Wilfred Smith's The Meaning And End Of Religion

Throughout Wilfred Smith's book The Meaning and End of Religion, he stresses his theory of religion and how it is being studied in the modern world. He conveys that each person has their own level of religiousness and spirituality whether it requires the proof of science or not and that many individuals often categorize the idea of religion into one box. In many religions, there is an inclination for people to associate religious symbols with sacredness instead of seeing them as a representation of something else. People perform certain rituals or worship idols and attend spiritual places to act as means of glorification. The act of expressing religion or its symbols enforces a person to preserve a religious identity which motivates a person to follow a certain lifestyle. Smith states that “men's faith finds expressions in many forms” (Smith 171). It is more significant to understand the role of personal faith in the religious history of mankind than to understand the nature. …show more content…
It is impossible to construct a worldwide community despite being made up of a variety of religious traditions. To be religious is an “ultimately personal act” because it is an act that an individual makes in a community rather than what a community can make for a person (Smith 177). Faith can be found in several institutions outside of the community such as Sunday schools. It is more legitimate to evaluate a religious tradition by the kind of character its faith produces in order to avoid judgment. One's personal faith can assess their mode of behavior which is considered a personal quality with many forms of expression. Each individual is grown up with cumulative traditions which nourishes their faith and gives it a form and structure. Faith is an individual aspect which is specific to each person. This way, no generalizations or statements can be made regarding particular faith or