Arguments for Thelema being a religion

(Revision as of 04:17, 15 Jun 2005)

Among many contemporary Thelemites, there have developed several arguments for why Thelema is a religion. This article presents some of the most common. For the sake of this article, it is assumed that by Thelema, we are referring more or less to the Thelema as introduced by Aleister Crowley, with The Book of the Law as it's core document.

Defining religion

The basis of any such argument has to begin with the meaning of the word "religion". There is certainly no universal concensus as to what does and does not comprise a religion. At the most narrow end, it is possible to argue that religion exists only when it is contained within an organization (such as the Roman Catholic Church), and maintains at its core a faith in one or several supreme beings. But this is a more Western concept, and not a common conclusion among those who study the nature of religion. At it's broadest, religion can be seen as any system of thought that informs one's worldview, leading to formation of ideas regarding morals, behavior, attitudes, values, and the nature of existance.

Within the field of religious study, there are four common models for defining religion:

A system designed to address the fundamental questions of human identity, ethics, death and the existence of the Divine (if any).
A set of beliefs which makes claims that lie beyond the realm of objective scientific observation, according to some authority or personal experience with the Divine.
A set of beliefs about cause and effect that Occam's Razor would remove as recognizing causes that are more than what is both true and sufficient to explain the physical evidence.
The formal institutions, creeds, organizations, practices, and rules of conduct, of and institutionalized religion so-called.

To some degree, Thelema meets all of these requirements. It is not pure philosophy, because Thelema does more than conjecture on meaning—it includes an active method for achieving subjective spiritual states that deal with:

The divine, the spiritual, or the sacred (e.g. Holy Guardian Angel)
Subjective knowledge that cannot be exactly replicated using objective scientific methods (Knowledge and Conversation of one's HGA)
Change, both interal and external to the self (accomplished using magical ritual)

The fourth model can be filled as well:

There are formal religious organizations built upon the principles of Thelema (the EGC)

Many Thelemites recoil at the term religion, possibly because of associates with Christianity. However, Christianity is not the sole model for religion (see: List of religions). As such, beliefs regarding salvation, an objective supreme being, and original sin are not necessary requirments for being a religion. It does not follow that because Christianity is a religion, and Thelema is not Christianity, then Thelema must not be a religion. As shown above Thelema meets the qualifications for the four most common models.

See: Religion for a more in-depth examination.

Crowley believed Thelema was a new religion

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