宗教と文化諸領域 : ウェーバー宗教倫理論研究ノート(二)

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Heretofore, we have clarified Weber's critical thought about the relation between religious ethics and social - material and psychological - interest situations. Indeed, Weber admits the fact that those situations play an important role in the history of religions. However, he basically stresses another fact, that the individual character of a certain religious ethic has been built up under 'its own law of evolution.' Now, we consider his unique theory about the relation between religions and other social and cultural areas, namely, those of community, economy, politics, aesthetics, and love or sex. Generally speaking, according to Weber, religious ethics in the primitive stage, used to conform to other cultural areas. However, as they developed in their 'rationalization,' they came into conflict with those areas. First of all, Weber pays attention to the correlation between religious ethics and traditional rules or customs in primitive communities. As he says, primitive religions originally borrowed their ethical principles of 'love of neighbors' from those of communities, namely, principles of service and mutual assistance of members. However, those kinds of ethics in religious groups were 'rationalized' or sophisticated with time, and became the universal moral of 'brotherhood' or philanthropy. In consequence, they made fierce attacks of customary duties in traditional communities, as was shown by Jesus who said: 'A man's foes shall be those of his own household.' Secondly, Weber notes the relation of religious ethics to areas of economy. In this case too, the interests of primitive religions were closely connected to economic interests. Religious leaders, including magicians, used to promise people not only long life, health and honor, but also affluence. Now, however, since religious ethics have been rationalized, religion and economy have come into conflict with each other. The more the economy became rationalized, the more it was 'impersonalized,' and it became a mortal enemy of refined religious ethics, which stressed the personal love of neighbors, and told us that we could not serve God and mammon. Thirdly, rationalized religious ethics conflict with interests in politics. Indeed, tribal gods of primitive religions fought against enemies for their own communities because the interests of religious groups were identical with those of political communities. However, with time, tribal gods transformed themselves into the universal God of Love, and religious ethics came into conflict with 'the Reason of the State,' namely, the right and power of the state which wielded authority to maintain a political order. Now, according to Weber, religious ethics conflict not only with rational actions including economic and political, but also with irrational areas of life. Above all, he attends to art or aesthetic works, and sexual or erotic life as well. Indeed, primitive magical religions had close connections with art or music, as shown by works for mystic liturgies. However, from the viewpoint of rationalized religious ethics, art and music were not only valueless but also suspicious, because they filled the role of salvation for the people within this secular world. Now, areas of erotic or sexual lives were still more irrational and powerful than art and music. Those areas originally stood in intimate relation to magical religions because the ecstatic experience in sexual love was psychologically similar to that of 'Holiness.' However, keeping step with the times, sexuality was refined and elevated to personal love, and it came into conflict with the religious ethics of universal brotherhood, for it seemed to give us a sentiment of deliverance from the agony of this world. In other words, the psychological affinity between religious love and sexual love makes the conflict between them most irreconcilable. To sum up, all these above mentioned testify that religious ethics, in their rationalized scene, radically conflict with other cultural areas.
2002-09-25

宗教と文化諸領域 : ウェーバー宗教倫理論研究ノート(二)

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