The Importance Of Religion In The West African Yoruba Religion

Among the many tribes found in Africa, the Yoruba People of Nigeria are among the most popular and well known. The Yoruba are the tribe that many Africans confess that their family roots started from and therefore follow the religion and culture of the Yoruba. These people are indigenous to the Southwestern parts of Nigeria and Benin. They may not be the only tribe in Africa, but they certainty have an interesting culture along with one of the oldest ancestry lines.

There are many religions throughout the world today. Although there are several different religions, many individuals are not educated about the other beliefs besides there own. Religions today do have differences but are also very much the same. This is demonstrated between the religion of Yoruba, and Christianity. The Gods that the people in these religions worship are different but have the same purpose throughout the lives of each individual. Each individual’s purpose and goal in these religions also display similarities. Furthermore the rituals that are done throughout these religions are done for directions and to improve the relationship between the individual and their god. There are various differences and similarities between

Religion if first in Yoruba culture, however, it is the thought of man that actually leads spiritual consciousness of religion. Anyone can make up a religion. It is believed that most religions were created by mankind.

Religion is what people believe in, their faith, like a since of hope. In today’s society some religions have become myths so the start of newer religions may form. The very basic aspects of the world around us that myths explains are the course of day and night or seasons, the mysteries of life and death, and the creation of the world. In the African American culture we believe when a loved one has passed on we should celebrate their life. Celebrating their life means they are no longer in pain or suffering they are going home to the Almighty and we should be happy for them. Dealing with change, suffering, and loss is really about the same we pray to the man above and hope we can get through it. In our culture we rely a lot on hope.

Religion can be defined as inner beliefs of where one may have come from and beliefs in morals to help guide one through his or her life. As for the Cherokee, they put many of their beliefs in nature and did not believe in one single creator. These beliefs were used to teach stories and pass on the history of their people. Sometimes their beliefs were used to give hope to the people in times of trouble. Because the Cherokee did not believe in one single god with the credit of creating the earth and all of its living beings, they have found a way to create their own creation story relying heavily on the animals of nature.

Due to pressure to hide their Yoruba religious beliefs, Practitioners of Santerίa resorted to concealing or fusing their faith with that of the Roman Catholic Church. Already in place in that Church was the concept of the immortality of the soul, which led to prayers and offerings made to the dead. The churches were full of carved and painted images of departed people who had been declared saints, but who could, if handled rightly, grant requests.

A religion is a system of beliefs that explains things about the Universe, answers essential philosophical questions and tells its followers how to live their lives in order to achieve the goal of that religion, whether it be pleasing the gods of the religion, acquiring salvation from a curse, punishment, ailment etc. that the religion claims people or persons have or self-betterment. In the religions of Ancient Egypt, Buddhism and Christianity, a clear link between environment and religion can be seen. Religion has always been present in large civilizations and is a product of the environment, climate and geography.

Reflecting back on our reading “nature and spirit, Creator and Creation are viewed as a unified reality in African cosmology, thus providing an important foundation for African Spirituality. It is the freedom of God to be God, to continually create and transform reality, that gave hope to African slaves as they struggled to make sense of a life of forced oppression and dehumanization. As Africans in the American Diaspora were able to hear and find meaning in biblical concepts, they were able to build up on the African Spirituality that they had internalized and transmitted orally in order to survive the horrors of the American scene. By now as African-Americans, they could steal away and establish their own form

Religion is something that's universal. It's something that many people know about, but don't fully understand. Religion is based off of spirituality and traditions that people believe will elevate them as people and lead to a better life and possibly a better afterlife. The interspirituality of religions such as Buddhism, Christianity, and Judaism are explored in the book, "Mystic Heart'" by Wayne Teasdale. It is essential to understand the backgrounds of those around you, and learning about the different traditions that religions have can help to deepen your understanding of not only others religions, but your own as well. The different ideologies about spirituality that come with the religions of this world are what make peoples ways of

During a tumultuous time in America’s history, Africans were being brought to the United States of America to be used as slaves to the white man, however, despite the bleak conditions, Africans brought with them language, music, foods, and more, that can be blanketed into African religious practices. In attempting to create new lives with one another, as well as immigrants from Europe and the pre-existing Native Americans, the sumptuous African diaspora culture planted roots in the United States of America, all of which was shaped by the Africans and their innovations, as well as their descendants. In this paper, I will be using excerpts from both “The Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano” and “Black

“Know Thyself” is an ancient Kemtic (Egyptian) saying that most black people throughout the African continent and diaspora have seem to forgotten its true meaning. Africa’s rich metaphysical, spiritual and physical history has been tainted and contaminated with negative agendas for the past five centuries. We as in black people have been stripped of our ancestral history only to have it replaced by an artificial compilation of our failures. Which is taught in public schools across the United States. I had a life changing experience in late 2015 and I believe because of that particular event I am able

What is a religion? A religion is defined by Richard Schaefer as a unified system of beliefs and practices that relate to what is believed to be sacred (Schaefer, Richard T, 2009, pg 323). There are many world religions, such as Christianity, Islam, Buddhism, Hindu, and so forth, and while all of these different religions are

The driving theme of this book is healing in the context of religious practices, but not only in the way one would assume---the restoration of physical or spiritual health--- it includes more than just that. Rather, it encompasses the building of a community and the preservation of the African culture in the Americas.

What is religion? Each person’s definition of religion is different. Each person’s faith is different. This is a question that has been asked for centuries, and regardless of the answer given there is no right or wrong answer. Religion can be defined as a group of people who have shared beliefs who feel their life has purpose or meaning. This feeling or belief that their life has meaning can come from outside of themselves, as well as within. Taking this one step further, these shared beliefs put into action in the form of worship, can be easily identified because they happen regularly. It can be said the Primal religions were in fact not religions. Some may argue Confucianism is not a religion. Others may say Taoism is not a

     Before one starts to outline the traditional religion in Africa, one must first explain the way Africa is as a whole. Without the knowledge of the past combined with knowledge of culture, one would have a very vague, if any, understanding of traditional religion.