Native American Religion Vs Religion

In a time when numerous countries were beginning to explore the new and exciting land of North America during the Age of Exploration, and groups of people from England and Spain were fleeing their home countries either for religious freedom or wealth, vast and civilized colonies began to form all throughout the New World. It is in this context that the colonies founded by the English and the Spanish began to develop and grow. There was a significant difference between the Spanish and New England colonies between 1492 and 1700 in terms of the treatment of indigenous people, and there were some immense similarities between the two colonies in terms of the role of religion in their society and the

Most colonists that came in the early 1600’s were Christians, a religion that has very specific rules and rigid regulations that must be followed to be a “saved” person destined for a paradisiacal after life. Within these restrictions were the directions to “Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature” (Mark 16:15). It seems clear that from the first the Christian religion was telling the colonists to “help” the natives by making them conform to the culture of the colonists and destroying their own. This was always done with a sense of Native American natural inferiority. In most cases, the Native Americans were not told the entire nature of their conversion. A Jesuit described the tactics used in converting Native Americans, “The outward splendor with which we endeavor to surround the Ceremonies of the Church…with a magnificence surpassing anything that the eyes of our savages have ever beheld – all these things produce an impression on their minds” (Le pays reneverse by denys delage 168). For those truly religious souls, coming to the New World meant a chance to bring salvation and Christianity to new

Throughout colonial time there were many beliefs, movements, and conquests that happened within many countries. One of them in which was the spiritual conquest of the Spanish and the Portuguese. This spiritual conquest would undoubtedly be carried over to the Americas. Due to religion being very important to both the Europeans and the Natives this lead to a conflict that cause fights, missions, and resistances to increase.

There are may religions in the world, but through out the different religions there are many crossovers and similarities. Mattie Stepanek said “It doesn't matter how you pray. Just pray. All religions are beautiful and they all have one common belief. There's something bigger and greater than us that can give us and take from us life. It is better than the here and now”. Religion itself means “a belief in and worship of a greater power” (dictionary.com). By people believing in any kind of religion, it means that similarities can start there. With so many religions having similarities, it might be hard to distinguish from certain religions from another. Religions like of African and Native Americans might not at first seem alike, but as you look deeper into their religions and see they have similarities. These similarities are attributed as beliefs, rituals, and history. Their growths and struggles might not have happened at the same time, but both religions are still celebrated today.

Most countries during the Colonial Era were ruled by a monarchy claiming only one religion to be true and enforcing that religion on the people under their rule. Some of the first settlers came from Britain, where Catholicism was forced upon each citizen, whether it was what they believed or not. Religious freedom was a rare liberty the settlers longed for, causing them to leave their home country to come to the new world in hopes of gaining the freedom they desired. Yet, even though the Europeans resented having a ruler tell them what religions were “wrong” and what religion they had to be believe, various groups of settlers still came to America and told the Indians their religion was wrong and forcefully attempted to convert the Indians to their own beliefs. It was many years after they arrived that the settlers finally established an official law giving religious freedom to all

Many colonists justify their colonization of America through religious beliefs. At first, they were there for their own religious freedom. When they came to the United States, they felt the urge of making and practicing their own religious beliefs and setting an example for the whole nation about how to make a better community. They all decided to help each other when one will be in a problem. All the colonists had their beliefs which they followed but I believe this particularly disturbed the life of native American Indians in terms of cultural practices, living/house situation, family life, trade, disease, and autonomy.

It not only played a major role in the workings of the individual household but it also heavily influenced the political and economic expansion of European settlements into Native American territories. The idea that God had bestowed upon the colonists the mission to spread the word of the Bible ties into the concept of “manifest destiny” as seen in 19th Century America. The rapid series of conquests and territorial expansion that the United States enjoyed during this period is a reflection of this idea. From the settlement of Jamestown in 1607 to the American colonization of the Pacific Coast in 1819, religion was a driving factor in the expansion of the European frontier. The horrible atrocities committed against the Native Americans in the last few centuries is a cautionary tale to our generation. Throughout human history, men have killed each other, burned cities to the ground, all in the name of religion. By admitting to the mistakes of the past, we can build a brighter

The history of Native American religion is influenced by exposure to Europeans, the beliefs of different tribes, and traditions that were passed down orally.

European Christians often felt it was their duty to convert people to Christianity when possible, and they certainly considered themselves better than non-Christians. Despite England’s break with the Catholic Church, and their subsequent establishment of the Church of England, conversion, specifically to Protestantism, was important to the upper classes of English society. This can be seen specifically in the First Charter of Virginia, which states, “We…hereafter tend to the Glory of his Divine Majesty, in propagating of Christian Religion to such People, as yet live in Darkness and miserable Ignorance of the true Knowledge and Worship of God, and may in time bring the Infidels and Savages, living in those parts, to human Civility, and to a settled and quiet Government…” However, economic advancement was equally important to the colonists and to the government, because of the deforestation, unemployment and overpopulation problems in England at the time. A deeper understanding of the colonists’ world view, based in Christianity, and their desire for economic advancement are necessary to uncover the exact ways these views came to odds with the Powhatan’s very different outlook on the world, religion, and

During 1607-1753, Colonial America was founded. Starting on 1492, when Christopher Columbus discovered land beyond the England, people were launched into a new life. A group of puritans departed from England to escape the growing stress of the English government. Searching for freedom, in both religion and government, they sailed towards America. Their main goal was not only to start e new life, but also to convert the savages; “Indians.” With this move they experienced many difficulties. Upon starting a new life, they had to learn a new way of political life, social life, educational life, and above all religious lives.

For what it’s worth, when the first setters came to America, they would never have survived. The tribes that they came in contact with showed them how to farm, how to hunt and gave them land to live on. Despite the help that early Indians gave, the colonists began to take over their land and forced them to move thousands of miles away from their homelands. They also tried to make the Indians conform to English standards of dress, grooming, behavior, and religion. Although the other topics hold their own level of importance, religion is quite important to consider since it impacted the majority of Indian actions and customs.

Native americans were peaceful people but can be very bloody people at times.They do spiritual practices of the indigenous peoples of the Americans.There is many relious like ghost dances,The earth lodge reliogoin,indian shaker religion,long house religon ,mexicayotl,waashat religon,and sun dance .All these reliouns are very important things they believe in .

Religion was one of the most considerable and long lasting forces behind the creation of America. The people who took the first voyages over to the New World sought trade and prosperity, in addition to fleeing religious oppression. From the first step of a European on the new world's soil, the religious push began and didn't stop any time soon. Christopher Columbus, along with other explorers had strong religious faith intertwined with their desire of exploration. Whether they were of the same religion or different, spreading their beliefs was part of their exploration goals. Centuries later when the first of the original thirteen colonies were forming, religious beliefs were being applied to newcomers and to those who already harvested the land before the arrival of the Europeans.

To begin with, religious beliefs played a significant role in the early development of the New World. For many early settlers, religion was the main cause of their immigration. For example, **In Sarah Vowell’s nonfiction book that focuses on the Puritan’s legacy, it describes that one

Over the century Native American religions have been repressed and misunderstood. There has been little room for them to actually be able to explain their rituals and why it is important to them as a society. This ignorance’s has resulted in the loss of land, false practices with sacred objects, and a lack of education within the rituals of indigenous religions. The indigenous population deserves support to preserve their practices and language. Since most of these religions have been repressed for so long many elders do not wish to teach their kin about their religion in fear of rejection from the modern society. The 21st century has started to transition to a more sympathetic society and I believe if there is more awareness directed