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Nature of African traditional religion
Religious beliefs in india
Nature of African traditional religion
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The African idea of the High God per Hopfe states that “there is a supreme High God who created the world and then withdrew from active participation.” (Hopfe, page 51, 20007), as well as that “there is a common belief that beyond all of the minor gods, goodness, spirits, and ancestors there is only one God who created and in some sense still governs the world.” African religions are generally considered polytheistic. In addition, it is also believed that this High God resides in a distant place and only returns when in time of need. Meanwhile the High God is so distant Hopfe states that the High Good is “too great to pay attention to prayers and petitions of human beings.” (Hopfe, pg. 53, 2007), therefore they rather pray to lesser spirits and ancestors.
Even though the Native Americans have very comparable beliefs excluding that they are different than those of the African religions. It is difficult to say if Native Americans are polytheistic since all nature is alive Per Hopfe “Native Americans
Because was constantly expose to others religions in India, it’s been influenced especially in the theory of rebirth and salvation, heaven, earth, and hell. They are very similar in the way the dress, ornaments, language, and literature with Hindus. Another similitude is the strict vegetarian diet. But they differ in religion practices, scriptures origins of the world, sacrifices, attainment of salvation, path of salvation, and liberation of the soul. In the Jainism, there is the path of right Belief, right Knowledge and Right Conduct. The Jainism and Buddhism have similar-like characteristics such as they do not follow the Vedas, and they support the Sramana culture. Both religions do not accept the permanent power of God as a creator of the world, and they strongly oppose to violent practice such as animal
This paper elaborates on the diverse contributions peoples of African descent have made to the pluralistic religious landscape of America and replicates various passages from our textbook. It focuses on the personal narratives of non-religious to religious leaders—exemplifying their influence on the African American religious movement during slavery and the reconstruction of America. Each section represents different historical periods, regional variations, and non-Christian expressions of African-American religion.
It is impossible for anyone to survive a horrible event in their life without a relationship to have to keep them alive. The connection and emotional bond between the person suffering and the other is sometimes all they need to survive. On the other hand, not having anyone to believe in can make death appear easier than life allowing the person to give up instead of fighting for survival. In The Book of Negroes by Lawrence Hill, Aminata Diallo survives her course through slavery by remembering her family and the friends that she makes. Aminata is taught by her mother, Sira to deliver babies in the villages of her homeland. This skill proves to be very valuable to Aminata as it helps her deliver her friends babies and create a source of income. Aminata’s father taught Aminata to write small words in the dirt when she was small. Throughout the rest of the novel, Aminata carries this love for learning new things to the places that she travels and it inspires her to accept the opportunities given to her to learn how to write, read maps, and perform accounting duties. Early in the novel Aminata meets Chekura and they establish a strong relationship. Eventually they get married but they are separated numerous times after. Aminata continuously remembers and holds onto her times with Chekura amidst all of her troubles. CHILDREN. The only reason why Aminata Diallo does not die during her journey into and out of slavery is because she believes strongly in her parents, husband and children; therefore proving that people survive hardships only when they have relationships in which to believe.
African-American is a politically correct term used to refer to blacks within the United States. The roots of many African-American rites can be traced back to African cultural rites. However, it is important to note that not all blacks in America identify with African cultural roots. Therefore, some of the rites found within what many in the United States call African-American culture stem from Caribbean and other cultural traditions. For this reason, when making end of life decisions or funeral arrangements the “cultural identification, spirituality and the social class” the individual identifies with must be taken into account. The black majority within the United States identifies with Afrocentric traditions and perspectives. For this reason the term African-American will be used within this paper to denote the black population found in America as comparisons are made regarding how end of life decisions are viewed and made by African-American culture verses the traditional western European beliefs of American culture (Barrett, 2002).
When the topic of the beliefs of the Native American culture arises, most people have generally the same ideas about the culture’s beliefs: they are very strong. Being part Native American myself, from the Cherokee tribe, I was raised to know my culture pretty well and follow the same beliefs that they teach and follow. One thing f that my grandma, who is the great-granddaughter of a Cherokee Chief, instilled in me is the importance of my beliefs in God.
