How colonialism and racism determined our view on religion

Jonas Atlas

Most people take it for granted that the concept of ‘religion’ is something age-old and universal. They suppose that throughout history, it has been an important aspect of all cultures. In reality, this is far from the case. Until about two or three centuries ago — that is to say, before the European colonial period — other cultures had no word at all for the concept of religion. And in Western Europe itself, the word’s meaning shifted several times before it truly got the content it’s associated with today.

One of the more telling examples thereof is the fact that colonial scouting missions regularly stated in their reports that they found no religion among the people they encountered. This might sound absurd to us today, but before the colonial period, Europeans simply didn’t divide the cultural diversity into different ‘religions.’

The history of how and why we did come to divide humanity into several religions is truly fascinating. At the launch of my book “Religie Herzien” in Ghent, Belgium I explained why it is of great importance today to be conscious of the colonial and racist history behind the contemporary concept of religion. Below you will find that particular fragment of the book launch. An English version of the book has also been published under the title Religion: Reality behind the myths.