Religion And The Cultural Traditions

Marriage is the unification between a man and a woman, instituted and ordained by God, for the lifelong relationship between one man as husband and one woman as a wife. This is what the ritual of marriage means in Christian churches. Many people choose not to marry in the Christian church due to the strict format you have to follow. However, based on my ethnographic results and research, there are wide ranges of options where marriages in Catholic and Anglican religions can be adapted to, however; it is directed by their Church authorities to a certain degree.

Is it possible to be a Muslim without believing the validity of the prophecies of Mohammed? Is it possible to be a Christian without believing in the resurrection of Jesus? My definition of religion transformed greatly during my studies the past few months. Even as a religion major at St. Olaf College I thought of religion very narrowly, as a construct of metaphysical beliefs. But I've come to realize that religion runs far deeper than my Lutheran mind previously conceived.

Scholars prefer to focus on religious traditions rather than just “religion” because religious traditions are “a tradition is an historical context or network of linguistic, personal, and cultural relationships” (Portier 19). Traditions can be limiting like the legal tradition in America where we carry it around because it shapes our ideas of what is right and what is wrong. Traditions can also be freeing like the civil rights movement which ended slavery and ended a limiting tradition. Traditions are used as a resource to answer the deeper questions about life. Also, scholars prefer to focus on religious traditions due to a problem associated with “religion”. The problem with “religion” is what does the term “religion” actually refer to?

Throughout the world there are many various religions, some very common to you and I. However, there are many religions that are common in several isolated places all around the world in Japan, Australia, and the Americas. Many of these religions, called Indigenous Religions are based on nature, and the earth. The practice of these religions is considered sacred to the people that follow them. Many of these indigenous people are fully sacrificed to their religion. They live their lives according to these religions and are fully indebted to them. The four major Indigenous Religions are Shinto, found in Japan, the Australian Aboriginal, African, and Native American.

Clifford Geertz, in his essay “Religion as a Cultural System”, presents what he considers to be the definition of religion. According to him, religion is about symbols and people use these symbols as a guide for their view of the world and how they should behave in that world. Religion, states Geertz is “a system of symbols which acts to establish powerful, pervasive, and long-lasting moods and motivations in men by formulating conceptions of a general order of existence and clothing these conceptions with such an aura of factuality that the moods and motivations seem uniquely realistic” (Geertz, The Interpretation of Cultures, page 90). What he is trying to do in this essay is provide the reader with a way of understanding religion by

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.

Religion is a cultural system of behaviors, practices, world views, ethics, and social organization that relate humanity to an order of existence (Dictionary). With more than 84% of the world affiliating with religion, religion permeates the fabric of our existence by it’s influence on legal systems, nation’s policies, and moral standards (Religion stats). Making up 23% of the world population, the Muslim religion is divided into two sects: Sunni and Shi’a. The separation of the Muslim religion is the longest and largest division in the history of Islam (BBC). Furthermore, the split of religions is exemplified through the characters in The Kite Runner. Amir, the main character and narrator, describes religion as a part of every day life in

Marriage in nearly all cultures is one of the most sacred celebrations and have many different practices. In the Afghani culture, a woman would be expected to be pure and never speak to another single man before marriage. It is also traditional

There are a number of religious practices have been around for thousands of years, that are now facing criticism for some out dated or dangerous practices. These groups feel it is important to keep traditions alive, which is justifiable. The government has no right to tell anyone how he or she is allowed to practice the religion that an individual chooses to be a part of. The first amendment even guarantees that the government will never restrict a person’s religious freedoms. If a man or woman feels closer to God by holding a rattle snake, why stop him? This is the land of the free, and any citizen should be allowed to practice their preferred religion, in the fashion is has always been done in. However, when someone religious believes starts hurting that person or other, then the government should take action to put an end to these traditions

All religions and beliefs are different. Some religions share the same characteristics, while some do not. Religion varies from culture to culture. Certain religions worship a divine being, have a sacred book, or commandments which they follow. “Shinto, for example, does not have a set of commandments, nor does it preach a moral code; Zen Buddhism does not worship a divine being; and many tribal religions have no written sacred scripture” (Molloy, 2010).

Moreover, culture is very similar to religion, thus also engaging in all of the ignorance. Culture is similar to religion; different cultures share different beliefs, which creates different answers. In Ruth Fulton Benedict book called Patterns of Culture, she states that cultures, “provides the raw material of which the individual makes his life” (Austin, The Individual and the Pattern of Culture 113). This meant that whatever the culture provided would be what the human could be. If the culture is “meager, the individual suffers; if it is rich, the individual has the chance to rise to his opportunity” (Austin, The Individual and the Pattern of Culture 113).

Hinduism and Marriage In a hindu marriage the words and action means more than just words. It is a guide for the rest of the life. -------------------------------------------------------------------- According to Hinduism, a marriage between two persons is a sacred relationship that is not limited to this life alone.

The cross-pollination religious customs and material culture in the Cuban Diaspora has provided a wealth of indigenous and assimilative sources (Gordon, 2014: 53), and this has afforded Mendive a rich abundance of inherited iconography of fauna, flora and otherworldly phenomena to consume and use in the process of creating his artworks. Mendive is able to animate the pantheon of Orishas, depicted as either interacting with or sometimes assimilating human postures and gestures. Such representations of the Santería cosmic beings investigate concepts of hybridity, “New Word” practices of syncretism, and notions of a perceived “combining” of different and seemingly contradictory beliefs through the “blending” of customs and traditions of different schools of thought and discourse (Turner, 2014).

Identity is a word that is used very commonly and regularly by people in their daily life. Identity formation is a process of developing distinct, separate identity. “A person’s identity has many attributes. It is a representation of one’s unique personal experience, memory, ethnicity, culture, religious orientation, gender, occupational role, amongst various other factors. Erikson refers to identity as “some belief in the sameness and continuity of some shared world image.”Identity may be defined as one’s consciousness of one self and others’ perception of one’s individuality”, (Yamin, 2008).

According to the Merriam-Webster dictionary, the definition of religion is as follows: “the belief in a god or in a group of gods, an organized system of beliefs, ceremonies, and rules used to worship a god or a group of gods, or an interest, a belief, or an activity that is very important to a person or group” (Merriam-Webster.) My personal definition of religion is that it is a set of beliefs and practices that generally pertain the worship of one or more than one spiritual beings or representations of a spiritual power. Religion can be personal belief or an organization or group of people who have similar beliefs and values. There are many different types of religions in the world and have been since the