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Folk religion consists of beliefs, superstitions and rituals transmitted from generation to generation in a specific culture. Belief is the psychological state in which an individual holds a Proposition or Premise to be true Superstition ( Latin superstitio, literally "standing over" derived perhaps from standing in awe used in Latin as a unreasonable or excessive belief A ritual is a set of actions often thought to have Symbolic value the performance of which is usually prescribed by a Religion or by the Traditions Culture (from the Latin cultura stemming from colere, meaning "to cultivate" generally refers to patterns of human activity and the symbolic It could be contrasted with an organized religion or historical religion in which founders, creed, theology and ecclesiastical organizations are present. A religion is a set of Tenets and practices often centered upon specific Supernatural and moral claims about Reality, the Cosmos A creed is a statement of Belief — usually Religious belief — or Faith often recited as part of a religious service Theology is the study of a god or the gods from a religious perspective In contrast, ethnic religion refers to the religious practices particular to a certain ethnicity. Ethnic religions may include officially sanctioned and organized Civil religions with an organized Clergy, but they are characterized in that adherents generally are Folk religion and ethnic religion alike are characterized by the absence of proselytization, membership being, as a rule, equivalent to ethnicity. Proselytism is the practice of attempting to convert people to another opinion and particularly another religion

The folk religion with the largest number of adherents is the Chinese folk religion, accounting for some 6% of world population. Chinese folk religion is a collective label given to various folkloric beliefs that draws heavily from Chinese mythology. The world population is the total number of living Humans on Earth at a given time Various "primal indigenous" religions (animism, shamanism) account for another 4%, but elements of folk religion exist as part of all religious traditions and should be regarded as popular currents (as opposed to a theological or institutionalized) rather than as separate religions, so that folk religion, like superstition, is a phenomenon present in every society. Animism (from Latin anima ( Soul, Life) commonly refers to a religious belief that Souls or Spirits exist in Animals Superstition ( Latin superstitio, literally "standing over" derived perhaps from standing in awe used in Latin as a unreasonable or excessive belief

Contents

Folk religion

The term is also applied to the blending of folk practice with those of major religions, so that folk practices among people in Christian countries are called "folk Christianity," in Islamic countries "folk Islam", and so on. Christianity ( Greek Χριστιανισμός from the word Xριστός ( Christ)is a monotheistic Religion centered on the life and teachings Folk Christianity is composed of Christian ideas and practices outside the approval or authority of a religious establishment &mdash Roman Catholic Protestant or other For other meanings including people named 'Islam' see Islam (disambiguation. In its current form Islam is a religion established by Muhammad, who lived in the 6th and 7th centuries C The term is also used, especially by the clergy of the faiths involved, to describe the desire of people who otherwise infrequently attend religious worship, do not belong to a church or similar religious society, and who have not made a formal profession of faith in a particular creed, to have religious weddings or funerals, or (among Christians) to have their children baptised. Clergy is the generic term used to describe the formal religious leadership within a given Religion. This article refers to the religious act For the album by Michael W Faith is a Belief in the trustworthiness of an Idea. Formal usage of the word "faith" is usually reserved for concepts of Religion, as in A creed is a statement of Belief — usually Religious belief — or Faith often recited as part of a religious service A wedding is the Ceremony in which two people are united in Marriage. A funeral is a Ceremony marking a person's Death. Funerary customs comprise the complex of Beliefs and practices used by a Culture to remember In Christianity, baptism ( Greek, "immersing" "performing Ablutions " is the ritual act with the use of water by which one is admitted

Folk religion can also be thought of as the practice of religion by lay people outside of the control of clergy or the supervision of theologians (e. Clergy is the generic term used to describe the formal religious leadership within a given Religion. Theology is the study of a god or the gods from a religious perspective g. outside of organized religion). There is occasionally tension between the practice of folk religion and the formally taught doctrines and teachings of a faith. For "folk religion" to be a meaningful category, there must be an institutional religion with a traditional teaching or professional clergy to contrast it against; in cultures that lack these things, it is difficult to speak of folk religion as a meaningful category.

Folk religion answers human needs for reassurance in times of trouble, and many of its rituals are aimed at mundane goals like seeking healing or averting misfortune. A ritual is a set of actions often thought to have Symbolic value the performance of which is usually prescribed by a Religion or by the Traditions Faith healing is the attempt to use Religious or spiritual means such as Prayer, mental practices spiritual insights or other techniques to prevent Many elements of folk religion stem from animistic or fetishistic practices, which is almost inevitable given its mundane goals and ritualistic nature. Animism (from Latin anima ( Soul, Life) commonly refers to a religious belief that Souls or Spirits exist in Animals This article concerns the concept of fetishism in Anthropology. Folk religion also often aims at divination to foresee the future. Divination (from Latin divinare "to be inspired by a god" related to Divine, Diva and Deus) is the attempt of ascertaining The line is often blurry between the practice of folk religion and the practice of magic. Magic, sometimes known as sorcery, is a Conceptual system that asserts human ability to control the natural world (including events objects people and (see magic and religion)

Examples

Ethnic religion

Main article: Ethnic religion

Ethnic religions may include officially sanctioned and organized civil religions with an organized clergy, but they are characterized in that adherents generally are defined by their ethnicity, and conversion essentially equates to cultural assimilation to the people in question. Ethnic religions may include officially sanctioned and organized Civil religions with an organized Clergy, but they are characterized in that adherents generally are The intended meaning of the term civil religion often varies according to whether one is a sociologist of religion or a professional political commentator Clergy is the generic term used to describe the formal religious leadership within a given Religion. Contrasted to this are imperial cults that are defined by political influence detached from ethnicity. An Imperial cult is a form of State religion in which an Emperor, or a Dynasty of emperors (or rulers of another title are Worshiped as

In antiquity, religion was one defining factor of ethnicity, along with language, regional customs, national costume, etc. A language is a dynamic set of visual auditory or tactile Symbols of Communication and the elements used to manipulate them Customs is an Authority or agency in a Country responsible for collecting and safeguarding customs duties and for controlling the flow of goods As Xenophanes famously comments:

Men make gods in their own image; those of the Ethiopians are black and snub-nosed, those of the Thracians have blue eyes and red hair. Xenophanes of Colophon ( Greek ( 570 – 480 BC was a Greek Philosopher, Poet, and social and religious Critic. NOTE This intro is the result of careful NPOV work Please do not make potentially controversial edits to it without first discussing on the talk page "Thracians" also refers to modern inhabitants of Thrace, regardless of ethnicity (Clement of Alexandria, Stromata 7. Saint Clement of Alexandria (born Titus Flavius Clemens) (c150 - 211/216 was the first notable member of the Church of Alexandria, and one of its most The Stromata is the third in Clement of Alexandria 's trilogy of works on the Christian life 4)

With the rise of Christianity, Islam and Buddhism, ethnic religions came to be marginalized as "leftover" traditions in rural areas, referred to as paganism or shirk (idolatry). Christianity ( Greek Χριστιανισμός from the word Xριστός ( Christ)is a monotheistic Religion centered on the life and teachings For other meanings including people named 'Islam' see Islam (disambiguation. Buddhism is a family of beliefs and practices Paganism (from Latin paganus, meaning "country dweller rustic" is a word used to refer to various religions and religious beliefs from across the world Shirk (شرك is the Islamic concept of the Sin of Polytheism specifically but in a more general way refers to worshipping other than Allah

Neopagan revivals

Further information: Paganism
Further information: Polytheistic reconstructionism

See also

References

Literature

External links

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