Abstract

A series of articles is devoted to clarifying the essence of the phenomenon of religious philosophy. The first raises the question of the essence, origin and evolution of religion as a specific world-attitude modality. The basic concepts of religion are analyzed and their positive and negative aspects are clarified. It was found that those phenomena that are traditionally defined in religious studies as early forms of religion are not. It was also established that religion did not arise from the moment of the formation of society and culture, but only at a very late stage in the evolution of primitive culture. Religion is viewed as a complex, multi-level phenomenon. The main levels are characterized. It is shown that the core of any religion is the value-volitional intention and striving for the imaginative image-representation of the sacred Beginning, which is otherwise defined as a specifically religious faith. Other levels of religion as integrity are analyzed – the level of praxis (cult) and the organizational level.