Religion: The Sacred Institution

753 Words2 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Sociological method of studying religion

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

Show More
Related

  • Albanese's Theory: Religious Practice And Boundaries

    1061 Words  | 3 Pages

    Ordinary religion shows people how to live well within boundaries, and concern themselves with living well in this current world, not in another. Ordinary religion promotes cultures, traditions, values, and common social acts. In contrast, extraordinary religion helps people to transcend beyond their ordinary culture and concerns, crosses the borders of life as we used to know it and seeks to new better place. It is also believed that people have chance to contact God through spiritual ceremonies and get helped by supernatural power. For instance, ceremonies and rituals of baptism and circumcision for infants, and conformations for adolescents, marriage, and funerals for the dead. Through these spiritual ceremonies, people are crossing the physical boundaries and reaching something supernatural that they believe will give them power to encounter challenges and difficulties during stages of life. There are three elements in religious belief developing most religions in America, which are fundamental, ritual, and tradition. The first element is the fundamental structures which are defined with a myth, philosophy, or theology and limited by the boundaries that create the basic ways in which people, cultures and communities imagine, define, and accept how things are and what they mean. A second essential element of religion is ritual. Rituals are a representative set of

    Read More

  • Critical Analysis Of The Spirit Catches You And You Fall Down

    1772 Words  | 4 Pages

    Religion is considered as a pervasive force in this world. It shapes people as to how they behave and interact with almost everything present in the society. Influencing behavior, character formations, ideals, policies, standards are just among the dimensions and societal perspectives affected and impacted by religion. Because of these applications and implications in human lives and existence, religion should be understood deeply, particularly, on how it affects the world. Looking at the American perspective of the term "religion," it could be simply

    Read More

  • Albanese Religion

    1251 Words  | 3 Pages

    Albanese’s definition of religion that focuses on the social (community), the material (symbols), and the mythical (extraordinary) dimensions of religion best incorporates religions from all over the world. Western religions such as Christianity, Islam, and Judaism fit easily into the mold that Albanese lays out, while practices such as Native American, African Diaspora, Chinese, and Japanese religions manage to squeeze into the mold in more obscure ways. Each of these religious practices contain elements of community, symbolism, and interaction with the extraordinary, from the Native American “dama” ritual to Christianity’s creation narrative to Daoism’s Yin-Yang symbol. Although religions from India, such as Hinduism and Buddhism, might be used as counter examples, these religious practices ultimately touch on each aspect of Albanese’s definition. Buddhism and Jainism still acknowledge supernatural forces even though they are not a main focus. Hinduism still is a community of believers even though they accept all religions to be a part of their own. With all this being said, Albanese’s definition of religion is just vague enough. By only focusing on three religious dimensions instead of all seven, all the religious traditions studied in this class can, in fact, be labeled

    Read More

  • Sociological Approach To Religion

    936 Words  | 2 Pages

    Religion is a symbolic representation of society. The sociological approach to religious belief looks at how society behaves on a whole, to answer the question, “Why are people religious?” We express our participation in religious events through plays, acts of confession, religious dances, etc. To begin to understand why we have such term, let’s understand the common elements of religion. There are different types in which people believe in or follow and that is: animatism, animism, ancestral spirits, god and goddesses, and minor supernatural beings. Beyond these different elements, such one is to have religious leaders to follow.

    Read More

  • What Is Religion?

    1612 Words  | 4 Pages

    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 religion. However, one argument can be made. All three of these “religions” share “features.” Huston Smith, author of World’s Religions, says “six features of religion appear so regularly as to suggest that their seeds are in the human makeup.” These six features discussed in World’s Religions are as follows: authority, ritual, explanation, tradition, grace, and mystery (World’s, Page 67). First is authority, Smith argues religion is so complex that people will need assistance or guidance from those held in a higher light, or of a higher authority. Next is ritual, which can be happy (a wedding) or sad (a funeral), rituals are shared between people of the same religion in many forms as a sign of common beliefs. Following rituals, some explanation is required. Many of a religion’s followers ask for explanations, some ask, “What is my purpose in life?” Others may ask, “Who is God?” Depending on one’s religion, the questions or

    Read More

  • Whale Rider: The Maori Culture

    1716 Words  | 4 Pages

    The purpose of this reflective outline is to demonstrate a thorough understanding of theories, concepts, and/or strategies relating to cultural and social religions. “Whale Rider” (Caro, 2002) , is a depictive representation of a cultural religion that has survived on the belief of male inheritance as their form of guidance; however, history has shown that change is inevitable. For example, throughout history, religion has played a pivotal role in the development of individuals, including the evolution of societies. This shows that because religion/s around the world have practiced their core beliefs in an attempt to guide humanities behaviors, yet , as we can observe with the “Whale Rider,” even the most influential community and cultural leaders can become miscued in their ideologies. Because The Maori of New Zealand have developed deep seated beliefs within natural creatures; Katu is term used to relate to their god (Maori.com, 2014) steaming for their ancestral Polynesian descendants. In addition to what can be observed, such as beliefs, practices, and/or symbolic terminologies, each religion will ensure its presidential knowledge is passed to those who receive it accordingly. The factual concept stands and history has proven is evolution that without guidance and continuous religious and cultural support, decedents of a heritage may become lost and/or miscued within their mislead ideology. Although many religions are centered on the belief of normality’s cultural expectance, often times we can observe drastic changes in the reorganization of a cultural religion.

