Faith, religion and philosophy: Understanding the difference

By Julie A. Ferraro | FāVS News Columnist

Being the first to admit that I am neither a theologian nor a philosopher (in the official sense), I have acquired a rather “earthy” perspective on the topics of faith, religion and philosophy over my decades of life with which many people might not agree.

But, perhaps others will benefit from these insights.

To start, a few definitions based on the way I view these terms.

Faith, according to one of the options listed by the Merriam-Webster online dictionary, is defined as “something that is believed especially with strong conviction.”

The same source describes religion (again, one of many options) as an “institutionalized system of religious attitudes, beliefs, and practices.”

The list of definitions for philosophy included on the website number more than half a dozen, but the one I prefer is “pursuit of wisdom.”

So, how I view these three ideas places faith in the personal realm, or what an individual believes about the divine and their relationship with however they define that divinity.

Religion is a means of taking similarly held personal beliefs and merging them into standard doctrine and practices, such as liturgical services and common prayers, which can be shared by the community of believers.

Philosophy is the starting point for many sacred belief systems, in that the original proponent of certain ideals gathered followers or disciples who wished to learn more about their way of life, their cycle of thought. 

From teacher to tradition

After that teacher moved on to the eternal realm, those followers set about developing a means by which the sage would be remembered and revered, often expanding the lessons to include specific rituals and deeper spiritual elements.

The question can rightly be posed as to whether these teachers ever intended to create a religion that differed from those already in existence during their lifetime. Jesus, for instance, was raised in a Jewish household and observed the Law as given to Moses. 

He interacted mostly with the Jewish masses, while emphasizing that all people were equal in his eyes, including Samaritans and other Gentiles. He really strove to open the minds of the Jewish people to look beyond their own prejudices in regard to “foreigners” and those who were different.

That his compassion and kindness resonated with those whose beliefs conflicted with Jewish practices isn’t that surprising. People from across the known world adopted Jesus’ philosophy of love and respect for all and, as it developed into a formal religion — Christianity — integrated those beliefs into their personal faith.

Siddhartha Gautama is another example of someone who never planned to be the central figure of a religious movement. This prince merely yearned to find the meaning of life for himself and, once he achieved that goal, shared his wisdom with others. 

He came to understand the Four Noble Truths and lived according to the Noble Eightfold Path: Right Understanding, Right Thought, Right Speech, Right Action, Right Livelihood, Right Effort, Right Mindfulness and Right Concentration.

The common thread

The basic philosophy of these extraordinary souls involved the quest for self-knowledge, the need for self-respect and self-responsibility moving outward to encompass all humanity. They wanted to shake the dust off old ways of thinking, of just accepting the status quo and slogging through life without realizing humanity’s true purpose.

In other words, they impressed upon their followers that nothing should be said or done without understanding the reason and, if harm of another occurred, they should accept the consequences with humility, while respecting themselves and seeing all people — as well as the created world — as brothers and sisters, treating them the same as they wished to be treated.

The divine became a part of these efforts over the centuries, and the institutionalized religions that burst forth from those early seeds added a hierarchical structure to keep things organized.

There remains an inherent connection between the original philosophy, the personal faith and the religion that have survived over the millennia: good behavior is preferable to evil — whether or not an individual uses the “accepted terminology” or holds to a specific deity or belief system. And we can encourage each other toward that goal without grousing over details.

The views expressed in this opinion column are those of the author. They do not necessarily reflect the views of FāVS News. FāVS News values diverse perspectives and thoughtful analysis on matters of faith and spirituality.

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