02/01/2023 – Who was Wilfred Cantwell Smith?

In 1976 W. C. Smith wrote, “We explain the fact that the Milky Way is there by the doctrine of creation, but how do we explain the fact that the Bhagavad Gita is there?” (The Bhagavad Gita is an important Hindu scripture.) We can know “our” faith is true but often get stumped when asked how one knows the faith of people in other traditions is false. There’s a lot of good stuff in today’s episode. Stick around. This is TenOnReligion.

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We’re going to be looking at Wilfred Cantwell Smith today, a Canadian scholar who spent a significant portion of his career at Harvard Divinity School. W. C. Smith was a historian and his early career focused on Islam at a period in time when Islam was not really studied that much by Western scholars. He then broadened out into other more general areas. That’s where we’re going to pick up the story. We’re going to talk about four of his important works: The Meaning and End of Religion (1962/1991), Faith and Belief (1979), Towards a World Theology (1980), and What is Scripture? A Comparative Approach (1993).

First, The Meaning and End of Religion, originally published in 1962 and then reissued in 1991. The modern concept of religion was constructed in the later 1800’s and early 1900’s and by the 1960’s W. C. Smith in this book was already questioning the adequacy of that concept. His main concern is that the concept of religion became a process of reification, or making religion itself into a thing. Once it becomes a thing, other things can be put into that category. Thus were born the religions of the world. But what about examples or instances where the Western category of religion might not work as intended. He mentions that the question, “Is Confucianism a religion?” is one that the West has never been able to answer, and China never able to ask. Even the word “Judaism” developed in the first century out of a perceived threat of Greek life on the traditional character of their living. This quality of life came to refer to a formal pattern of a system of observances. The original Greek terms for Judaism and later Christianity were personal qualities and not institutions. Islam, an Arabic word referring to submission to God, was an action on how to comport one’s life and not an institution either. W. C. Smith asks if the general concept as well as the specific concepts are adequate in that do they distort more than they represent? Ironically, when one looks closely at the history of naming religions, it is often outsiders who name them. Observers see movements and items in believers’ minds while believers’ see the universe and human society in a particular way. Most folks who are religious don’t self-identify that way. “I’m Buddhist but not religious.” “I don’t believe in religion, I’m a Christian.” Religion, then seems to be what other people have. W. C. Smith suggests rejecting the usage of the word “religion” and replacing it with “cumulative tradition,” because, as a good historian, the relationship between transcendence and the world is constantly changing. The link between cumulative tradition and faith is the living person.

Second, Faith and Belief was published in 1979. In this work he describes faith as a larger category with belief as something more specific. A set of beliefs is a symbol system which is humanly created and developed within the social-historical context, but despite being aware of that fact, humans live life knowing that such symbols point to something larger. Their participation in them symbolizes faith. W. C. Smith points out that India, more than any other area, has recognized that life is lived religiously by different people and groups in a variety of forms. Such forms are not exclusive paths because human life itself is diverse. He states that when one reads Shakespeare’s play Macbeth, even though it is set in Scotland, it’s not a good idea to base one’s history of Scotland on this play. Rather, the play is about what it is like to gain a kingdom and lose one’s soul. It’s themes in symbolic form set in a historical context but is not history itself. Faith is an essential human quality expressed through beliefs. The extent to which one responds to a religious symbol is the extent to which one is more or less successful in seeing what it means.

Third, Towards a World Theology, first published in 1981, picks up where Faith and Belief left off. One must keep the human perspective at the forefront. Personal faith unites people of different traditions because it is the real locus of religious truth. Smith is advocating for understanding religion’s corporate character. Religious plurality is a promise, not a curse. It’s a humane vision of studying what, why, and how humans have understood problems. Human understanding of religion is self-consciousness and contribution from the others is necessary to provide meaning to the corporate group, as in all of humanity. Each tradition is a moment in the total process of the world’s religious history. Faith may differ in form, but not in kind. Faith as expressed is always personal, particular, and historical.

Lastly, What is Scripture? A Comparative Approach came out in 1993. This is a fascinating book because W. C. Smith not only explains what scripture is, but also provides examples from many religious traditions. There is a stark difference between seeing or feeling something to be divine versus seeing or feeling it as something that people have historically thought of as divine. The word “scripture” designates a special status of a text or texts and this status is conferred on it historically by humans. Religious communities not only make historical texts into scripture, but they also maintain their scriptural status by treating them in certain ways, thus keeping the scripture alive so to speak. The meaning of any given scripture lies not in the text itself but in the minds and hearts of the believers. For each religious community, the transcendent and the concrete converge into a particular pattern, person, or idea. Outsiders see two things but for the adherents they are not two, but one. Scripture does not exist independently of humans. Scripture refers to a relation or engagement between humans and the transcendent expressed linguistically in a text. The meaning lives in the hearts and minds of people and groups for whom it is symbolic.

This was just a simple overview highlighting some of the major themes in these four books to provide insight into W. C. Smith’s thought patterns. I want to go back to 1976 where I started this video to leave you with one important quotation of his which became pretty well-known:

The traditional form of Western scholarship in the study of other men’s religion was that of an impersonal presentation of an “it.” The first great innovation in recent times has been the personalization of the faiths observed, so that one finds a discussion of a “they.” Presently the observer becomes personally involved, so that the situation is one of a “we” talking about a “they.” The next step is a dialogue, where “we” talk to “you.” If there is listening and mutuality, this may become that “we” talk with “you.” The culmination of this progress is when “we all” are talking with each other about “us.”

One of the most interesting things you can learn about a person is see how they use the word “we” – who that includes and who that doesn’t include.

So, what do you think about W. C. Smith? He was a historian of religion who questioned the concept of religion, described it in terms of faith and belief, had a big view of human corporate religious consciousness, and explained scripture and its function in religion. He was a huge figure in the development of the academic field of religion in the 1960’s all the way through the 1990’s. What did you like the most about W. C. Smith and why? Leave a comment below and let me know what you think. In the next episode we’re going to talk about how the Western concept of religion developed historically over the past few thousand years. It’s gonna be good! Until next time, stay curious. If you enjoyed this, support the channel in the link below, please like and share this video and subscribe to this channel. This is TenOnReligion.