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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Corone" data-source="post: 8546929" data-attributes="member: 6806393">Ah, big subject, and not one I'm sure I'm qualified to answer!Real world religion is tricky to make use of without offending people, but to a certain degree that is true of anything.I think the best option is to remember to respect each religion whether you believe in it or not and if you do then I suspect you'd be ok. Record what the religion does without making any judgements on it.I'm reminded of two things that may be both interesting and helpful.There is an interesting comparison with attitudes towards appropriation of religion in Hinduism and Native American religion. When the Beatles brought a lot of Indian religion into the public eye in the 1960s I don't think many people were upset by this. They were clearly adherents wanting to share what they'd learned and they pointed people towards their mentors if they wanted to know more rather than set themselves up as an authority.Whereas when the 'west' discovered Native American religion they cherry picked the easy bits, took a lot out of context and then tried to sell it to people as authentic. Quite rightly the Native Americans were somewhat annoyed about people trying to sell a twisted and incomplete version of their faith back to them.So here the key is respect and offering better sources for people who want to know more, rather than declaring you know all about it.Interestingly there was another controversy worth noting when it comes to investigating a religion.It is well known that Islamic art does not feature human figures, especially not of the prophet.However, one of my text books was amended as it showed an ancient picture, painted by an Islamic artist depicting the prophet.  Despite it being a matter of history, many Muslims were offended and the picture was removed from the text book (although the discussion about its existence was not).So, when looking at the history of a faith you might find some controversial aspects modern adherents are uncomfortable with. In which case it is important to report them in a way that won't offend them.Religion is an interesting academic topic because there are two ways to study it, as a believer and as a non-believer. Both have their advantages and flaws. The non-believer can be more clinical, but they will never really understand the experiential aspect that is key to an understanding. Essentially (now I've gone on a bit too!) treat religion as you would something important to you. If you'd be offended about something someone would say about gaming (for instance), especially when they are an outsider who doesn't know much about it, consider how something you might be saying might feel to a religious person.</blockquote>

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