破解宗教的斯芬克斯之谜——论段德智对宗教本质的三重透视

Discovering the Sphinx Riddle of Religion

目前,国内学界对宗教本质的探讨都或多或少地存在四个问题:一是缺乏必要的重视;二是把宗教本质平面化;三是忽视宗教的特殊本质;四是把宗教文化外在化。而段德智在《宗教概论》等著作中打破这些成规,构筑了一个包含宗教的要素、特殊本质和普遍本质三个层面的理论系统。该系统把宗教要素仅仅视为宗教的“初级本质”,把信仰对象的超越性与内在性之间的关系作为揭开宗教特殊本质的钥匙,并且创造性地提出宗教的“文化本质”概念,从而将宗教的普遍本质归结为社会和文化两个方面。

There exist four deficiencies in contemporary domestic scholars＇ discussions on religious essence more or less. The first one is some scholars＇ lack of necessary recognition, the second one is their superficiality about religious essence; the third one is their negligence of religious special essence; the fourth one is their extrication of religious culture. DUAN Dezhi＇s Introduction to religion, however, broke these etiquette and built a ternary theoretical system, which includes the essentials, special essence and universal essence of religion. In his system, religious essential was regarded only as ＂the primary essence＂ of religion; the relation between transcendence and immanence of belief was regarded as a key for discovering religious special essence; and he created a new concept of ＂religious cultural essence＂, thereby he reduced the universal essence of religion to society and culture.