Common Elements of Religion
Introduction
Throughout
history, religions have tried to control the actions of their followers using
various moral grounds. Therefore, religions have various common basic elements.
Anthropology has helped in identifying the common elements of different
religions. The elements are evident in both historical and ‘advanced’
religions. Myths, taboos, and animism are some of the common elements of different
religions. The elements define how people should behave in the society. In
addition, they provide explanations of different beliefs within the religion.
Animism is one of the oldest elements.
Myths
Mythology
is one of the major characteristics of all religions. This is regardless of
whether they are basic or advanced religions. In contemporary parlance, myths
generally refer to lies or false beliefs. The myth of Aryan supremacy is one of
the false beliefs. However, the study of religion uses the term myth differently. Myths refer to the
religious stories on the dealings between humans and gods. They enable people
to visualize the interactions between humans and gods. They usually form the
foundation of various beliefs in the religion. Historically, preliterate
societies used myths to transmit their religions from generation to another
(Antion & Ruml, 2011).
Christianity
has several myths that act as a foundation of its beliefs. The death,
resurrection, and ascension into heaven of Jesus Christ is one of the major
myths of Christianity. According to Christianity, God offered the blessed
sacrifice of Jesus Christ to carry the sins of all men. Therefore, if people
have sinned, they should ask for forgiveness from God. God has the power to
forgive people regardless of their sins. The dying god is a mythical theme that
is present in many religions especially religions in the Near East. The Bible
details the story of Noah, where the sinful life of people in the world made
God cause a huge flood, which cleansed the world in preparation for the rebirth
of a more righteous society. Flood myths are common in all Abrahamic religions.
In addition, certain ancient religions also had flood myths. The common feature
of all flood myths is that they have a hero who ensure the rebirth of humanity
(Hopfe & Woodward, 2012).
Religions
use myths to provide an explanation “on the whys and hows of the world” (Hopfe
& Woodward, 2012, p. 24). Myths may provide an explanation to on the
creation. Religions have different myths on creation. Religions also have myths
that explain the powers of certain religious personalities. Myths helps in
defining various religious practices. Religions do not use scientific
foundations to explain the occurrence of various things in the world. In fact,
science has discounted several religious myths.
Taboo
Religions
strive to dictate the activities of its followers. Therefore, it may prohibit
them from undertaking certain activities lest. Failure to do so would make the
spirit world cause harm to an individual. The prohibited activities are
referred to as taboos. In a basic society, holy places, persons, and objects
are taboo to ordinary people in the society. Therefore, an individual should
not touch holy objects or enter holy places without great fear. An individual
who knowingly violates taboos may face great harm (Antion & Ruml, 2011).
The
Bible in Second Kings 2:23–25 details an incident where a boy mocked Prophet
Elisha. A prophet was a sacred religious personality. Due to the transgressions
on a prophet, two bears mauled the boy. In addition, Second Samuel 6:1–7 details
an incident where God struck dead a man who touched the Ark of the Covenant.
This is despite the fact that the man touched the Ark of the Covenant to
prevent is from falling from a cart. The Ark of the Covenant was one of the
holiest objects in the kingdom. Only certain religious personalities could
touch it (Hopfe & Woodward, 2012).
Religions
have different taboos. One of the most common taboos regards the conduct of
women during menses. Judaism considers menstruating women as ritually unclean.
Therefore, it states that people should avoid getting into contact with
menstruating women before rituals. In Islam, menstruating women are prohibited
from taking part in religious activities. In addition, husbands it prohibits
husbands from having sexual intercourse with their wives during menses. However, it does not restrict the women from
engaging in other social activities normally. Hinduism regards menstruating
women as impure. Therefore, she must be ‘purified’ before she can return to her
home and interact freely with her family. Christianity and Sikhism do not have
any taboos regarding the conduct of women during menses. Christianity allows
women to interact freely and perform their normal functions during menses. On
the hand, Sikhism claims that washing the body does not affect the spiritual
purity of an individual. Therefore, it does not relate spiritual purity with
menses (Antion & Ruml, 2011).
Animism
Animism
is the notion that non-human entities have a spiritual essence. Therefore,
nature is alive with many spirits, which have feelings. In addition, animism
assumes that people can communicate with spirits. The physical and spiritual
world are the major components of an animistic worldview. In this worldview,
there is no clear differences between the spiritual world and the spiritual
world. What happens in one reality may affect the other. If the spirits are
pleased, they may help people. On the other hand, if the spirits are offended,
they may harm people. Therefore, animism assumes that the spirits are personal.
People should strive to avoid offending the spirits. Sir Edward Taylor, the
first person to undertake research on animism. He termed animistic beliefs as
‘childish’ beliefs that portrayed the cognitive underdevelopment of a society.
He claimed that these beliefs were common among ‘primitive’ societies such as
the hunter-gatherer societies. Despite the advancements in technology, many
religions still believe in animism. Christianity has several elements of
animism. Christianity encourages the spirituality of its followers. Therefore,
Christian animism enables Christians to experience, understand, and relate to
the different entities in the universe. This helps in spiritual nourishment of
Christians (Hopfe & Woodward, 2012).
Animism
is prevalent in both Abrahamic and Eastern religions. Christians, Muslims,
Hindus, and Buddhists believe that the spirits may bless or curse an
individual. Therefore, they fear strive to appease the spirits to seek ‘its’
blessings. Most religions have acquired animistic beliefs due to the conversion
of people with the beliefs into the religion. Christianity is the major
religion that highlights this trend. Christianity has not displaced the local
folk religion of people upon their conversion. Therefore, both religions
coexist in an uneasy tension. Coexistence of the religions has led to the incorporation
of animistic beliefs into Christianity (Antion & Ruml, 2011).
Conclusion
Religion
is one of the major factor that holds the society together. All religions share
ideas on how people should live and what happens when people die. They also
provide stories on the origin of creation. Taboos and myths dictate the
activities that people should engage in. On the other hand, animism fosters
respect of nature and the spirits. Therefore, religion leads to the creation of
norms that facilitate social harmony.
References
Antion,
G.E. & Ruml, D. (2011). World
Religions in Brief. Bloomington, IN: iUniverse.
Hopfe,
L.M. & Woodward, M.R. (2012). Religions
of the World. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall.
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