Question

1. Define religion and discuss why people believe in religion? What is the difference between a myth and doctrine? How does animism and animatism relate to sacred spaces and people’s belief systems? Compare and contrast the religious practices of the Australian Aborigines, and Yanomamo. What role has culture and environment played in the development of these religious systems and beliefs? Make sure to include examples from class, text and lecture.

Answer 1

Religion means simply any belief or faith in some sort of worship of a super power (can be considered to be god by many) who controls the power and whonis omnipotent. Hence it is just a set of beliefs which may differ from one community to other which are commonly termed as religious community on religion basis.

People believe in religion because they believe that someone is there who is running this world. In earlier times, belief was due to fear since people were afraid of fire, rain etc and thus they formed rain god, war god, fire god etc and on current times, people believe in religion by their births also i.e.if a person is born in some house where Islam is followed, he also has to believe it. Thus it still runs by fear and compulsion.

Relation between myth and doctrine

They are both interrelated. A religion has lots of myths. Example is that nobody has seen god but a religion believes that there is a god which is actually a myth in scientific terms and then to clarify that myth, they make various doctrines. Example - clarification for presence of God can be given as since when you do not follow your religion, you are sent to hell which is actually a doctrine.

Animism is a way frequently adopted by religion groups to make people believe in superstitions so that they have a fear to follow some religion always. They start believing in magics and when we start believing miracles, we can believe any religion. On the other hand in case of animation, there is no need for an individual personality but we directly believe in a supernatural power which the help of our surrounding happenings

Thus both of them knit the religious spaces for the people.

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