Study of Religion Stud of Rituals Multimodal Presentation Essay

Throughout every type of religion or faith-based belief system, there are overlapping characteristics that all work to validate the religion. Two of these elements universally presented in any religion are the aspect of a sacred reality and the manifestations of such in hierophanies. Sacred reality collectively validates the religion, giving it some deeper meaning on a spiritual level. Hierophanies are manifestations of sacred reality, meaning they are physical objects through which the sacred presents itself (Livingston 43). Different types of hierophanies further break down sacred reality into categories to understand it. These include sacred persons, sacred time, sacred places, and sacred objects (43). Specifically, sacred persons and places exemplify different aspects of sacred reality that have personally impacted my life through my Christian faith.

When looking at smarts six dimension of religion in comparison to the study of indigenous religions I found that some of the dimensions clearly applied, some did not and other seem to be an antagonist of the dimensions. The doctrinal did not seem to be as important to indigenous religions In the sense the relationship to divinity and their self’s. The mythological dimension was seen as fairly the same, most stories were passed down through word of mouth but there were definite and lasting myths of creation and other religious traditions present throughout indigenous religions. The third dimension appeared to transform into the concept of “taboo” in indigenous religions. The concept of taboo is when something in a specific religion is so powerfully

Sacramentality, mediation, and communion – three properties of Catholicism that are central to its understanding. Like Catholicism, these three properties are universal and can be found in the writings of Catholic authors dating back thousands of years ago. From the first written Scriptures found in the Bible to the modern day works of writers like Flannery O’Connor, these three properties can be found portrayed in works of both fiction and nonfiction. However, these properties are not always easy to find for the untrained mind or even to differentiate for those who do have a better understanding. Sacramentality is the notion that all of creation potentially bears the presence of God. Essentially, one experiences the invisible God through the visible world. Mediation goes hand in hand with sacramentality. It occurs when God is not only present in creation but also works through it. Instead of something symbolizing or reminding you of God, it actually speaks to you and brings you closer to Him. The last property of the Catholic Church is communion. Communion is God’s way of reaching us through the communities in which we live. All three of these properties have close ties to each other. Flannery O’Connor portrays all three – sacramentality, mediation, and communion – in her book Mystery and Manners.

According to Ninian Smart, the seven dimensions of religion include practical and ritual, emotional and experiential, narrative and mythical, ethical and legal, doctrinal and philosophical, social and institutional, and material. The practical and ritual dimension involves rituals and practices that provide spiritual awareness of adherents. The emotional and experiential dimension includes the life changing experiences that either the leaders or followers of a religion go through. Narrative and mythical dimension are the stories and past records that preserve tradition and culture in the religion. Ethical and legal dimension of the religion are basically the codes of behavior that are followed

Since the beginning of time humans have endeavoured to explain the causes and reasons behind their existence. As a result of this thirst for knowledge many different beliefs and values have been formulated with the aim of explaining this age-old question. Most of these beliefs are prevalent today in the form of institutionalised religions. In order to gain an understanding of the word 'religion', we need to fully analyse and compare the components of religions in order to gain a more cultivated understanding of this enigmatic term. An extremely valuable way of classifying religion and its many aspects is through the Seven Dimensions, developed by Ninian Smart. (See Appendix 1) These dimensions explore the many aspects of religion in a

The monotheistic religion of Judaism is a very complex and in many cases, strictly traditional way of life for over 13 million people all around the world. Many of their core beliefs are very similar to Christianity; however, an abundance of their rituals and practices are unlike any other religion. Even after visiting a Jewish Synagogue it is still difficult to mentally grasp and have a true understanding of everything Judaism stands for. Because of the many traditions and beliefs Judaism possess, it is not easy to define. The seven dimensions of religion created by the world renowned religious scholar Ninian Smart helped establish a simple way to break down and describe the essence of faith for any

Religion manifests itself everywhere around the world. Although all beings are different we come together as one transcendence being the host. Sacred rituals are performed, honoring beliefs in accordance to ones religion. Rituals are performed for a wide array of reasons, some being a sort of rite of passage, healing the sick and even birth or death rituals. Judaism, Santeria, and Christianity all have ceremonies and rituals, some carried out as different as night and day, and some for the same purposes. These religions in depth have more in common than the eye can see, devotion, transcendence and worship to a higher absolute power. All participating in Sacred Ritual.