To begin, most Africans have come from societies with traditional African religious backgrounds unrelated to Islam or Christianity. As a whole, African religious traditions combine belief in a Supreme Being with the worship of other gods and ancestors and use ritual and magic to mediate between human beings, nature, and the gods. In many African languages, there is no word for God, because in their tradition every thing and place embodies God. Many African religions have common tenets. They share a belief in a community of deities, the idea that ancestors serve as a way to communicate with these deities. They also share the belief...
When one thinks of African American spirituals, images of a church service with a choir singing in beautiful harmony swaying in rhythm to the music usually ensue. Spirituals are far more significant than hymns sung by Christians in a church setting, as we shall soon see.
Hinduism and Buddhism have different similarities and are in some ways connected to each other. Some of the practices of the two religions are similar in various ways and there are several examples to show this.
In general, there were many changes during the Reconstruction years as blacks learned to adapted to their new struggles as free people. They went from the Southern plantations working for no pay to migrating west to making their own way. In the process, they learned to be self-independent of the whites by having building their own churches, schools and the role of black leaders starts to emerge to ignite the black race. The famous leaders such as Booker T. Washington and W.E.B. DuBois during the Reconstruction years made an impact on African American history.
Hinduism, as well as Buddism, both came into existence in India. Both religions are similar in many ways. The religions both believe in reincarnation and that the specific purpose of their teachings is to escape this cycle.
Rastafarianism is a religious movement that combines the cultural rituals of Jamaican folk Christianity with the Pan-Africanist movement lead by Marcus Garvey. The religion is influenced by the beliefs of the Nazarite Vow. This vow describes in great detail the significance of the Rastafari movement and the influence Samson has on Rasta’s. During the early twentieth century Marcus Garvey, “the founder of the Universal Negro Improvement Association (UNIA),” prophesied the crowning of a black king (Olmos 183). Then a few years later his prophesy was considered fulfilled when Haile Selassie was named Emperor of Ethiopia. Rastafari was founded on November 2, 1930 with the crowning of Ras Tafari Makonnen, Haile Selassie, or Emperor of Ethiopia.
During the Western Imperialism era there were many changes made in Africa. One of the major changes that took place was that of religion. Most of the African tribes had their own religion and it was most of the time, polytheistic, with many Gods. When the Europeans came to these villages they brought the religi...
It is clear that there are more similarities than differences in all three ancient Eastern religions. The first point unifying all three trends is that the Brahman in Hinduism, Buddha in Buddhism, and Vardhamana Mahavira in Jainism were all sacred figures that used to be people who lived a comfortable and socially privileged life due to birth into a privileged family but then recognized the nature of the Universe, the wrongness of living in idleness, and started wanderings that lasted for many years until enlightenment and understanding of their true destination. After their enlightenment, they all started teaching and spreading what they had learned through the insight they had gained, attracting followers of both sexes, and continued to wander and communicate a religious truth, a religious way of living and the ways to achieve liberation from the wheel of life (McKay et al., 2008)
The church should be highlighted as an integral part of the African American community. It is an important part of their culture because the songs, prayers, and scriptures are created and used in order to interpret events and their feelings. As noted in, "Black Church and Community Action," using these rituals and songs members of the Black Church are able to provide meaning to historical events that occurred, such as slavery and discrimination today. The church has also been known to go beyond these events and combat social problems, like drugs and gangs. Moreover, the culture created in the church become a main component of their group identity. As slaves or freed persons they used scriptures and interpreted it to base it off their own experiences, for this reason the bible is a central part of its culture. However, Stansfield reminds individuals that religion still remains a way of segregation because it is created into a predominantly White or African American congregation. Therefore, it is important to challenge these churches when discussing its significance in the African American community.
Traditions are practices/beliefs that are passed down from generation to generation. In traditional African societies, a kinship ties people through birth or marriage. There are two kinds of relationships in customary African tradition; those bound by blood, which are called consanguine, and those constructed by marriage, called affilial. There are four key descents that determine inheritance and marriage. However, the most common descent is patrilineal, which traces ancestry through one's father. While in America, we are vary tolerant of tracing our descent from both parents.
Kaduna: Baraka Press, 2004. Magesa, Laurenti. A. African Religion: The Moral Tradition of Abundant Life. Nairobi: Pauline Pub., Africa, 1998. Mbiti, John S. Introduction to African Religion.