In some contexts, are religion and philosophy interchangeable?

[MinnesotaMike]

Religion:     A specific fundamental set of beliefs and practices generally agreed upon by a number of persons or sects
Philosophy: A system of principles for guidance in practical affairs
               A system of philosophical doctrine
Sect:        Any group, party, or faction united by a specific doctrine or under a doctrinal leader

How is living by another person's philosophy different from living by a religion (if it even is)? I'm not trying to troll you guys, it's just a question I thought of and can't really answer. I looked up the dictionary definitions of both terms and found several similarities, and they seem to be linked by the idea of sects. If a widespread acceptance of principles could be classified as a sect, and sects make up Humanistic thinking, is Humanism technically a religion, even though it is often noted as secular?

PS- I'm not sure if this is posted to the correct place. The forum has threads for both religion and philosophy, and this is a question about if both can technically be considered one. Sorry if it isn't listed properly

[Siz]

It's all the same for me... but I'm not pedantic.

[xSilverPhinx]

The way I see it, all religions are philosophies, but not all philosophies are religions. Those are also more set in stone, have rituals and rely on faith over reason, whereas the second doesn't have any of these things and relies mostly on critical thinking.

[DeterminedJuliet]

The way I see it, all religions are philosophies, but not all philosophies are religions. Those are also more set in stone, have rituals and rely on faith over reason, whereas the second doesn't have any of these things and relies mostly on critical thinking.

Agreed. Also, I think of philosophy as the exercise of ideas and words without necessarily having to do with human behaviour and how one should live. The philosophic study of esthetics, for instance, doesn't have a whole lot to do with how humans should behave.

Religion specifically dictates how the world should be, whereas philosophy can describe how the world is and how we perceive the world without necessarily prescribing a direction for us. 

[Crow]

I personally think what sets a philosophy apart from religion is when a hierarchy of leadership develops.

[Sandra Craft]

How is living by another person's philosophy different from living by a religion (if it even is)?

I think it's a matter of rigidity, and of faith.  I.e., you must believe this even if it doesn't make any sense, rather than this is something you agree with in general because it does make sense.  But I'd hardly call that iron-clad, and then too there are groups, like the Buddhists, that cause endless arguement over whether they are a religion or a philosopy, and if they're a religion whether they're a theistic/deistic or a secular religion.  The line can be blurry is what I'm saying.

[Tank]

I personally think what sets a philosophy apart from religion is when a hierarchy of leadership develops.

I'd qualify that with 'hierarchy of supernatural leadership'. For me the difference between a philosophy and a religion is the invocation of supernatural support for the philosophy.

[Crow]

I personally think what sets a philosophy apart from religion is when a hierarchy of leadership develops.

I'd qualify that with 'hierarchy of supernatural leadership'. For me the difference between a philosophy and a religion is the invocation of supernatural support for the philosophy.

Good point, it doesn't really explain why Confucianism, Taoism, and Buddhism (along with some others) are considered religions though. Certain sects of these religions do have supernatural elements to them but it isn't what there teachings are based upon.

As Confucianism is basically humanism it could be possible from that example for a religion to form from a philosophy without the need for supernatural support.

[Too Few Lions]

yeah, the two very much overlap. I tend to think of religion as philosophy mixed with mythology. In the ancient world, there was even less differentiation between the two.

[Crow]

yeah, the two very much overlap. I tend to think of religion as philosophy mixed with mythology. In the ancient world, there was even less differentiation between the two.

I was just thinking the very same thing.

[MrStakhanovite]

I think the difficulty you are having here is that Philosophy is so broadly construed, it's not easy to think of any discipline that doesn't depend on it, even the empirical sciences are based on it.

That said, religion usually deals with a community, that has a social hierarchy bound by a rigid code of conduct, that partakes in rituals and attempts to transcend the material world in some fashion.

[Too Few Lions]

I think the difficulty you are having here is that Philosophy is so broadly construed, it's not easy to think of any discipline that doesn't depend on it, even the empirical sciences are based on it.

That said, religion usually deals with a community, that has a social hierarchy bound by a rigid code of conduct, that partakes in rituals and attempts to transcend the material world in some fashion.

I think that may be the case with the modern interpretation of philosophy, but originally philosophy was something rather different. A lot of the Greek philosophical schools were very much like your definition of religion, minus the rituals bit. Cicero described philosophy with,

'As to philosophy, the mother of all arts, what else is it except, as Plato held, the gift of, or, as I hold, the discovery of the gods? It instructed us first in the worship of gods, then in the justice of mankind at large which is rooted in the social union of the race of men, and next taught us the lessons of temperance and greatness of soul, and thus dispersed the darkness from the eyes as if it were the mind, so that we saw all things above, below, things first and last and in between.'