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Religion in your everyday life

Unveiled Artist

Veteran Member
AFRICAN TRADITIONAL CONCEPT OF GOD: A CRITICAL ANALYSIS

In traditional African religions (which vary in their belief systems), god is characterized by many prime attributes including concrete knowledge. According to John S. Mbiti, "it is tough for a person to be detached from his/her religion, for to do so is to be sereved from his roots, foundation, his context of security , his kinship, and the entire group of those who make him aware of his own existence.

Each culture and worldview have their views on how religion associates with everyday life. If one doesn't have a strong cultural groundings, religion may not play a part in those respects.

However, for many people they do.

If you follow a religion or spiritual path, what about you?

Is your religion your worldview?
 
Last edited:

Secret Chief

nirvana is samsara
AFRICAN TRADITIONAL CONCEPT OF GOD: A CRITICAL ANALYSIS



Each culture and worldview have their views on how religion associates with everyday life. If one doesn't have a strong cultural groundings, religion may not play a part in those respects.

However, for many people they do.

If you follow a religion or spiritual path, what about you?
Are you essentially saying how much (if at all) does your culture coincide/align with your worldview? (Interesting quote btw)
 

Sirona

Hindu Wannabe
There's a chance I got you wrong @Unveiled Artist. Are you looking for people born into tribal religions? You don't seem to consider that converts may believe in a religion which is (originally) not from the culture they were born in.
 

Unveiled Artist

Veteran Member
Is the question how do people utilize religion/spirituality in their day to day activities? I want to make sure I'm understanding it

More so how religion
Is the question how do people utilize religion/spirituality in their day to day activities? I want to make sure I'm understanding it

It's more so that your religion is your lifestyle rather than part of it. Everything you do, say, morals, and likewise are in the lens of your religion rather than influenced by it.
 

Unveiled Artist

Veteran Member
There's a chance I got you wrong @Unveiled Artist. Are you looking for people born into tribal religions? You don't seem to consider that converts may believe in a religion which is (originally) not from the culture they were born in.

No. Converts would be the same though a most likely harder to see their religions as their foundation for everything and choice they make. There shouldn't be a difference in those regards. For many converts, they'd have to indoctrinate themselves to see everything they think, see, and do is not apart from or influenced by their religion.
 

Batya

Always Forward
AFRICAN TRADITIONAL CONCEPT OF GOD: A CRITICAL ANALYSIS



Each culture and worldview have their views on how religion associates with everyday life. If one doesn't have a strong cultural groundings, religion may not play a part in those respects.

However, for many people they do.

If you follow a religion or spiritual path, what about you?
I would say that my religion basically effects every part of my life; it's first and foremost in everything and very directly impacts and shapes my worldview. I can't think of many aspects of life for me that aren't colored by my religious beliefs: the way we speak, interact with people, dress, work toward marriage, the foods we eat, how we act and treat each other in relationships, even the music we listen to, etc. It is definitely the foundation of life for me.
I feel like some people see religion as something added to life, for me it's pretty much just life, there's not a lot of separation. I think this is what you were asking about :)
 

Sirona

Hindu Wannabe
No. Converts would be the same though a most likely harder to see their religions as their foundation for everything and choice they make. There shouldn't be a difference in those regards. For many converts, they'd have to indoctrinate themselves to see everything they think, see, and do is not apart from or influenced by their religion.

I am sorry, I still don't understand you. I think religion* and culture are first transmitted through authority. Through your parents, then if you go to a possibly religious kindergarten or school etc. I'd say most conversions happen later, probably in adolescence or adulthood. I don't think converts just choose a religion (merely) because of the next best authority stating the religion is question is "true".

* Edit: This includes atheism as well.
 

The Hammer

[REDACTED]
Premium Member
More so how religion

It's more so that your religion is your lifestyle rather than part of it. Everything you do, say, morals, and likewise are in the lens of your religion rather than influenced by it.

This is true. I'm not disagreeing with your OP, but I am having trouble answering/comprehending it?

Your Religion/Spirituality should color everything you do, it's supposed to be the lens through which we view the world. It's the Path we walk.

If it's not these things, it's not the right views for you.
 

Unveiled Artist

Veteran Member
I am sorry, I still don't understand you. I think religion* and culture are first transmitted through authority. Through your parents, then if you go to a possibly religious kindergarten or school etc. I'd say most conversions happen later, probably in adolescence or adulthood. I don't think converts just choose a religion (merely) because of the next best authority stating the religion is question is "true".

* Edit: This includes atheism as well.

In my view, the question isn't related to authority. I don't associate religion to authority, just some religions are authoritative while others are not. In the link (it's 16 pages but good read), culture/religion/upbringing is not separate but embedded in religion-their traditions, beliefs, morals, and the like. If, for example, a convert has always believed that looking a person in the eye is respect and he converts to a religion that teaches bowing is respectful, since the latter would be in accordance with their religious traditions, that convert would need to know and believe in the lens of that religion that's what that action means. If she has former morals that she doesn't want to change because of a chosen faith, then that religion isn't part of her life.

Indoctrination isn't a bad thing in itself. In religions say Wicca I believe before being part of the coven they have to do training for a year and a day. Santeria, you go through a year of cleansing and indoctrination. Religion isn't an elective in many culture.

That doesn't mean if people don't see life in the lens of their religion is bad. It's just common in other places to see it as such whether converted into religion and shape your former views to present or be raised in it.
 

