How is mythology different from religion

In regards to the study of culture and religion, these are some of the definitions scholars have used:. The relationship between religion and myth depends on what definition of "myth" one uses. By Robert Graves's definition, a religion's traditional stories are "myths" if and only if one does not belong to the religion in question.

By Segal's definition, all religious stories are myths—but simply because nearly all stories are myths. By the folklorists' definition, all myths are religious or "sacred" stories, but not all religious stories are myths: religious stories that involve the creation of the world e. It should be noted that most definitions of "myth" limit myths to stories. The Christian apologist C.

Lewis made a clear distinction between myth and falsehood when he referred to the life of Christ as a myth "which is also a fact" [ 10 ]. Given any of the above definitions of "myth", the myths of many religions, both ancient and modern, share common elements. Widespread similarities between religious mythologies include the following:. The similarities between cultures and time periods can be useful, but it is usually not easy to combine beliefs and histories from different groups.

Simplification of cultures and time periods by eliminating detailed data remain vulnerable or flimsy in this area of research. Though there are similarities among most religious mythologies, there are also contrasts.

Many mythologies focus on explanations of the universe, natural phenomena, or other themes of human existence, often ascribing agency to one or more deities or other supernatural forces.

However, some religions have very few of this kind of story of cosmic explanation. For instance, the Buddhist parable of the arrow warns against such speculations as "[Is] the world eternal or not eternal?

In academia , the term "myth" often refers to stories whose culture regards them as true as opposed to fictitious. For example, in Tree of Souls: The Mythology of Judaism , English professor Howard Schwartz writes, "the definition of 'mythology' offered here does not attempt to determine if biblical or subsequent narratives are true or false, i.

Since the beginning of modern philosophy and science in the 16th century, many Western intellectuals have seen myth as outdated. He understood this as a prophetic aspect of the Church's ministry to the world. Altizer, for example, maintained [this] boldly by stating, 'Throughout its history Christian theology has been thwarted from reaching its intrinsic goal by its bondage to a transcendent, a sovereign, and an impassive God'. In the 20th century, many scholars have resisted this trend, defending myth from modern criticism.

He spoke of 'God up there' when theologians such as J. Robinson were busy with erasing the mythical language of [a] three-storied universe that underlies the early Christian thought and experience. Similarly, Joseph Campbell believed that people could not understand their individual lives without mythology to aid them.

By recalling the significance of old myths, he encouraged awareness of them and the creation of myths for the contemporary age. Most religions contain a body of traditional sacred stories that are believed to express profound truth.

Some religious organizations and practitioners believe that some or all of their traditional stories are not only sacred and "true", but also historically accurate and divinely revealed , and that calling such stories "myths" disrespects their special status.

The main similarity between mythology and religion is their concern with the supernatural. However, mythology is considered to be only one aspect of religion. Religion consists of other aspects such as morality , theology, ritual, and mystical experience. The main difference between mythology and religion is that mythological stories are considered to be fiction whereas religious stories are considered to be true. Mythology refers to a collection of myths, especially one belonging to a particular religious or cultural tradition.

Myths are traditional stories that are rooted in folk beliefs or religions; they are usually concerned with the early history of a group of people or explain a natural or social phenomenon using supernatural events or beings.

For example, there are several stories about the creation of the world in different cultures. In Greek mythology, the creation of the world is explained by the story of chaos and in Christianity, it is explained by the story of Eve and Adam. First let us define the two terms in order to understand the difference, as well as the relation between the two. Religion can be defined as the belief in and worship of a God or gods.

Mythology, on the other hand, refers to a collection of traditional stories from early history or explaining a natural event especially involving supernatural beings. This highlights that religion and mythology have to be viewed as two related bodies, which are different yet connected to one another. It can even be stated that mythology is the subset of religion. Through this article let us examine the difference between religion and mythology, by gaining an understanding of each word.

Religion deals with the establishment of certain ideas that prove the existence of superhuman powers in the form of God or Gods. It educates the individual with the customs and manners of a particular community or society based on the acceptance of some important faiths and beliefs. Religion is developed and propounded by great religious leaders.

When we look at the world today, there are many religions such as Christianity , Buddhism , Islam , Hinduism , etc. All these religions cater towards a single need of constructing a system of beliefs and guiding people. Even though those stories were originally written by known individuals, they have, in a sense, come to belong more to their respective subcultures than to their original creators and have, in a sense, become part of the folklore of those subcultures.

All cultures have myths. Myths are simply an intrinsic part of the human identity. They are inescapable. We should not, however, assume that all myths are the same. In different cultures and different religions, myths can convey drastically different meanings and they can be interpreted in drastically different ways; they can be interpreted as literally, historically true, as allegories for spiritual truths, or as simply entertaining stories.

Even within a particular culture, there is often broad disagreement about the meaning and truthfulness of myths. For evidence of this, you just have to look at any modern religious group. For instance, within twenty-first-century American Evangelical Protestantism, there are people like the founders of Answers in Genesis who believe that every story in the Bible is literally, historically true and that the findings of modern biology are false because they contradict the Bible.

On the other hand, there are people like the founders of the BioLogos Foundation who argue that Christianity and biological evolution are compatible. This disagreement has always been the case. As I discuss in this article from January , there was widespread disagreement among the ancient Greeks about which myths were true and to what extent.

For instance, the Greek philosopher Plato lived c. They come to a certain spot and Phaidros asks Socrates if it is the spot where Boreas, the god of the north wind, was said to have abducted the Athenian princess Oreithyia. Socrates replies that he thinks the exact spot is a little further downstream. Socrates essentially replies that, if he were a clever man, he could invent an alternative story that would seem more rational, but doing so would take far more time than he cares to spend and, since he does not even know himself, he does not want to speculate about things that are not his concern.

This story reveals a sort of complicated attitude towards the truthfulness of traditional myths. On the one hand, Plato portrays Socrates as finding the story incredible, but, on the other hand, he portrays him as willing to leave the story alone. I think it is probably clear at this point that mythology is complicated and difficult to define. Religion, however, is even more complicated. If you have ever been religious, then you probably already know that there is more to a religion than just a bunch of stories; a religion also involves an array of actions, practices, and attitudes.

Simply telling or believing stories about Adam and Eve, Moses, or Jesus does not automatically make somebody a Christian. Being a Christian usually involves adhering to Christian teachings, being part of a larger Christian community of some sort, and engaging in Christian ritual practices. Generally speaking, religious rituals tend to be a much more important part of a religion than the mythology.

This ritual sacrifice is a religious act. Often times, religious rituals are explained by religious myths. One example of this comes from the poem Theogonia , which was composed in around the eighth century BCE by the Greek poet Hesiodos of Askre.

Hesiodos says that, long ago, in very ancient times, mortal men and deities met together at a place known as Mekone, where they sacrificed an ox.