In a recent conference that brought together scholars, professionals and academicians of various religions to speak on interfaith harmony, a young man undergoing training as a religions trainer asked the question “what is the function of religion today?”. It took everyone by surprise but what is of significance is not only the question but also the person who posed the question in the first place. Is the aspirant not really convinced about what he is committing himself to?, which is presumably to a life of purification and service and devotion/bhakti? Was he feeling that he is missing out on the ‘freedom’ that many young men of his age was enjoying, thinking that the abstinence he has to endure is unnecessary and out-dated to begin with. How does one become religious?
On a different but related note, why then, despite the many hours of exposure to so-called religious instruction in the school system some observers are sounding the realization that our religio-moral education is not showing a level of effectiveness that is satisfactory. A recent study has indicated that the state of preparedness (spiritual, intellectual, emotional, social and even physical) of the so-called religious instructors and guides seems to leave a lot to be desired. This is perhaps due to a significant lack of discipline which again covers not merely the physical but more importantly the psycho-spiritual, emotional intellectual level both of the instructed and the instructor. On the same note what is the method to acquire in oneself the akhlak or ethical-moral behavior taught by religion, or how can religious instruction be more effective?
To begin to answer the young man’s question, many religious people would perhaps agree that fundamentally the objective of religion is to groom and develop a human being that is at peace with himself and others which means he is healthy inwardly and outwardly or holistically. The word whole comes from the old English word “hale” which means healthy. Besides health experts, psychologists, and philosophers, if we ask poets and musicians on the other hand, they too would agree that peace, and happiness is the goal of human life. Whilst agreeing with this, religion adds another dimension to the statement by saying that it provides the method for not only achieving but also sustaining this peace and happiness. However, without wanting to sound condescending, there is generally, a lack of proper understanding as described by the questioning of the young religious aspirant, of the what, the why and the how of religion to begin with. In Islam these questions are covered by what is termed as aqidah which covers core beliefs of the religion pertaining to the Creator and other basic tenets of the religion. Even without the religious framework, conventional non-religious studies, such as by the renowned psychologist Abraham Maslow (1908-1970) have shown that the happiest, most well adjusted, positive thinking, productive and successful individuals are those who have achieved what he has termed as the highest level of human development which is the level of self – transcendence which brings us into the realm of God/The Transcendent. In this state the individual possesses the qualities/characteristics that include morality, creativity, spontaneity, problem solving, lack of prejudice and acceptance of reality (ridha) among others. We could perhaps tell the young man this is the outcome of the proper understanding and maximum living out, of true religion. Maslow also adds that the journey of which this state is the destination or goal would entail the fulfillment of the more basic individual basic needs for:
1. The physiological (breathing, food, water, sex, sleep, homeostasis, excretion, etc.;
2. Safety (security in terms of body, employment, resources, morality, the family, health, property);
3. Love/belonging (friendship, family, intimacy);
4. Esteem (self-esteem, confidence, achievement, respect by others) to begin with.
In a more elaborated manner the maqasid or objective/purpose of the shariah (the way) of the ‘Islamic’ life as explained by the revelations (given throughout the history of human beings, ending with the Prophet Muhammad SAW), seeks to ensure the protection of faith (transcendence), life, reason, lineage/progeny and the wealth of human beings, which are all the fundamental components of life.
The shariah gives guidelines which are particularized by the jurists/fuqaha based on their interpretation and contextualization of the Quranic verses and hadith (sayings) and sunnah (behavior) of the Prophet. The uninitiated might ask how do we know revelation and hadith can be trusted – there is a method and body of knowledge both esoteric and exoteric, historically and evidentially based for getting the clarifications for such queries as well.
Such Transcenders (people who have achieved the highest level of awareness) according to Maslow, are more awe – inspiring, more unearthly, more saintly, and more revered, etc.
Therefore the quarrel between those who believe and those who do not despite Richard Dawkin’s book The God Delusion does not seem to be the issue for many people, after all, according to the statistics 95% of all earth’s inhabitants claim that they are religious.
What is problematic is how do we make people ‘learn and practice’ religiosity? One way is, as Maslow’s research has shown, by allowing, and enabling the individual to have what it takes to reach to the level of self-transcendence. An ordinary glance would tell us that what Maslow has presented in terms of what needs, need fulfilling to begin with, are ideals besoughted with challenges of all kinds for most people/communities to be achieved, to begin with.
This is what the shariah is trying to get at i.e. the shariah aims precisely for the fulfillment of these needs. There is ‘religious’ assistance via knowledge and practical methodologies provable via experience that enables the ideal to be achieved. The goal of religious education than is do ‘drive in’ the above point into the human psyche regarding the ‘truths’ of why the akhlak or ethics called for by religious precepts need to be followed in the context of the individually requisite knowledge (fardhu ain) and societally requisite knowledge (fardhu kifayah), encompassing all the dimensions of life which are summed as comprising of man’s interactions with his Creator, his fellow humans, and the environment (hablu minallah, hablu minannas, and hablu minalalamin).
Experiential learning is the process of deriving meaning from direct experience. Aristotle once said “for the things we have to learn, before we can do them, we learn by doing them”. Experiential learning can also be described as learning through reflection on doing, which is often contrasted with rote learning. A simple of experiential learning is going to the zoo and learning through observation and interaction with the zoo environment, as opposed to reading about animals from a book. Thus, one makes discoveries and experiments with knowledge firsthand, instead of hearing or reading about others’ experiences. David Kolb an educational theorist explains further that in order to gain genuine knowledge from experiences, abilities such as the following are required:
1. The learner must actively be involved in the experience;
2. The learner must reflect on the experience;
3. The learner use analytical skills to conceptualize the experience; and
4. The learner must possess decision making and problem solving skills in order to use the new ideas gained from the experience.
Within the structure of Islamic tarbiyyah/learning fasting is a clear example of how experiential learning can take place. Similarly in reality the other pillars of Islamic belief could and should also be related to or be made relatable to real life via the process of experiential learning. Perhaps the lack of effectiveness of religious teaching could be addressed by the adoption of experiential learning in addition to other person methods.
Perhaps too, the irony about religious understanding, practice and applicability in the solving of everyday’s problems is the weakness of the process of learning to begin with due to the misunderstood notion that being religious means simply having to declare one’s belief at one particular moment in time and place and assuming that understanding and practice will automatically fall into place, with such a mere declaration.
As signalled by the young aspirant, observed by Maslow, elaborated by the experiential learning process and described by revelation itself, religion is the whole of life and requires the commitment and realization that it has to be, as far as possible, “related to” every breath, every consciousness, every desire, every emotion that we feel/go through and we need God’s help to do this. This is reflected in the prayer contained in the ‘opening’ of the Quran known as the ummul (mother), of the Quran which is surah Al-Fatihah by which the believer asks God who safeguards and governs the entire universe “it is you we worship and You we look to for help, Guide us to the right path”.