World Religions

Basic Religions

Chapter 1

Learning Objectives

1. Learn some of the features that basic religions share with world religions.

2. Become acquainted with theoretical approaches to the academic study of religion.

Key Names, Concepts, and Terms

1. Animism

2. Taboo

3. rites of passage

4. Magic

5. Totemism

6. ancestor

7. Veneration

8 Divination

9. mythology

I) Introduction: Questioning the Evolutionary Paradigm

A. The Sophistication of the Supposedly “Primitive”

B. Basic Religions Not Measured Against Other World Religions on an Evolutionary Scale

1. Beware of the biased distinction between civilized and non-civilized because elements of basic religions are found in all world religions

2. Basic religions represent the majority of the total religious experience of humankind and

hence must be respectfully understood

© 2013 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

II) Sources of Information Concerning Basic Religions

• Non-written records:– Cave paintings– Burial sites– Religious statuary– Archeological remains

• Two primary sources:– Contemporary basic religions– Archeology

II) Sources of Information Concerning Basic Religions

A. Contemporary Basic Religions 1. Anthropologists visit and study peoples who still practice

basic religions• An anthropologist visits a basic culture and studies its religions

practices and beliefs• That study allows for inferences about ancient cultures’ beliefs

and practices• What did Bishop Codrington’s study of the Melanesian people

teach him?

2. The limits of studying contemporary basic religions • Human religiosity represented by contemporary basic religions

might be different from past• The origins and developmental turns are hidden• Very few written sources for basic religions

© 2013 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

II) Sources of Information Concerning Basic Religions

B. Archaeological Study of Basic Religions of the Past1. Twentieth century archaeology gives some clues

about basic religions of the past• Written artifacts: scrolls, tablets, inscription materials• Non-written artifacts: burial sites, weapons, tools, buildings,

coins

• 2. The limited usefulness of archaeology: • artifacts subject to multiple possible interpretations

III) Prehistoric Beginnings of Basic Religions

A. Neanderthal Religion1. Earliest hominid (125,000 – 30,000 B.C.E.)

with evidence of a religion2. The Neanderthal buried their dead

– Neanderthal burial sites suggest offerings to the gods or necessary accompaniments into the world of the dead, and/or worshipful attitude toward animals (bears)

– The remains of animals and stone tools were found in the grave sites

– Were those remains evidence of religious belief about the afterlife?

III) Prehistoric Beginnings of Basic Religions

B. Cro-Magnon Religion1. Forerunner of Homo sapiens emerge 30,000 years ago

– This precursor to homo sapiens also buried tools and weapons with the dead

2. Cro-Magnon burial sites, wall paintings, and figurines• Burial sites suggest concern with life beyond death;

corpses curled in fetal position, suggesting belief in rebirth to next life

• Numerous figurines of female figures might suggest worship of a fertility goddess

• The most famous evidence of Cro-Magnon man are European cave paintings– Hidden wall paintings of humans hunting animals

suggest efforts to predict successful hunt. Possibly the paintings were made by priests to ensure a successful hunt

– That practice has been noted in contemporary basic religions

III) Prehistoric Beginnings of Basic Religions

C. Neolithic Religion 1. Neolithic people live from 7,000 to 3,000 B.C.E.2. The development of agriculture greatly

influenced early religion. 3. People were no longer nomadic and could live

in larger groups 4. Development of agriculture as way of life allows

for development in religious outlook and practice • Agriculture allows for stability, leisure, and rise of urban life• Neolithic peoples develop mythological religiosity • Neolithic peoples build megaliths (giant stone monuments),

possibly for religious purposes

IV) Common Features of Basic Religions

A. Animism1. Belief that all of nature is alive with spirits

(Latin: anima) that have feelings and can be communicated with is most common human religious experience

2. Basic Religions Tend to Worship Nature in Whole or Part• Stones, animals, mountains, seas, trees

(almost everything on Earth!) can be object of worship

• Traces of animistic nature worship present in all world religions today

• Modern deep ecology movement quasi-animistic

• Is a Christmas tree an expression of animism?

“All animals have power, because the Great Spirit dwells in all of them, even a tiny ant, a butterfly, a tree, a flower, a rock. The modern, white man’s way keeps that power from us, dilutes it. To come to nature, feel its power, let it help you, one needs time and patience for that....You have so little time for contemplation....It lessens a person’s life, all that grind, that hurrying and scurrying about.

Lame Deer, Lakota nation

©2011 PRENTICE HALL | Pearson Education, Inc. | Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458

IV) Common Features of Basic Religions

B. Magic 1. Magicians in basic societies sought to control nature for the

benefit of their people or the detriment of their enemies 2. Attempt to control nature for the benefit of some and detriment

of others» Line between magical coercion and religious persuasion of

nature is not always clear» Magic might have been forerunner of religion

3. Sympathetic/imitative magic seeks to coerce nature by performing natural acts on smaller scale (e.g. Voodoo)

4. Fetish magic: an object with power to ward off evil and bring good (e.g. lucky charm) • Any object used to control nature in a magical fashion• What modern day fetishes can you think of?

5. One theory is that the line between religion and magic is drawn by the intent of the practitioner• Is that theory sound? Why or why not?

