Common Practices in Religion
Key Characteristics of Indigenous Religions
The most common characteristics which are associated with indigenous religions are:
Geographical location – indigenous religions are composed of people who have an ancient culture, and they speak a particular language that represents their culture. They are also located in specific regions, and an excellent example of indigenous people is the Aborigines of Australia. The Aborigines of Australia lived in Tasmania, Fraser Island, Tiwi Islands, and Hinchinbrook Islands (Mackil, 2016).
Application of ritual and art crafts – the indigenous religions are believed to use rituals and art crafts that are not applicable by modern religions.
Community participation – unlike modern religions, indigenous religions used to participate in community projects within the society, which brought them together.
A fluid-structure – the indigenous religions used to have interactions, and they could move from one region to another for the sake of interactions.
Belief in a supreme God – the majority of indigenous believed in supreme God whom they worshiped
Characteristics Differences between indigenous religions and other religions
• Indigenous religions were only applicable to small-scale communities such as Aborigines of Australia. In contrast, other religions such as Christianity, Islam, and Buddhism involve a large multitude of people across the world.
• Indigenous religions described as being distinct compared to other religions since indigenous religions involve oral transmission, which is intertwined with pluralist and traditional lifestyles, unlike the world religions who seek converts globally.
• The indigenous religion is not engaged in proselytization, unlike the world religions, distinguished from the movements of the other religions such as Christianity, Islam, and Buddhism.
Common questions, concerns, practices, and experiences across various world religions
According to Hjarvard (2011), the primary role of religion is to offer deeper meaning to individuals on how they can better understand the meaning of life. This process is done by offering the proper guidance to understand the common practices, concerns, experiences, and practices which may arise when offering guidance to followers of the religion, common practices, experiences are shared in the process such reincarnation, God as a human-divine, spirit world, sacred texts, the afterlife, and body mutilation.
Christianity is the most practiced religion across the world, with nearly a third of the globe’s population. Christianity consists of several denominations, which include Catholic, Lutheran, Orthodox, Methodist Presbyterian, Episcopalian, and Methodist, among others. All these denominations believe in Jesus Christ as their messiah. The belief of Jesus Christ as the messiah is found in the Jewish Bible and the conception of God. The practices and experiences of Christian, Islam, and Buddhism may be different, but they have common practices whereby many Christian attend church on Sunday to worship. Worship includes singing, sermon, and prayer (Rorty & Dann, 2011).
Ways that ancient religions impact us today
Ancient religions continue to impact today since ancient religious practices enhance the well-being of people, families, and society as a whole. The ancient’s religion also plays a critical role because it has actively participated in reducing the incidences of crime, substance abuse, domestic abuse, and addiction.
How religion affects people’s life
Religion has played a vital role in my life because it has made me feel better by ensuring that I appreciate my larger culture in all manners. Being a religious person, ancient religion has enabled me to gain higher self-esteem and better psychological adjustments. For instance, the ancient religion has given me confidence in dealing with challenges that I might encounter on the way.
List of References
Hjarvard, S. (2011). The mediatization of religion: Theorising religion, media, and social change. Culture and religion, 12(02), 119-135.
Mackil, E. (2016). Creating a common polity: religion, economy, and politics in the making of the Greek koinon (Vol. 55). Univ of California Press.
Rorty, R., & Dann, G. E. (2011). An Ethics for Today: Finding Common Ground Between Philosophy and Religion. Columbia University Press.
