Simmel’s Religion Ideology As The Solution Of Religion Modernity

The tension of religion and modernity creats multiple dimensions of Simmel’s philosophy ofreligion. This dissertation will review and comment Simmel’s religious ideology according tosociology, cultural science and philosophy of life. From the religious sociological perspective,Simmel interprets religion as a transcendent social relationship which can integrate the society,and points out its function in the transformation of modern society; In the view of culturephilosophy, Simmel analyzed the cultural origin of modernity, and the symbiotic relationshipbetween religious crisis and the crisis of modernity; Simmel took life philosophy as thedestination point of his entire religious thought，pointed out that the key to solve the crisis ofreligion in modernity lies in the distinction between Religion and Religiousness--Simmellcreatively found the latter, and interpreted it as the basic functions of life and human desire.Changing the direction from extrinsic transcendental object to intrinsic nature of life,Religiousness is a Basic Soul of Religion. Thus, Simmel creativly and perfectly provides a newstyle theory for religious modernity from the sociology, cultural ttudies and the philosophy oflife.