Religion Ritual And Beliefs Essay

For many communities, religion is a key facet of culture. It encompasses the values and morals they hold themselves accountable to, the social interactions they have, and the traditions they take place in. Since religion extends itself over so many different aspects of life, it can be challenging to pinpoint exactly what it is, and how to navigate through it based on one’s personal beliefs. The text this week attempts to answer these dilemmas by broadening the way readers think about the term “religion” and depicting methods that real people use to instill their faith in the everyday. By taking a glimpse into first the definition of religion, and then the various applications, we are able to analyze its meaning to a multitude of people, and

The excerpt, Religion: Ritual and Belief depicts the many ways that anthropologists and other intellectuals attempt to understand religion. Most can agree that it serves as some sort of system or structure, giving people a worldview based on morals and the belief in higher supernatural powers. One of the most basic characterizations sees it as belief system of spiritual powers entirely, but this poses an issue with not outlining the many other aspects of religion. Building off of that, is the idea of system of beliefs and rituals that deal with supernatural beings, powers, and forces. Unfortunately, while it includes the concept of rituals, this idea still skips over the complex reasons why these powers and rituals are meaningful. This is, however, included in Geertz’s definition, in which he describes it as a system of symbols in the same way he does with the term ‘culture.’ In the case of religion, these symbols are made out to seem real and therefore have a powerful meaning to that religion’s followers. They can give followers ambition and influence them to act in ways that embody

One is through clans, in which families or communities are organized into groups that identify with multiple spirits that act upon various emotions (209). There is also totemism, or the idea of being descendants of animals, which relies heavily on symbolism (209). Religious affairs can even include shamans that are believed to have direct communication with the spiritual world through trances or speaking in tongues (210). Religions also often serve to promote social hierarchy, seen in places like ancient Nigeria and Egypt where kings and pharaohs were thought of as divine beings (210). Finally, the most common form of religion fits into the category of world religions. These tend to be monotheistic such as Christianity, Judaism, and Islam, but can also include Hinduism and