Unveiled Artist

Veteran Member
This is true. I'm not disagreeing with your OP, but I am having trouble answering/comprehending it?

Your Religion/Spirituality should color everything you do, it's supposed to be the lens through which we view the world. It's the Path we walk.

If it's not these things, it's not the right views for you.

I added in the OP is religion your worldview. I notice I must have asked it off since a couple people didn't understand what I meant. :( But the link is pretty good read. 16 pages though.
 

A Vestigial Mote

Well-Known Member
I think the quote inside the box in the OP needs some fixing. See red below:
In traditional African religions (which vary in their belief systems), god is characterized by many prime attributes including concrete knowledge. According to John S. Mbiti, "it is tough for a person to be detached from his/her religion, for to do so is to be severed from his roots, foundation, his context of security , his kinship, and the entire group of those who make him aware of his own existence.
Without those changes it's kind of strange and somewhat nonsensical in those couple parts.

Was this copied directly from the PDF? Or re-typed? Perhaps converted by some OCR software or something?
 

Unveiled Artist

Veteran Member
I think the quote inside the box in the OP needs some fixing. See red below:
Without those changes it's kind of strange and somewhat nonsensical in those couple parts.

Was this copied directly from the PDF? Or re-typed? Perhaps converted by some OCR software or something?

It's a paper from Green University Review of Social Sciences Journal.
(Volume 02, Issue 01, June-2015)

I don't know if it was for a dissertation or not.
 

Sirona

Hindu Wannabe
If, for example, a convert has always believed that looking a person in the eye is respect and he converts to a religion that teaches bowing is respectful, since the latter would be in accordance with their religious traditions, that convert would need to know and believe in the lens of that religion that's what that action means

Haven't been to the temple in a while, but I do the namaste gesture in the Krishna temple as there are many Indians as well as other people from the Hare Krishna subculture and I know that namaste is the appropriate way of greeting in that environment. I shake hands (or bump elbows together) in situations like at the workplace because that's the way people in the German culture greet each other formally. I adapt to situations as it is necessary; I don't see what this says about the quality of my faith. I have a Hindu desktop background on my computer and a Hindu deity-themed calendar on my office wall. My colleagues have made an educated guess that I’m into Hare Krishna, and they rib me about "being in a cult" and "buying cult books" as I have my packages sent to my office. One of my colleagues is a Muslim immigrant from Kazakhstan. He says, he's "a Muslim, but a good Muslim". I have never seen him pray at the workplace and he neatly follows German etiquette. What does this say about the quality of his faith?

A good scientific study should consider that there is a sliding scale to everything. One should also distinguish between "having a belief" and "practicing said belief". I also wonder if there are any Africans who are polytheists and/or believe in a mother goddess. If those "good" Muslim/Christian missionaries change their cultures by introducing them to a monotheist god, is it still the Africans' "original culture"?
Things are always in a flow, not static.
 

John1.12

Free gift
AFRICAN TRADITIONAL CONCEPT OF GOD: A CRITICAL ANALYSIS



Each culture and worldview have their views on how religion associates with everyday life. If one doesn't have a strong cultural groundings, religion may not play a part in those respects.

However, for many people they do.

If you follow a religion or spiritual path, what about you?

Is your religion your worldview?
I would just say I have a biblical worldview. Not so narrow that I can't/ don't understand or that I'm unable to ' try on ' someone else ,s glasses . I've been agnostic for more years than I've been a Christian, so that helps .
 

crossfire

LHP Mercuræn Feminist Heretic ☿
Premium Member
In traditional African religions (which vary in their belief systems), god is characterized by many prime attributes including concrete knowledge. According to John S. Mbiti, "it is tough for a person to be detached from his/her religion, for to do so is to be severed from his roots, foundation, his context of security , his kinship, and the entire group of those who make him aware of his own existence.
My religious tradition is striving to separate oneself from one's cultural Maara (Nomos) in order to objectively critique the cultural nomos, and separate the groupthink/programming from what I actually believe for myself. So yes, one must study one's own culture and not fall for the unconscious trap of unconsciously considering cultural programming to simply self-evident, or beyond questioning. Instead, you want to pull the programming/conditioning out of one's unconscious mind in order to objectively examine it and decide for yourself if it is beneficial or could use some reworking.
 

Jainarayan

ॐ नमो भगवते वासुदेवाय
Staff member
Premium Member
culture/religion/upbringing is not separate but embedded in religion-their traditions, beliefs, morals, and the like.

It was exactly that in Italian Catholic families of the 20th century. It goes back centuries to when popes had control over kings and emperors but I don’t go back that far. My own upbringing was Italian Catholic. While we (Catholics in general) may have disagreed with church edicts and grumbled, we followed them nevertheless. When I left Catholicism for the Orthodox Church I saw the same thing with the Russians and Greeks. You grew up according to the church, got married according to the church, raised your kids and lived according to the church.

I suspect it’s the same in Hinduism, my chosen religion/path. I was not born into the religion or the culture. I adopted it because it meshes with my already established worldview, which believe it or not was not formed or influenced by the RCC or EOC. Perhaps influenced by what Jesus taught wrt treatment of other and relationship with God. But that’s only a small part of my views and beliefs. I think it’s more accurate in my case to say my choice and practice of religion is influenced by my worldview rather than my religion influencing how I live and see the world.
 
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