Indigenous Religion
In order to understand the term "indigenous religion," one must first understand the term "indigenous people." Obviously, "indigenous" does not refer only to people who have always lived in a particular spot, because modern knowledge about migration and evolution make it clear that no such group exists, even within Africa. Instead, the term "indigenous" refers to the people found in a society before encroachment by outsiders. Obviously, this term is relative, given that some parts of the world are only now being explored by outsiders, while other areas have been colonized and re-colonized by competing outside influences. However, one constant of indigenous religions is that they do not reflect an awareness of the entire world, in contrast to religions like Christianity or Judaism. Instead, they typically focus on rituals and explaining human activities and origination within the sub-context of the area. Therefore, indigenous religions can be expected to have a tremendous interaction with the actual circumstances of life in the area in question, which makes it virtually impossible for an outsider to truly understand the religion. To understand an indigenous religion, one must first understand the indigenous way-of-life, which cannot be done once one has an understanding of science and the world at large.
The problem is that, finding indigenous religions inaccessible, members of the dominant culture generally try to eliminate indigenous religions. As a general rule, the major world religions contain a tenet that each one worships the only actual god and that others struggle in darkness. Furthermore, they may also contain admonitions to "save" those who are not yet members of the religion in question. Therefore, when an indigenous population is discovered, members of the dominant culture often try to envelop it into the larger culture. Furthermore, because world religions account for the presence of multiple types of people, while indigenous religions do not, it is easy for the dominant culture to swallow-up the indigenous one, but not for the converse to occur.
The result is the problem: that humans loose the connection to what it means to be human. What is the end or goal of transformation? The end goal, regardless of ones religion, is happiness. However, the definition of happiness differs greatly from one religion to another. In religions such as the Lakota, happiness is found by making the gods happy, or Mother Earth, by learning to be one with nature. Other
Religion in Tokyo in the 18th and Early 19th Centuries Religion plays an important part in the lives of everyone. It is especially important in the various stages of life such as births, weddings, and funerals. It also plays an important role in the lives of many people on a daily basis. In Tokyo today, there are four major religions: Shinto, Buddhism, Christianity, and another group comprised of various new religions.
It is because of this that Hinduism has become as powerful now as it has ever been (Hopfe and Woodward 77-113). Buddhism Among the most powerful religions of the world, comes Buddhism. Its great history is one that makes this spiritual belief one that has withstood time. Not only is its origination in one of the most populated countries of the world, but the powerful influence that it has had on
Religion/Theology Environment and Globalization Christine Burke calls for a Christina response to the issue of environment and globalization in her essay entitled Globalization and Ecology. She sets forth her estimation of the steps that the Christian world needs to take to change the current affects of globalization on the earth and the societies that inhabit it. Burke calls for "active participation'42 by the Christian community in understanding, "ecological awareness'42 to shape that
By concentrating on God's Name (or many titles), one conquers the ego and unites with God" (Islam in Sikhism, n.d.). The compilation of the Sikh scriptures began in 1604 by the Fifth Guru. The last of the ten Gurus, Guru Gobind Singh, announced that he would be the last personal Guru and that after that Sikhs were to regard the Adi Granth as their teacher. This sacred book is thought
Western Religion In his book, "Western Ways of Being Religious," (Kessler, 1999) the author Gary E. Kessler identifies the theological, philosophical and societal ramifications of the evolution of religion in the West. Christianity, Judaism and Islam can be traced to a single origin but their divergence has been very marked. Kessler sets his thesis very early in the book. He avers that there are two approaches to religion. One is to
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