Do Animals Have Religion?

[DNB]

True.

But does that make us any more or less religious than animals?

of course - you haven't given any definitive, or even compelling, evidence that animals are religious, and we have millions of testimonies and admissions from humans that they are devout and reverent towards a particular religious belief system.
No comparison, animals are not religious, for they don't even have the capacity or intellect to abstract their thoughts to make such inductions - who advised them on their liturgy (form of worship), are they monotheist or do they have a pantheon of gods, do they have the concept of sin or an afterlife within their theology, etc...?
It's absolutely absurd to even speculate or entertain the notion that animals are religious - no one has ever seen a Christian cat, a Buddhist dog, a Zoroastrian camel, or a monkey wearing a bourka on its head.

 

[The Hammer]

no one has ever seen a Christian cat, a Buddhist dog, a Zoroastrian camel, or a monkey wearing a bourka on its head.

What makes you think those are the hallmarks of "religion", or "religious" thought?

Seems a little out of place imo.

 

[ChristineM]

...i wish that i got to my car that often, ...according to Hammer, does that make me an atheist?

Don't ask me what the @The Hammer thinks you are.

 

[viole]

Well, do they? That's the question I am posing. Do Animals have Religion, of you think they do, tell me why that is.

And if you think it's a load of rubbish, why not let me elicit your opinion?

According to a blog that I will link to, although I'm posting the gist of it here, has this to say about animals and religious reverence.

"Yes, they absolutely do. Let's begin with the elephant, which is one of the most intelligent non-human beings on the planet. The average person probably has no idea that these animals worship the moon, as they have been observed waving branches at the waxing cycle. They also take ritual baths in the moonlight when it's full, and they will bury their dead with food and flowers (a common practice among ancient humans to accompany the deceased into the afterlife). Not only that, but elephants also show additional veneration for the sun and stars. Chimps have been seen dancing at the onset of storms and at water sources, that can only be interpreted as ritualistic or religious behavior, and when a member of their community dies, their funerary customs are nearly identical to that of humans, which include silence, corpse preparation, and visitation. It appears that the more intelligent a species is, the more likely they are to believe in or venerate Higher Powers"

Chris Aldridge's Blog and Website: Animals Do Have Religion

Of course they do. I know at least one species that does have religions.

ciao

- viole

 

[Sedim Haba]

Well, do they? That's the question I am posing. Do Animals have Religion, of you think they do, tell me why that is.

And if you think it's a load of rubbish, why not let me elicit your opinion?

According to a blog that I will link to, although I'm posting the gist of it here, has this to say about animals and religious reverence.

"Yes, they absolutely do. Let's begin with the elephant, which is one of the most intelligent non-human beings on the planet. The average person probably has no idea that these animals worship the moon, as they have been observed waving branches at the waxing cycle. They also take ritual baths in the moonlight when it's full, and they will bury their dead with food and flowers (a common practice among ancient humans to accompany the deceased into the afterlife). Not only that, but elephants also show additional veneration for the sun and stars. Chimps have been seen dancing at the onset of storms and at water sources, that can only be interpreted as ritualistic or religious behavior, and when a member of their community dies, their funerary customs are nearly identical to that of humans, which include silence, corpse preparation, and visitation. It appears that the more intelligent a species is, the more likely they are to believe in or venerate Higher Powers"

Chris Aldridge's Blog and Website: Animals Do Have Religion

My donkeys certainly seem to, they keep proselytizing to me all the time.

It stands to reason, didn't Balaam's donkey see the angel with the drawn sword?

Perhaps we're the ones who are blind to the reality we don't want to see.

 

[Kelly of the Phoenix]

That is called imitation.

You are supporting the elephants behavior copied from one generation into another. However, imitation is not synonymous of worship. To become a worship, those movements must have a meaning towards something else, in this case a god or something greater than the individual who perform them.

It’s plausible that nonhuman animals think we over think spirituality.

 

[Secret Chief]

It’s plausible that nonhuman animals think we over think spirituality.

Or indeed human animals.

 

[Luchito Prays]

My donkeys certainly seem to, they keep proselytizing to me all the time.

It stands to reason, didn't Balaam's donkey see the angel with the drawn sword?

Perhaps we're the ones who are blind to the reality we don't want to see.

Balaam had not his prescribed glasses at that moment.

My neighbor, two houses away from mine, has two dogs, I used to play a lot with them long ago, until the owner died. The daughter moved to that house and has kept those dogs.

These dogs can see me, hear me, smell me, or know my presence, even when they are inside the house with windows closed. There is no way for them to perceive when I walk in the street in front of that house. But they recognize me and bark until I go away while going to the store.

They can't approach the window, they can't smell the outside for having doors and windows closed, perhaps they recognize the vibrations of my walking, but surely they know it's me. They don't bark when people they don't know walk in front of that house.

Perhaps Balaam's donkey had the same capability of perception. A perception that humans lack of.

