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Religion as a Domain of Intercultural Discourse
Religion is a prominent, if not central, domain of most human societies, and therefore easily becomes a natural locus for intercultural communication. With a domain being “a sphere of activity representing a combination of specific times, settings, and role relationships” (Romaine 2000: 44), clarification of its parameters is requisite for examining discourse that occurs within it. In the case of something universal like religion, this would appear to be an easy task, for “as far as we know, all societies have possessed beliefs that can be grouped under the term religion … [which involves] any set of attitudes, beliefs, and practices pertaining to supernatural power, whether that power be forces, gods, spirits, ghosts, or demons” (Ember and Ember 2007: 263). Humanity gives every appearance of being incurably religious.
However, a conclusive definition for religion is strangely elusive, for what typifies one faith may be contravened by another. A religion might be classified by its theistic orientation (e.g., mono-vs. polytheism) or conversely by its interest in a multiplicity of lower spiritual beings (e.g., animism), or even by human interaction with ostensible spiritual forces (e.g., divination, magic) – or, in the case of humanism, by denial of otherworld divinities altogether. Some religions are notoriously exclusive while others are characterized by their eclecticism (e.g., Baha’ism, Taoism). Major religions ...