    Read More

  • Eastern vs. Western Religion

    787 Words  | 2 Pages

    Religion, “part of the human experience that has to do with a god or gods, a higher power, or the ultimate values of life” (Cason & Tillman 6-7), is one of the most controversial and interesting subjects for humanity. It has been around for as long as anyone can recall and they have difference and similarities in their founders, beliefs, and history. Religion has served to give some sort of a meaning to life and everything around it. In modern society, some religions have grown and expanded significantly. These larger religions have been classified as world religions. In addition, these world religions have been split into two categories known as Eastern and Western religion.

    Read More

  • Religions of the Ancient World

    597 Words  | 2 Pages

    Religion is an ever-growing idea that has no set date of origin. Throughout history religion has served as an answer to the questions that man could not resolve. The word religion is derived from the Latin word “religio” meaning restraint in collaboration with the Greek word “relegere” which means to repeat or to read again. Religion is currently defined as an organized system of beliefs and practices revolving around, or leading to, a transcendent spiritual experience. Throughout time, there has yet to be a culture that lacks a religion of some form, whether it is a branch of paganism, a mythological based religion or mono/polytheistic religion. Many religions have been forgotten due to the fact that they were ethnic religions and globalizing religions were fighting to be recognized, annihilating these ancient and ethnic religions. Some of these faiths include: Finnish Paganism, Atenism, Minoan Religion, Mithraism, Manichaeism, Vedism, Zoroastrianism, Asatru, and the Olmec Religion. Religion is an imperative part of our contemporary world but mod...

    Read More

  • Greek Religion Essay

    1940 Words  | 4 Pages

    Throughout the ancient world, religions and ideologies have developed into forms and practices that influence the very essence of civilizations. Religions could pose as a form of foundation for the beliefs, ideas, social organizations, and economic structures of a certain group of people. They provided a means of justification and form of unity between people and they helped establish and infuse new ideas into a culture. Religions were used as source to explain the misconcepted beliefs in nature and science as well as natural phenomina and it was also used to provide a source of motivation, control, and stability in a civilization.

    Read More

  • The Dividing Force of Religion

    675 Words  | 2 Pages

    Religion has the power to bind one to others as well as the aptitude to alienate people with conflicting beliefs. Throughout history, cultures have created several different belief systems, each with its own ideals, to satisfy the typical human curiosity and explain the unclarified events that occur in nature. Inspecting the role of religion from the earliest civilizations to the present, its tendency to divide rather than unify groups becomes apparent.

    Read More

  • Why Religion Is Important

    1028 Words  | 3 Pages

    A religion is a system of beliefs usually involving the worship of supernatural forces or beings. Religious beliefs provide shape and meaning to one's perception of the universe. In other words, they provide a sense of order in what might otherwise be seen as a chaotic existence. Religions also provide understanding and meaning for inexplicable events such as a loved one being killed in an earthquake or some other unpredictable force of nature. For most religious people, their beliefs about the supernatural are at the very core of their world views.

    Read More

  • Emile Durkheim Sacred And Profane Analysis

    717 Words  | 2 Pages

    People find sacred lives in everything, not just religion. Sacred is the collective representations that are separated from society, like religious rituals. Profane is all other things, like work, school, and bills. Most people live the same profane lives, but not everyone lives the same sacred life. Lots of people live a sacred life through social media, TV shows, books, etc.

    Read More

  • Religion : Religion And Religion

    1514 Words  | 4 Pages

    Religion can be defined as a system of beliefs and worships which includes a code of ethics and a philosophy of life. Well over 90% of the world 's population adheres to some form of religion. The problem is that there are so many different religions. What is the right religion? What is true religion? The two most common ingredients in religions are rules and rituals. Some religions are essentially nothing more than a list of rules, dos and don 'ts, which a person must observe in order to be considered a faithful adherent of that religion, and thereby, right with the God of that religion. Two examples of rules-based religions are Islam and Judaism. Islam has its five pillars that must be observed.

    Read More

  • Sacred Place Essay

    1568 Words  | 4 Pages

    What actually makes something sacred is a contentious issue. For historian of religion, Mircea Eliade who offers a religious explanation, there is an absolute reality, which transcends the mundane world leading to some places being intrinsically sacred. “the sacred, which transcends this world but manifests itself in this world, thereby sanctifying it and making it real” (Elaide. M, AA100 T...

    Read More

  • African Traditional Religions

    435 Words  | 1 Pages

    The whole person, body, and soul are involved in worship. There are many rites of purification for individuals and communities. Religious sacredness is preserved in ritual, in dress and in the arrangements of the places of worship. The sick are healed in rites, which involve their families and the community. Some of the traditional blessings are rich and very meaningful.

    Read More

More about Religion: The Sacred Institution

Open Document