 

[IndigoChild5559]

Balaam had not his prescribed glasses at that moment.

My neighbor, two houses away from mine, has two dogs, I used to play a lot with them long ago, until the owner died. The daughter moved to that house and has kept those dogs.

These dogs can see me, hear me, smell me, or know my presence, even when they are inside the house with windows closed. There is no way for them to perceive when I walk in the street in front of that house. But they recognize me and bark until I go away while going to the store.

They can't approach the window, they can't smell the outside for having doors and windows closed, perhaps they recognize the vibrations of my walking, but surely they know it's me. They don't bark when people they don't know walk in front of that house.

Perhaps Balaam's donkey had the same capability of perception. A perception that humans lack of.

What makes you think they can't smell outside?

 

[DNB]

What makes you think those are the hallmarks of "religion", or "religious" thought?

Seems a little out of place imo.

How can a belief in a higher and over-ruling power, not lead to a change, or a distinct and characteristic outward display?
Is that not the ultimate sign of worship and devotion: to act outside of the ordinary? For, what else would differentiate between the devout and the reprobate, the theist and atheist - one must conform to the demands of the sovereign and supreme being - an overt act of allegiance.

 

[DNB]

Don't ask me what the @The Hammer thinks you are.

...aren't you able to draw a conclusion from the evidence before you?

 

[The Hammer]

Is that not the ultimate sign of worship and devotion: to act outside of the ordinary?

No, I don't really think so. 98% of what I do worship and devotion wise, looks nothing like what is normally conceived. Because outward displays of religiousness does not make one Religious.

Religion is about changing one's inner world.

 

[The Hammer]

How can a belief in a higher and over-ruling power, not lead to a change, or a distinct and characteristic outward display?

Why should it?

 

[DNB]

No, I don't really think so. 98% of what I do worship and devotion wise, looks nothing like what is normally conceived. Because outward displays of religiousness does not make one Religious.

Religion is about changing one's inner world.

That's fine, but that's personal and without guidelines, ..and not even required to have an objective transcendent Being to dictate the terms of righteousness. Therefore, that's not a religion, it's just a personal view as to what leads to contentment and peace within one's immediate surroundings.
God demands that one be sanctified from a world fraught with decadence, corruption and evil. We must bear a sign, and this is evidenced usually in the form of ritual or worship. In other words, we are compelled to attract others to the truth and into God's family. External testimonies are required.
Good deeds are a truly efficacious manner to draw others to correct behaviour, but they don't necessarily define why righteousness is an intrinsic principle of wisdom and truth within the universe - one must recognize the source.
God requires distinct modes of worship.

 

[DNB]

Why should it?

Because no one is born with a righteous disposition through and through. We mature as life goes on, and we begin to ask fundamental and profound questions as to why there's evil and injustices in the world, and why do we even care - animals don't, they kill indiscriminately every day and never lose sleep. Nor do their prey set-up protests or demand justice.

God has a personality. character and attributes, therefore He's particular about man's behaviour - all roads do not lead to Rome, the path is narrow and distinct that leads to life.

 

[The Hammer]

God requires distinct modes of worship.

Nope.

Edit: Can you point out where these "distinct modes" are illustrated?

 

[The Hammer]

Because no one is born with a righteous disposition through and through. We mature as life goes on, and we begin to ask fundamental and profound questions as to why there's evil and injustices in the world, and why do we even care - animals don't, they kill indiscriminately every day and never lose sleep. Nor do their prey set-up protests or demand justice.

God has a personality. character and attributes, therefore He's particular about man's behaviour - all roads do not lead to Rome, the path is narrow and distinct that leads to life.

Your ideas of what constitutes religiosity IS narrow. True. But narrow doesn't mean right for everyone (usually the opposite).

I'm sorry that you can't see the wisdom in the walk of others on their path.

I see the wisdom in Christianity. And Paganism. And Buddhism, Hinduism and Daoism.

 

[ChristineM]

...aren't you able to draw a conclusion from the evidence before you?

What evidence? do you expect me to read the entire thread to satisfy your ego?

The hammer has his own view, i have mine. Mostly we agree but i haven't read every post, only those addresses to me and those that catch my eye.

So perhaps you could make it easy for me by pointing our which comments you are referring too.

 

[DNB]

Nope.

Edit: Can you point out where these "distinct modes" are illustrated?

The sacrificial system, circumcision, festivals (Yom Kippur, Passover, Rosh Hashana, Pentecost, etc..), legislation (10 commandments, dietary), liturgy (priestly duties and garments), marriage and social laws, ....

 

[DNB]

Your ideas of what constitutes religiosity IS narrow. True. But narrow doesn't mean right for everyone (usually the opposite).

I'm sorry that you can't see the wisdom in the walk of others on their path.

I see the wisdom in Christianity. And Paganism. And Buddhism, Hinduism and Daoism.

Nope, only one can be true - God is neither double-minded, confused, contradictory, fickle nor frivolous...
All roads do NOT lead to Rome.