Essay On African American Religion

Native Americans lost their culture once the Spanish made them a part of the mission system. Before European arrival, they were predominantly pagan and had multiple gods or spirits which they worshipped as part of their rituals for successful harvest or hunt. Through the mission system, they underwent baptism through Catholicism and learned to worship only one supreme being and

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,

African and Native American religions both share the polytheistic trait, meaning that both worship multiple god, goddesses, ancestors and other deities. The African and Native American religions share more common traits than they have differences. A common belief is that the High God is the creator whom is not used or appealed to on a regular use. Hopfe states that “The High God is appealed to rarely, perhaps only in an extreme emergency called upon on rare occasions or emergencies, and is seldom mentioned in religious conversation” (Hopfe pg 30). This pretty much goes for both religions when it comes to the High God. Another similar trait would be how these two religions High God is not always the same among the many different diverse groups

Due to the wide range of habitats in North America, different native religions evolved to match the needs and lifestyles of the individual tribe. Religious traditions of aboriginal peoples around the world tend to be heavily influenced by their methods of acquiring food, whether by hunting wild animals or by agriculture. Native American spirituality is no exception. Traditional Lakota 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.

The Native Americans had settled in the land years before the arrival of the Euro-Americans. Hundreds of Native American groups occupied the land, each tribe with its separate culture, language, and spiritual way-of-life. Despite the many differences, “there was also considerable interaction and dialogue among tribes about spiritual concepts. Through the common language of sign-talk, ideas could be shared and compared among Indian tribes including the spiritual concepts that are an intricate part of the Indian’s everyday experience” (Treat). The Native American culture was primarily oral. Almost all tribes believed in a cosmology or creation myth regarding how this world and the things inhabiting it came to be. Most native peoples worshiped an all-powerful, all-knowing “Master Spirit.” They also revered and placated a host of lesser spirits in hopes of receiving assistance in their daily interactions with the world around them. Often times shamans, who were believed to have supernatural powers through visions, were called upon to communicate and implore the spirits to ensure a good harvest, or victory in warfare, or healing, or interpreting dreams, or other matters of great

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

The next challenge that he discovers was the difficulties in being trapped in the middle of two different cultures. His Indian belief of worshiping the nature spirits differed greatly from the White culture in school and in the military, which gave scientific reasoning and claimed that the Indian belief was based on superstitions. Native American culture worships animals, plants, the sun, rain, and wind due to their beliefs and the explanations they learned from their ancestors.

While the Native Americans and the Africans inhabited two different continents, their belief system has a plethora of similarities pertaining to their core values. The basis of their religion also, in some ways, epitomizes modern day religion such as rites of passage. Their differences are shallow in context when it comes to what they view as sacred and holy and including religious rituals that are performed for a specific reason or transformation. Both Native American and African mythologies center around the ideology of harmony, balance, and cyclical nature of all beings through animistic symbolization. To a certain degree, all outsiders or nonnatives who study the belief systems of indigenous religions have found that indigenous religion is more than just a religion or belief system but rather an inherent way of living. To name or label indigenous beliefs as “religion” or any other is to have a bias based on our own views of transformation and ultimacy.

Western Society believes in God creating earth and all its creatures. In Native American Groups it’s quite different. To summarize the Cherokee

Religion is a social construct embedded in the African American experience through the ages. Whether it be Christianity, Muslim, Judaism and many other religions that found itself in the Americas the religions derived from the African diaspora was very mixed, they had traditional belief about magic which are derived from some Yoruba and Muslim belief system, Christianity was something new to them. As their, ancestors were brought to the Americans they brought their own traditional belief system. African American religious institutions served as contexts in which African Americans create a meaning to their experience during their enslavement, thus they interpret their relationship to Africa and charted a vision for a collective future that will

Native Americans believe that nature, animals, and a higher power work together in a synergetic relationship to foster the lives of human beings by providing resources, protection, and a guiding force by which to live. In the creation myths, “The Navajo Origin Legend,” “When Grizzlies Walked Upright,” “The Earth on Turtle’s Back,” and “The Iroquois Constitution,” these beliefs are shown through a variety of similar ways. Most of these include the use of animism, symbolism, and creation. However, while these stories have many correlative attributes, they also differ through their attitudes along with how they use these symbols and what Gods they may or may not have believed in.

The Indigenous people believed the all living things were a part of nature and living things had a spirit. For many indigenous people, everything in the cosmos (whole universe) is intimately related and that there is kinship with all creations. According to Oren Lyons, an elder of the Onondaga Nation Wolf Clan, the indigenous people view their kinship with all creation consider themselves the caretakers of the earth, they saw "Everything as Alive": from rocks to water, to mountains, plants, and animals…and all things rely on each other. “That’s what we Indians believe”.

Most of the natives were polytheistic, believing in multiple gods or entities. Often smaller villages had less developed belief system, while some larger societies in the south, such as the Mayans or Aztecs, had vast temples and pyramids devoted to their gods. Some groups even practiced human sacrifice, “The Aztecs also sought favor of their gods by offering human sacrifice...” (6) The practice of human sacrifice may have only developed in larger societies that could afford it. Nonetheless most smaller villages and tribes in the north believed more predominantly in spirits and the holiness of life, “They [Native Americans] revered the physical world and endowed nature with spiritual properties.” (10) Although Native Americans had their differences, the belief in greater powers was predominant among

Many Native Americans also look up to a higher power. Native culture is filled with stories and tales of creators of the world, and many Native people believe upon those stories and they cherish them because they are the reason for them being alive in the world. Like many Americans, Natives believe upon higher powers because it gives meaning to their lives, also because it helps them understand the things around them and the things of the world, it gives them a reason to keep living. In Linda Hogan’s novel Power, the Taiga people believe on a Florida Panther. They look at it as a leader and as a god, and it is extremely important to both their culture and the cultures around them, as they all know not to touch the panther “a sacred ancestor