Wikipedia Religion and Mythology standards

This page is for discussion of Wikipedia standards for articles on Religion and Mythology

Use of the words 'Myth', 'Mythology', etc.

The word 'myth' has two primary meanings in the English language. The first meaning is roughly "a story that express the religion, beliefs and morals of a culture" and the second meaning is roughly "a story that is false or made-up". The first meaning does not involve any judgement on the truth or falsehood of the story, nor on the people who believe in the story; the second meaning says the story is false, and can imply that people who believe it to be true are ignorant or foolish.

In English, we normally reserve the terms "myth" and "mythology" for the stories of the ancient polytheistic religions (such as those of Greece or Rome), which have few or no followers today. We generally do not call the stories of Judaism, Christianity or Islam "myths" or "mythologies", although from a neutral point of view they do not appear to be a fundamentally different phenomena from those stories which we do call myths.

We have three main options for using the terms 'myth', 'mythology', etc., on Wikipedia:

Option 1

Call the stories of the ancient polytheistic religions "myths" or "mythology"; do not use this term for the stories of Judaism, Christianity or Islam.

PROS:

• This is the usage that most people will be expecting and familiar with
• Few people are likely to be offended by calling the stories of the ancient polytheistic religions "myths" or "mythology"; some people may be offended by the use of those terms to describe the stories of Judaism, Christianity and Islam, even if we explain to them that we are using it in a neutral sense.
• People will be expecting to find the stories of the ancient Greek and Roman religions under the name "mythology"

CONS:

• This perpetuates bias in favour of Judaism, Christianity and Islam, against ancient polytheistic religions; perpetuating such bias would not appear to be NPOV
• Calling the stories of the ancient polytheistic religions "myths" may be interpreted as a judgement on our part that these stories are false or ought not be believed; whatever our individual views on their truth or falsehood, it is not the job of an encyclopedia to tell people which religious tales they are to believe or disbelieve
• Using different terms for the stories of ancient polytheistic religions on the one hand, and the stories of Judaism, Christianity and Islam on the other, may obscure the similarities between the two phenomena, and makes a distinction which may not have any basis in the features of the stories themselves

Option 2

Call the stories of both the ancient polytheistic religions, and of Judaism, Christianity and Islam, "myth". Explain clearly that we are using "myth" here

PROS:

• Does not discriminate between ancient polytheistic religions, and Judaism, Christianity and Islam, nor show bias towards the latter
• Shows clearly the similarities, and allows easy comparison, between stories of the different religions, both polytheistic and monotheistic
• People will be expecting to find the stories of the ancient Greek and Roman religions under the name "mythology"

CONS:

• Some people may be offended by calling the Jewish, Christian and Islamic stories "myth". Even if we explain that we are using "myth" in a neutral sense, without intending to say anything about the truth or falsehood of the stories, or the rationality of the people who believe these stories, the word "myth" still has connontations of falsehood in most people's minds, connontations that may be impossible to avoid

Option 3

Avoid use of the words 'myth' and 'mythology' altogether. Refer to the stories of both groups of religions as simply 'religious stories' or some other term.

PROS:

• Does not discriminate between ancient polytheistic religions, and Judaism, Christianity and Islam, nor show bias towards the latter
• Does not suffer from any unavoidable negative connontations that the word 'myth' may have, when applied to the stories of either set of religions

CONS:

• People will be expecting the stories of the ancient polytheistic religions to be listed under 'myths'. The use of non-standard terminology may confuse people, and may make it hard for people to find what they are looking for.
• English lacks a simple, clear, and easy to use alternative to the word 'myth'. 'Religious stories' is a mouthful, and does not clearly refer to what we are talking about (many Christian novels, for instance, could be called 'Christian religious stories', but only literature like the Bible, and some other sources, is really comparable to polytheistic mythology)

Discussion

My first preference is for option 2, my second for option 3, and my last for option 1. I think being NPOV is a more fundamental value for an encyclopedia than either clarity or avoiding offense. -- SJK