Indigenous Religions

Indigenous religions are those that are not mobile, came into being in certain areas and have not expanded beyond that area. These were also more tribal based, with mostly oral histories. I find animism very interesting and it is a strong belief in many indigenous religions. Animism to me symbolizes the closeness that indigenous people had with nature. Respecting their surroundings was a path to sustainable survival. Animism capturers my imagination, because in today’s world there is very little connection to nature and I feel modern society suffers for that loss. Another aspect is magic, I had known that indigenous people performed dances and rituals, but I had never thought of it in the terms of magic. Imitative magic makes a lot of sense
With the multiple pathways that are available to Hindu’s it is the most complex. One element I found to be most surprising was the caste system. It is ingrained in every aspect of Hindu life. Born into a lower caste, and believe that you are where you belong based on your actions in a past life is unimaginable for me. Only with acceptance at your current position in life, and performing your caste obligations well could you hope to be reborn in a better life. Another element is the ability to chose your own pathway based on you commitment level or interests seems very lenient. It is hard to reconcile these two elements. Buddhism, perceived as the peaceful religion by many held some surprises for me. The first surprise was that has a history with asceticism. To think that a seemingly peaceful and happy religion has roots in self denial to the extreme measure that Gautama went to is shocking. Anatman, which means there is no enduring soul within each of us was a revelation to me as well. Like Hinduism the goal of release from the life cycle was educational. I will ponder the concept of Anatman even after this
One is the Exodus from Egypt and subsequent freedom from bondage. The other would be the Covenant between god and his chosen people. Both of these are significant not just to Judaism but to Christianity as well. Christianity began as a sect of Judaism . One element of Christianity that helped to propel its rise to the largest religion I the world was the belief in the afterlife. Another element I found surprising was that as a sect of Judaism the only difference was that Christians believed that Jesus Christ was different and unique. Another element involved the splitting of the church over who could be a priest. This was surprising and appealing to me. Islam was by far the most enlightening for me. I had no idea they respected the Christian and Jewish bible as Holy Scripture. Islam believes itself to be a continuation of the same history involving Abraham and Jesus. Although Islam views Jesus as a profit not a savior and son of god he is revered in Islam as a prophet. The Qur‘an is believed to be the actual words of god even in written form was also new to me and