Druid Beliefs

Within many known religions, the devotional practices has been known to acquire great importance. The essence of practicing what you preach has scolded many religious groups, introducing true beliefs, righteousness, and a wider connection to the supreme being . In the book entitled “ Living religions” by Mary Pat Fisher, clarified and firm descriptions were introduced about religious rituals. Surprisingly; the author utilized small parts of modern concepts, limiting the reader from a full comprehension of religious practices today, therefore; I will only discuss the basic and traditional rituals. To elaborate; in this paper, I will be providing an opinionated but also, comparative description of the major practices and rituals that undergo in both the Abrahamic and indigenous religions.

A Religion where spells are acceptable, the earth is celebrated and nature is a basic mold of the major concepts, paganism. The word "pagan" originates from the Latin term paganus which is defined as country dweller, at one point any person not being an active Christian was considered to be a pagan. Pagan followers have a different view on life, such as they believe in the natural forces of the earth, and consciously try to live with it. Another example illustrating how unique this religion is the fact that pagans are polytheistic, but have the one chief god that rules over the others, it's contradicting that a pagan can also have no belief in any one god. An interesting concept about this religion is that you are not told a certain way,

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.

After having read the chapter and the PowerPoints, one aspect of Native American Religion that interests me is the spirit world. I am curious as to how it connects to a vast majority of their religions practices, since the Native Americans were polytheistic or contained multiplicity of gods within their religious practices. I was interested in how they connect this world as “Earth Mother”, who provides bounty of the Earth (Hopfe et al. 2016). The position of High God is also connected, but separate from the concerns of the Earth. These different spirits have allowed the Native Americans to not consider a High God as a personality, but rather a divine or sacred power that is revealed in humans, nature and the spirit world (Hopfe et al. 2016).

The following paper will talk about Wicca and Paganism as a religion within the United States. Wicca is a diverse community as a religion, but is not yet considered by any Supreme court case but some aspects such as traditions are recognized by the federal and state courts. This will be further touched upon further later on.

When most people hear the word Vikings, they immediately think of them being fierce and savage beings with no sense of humanity. Vikings are believed to be a bunch of people killing everyone and stealing their belongings, but this was not the case and that stereotype is far from the truth. They were more advanced than people imagine and there was much more to them. The Vikings were a very complex and advanced society due to their laws, social classes, and religion.

Mormonism fits the definition of a religion because they cover all the “bases” in terms of what it needs to have to be considered a religion. The black and white definition for religion is “the belief in and worship of a superhuman controlling power” If you apply Mormonism to that it already fits the definition because they don’t just believe in one superhuman being or in this case a God, they believe in multiple ones. But it goes way beyond just a simple definition, Mormonism also helps people deal with their mortality by offering the promise of an afterlife, it also allows opportunities for healing and companionship along with it also explaining where we came

Indigenous religions exist in every climate around the world and exhibit a wide range of differences in their stories, language, customs, and views of the afterlife. Within indigenous communities, religion, social behavior, art, and music are so intertwined that their religion is a significant part of their culture and virtually inseparable from it. These religions originally developed and thrived in isolation from one another and are some of the earliest examples of religious practice and belief. The modern world; however, has taken its toll on these groups and many of their stories, customs, and beliefs have been lost to, or replaced by, those brought in as a result of popular culture and the missionary work of Christians and Muslims.

Across the globe, there are a wide assortment of religions used by people of varying

This allows some people to identify themselves as a part of a religious circle without abiding be all the necessary rule/rituals that the religion requires. However, I believe that this approach fails to take into account the ethnocentric mindset of most believers. I am convinced that in every religion there are devoted members that believe that there practice, when follow according, would lead them to the Supreme Being. Therefore they are not interested in partaking in other societal orders. Furthermore, religions are build on rules and regulations. If people begins to place limitations on these rules, the establishment of religion is bound to

In Australia there is a religion practiced by the aboriginal people called Animism. Animism is the attribution of a soul to plants, inanimate objects, and natural phenomena. Another definition is power that organizes and animates the material universe. These aboriginal people practice animism, especially in what they believe is the period of time when the world was created, which they call Dreamtime. They believe everything in the world not only has a soul but is related to them through the creator that made the world- the Rainbow Serpent.

Esotericism according to Muck refers "to the practice of keeping some teachings exclusively for the most dedicated members."(630) Meaning esoteric imply private, secret and confidential. According to Muck, New Age and Esotericism "believe God as transcendent and impersonal. They see the world as evolved in stages. Truth comes as the result of spiritual striving and is only available to the worthy, those who have taken the time to understand the nature of the cosmos and who have confronted spiritual reality directly."(632) However Muck points out, the stages comes in levels of initiation. The teachings of the esoteric group are opened to the members who have mastered the levels. (632) The esoteric practice spiritual exercises in a school-like setting. Based upon this information, the author can come to a conclusion of this religion being somewhat like a sorority or fraternity or cult.

Wicca can be described as “A modern religion based on ancient witchcraft traditions.” ("What Is Wicca, Witchcraft and Paganism?" The Celtic Connection, N.p., n.d. Web. 08 July 2015.) It is a form of paganism and that has been in existence for many years. It is thought to be one of the oldest belief systems in the world. Archeological discoveries have estimated witchcraft and paganism to be about 30,000 years old ("What Is Wicca, Witchcraft and Paganism?" The Celtic Connection, N.p., n.d. Web. 08 July 2015). It is believed that this has been a part of many societies throughout history, and practiced according to their individual beliefs. The most ancient practices were called witchcraft or paganism, but the more current beliefs, now called Wicca, are based on the works of Gerald Gardner. His teachings became more well-known during the 1950s and 1960’s. His modern beliefs included a reverence for mother-nature, the law of three, causing harm to no one, and the cycles of nature. Both the ancient form of this belief, as well as current practices, include performing spells. In 1986, the Wicca religion was recognized by the court of appeals as being a legitimate religion. (."LiveScience. TechMedia Network, 23 Aug. 2013. Web. 08 July

After my research I have found that Druidry is more of a spiritual path than anything, concentrating mostly on being animists (the belief that nature is enlivened or energized by distinct personalized spirit beings separate from bodies). Druids tend to rejoice and meditate outside becoming one with nature, though this is not the only way for the Druids (The Order of Bards Ovates and Druids, Druid Beliefs, par 2). Since the core motivation of this group is nature…they consider themselves to be healers and teachers, this is one thing that all who follow Druidism have in common, but not all Druids have the same set of beliefs as far as whether a God is involved. After learning about monotheism, animists and polytheism in Chapter 13 of our Cultural Anthropology textbook just recently, I had also learned that there are monotheistic and polytheistic Druids. Monotheism being the belief of only one supremely powerful divinity as creator and master of the universe and polytheism being the belief in multiple gods or goddesses (Cultural Anthropology: The Human Challenge, Chapter

Secret adherence to a doctrine or leader based on a common dogma or beliefs has been in existence for a very long time. All over the world, secret cults have been flourishing and causing positive and/or negative impacts. On the positive side, religious experience are said to have received its initial, practical expression in the forming of cult that provides an orderly framework for the religious object. The Egyptian religion, the ancient Greek Adonis and the Roman Catholicism are said to be cults (Encyclopaedia Britannica, 2009). While on