Indigenous Religion Essay - 1785 Words

Indigenous religions, full of vibrancy and color, are often misconstrued or written off as primitive. Examples include: Animism, a belief system that stretches back to the earliest human and is still in practice today. It is thought to be a dangerous, shamanistic religious practice that is looked upon negatively. Buddhism, a religion that people believe is practiced only by environmentalists and the â€Å"hippies† of the world. The reality is it is practiced by the majority of East Asia. It has a powerful spiritual leader that has done a lot to bring awareness about the suffering of his country. And Vodou, which is misinterpreted to be a dangerous, violent religion where people participate in sacrificial rituals and wild sexual orgies. It is†¦show more content†¦Animism shows up in many different religions. In Buddhism all things have a soul, and because of that, all things are linked. There is also a rich afterlife concept, including karma and rebirth. In Hinduis m, god spirits inhabit animals, and there are evil and good spirits. In Christianity, evil spirits, such as the devil and demons, can possess humans; there is again the concept of an afterlife, dividing evil and good spirits in heaven and hell. Shamans were spirit healers in early tribal communities. They believed that the spirit was housed within the body. They healed the people of the tribes by using deep mental states of trance. Early tribes had shamans that would make concoctions out of hallucinogenic plants to send the sick or dying into another reality. They would dance and play music and chant while applying the concoctions in an attempt to heal the spirit. Animism is a powerful belief that everything has a soul. It is ancient, and because of this it has more primitive elements such as respect for all living things. Like animism, the indigenous beliefs of Buddhism are the foundation of many contemporary religions. Buddhism could be considered the next evolution of the belief of animism because Buddhism shares the belief that everything has a soul. Buddhism is also based on respecting all living things. This is what environmentalists and hippies are attracted to inShow MoreRelatedIndigenous Religions Essay1368 Words   |  6 PagesIndigenous Religions of the World What is an ‘indigenous’ religion or belief system? When we hear the term ‘indigenous religion’, what comes to our minds? How do we react internally when those words are mentioned? How do adherents of indigenous religions feel about those outside of their social and cultural circles, who know very little of their beliefs and who understand them even less. And how did the term ‘indigenous’ become associated with various belief systems that, in many cases, precededRead MoreEssay on Indigenous Religion: Druid Religion672 Words   |  3 PagesThe Druids are a major division of Indigenous Religion and are located in the British Isles and Scotland. 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