Agrarian Magic: 20 Theories on the Origin of Religion

Masuzawa analyzes the different characteristics of a religion that have influenced its placement in the national or universal religion categories. In order to be identified as a world religion, criteria such as “the naming of an extraordinary yet historically genuine person as the founder and initiator or the tradition (Masuzawa, 132)” had to be met. This criterion fits all of the religions that achieved the status of a world religion by the twentieth century other than Hinduism and Shinto (Masuzawa, 133). Another principle was the “recognition of certain texts that could be claimed to hold a

By comparing Neanderthals to humans, I argue that they share the same fundamental characteristics of religion through their burial practices. If the debate that is arguing against whether Neanderthals are capable of abstract thinking, then I counter that with the fact presented above about flower offerings to an intentional grave. Theorists approach this topic as well, citing “Chase and Dibble argue that deliberate burials definitely do occur in Neanderthal contexts. “This is the earliest evidence of such behavior during the course of human evolution.”” (basset) The decision about religion is still up in the air, which makes discerning whether the Homo naledi grave was religious or not all the more difficult. If this statement is true, however, then Homo naledi’s similar burial rituals would become the new earliest evidence of religious burials in all hominins. When looking at this recent find of the new hominin species, there is only one instance of mass burial that I can base my argument from. But, the plethora of evidence found within the Dinaledi Chamber that supports the idea of intentional mass burial and therefore religion is too prevalent to

In the study of religion, one can quickly discern that there are two major differentiations between the anthropological definition of religion, and that of religion in the context of belief systems. Religion, in the context of anthropology, can often be related to social institutions. On the other hand, religion in the context of belief systems indicate faith in something or someone...such as oneself, a god, or object. As identified by scholar Clifford Geertz, the anthropological definition of religion is “a system of symbols which acts to (1) establish powerful, pervasive, and long-lasting moods and motivations in men by (2) formulating conceptions of a general order of existence and (3) clothing these conceptions with such an aura of factuality

In Kevin Riley’s article “From Tribal to Universal”, him and several other historians argue that religious traditions emerge within and through traditions and beliefs that already exist. These new religions borrow from, adapt, and reject older traditions. Their ideas along with beliefs, can often be traced back and connected to multiple existing systems of belief. The documents collected in “Tribal to Universal Religion” help us understand and analyze the relationships between various religions, some of which did not originate in the same place, and their common ideas. Kevin Riley is surely right about religions borrowing from, adapting, and rejecting older traditions. This idea is clearly seen through the creation of Buddhism and Christianity.

Most of the human ‘Homo sapiens’ is born into a religion. That religion could be Muslim, Hindu, Jewish, Christian or Atheism, etc, a set of beliefs which someone inherits from his family, and till the death, that man will likely stay with his or her religion because almost every human has tendency to be religious. On the other hand, the reality of the religion does not matter to him unless someone conducts any investigation to get to the religious truth. In the essay ‘Homo religiosus,’ Karen Armstrong says that, today’s religious followers accept the religion into which they were born, without doing the hard work required. This means that someone follows his ancestor’s religion from the beginning for his life and he or she is not able to prove his ancestors were wrong because he or she has faith in his own religion. Faith is the main concept of the religion because people have deep faith in their own religion. In addition, faith is nothing but mere fantasy and faith has no basis in reality. Therefore, people have no ability to conduct investigations to find out the religious truth. In addition, elements and places of religion vary from religion to religion. Religion is one of the most prehistoric institutions which have been noticed to practice in any society past and present even in the ancient world where cave paintings were popular. Institutions, like politics and entertainments, have been greatly influenced by the religious faith. The truth of religion might give

For purpose of this essay, religion will be defined as a collection of institutional beliefs and customs concerning humanity and the purpose of the universe [1]. Key beliefs within religion that will be explored, as well as there relation to reason, are:

When an idea forms and flourishes into an existing discussion that travels through conversations among acquaintances, that idea progresses and solidifies into the minds of the curious thinkers. These “thinkers”, or theorists, then mold this idea into a hypothesis for experimentation. Unfortunately, even in modern times, some things are still unable to be experimented and proven correct or incorrect. This leaves us pondering on our own thoughts and curiosities of suppositions. Philosophical theories on the origin and evolution of religion vary in perspectives and ideas depending on individual views. The majority of theories relevant to modern times are dependent on a psychological, cultural, and social aspect according to most scientists and/or philosophers.

