FREE Primal Religions Essay (original) (raw)

The book "The World Religion's" by Huston Smith, delves into primal religions and try's to explain the values and sacred aspects of indigenous religions and people. In doing so he was able to compare the views and ideas with modern religions, or as he called them "historical religions", and gave an accurate representation of the people who followed the earliest religions of man. .
There are many essential aspects of primal though, that go into religion, which need to be explained in order to see the world through the eyes of a primal person. Primal people view the world as a spiritual place, that everything from the animal they eat to the grass that they walk on has a spirit, that God is in everything. And the though process that goes with the idea that everything has a spirit is vastly important to understanding their religion and everyday life. If something were to happen, for instance if a coconut falls on their head, the more modern religions would view this as a misfortune and a case of being in the wrong place at the wrong time but not as the victims fault because we know that a falling coconut is not that uncommon, however in primal religions since everything has a spirit the initial though is that they have upset the God(s) in some way. In virtually every culture there is the though process that everything happens for a reason, the difference here is that for primal religions the reason is spiritual whereas in modern culture/religion the reason is more scientific based. In primal religions there is a belief that differentiates between place and space. "Space is abstract, place is concrete." (pg. 370) The idea that everything sacred has its place is common in modern religions as well, but it is not held nearly as high in importance as in primal religions. .
When studying primal religions the first thing that is apparent in their difference to modern religion is that primal religions are orally transmitted.

1. Brief Overview of World Religions

Primal Religion My definition of Primal religion is that, it's a religion practiced by an indigenous people or culture. ... Primal religions existed before the invention of writing, and in this case literacy was unknown to the primal religion. ... A second distinguishing feature of primal religion is its embeddedness in place. ... And a third feature of primal religion is Eternal time. ... I believe that Primal cultures are very religious. ...

2. Religion Aboriginies

Primal peoples have always had a concern with survival because it is their natural instinct just as they were taught by the Old Woman (rainbow snake). ... Many primal religions rituals focus on these needs and some how the tribes become strengthened both physically and spiritually. Primal religions must be very interconnected with eachother and to their creators to go through their deep ceremonies and rituals. Most modern religions have roots from primal religions in one way or another. Almost all religions celebrate forms of rituals, theologies, and sacred stories. ...

3. The Native Australians

All modern religions have beginnings in primal religions. The native religion relates to the first paragraph of genesis. ... The natives relate to primal faith because those who are unholy obscure will be punished much like those in the catholic religion. ...

4. Freud

Freud believes that the individual is helpless to his/her animal instincts and primal desires. ... The organization and rules of a civilization repress man's primal desires. ... He believes that a smart man who understands art and science needs no religion because religion is replaceable by art and science. "He who possesses science and art also has religion; but he who possesses neither of those two, let him have religion!" ... His environment is his religion for he is his environment...

5. Conflictin Beliefs

The world of religion is extremely different from the world of science. Religion was created a very long time ago. ... Religion was also a way to control the masses. ... Religion gives people a set of morals and a reason to live. ... This prevented some degree of chaos long ago when a person had to be much more primal to survive than the world we know today. ...

6. Religion and Faith in Hamlet

Religion today isn't quite what it was back in Shakespeare's time. ... In the Elizabethan Era, religion had a much higher priority than it does today. In Velz's critical essay, he wrote, "there is irrefutable evidence that William Shakespeare was more than merely single-minded about religion" ("On bards, bibles and bears: on Shakespeare and religion"). ... "O, my offence is rank it smells to heaven; It hath the primal eldest curse upon't, a brother's murder" (3.3.3). ... Religion and faith play an important role in many of his pieces and h...

7. Hinduism vs. Buddhism

Hinduism basic ideals: "the belief that animals and human castes were created out of the primal sacrifice of the god of Purusha in Vedas, the complementary ideas of karma and reincarnation in the Upanishads, and, lastly, the identification of Braham and atman also in the Upanishads." ... Thought these similarities and many more, these two religions both seem to be very similar. ... However both religions still have a key emphasis on generosity and not being selfish. ...

8. Technology

The internet also has affected mans beliefs and theories on his own spiritual being, the variety of differing beliefs in this cultural meeting place present them self as a smorgasbord of choice and richness one can study religion and learn as much as a being could learn in a lifetime. ... It affects humankind so deeply it tends to have man put money over religion, although it's sad it's also true. ... The actuality of man's need in the beginning of time that actual first need man beckoned the actual man guided by instinct and ingenuity to develop the primal fundamentals of t...

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