“The purposes of the practice of a religion are to achieve the goals of salvation for oneself and others, and (if there is a God) to render due worship and obedience to God” (Swinburne, 2017). Although there are hundreds of different religious systems throughout the world with thousands of differing beliefs, practices, and scriptures, all religions tend to follow the same underlying concepts of a religion in their own way. It is impossible to choose which is the best religion since religion is something that people practice based on their personal beliefs and lifestyle. Buddhism focuses on using a person’s inner self to achieve enlightenment, which in turn is the release from the cycle of rebirth. On the other hand, Native American religions focus on a connection to nature to achieve their salvation. Deciding which religion is the best religion depends on the individual’s lifestyle and religious needs.
Classifying one set of Native American religion is nearly impossible, since these religious beliefs and traditions passed from generation to generation by verbal communication only. With the spread of Christianity, some Native American religions were altered; however, they continued to follow a majority of their initial traditions (Ellwood & Alles, 1998). Focus will be placed on the general concepts that relate to the majority of Native American religions.
Many religions focus on worshipping a god or gods to achieve their salvation, but some religions, such as Buddhism, place
During the 5th to 15th-century, or the “Medieval Period,” people were afraid and relied on their God/gods to be protected from the pelage of which they thought was the wrath of God. In the medieval time people made their own god/gods to protect themselves, many people made their own gods and made them into different religions such as Christianity or native American religions. These religions can differ from how they believe the world was created, or how people are created,even other Native American stories can be similar by their stories on the great flood. Two religions such as Christianity and native American religions can be the example of how two religions can be both similar and different at the
There are hundreds of Native American tribes and millions of people that are within North America that identify themselves as Native Americans. Each tribe has their own unique customs, language, and myths. However, within the confines of this paper I will take a broad view with regards to Native American customs and traditions from a small sample of tribes that were observed prior to the vast expansion of colonizing the west.
When most western people think about Native American or African religions there is a certain stigma that comes with the topic. This is in part because there is a lot of misinformation in the world about Native American and African religions. When most westerners think of African religions they think of voodoo and black magic. Likewise, the view of Native American religions is still looked at through the lens of the pilgrims who wrote about Native Americans as being savages and less than human. These stereotypes were all formed from a lack of accurate information. African and Native American religions are very similar. It is difficult to find a lot of accurate information on African and Native American indigenous religions because of the lack of written history but there is a lot of oral history that has been passed down from generation to generation. From this information, it is clear that Native American and African religions have many more similarities than they do differences. Three of these similarities will be discussed in this paper. The first topic of discussion is the similarity between African and Native American people when it comes to their perception of the spirit world. Following this topic are the similarities between Native American and African views on the afterlife and finally, the diversity of beliefs within African and Native American religions.
The Indigenous people of America are called Native Americans or often referred to as “Indians”. They make up about two percent of the population in the United States and some of them still live in reservations. They once lived freely in the wilderness without any sort of influence or exposure from the Europeans who later came in the year of 1492, and therefore their culture is very different from ours. The Iroquois are northeastern Native Americans who are historically important and powerful. In the following essay we will discover some differences between the religious beliefs of the Native American Iroquois and Christianity to see if culture and ways of living have an effect on the view of religion, but we will also get to know some similarities. I am going to be focusing on the Iroquois, which are the northeastern Native Americans in North America.
There are three key patterns seen in most Native American religions they are the human relationship with nature, framing of time and space and respect for gods/ancestors. The human relationship with nature known as animism, everything is seen as part of the same reality and every object has a spirt, is a practice where there is little distinction between humans and animals. Time and space is sacred, cyclical,
Just as the Greeks, the Romans and any other great civilization, Native Americans had their own gods with certain values. These values are a sharp contrast to the current european expansionist mindset and give great insight into understanding Native American’s actions and behavior. These documents are about Native American culture and are written around the arrival of European settlers. These documents show the conflicts that many Native Americans had were due to many miscommunications and conflicts in values. The two Native American values that the Europeans most tread on were their very philosophy and honor, which leads to some of the most brutal acts of war and massacres.
The first Americans Also believed in Wakon,da a powerful god to them, whom they believed in, they believed that he created all things, made the land they also believed in life after death and immorality that made earthly life secure and pleasant; they expressed their feelings for nature as in peace and confidence. Different native religions evolved to match their needs and lifestyle Religious traditions of aboriginal people around the world tend to be heavily influenced by their methods of acquiring food, with great hunting skills or by agriculture. Native American spirituality is no exception. Traditional Wakon’da, spirituality is a form of religious belief that each thing, plant and animal has a spirit. The Native American spirituality has an inseparable connection between the spirituality and the culture. One cannot exist without the other. Before Europeans took over the land the Native Americans had their own laws, as they do know, but one of the most important laws was to respect and keep peace with others around them. The folk art
Prior to the arrival of colonial settlers “all but the simplest indigenous cultures in North America had developed coherent religious systems that included cosmologies—creation myths, transmitted orally from one generation to the next, which purported to explain how those societies had come into being” (NationalHumanitiesCenter). Most Native Americans worshipped a single all-knowing all-powerful creator that would take on a variety of forms and roles. Tribal creator gods varied by region, but the Great Spirit was worshipped in several areas by many tribes. Native Americans, unlike their Christian counterparts tended to believe in multiple gods which had control on other aspects of their lives. Native ceremonial traditions varied by differing
Native American, or American Indians, have a rich culture comprised of struggle, strife and success. For this paper, i will discuss the Native American Culture and it's history.
As charters for the exploration of the New World were granted more frequently, the exposure of Christianity to the Native Americans increased. There were many motivations for colonists to head over to the Americas, but none was more popular than the reason of religion. People were escaping oppression through a population valve to America either fleeing oppression as a Protestant or as a Catholic depending on which nation they were coming from. Over time the colonists began to oppress the natives by gradually eliminating their culture. As noted by Virginia Colony Promoter in the 1600’s, William Herbert, “Colonies degenerate assuredly when the colonists imitate and embrace the habits, customs, and practices of the natives. There is no better
When the Europeans landed in America, they sought religious freedom and often tried to convert the Native Americans. The Native Americans as a whole could not grasp the concept of worshiping only one “god”. Native Americans believed
Religion is a strong belief system is all around the world. All religions have similarities and differences. In America and Africa, there are different kinds of regions, with different religious bases. Things like religion, rules, ceremonies, prayers, gods, person in charge and rituals are different for each. I’m going compare and contrast African religions and American religions in the 1500 CE.
Religion and Native Americans When the Europeans first came to America in the 1700’s religion was already here. Many native Americans believed in supernatural phenomenon’s in controlling the natural world, and social world. Each tribe had its own stories and religious views. With private prayers or sacrifices of valuable items they tried to please their gods.
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.
There are many different religions with many different beliefs, traditions, practices, and rituals. These differences are a very important part of understanding and appreciating the culture and history behind the specific religion. However, the practices that certain religions have in common can aid even more in furthering the understanding of specific beliefs of other religions. Since most religions cultivate from the practices and beliefs of other religions, they use those core values and beliefs and transform them into what they believe is a better way practicing. Religions use similarities within each other and twist them into their own. There are certain beliefs within every religion that shape their practices such as their morals or their most essential or absolute value, their position on human beings’ problems and solutions, and their view on life and death within their religion. Pure Land Buddhism (a form of Mahayana Buddhism) and Vaishnavites (a group within Hinduism) are great examples of this very concept.