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Religion
© Dave Ferruolo
In 1915 Emile Durkheim stated that religion are
things “that surpass the limits of our knowledge”. For centuries scholars
from around the world have been battling over the existence of so called
super natural powers. Cross cultural religious convictions have spurred
bloodshed for centuries, and religious beliefs, despite their universal
proclamations of peace, have caused more war and conflict in human history
than anything else.
So if religion’s main tenants are for one: a belief
and worship of supernatural deities, and two: moral behaviors towards
others, why is there so much hostility between world religions? It seems
that what is taught globally through religion in not practiced on the
streets. All spiritual doctrines teach good ways of acting towards your
fellow man. Words like love, forgiveness, charity, helping and compassion
are commonplace. What is different, however, are discrepancies in who
actually is the messenger. This, in my opinion, is just another form of
social bias and prejudice.
If we could get past the battle over who is the
messenger, the savior, the profit or the messiah, and look to the
commonalities of all religions and the bottom line teachings of right
action and morality towards humanity, the world would be a much happier
and peaceful place.
Religions share many of the same components from
sacred space, to ritual to worship to belief in supernatural beings. Most
all religions pray and have religious specialists to facilitate learning
of holey doctrine. All major religions have holey texts that were written
not by the supernatural, but by earthly messengers of flesh and bone.
Sacred spaces are places that spiritual meaning is
associated. The idea of sacred spaces has been in existence perhaps from
the beginning of ancient society. Stonehenge in England is said to date
back 5000 years to Neolithic times. The how’s and why’s of Stonehenge
elude us, however it is generally accepted theory that the place was used
for sacred ceremony and ritual practices.
Throughout history sacred places have left their
mark. In Peru Machu Picchu was built in 1450 by Incas as a spiritual
place. The Japanese people worship Mt Fuji, the tallest mountain in the
country. There is a church on top of Mt. Sinai. Thousands of people
flock to the town of Mecca in Saudi Arabia and bathe the Ganges River in
India. Mosques, temples and churches riddle the lands cross culturally and
are idolized and recognized as sacred places of worship.
Anthropologist Barbara Miller of George Washington’s
Elliot School, defines rituals as pattern forms of behavior that have to
do with the supernatural realm. Richard Sosis, associate professor of
Anthropology at the University of Connecticut, says that rituals relate
more to group cohesiveness and identity. Whether it is a matter of belief
or social control, rituals are shared globally throughout many diverse
religions.
Worship of the supernatural is commonplace among
religions. A vast majority of the world’s religions believe in deities
that exist in spirit form. Paying homage and respect and living by the
words and laws of such deities are believed to be paths to enlightenment,
peace, fortune or safe passage to a good afterlife, depending on which
doctrine you prescribe to.
Religious professional or specialists who have
specific training and attain knowledge of the particular religion they
adhere to carry out rituals and ceremony. Priests, Pastors, Monks,
Rabbis, Shamans and even witches, profits and palm readers are classified
as religious specialists. Every religion shares this trait.
The written word that governs the actions and
methodology of various religions are located in holey or spiritual texts.
Hindus have the four Vedas written originally in Sanskrit. The bible is
used by the almost 2 billion practicing Christians. The Torah, or five
books of Moses, are sacred to Jews. The words of Muhammad are written in
the Qur’an, which is the Islamic central text, and even the more
non-denominational new-age spiritualities use the Gnostic texts as a
guide.
Throughout history we have read about the many
messengers from who the words of the supernatural have been scribed. The
names, shapes and languages of such deities are as diverse as human
culture itself. And why not? In such a diverse land with 6 billion
individual personalities, there has to be as many paths to nirvana as whys
of thinking and being. One road cannot be for all but many paths can lead
to the same place. And that place is universal peace and harmony.
Perhaps
if people of the world could be educated on the similarities and common
goals of the underlying writings of all religion, and not argue over who
said it better, then maybe peace is not such on overwhelming concept after
all.
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