Teachings
Obviously, religions tend to involve beliefs. But as long as they remain private to the individual, beliefs are problematic for the student of religion. Once they are given outward expression in the form of a religion’s teachings, however, beliefs can be observed and interpreted.
Such public beliefs are manifested as doctrines or creeds—sets of concepts that are believed in, (The term creed derives from the Latin verb credo, meaning “I believe.”) Among the world’s major religions, Christianity most emphasizes doctrines. Most Christians, for example, regularly acknowledge belief in the statements of the Nicene Creed.Religious teachings include another significant category, often referred to as myth (as noted in Smart’s “mythic” dimension). In contrast to the modem connotation of myth as a falsehood, myth as understood by the academic field of religious studies is a powerful source of sacred truth. Set forth in narrative form and originally conveyed orally, myths do not depend on empirical verifiability or rational coherence for their power. Believers simply accept them as true accounts, often involving events of primordial time that describe the origin of things.
Meditating Buddha, sixth century ce (Thai). Sculptures of the Buddha typically depict the serene calm of the enlightened state.
As we have noted previously, religions typically include ethical instructions, whether doctrinal or mythic, among their teachings. And as Smart readily acknowledges, the various dimensions are closely interrelated; the ethical dimension, for example, extends into the doctrinal and the mythic, and so forth.