. From the 13th century India was often referred to as Hindustan, and the lingua franca of northern India and Pakistan (and the language of “Bollywood” films) is still known as Hindustani, a standardised and purified version of which, known as Hindi, has been the official language of India since 1950. The English word Hinduism itself is a recent coinage, dating only from the 19th century. It doesn’t take much ingenuity to see that the English words India and Indian, which derive from the Greek, are also closely related to Hindu and Hinduism.
Hindus themselves traditionally referred to their religion by the Sanskrit term Sanatana Dharma, meaning “the eternal law”, which again is not a distinctive title for the religion differentiating it from others but is rather the name for the religious side of Hindu life.
The point is that Hinduism is and remains the pre-eminent religion of India and Indians. There are more than a billion Hindus, making it the third largest religion in the world. The overwhelming majority, about 940 million of them, live in India, and over 80% of India’s population is Hindu.
But, if Hinduism is the religion of India, why is it that 20% of India’s population is non-Hindu? The answer lies in India’s long and turbulent history, with conquest by the Muslim Mughals in the 16th century and British rule in the 18th to 20th centuries.
Hinduism is what might be termed the default religion of India. Indians who have not converted to Islam, Christianity, Buddhism, Jainism or some other religion are automatically still to be regarded as Hindus. And, as far as Hinduism is concerned, converts to other faiths continue to be regarded as Hindus.
What about Hindus outside the subcontinent? There are a few concentrations of Hindus, chiefly in Malaysia, Bali (part of Indonesia), Mauritius, Fiji and Guyana, but all of these are attributable to the migration of ethnic Indians to these areas and not by conversion of other ethnic groups to Hinduism (cf. Louis Renou, 1896–1966, who suggested that Hinduism was a proselytising religion in ancient times. This is based on the spread of the religion outside the Indian subcontinent, the true explanation for this expansion being
not conversion but migration of ethnic Indians).177
Conversion
In fact, Hinduism has no word for religious conversion. Although there are moves in some quarters to turn Hinduism into a missionary religion, there is little chance that this archetypal communal religion will ever move in that direction, although the affirmative action resulting from the legal protection of the Scheduled Castes has had some strange spin-offs. For example, it appears that some Indian Christians and Muslims have been seeking to convert to Hinduism as Dalits in order to benefit from Scheduled Caste status. However, the Indian Government opposes this on the ground that “Allowing Scheduled Caste status to converts” would give these converts benefits to which they were not really entitled, and also, more surprisingly, that this practice “would provide a fillip to religious conversions” — reflecting the traditional reluctance of communal religions to attract converts.178
Case Study 2 — The Roman State Religion
The ancient Roman state religion is another prime example of a communal religion. Like other communal religions, it had no very definite beliefs and no distinctive name. You were deemed to be an adherent of the Roman state religion simply by virtue of being a member of Roman society.
The label “pagan”, meaning “rustic” or “countryman”, which was attached to the Roman religion after the ascendancy of Christianity, was an unflattering reference to the fact that the old religion survived chiefly in the countryside.
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