Religion between Last Judgement, law and faith

Koranicdīnand its rendering in Latin translations of the Koran

Bibliographic Data

ID4828633
AuthorsReinhold Glei, Reinhold F Glei (Ruhr University Bochum, corresponding author), Stefan Reichmuth (0000-0002-2496-2613, Ruhr University Bochum)
Year2012
Volume42
Issue2
Pages247-271
Publication date2012-04-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessNo
TypeARTICLE
VenueReligion (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0048-721X • E-ISSN: 1096-1151
PublisherInforma UK Limited (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1080/0048721x.2012.642575
OpenAlexW2085678003
LanguageEN
Citations received8
References cited22

In this article, the meaning of the Latin term religio and its equivalents in European languages is considered in a diachronical perspective, with a special focus on the history of the Koranic term dīn and its rendering in Latin translations. It is shown that the Koranic concept of religion goes back to late-antique Middle East sources, responsible for the different meanings of dīn in Koranic usage. As can be seen, there is a development from an older meaning of ‘law, judgement’ to a younger one, ‘religion’. Looking at the Latin translations of dīn from the 12th century onwards, there seems to be a similar development from lex (‘law’) to religio. This reflects, however, not only the etymology of Arabic dīn but also the influence of St Paul's theology of law picked up by Augustine and others. In the 15th century, then, Nicholas of Cusa was the first to use the term religio to denote Islam. This way, new light is shed on a (not exclusively) European Begriffsgeschichte of ‘religion ’

Arabic · Art · Epistemology · Etymology · Faith · Islam · Judgement · Linguistics · Literature · Meaning (existential) · Political science · Sharia · Sociology · Theology · Archaeology and Historical Studies · Historical and Linguistic Studies · Historical, Religious, and Philosophical Studies · Law · Philosophy