IV) Common Features of Basic Religions

C. Divination1. Religious attempt to predict the future2. This was usually the work of specially trained priests or

priestesses, and was often done by studying the entrails of animals

3. Divination as decoding exercise: reading entrails of sacrificed animals, observing flight patterns of birds, casting dice or stalks

4. Shamans and prophets: person possessed by spirits capable of speaking their messages to the group

5. Shaman• Originally meant one who was possessed by spirits and

spoke their messages to the group• Shaman is a generic term used by scholars for those who offer themselves

as mystical intermediaries • Shamanic methods are extremely ancient• The shaman is often a healer or a helper to society• May be hereditary or recognized as a special gift

“The wicasa wakan [holy man] wants to be by himself. He wants to be away from the crowd, from everyday matters. He likes to meditate, leaning against a tree or rock, feeling the earth move beneath him, feeling the weight of that big flaming sky upon him....Closing his eyes, he sees many things clearly. What you see with your eyes shut is what counts....”

Lame Deer, Lakota nation

©2011 PRENTICE HALL | Pearson Education, Inc. | Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458

IV) Common Features of Basic Religions

D. Taboo

1. Polynesian word tabu/tapu for acts to be avoided lest the spirit world release harmful effects

2. Holy persons, places, objects considered off limit (taboo) for ordinary person

3. Other common taboo items in basic religions: the dead, menstruating women, certain foods

4. Religions objects were generally not to be touched by ordinary people who were not priests• For example, in basic societies, one does not

touch the chief or enter sacred places without fear

• Does our modern society have any taboos?

IV) Common Features of Basic Religions

E. Totems1. Totemism is based on the feeling of kinship that

human beings have with other creatures or objects in nature

2. It involves the identification of a tribe or clan with an animal (and sometimes a plant or celestial body)

3. Ojibwa word ototeman used to refer to the animistic sense in basic religions that humans have a kinship with other creatures and/or objects in nature

4. Tribe or clan identifies itself with characteristics of an animal, plant, or heavenly body

5. Tribe or clan treats its totem object with special devotion, respect, and veneration

6. Totemism is still used in modern society in national emblems and sports teams

IV) Common Features of Basic Religions

F. Sacrifice

1. Most common practice in all world religions• Animal sacrifice is most common• Human sacrifice is rare; usually enemies sacrificed

2. Goals and objects of sacrifice vary greatly• Feeding the spirits• Gift to the spirit world• Establishing bond between humans and spirit world• The bond is strengthened with each sacrifice.

3. Sacrifices can be made to spirits, animals, nature, or the ancestors• Sacrifices to the ancestors is called ancestor veneration• Sacrifices generally involve an item of value

4. Sacrifice can have various meanings• It can be used to feed the spirits or ancestors with

sacrifices of food or drink• It can simply be a gift to the spirit world of items like tools

or weapons

IV) Common Features of Basic Religions

G. Myth1. One of the most common characteristics for all

religions – basic and modern – is myth• The modern usage of myth connotes a false

belief• The religious use of myth relates to stories about

the dealings of the gods with humans 2. Common practice by which religions attempt to

express truth non-conceptually through stories of human interactions with divine

3. Myths seek to explain whys and hows of the world, humans, and the gods/spirits

4. Myths account for a community’s religious practices– What are some common religious myths?

IV) Common Features of Basic Religions

H. Rituals

1. Rituals are rites or ceremonies and can be complex or simple, present in all religions• Ex. Mealtime prayers are a form of ritual

2. Rituals often re-enact mythologies to give devotees of a religion the opportunity to identify with the divine characters and their actions

3. By acting out myths, the devotees of a religion identify with the divine characters and their actions

IV) Common Features of Basic Religions

I. Rites of Passage1. Specific rituals designed to give religious meaning to key transitional

moments in the life of an individual : birth, puberty, marriage, death2. Birth

• Ceremonies surrounding birth identify the child as a member of the community– Ex. Circumcision, baptism

3. Greatest attention in basic religions given to rites of passage from childhood to adulthood• Children often exiled from parents and group as a rite of passage

into adulthood• Goal seems to be to initiate children into religious traditions,

secrets, lore of society• Many puberty rites involve going through an ordeal to prove that

they can now take care of themselves4. Rites recall the myths of the culture and symbolize separation from a

former status

IV) Common Features of Basic Religions

J. Ancestor Veneration1. Veneration suggests fear that the dead will return to do harm to the living

• In some societies, the people feared the evil that the dead might do and took steps to prevent the dead from returning from their graves

• Dead often placed under large stones or staked down to prevent return• Names of dead dropped from use, their houses burned, to prevent return

2. Ancestor veneration motivated also by belief the dead can benefit the living• Placating and pleasing dead ancestors as means to ensure benefits

3. By pleasing the worship of deceased relatives4. Some scholars theorized that early people dreamed of their dead relatives and

then came to believe that the dead were still a part of the world5. In that way, ancestor veneration became the first step in creating a religion

Belief in the on-going existence of the dead is perhaps root of all religion6. Ancestor g the dead, some cultures hope to seek favors from them

• Ancient Chinese culture had highly developed ancestor veneration for this reason