WHY SO MANY DEFINITIONS OF RELIGION? 349 



his Theism, regards it as a " belief iu some god or powers above 

 on which we depend, and who are interested in ns ; together with 

 the feelings and practices resulting from such belief." Some- 

 what like this, bnt more explicit, is Prof. Whitney's definition, 

 "A belief in a supernatural being or beings, whose actions are 

 seen in the works of creation, and of such relation on the part 

 of man toward this being or beings as to prompt the believer 

 to acts of propitiation and worship, and to the regulation of 

 conduct." De Pressense* thinks "true religion has to do with 

 the relation of the soul to God," and Prof. Palmer sums it all 

 up as "the bond between the science of ethics and the science 

 of theology." 



Many more definitions might be given, but let these few suffice ; 

 for they are typical of some sixty or more that have been exam- 

 ined. One is at once led to ask, Why are there so many defini- 

 tions of a fact that is so universally admitted to be as real as any 

 fact in the realm of mind or heart ? Although the definitions are 

 many, they can not be said to be contradictory or antagonistic. 

 When carefully examined, it will be found that they each describe 

 what their respective authors, either from personal experience or 

 observation, thought was the controlling element exhibited at the 

 moment of religious awakening. They are many, simply because 

 the element exhibited then is not the same with all, but varies 

 most markedly with environment, temperament, and general in- 

 tellectual advancement. 



It is now admitted that the religious element, if it appears at 

 all, is called forth while one is reflecting on his personal destiny. 

 There is then born a conviction that our future existence is not 

 unalterably fixed, as that of the stone and the brute, but depends 

 largely on our will. We feel that ideals have a large part to play 

 in determining our future condition, and we desire to select such 

 material out of all our environment — yes, ought to select such — to 

 weave as a woof into the web of hereditary tendency, as will make 

 for us characters most nearly like unto the pattern given in our 

 ideal. In brief, it may be said that the religious element of the 

 life is called out the moment one earnestly asks the question, 

 " What must I do to be saved "—reach my ideal ? That it does 

 ever appear at this moment seems now to be a necessary conclu- 

 sion from psychical study, a most careful examination of the 

 marked religious awakenings in our own and other religious sys- 

 tems, from a study of the world's great religious leaders, and last 

 of all, by a study of the varying element in the historic changes 

 of religious thought. More than simply an enumeration of these 

 lines of evidence can not be here given. Admitting this to be a 

 fact, the reason why there are so many definitions will at once be 

 perfectly clear; for it will be found they each describe what 



