Religion: The Sacred Institution

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Religion: The Sacred Institution Religion is an ancient social institution that brings people of various cultures, ethnicities, and backgrounds together. There are many religions in this world that have different views and customs ranging from those who believe in a spiritual being to those who don’t believe in a nonphysical being but in a physical individual. Anthropologists find it difficult to define religion, because when it is defined the definition is not inclusive enough of all forms of religion. A definition that encompasses all forms of religion is, “Beliefs and practices related to the sacred” (Delcore). This definition is inclusive enough to all forms of religion because all cultures view something as being sacred and powerful. …show more content…

A famous anthropologist by the name of E.B Tylor proposed the definition of religion as being, “the belief in spiritual beings” (Winzeler). This definition is one of the oldest definitions in anthropology but has notable problems because Tylor used the words “spiritual beings” and not all religions have faith in something that is nonphysical. For example, individuals who believe in Buddhism don’t believe in a nonphysical individual, but have followed the teachings of a person known as the Buddha who taught people about the Four Noble Truths. The definition proposed by Tylor is not inclusive to Buddhism because they don’t believe in a God, but the definition of …show more content…

Individuals find people, things, or spiritual beings as being sacred because it is of high importance them and is deserving of reverence. When defining what is sacred it is important to note that something sacred is, “Superior, powerful, forbidden to normal contact, and deserving of great respect” (Pals). Basically, what Pals is saying is that something sacred is of great importance and value to individuals. When we talk about religion the definition that fits it is the, “Beliefs and practices related to the sacred” (Delcore). This definition is inclusive to all cultures because every culture portrays somethings as sacred and that sacred something doesn’t necessarily have to have a “spiritual being” but can be a person. For example, in the Hmong culture people resort to Shamanism to make contact with their ancestors and cure people when they are ill. Shamanism is sacred to them and they resort to it to contact their ancestral spirits, they don’t necessarily believe in a God and the definition of “the sacred” is appropriate to this culture because shamanism is powerful to them. Religion is a sacred institution that is universal and is of high

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