The veneration of deities has been a customary practice of humans for millennia. The first notable occurrence may have occurred around burial sites of the primitive Neanderthals and Homo-erectus. However, these ceremonies, if they can be called that, were more a prehistoric curiosity of life and death, rather than a deistic acknowledgment of an omnipotent god, or demon. It is also interesting to note, god worship becomes more developed in pursuance to the advancement of a civilization. This scrutiny can be attested in how synagogues, churches and mosques proliferate as civilizations grow. That is, the more prosperous a country becomes, the more they are disposed towards reverencing a deity greater than themselves. Take note of the

Paying respect to your ancestors is a common practice in Africa, including the Harare and Chitungwiza area. In both places, Masowe apostolics have taken many people by faith, and dictate a large part of their daily lives. These apostolics also firmly believe that the practice of “communicating” with your ancestors is a form of veneration, which goes against their Christian beliefs. The apostolics call for the cessation of this practice, however, Engelke speaks with some of the locals that carry out this practice who refuse. He describes: “Most apostolics would argue that holding rituals to communicate with one’s ancestors—as many Shona-speaking people do—amounts to the worship of false gods. You should not pray to your ancestors; pray only to God. As with several apostolic interpretations of “traditional” religious practice, this one is rejected by the people it is meant to describe... For many Shona-speaking people, as I have noted, ancestors are an integral part of social relationships,

David Chidester defines religion as the ways of being a human person in a human place. He further goes on to describe it as “the practices and discourses that negotiate what it is to be human in person in relation to the superhuman or in relation to whatever might be treated as subhuman” (Chidester). As such religion can be said to encompass the beliefs customs and even the cultures of the people. It defines and shapes the human out view to life and how they relate to each other based on the morals and ethical guidelines outlined in the various doctrines governing the religions. Over the years, religion has been interpreted from different perspectives. Over time in history, religion was directly intertwined with the activities and the lives of the people. For instance, where the people practiced farming, they had deities or gods which were thought to control and protect the seasons which were an integral part of the farming activities. The same case applied to those who practiced pastoralism activities. In all aspects, the religion was in tandem with their activities.

A final point The Religion Toolkit makes about Religious Studies is that it is also about looking at religions complexly, from both contrasting and historical viewpoints. That is to say, Religious Studies involves looking how religions developed over time and from each other. One of the more compelling examples talks about how the word for the Christian holiday “Easter” is taken from an Anglo-Saxon goddess called “Eostre.” This shows how religious traditions did not flourish independent of each other, but interacted with each other even before globalization. The introduction features a quote from Max Müller who coined the term “Religious Studies” that best described this idea about studying religions comprehensively, “He who

Moreover, religion has God as the Supreme who helps: (1) remove the terrors of nature, (2) reconcile humans to fate and death, and (3) help people to accept the idea of helplessness in life (Freud 83). Hence, it is important to acknowledge that religious ideas help protect us from fate and nature, to accept the painful agonies of the drawbacks of civilization. Moreover, men will also attempt to get into a relationship with God to try and influence them for the same purpose. If men turn out to be successful in this purpose, the God and the man transcend into a father-son relationship where God would be the father guiding and protecting with suppression and coercion to live in harmony with civilization. Simultaneously, the son admires and respects his father.

Do you believe in a higher power? How about a God? How do you feel about the word religion? I am here to tell you about my own personal experiences and beliefs related to religion. Religion is a way of living and having something to believe in. If you don’t believe in anything, how do you have hope for the future? Weather you believe in one god or many gods, or even if you believe in evolution. I have learned that it doesn’t matter where or how you grow up, that each human being will believe what they want to. I was raised in a Christian back ground, but grew up with my own beliefs and thoughts. I felt that since evolution was so strongly researched and I knew more about that than I did the bible, that

We “...can draw on neither inscriptions nor texts; nor can [we] question prehistoric people about their beliefs” (Hinnells 4). But these first religious practitioners did not leave us totally without record of their beliefs and their lives. Perhaps one of the best sources of information on Paleolithic belief comes as close to straight from the mouths of these ancient peoples as possible – or, rather, from their fingers. These records are the art they left behind, decorating stone walls all across the globe with incredibly consistent images of running animals and spear-carrying hunters. Pictures of people seemingly crossed with those animals, and of surprisingly anatomically accurate depictions of all creatures great and small.

As far as archeologists have been able to research, they have found evidence of religious faith and practice. In