Every Culture has a set of rituals that they partake in, that are often constructed over a long period of time. Simple Actions, and special moments contain so much meaning and make everlasting memories. All rituals despite the locations they originate from, or the location they are carried out in contain the same components, they are repetitive, symbolic, remind a certain group of people about their values and beliefs, and these rituals commemorate a significant moment. For example christians commemorate the birth of christ by attending mass, and many other cultures celebrate this moment in many different ways that have in depth symbolic meaning. In the book “Guests of the Sheik” by Elizabeth Warnock Fernea rituals play a major role. Fernea’s husband Bob is an anthropologist studying the occupants of a small village named El Nahra and their culture. Fernea has documented her experiences, and adventures, and her perspective of the many rituals that the townspeople participate in such as, Ramadan, Muharram, weddings, and pilgrimages. In Muslim culture pilgrimages are immensely important and can even lead to an elevated status. Such as the pilgrimage to Mecca. Fernea is able to participate in a pilgrimage to Karbala with a couple of the towns women she had befriended. The Pilgrimage to Karbala is a symbolic, and cultural ritual in the aspect that it is reenacted every year, and is full of symbolic meaning, commemorates an important occasion and reminds a culture about their

Though each religion is unique, some religions have several traits in common. For example, many religions are polytheistic, meaning that there are many gods. But, some religions only believe in one god, meaning that the religion is monotheistic. The religions also have many things that differ with each other, like the sacred text, symbol, and traditions. These qualities are what make each religion different and special.

Then and now religions shared common dimensions that provide society with a doctrine, narrative, ethics, ritual, experience and a social institution. These six dimensions that Ninian Smart derived spell out the framework for comparative study of religions1. The six dimensions hold true when comparing the daily routine Roman religious thought to modern Christianity. Interwoven into the core of both cultures is a strong unifying spirit that built a strong communal bond for its people.

Out of all the religions in the world Christianity and Judaism in my opinion have the most similar rites and rituals. They also share many beliefs and flow many of the same rules. Even though some of the rituals might seem like they are completely different, when you look deeply and find the true meaning, you will see that most of the time they share the same message. But even with all of these similarities its the differences that make them unique and these differences are what splits them apart. The three main similarities in both Christianity and Judaism is the first step into adult hood, the last step into adult hood and the Shabbat and the Sabbath.

Throughout History, many religeons have shown similarities and differences in the way they worship, act and think of their god or gods. From various forms of worship multiple times a day, to a simple prayer of thanks each night, religeons express their worship in various ways. Many religeons throw festivals or parties to thank their gods, while other religeons worship in silence, as their ancestors have. Although religeons show many differences, they have also shown many similarites aswell. Two religeons with very similar moral codes and ways of worship are Christianity and Islam. Christianity, Judaism and Islam are very similar becuase of the 10 commandments and the 5 pillars of Islam.

The author (2007) also points out the importance of the Roman Catholic views point about confession and penance has three significate merits to confession. The first significate merit is that consistent confession forces one to confront one’s sin, meaning that one will not merely overlook or diminish one’s transgressions; instead it will cause one to take their sin more earnestly (p 213). The second significate is that the act of penance, paying a price for sin, creates a mindfulness of the significance of sin, meaning that it will not allow one to have a carelessness understanding toward sin of thinking that one will always be simply forgiven; instead penance combats this predisposition by arresting consequences for one’s sin (p 213). The third Significate merit is that it lifts the burned of guilt by forgiveness being granted during the ritual of penance, which can be extremely redemptive for some individuals (p

The purpose of this research paper will be to examine how Judaism rituals have helped the religion remained amongst the most prominent in the world. The use of tradition and rituals has been at the very core of its existence. Birth, adolescent, marriage and death rituals will be used to highlight how the Judaism way of life is not dependent on the written word but rather the actions of those who follow this historic Hebrew religion. The paper will begin with a brief outline of Judaism and its relationship with God and then continue with how the written word of the Torah has laid the basis for the many traditions still practiced in Judaism.

Henna is a flowered plant that grows in hot climates of Africa, Australia, and south Asia. The leave of the plant is grounded down into a paste, this was originally used as a cooling paste on the hands and feet when in the hot desert. The more people used it the more they realized that the paste was dying their hands and someone started to use it to apply temporary designs to the skin. Before this henna was used to dye leather, wools and silk for clothing and hair.