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Do Animals Have Religion?

Brian2

Brian2

Veteran Member
The Hammer said:
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
Click to expand...

I was invited into a service of praise and worship of God by our local birds just recently. A beautiful service it was, very edifying.
 
The Hammer

The Hammer

[REDACTED]
Premium Member
Brian2 said:
I was invited into a service of praise and worship of God by our local birds just recently. A beautiful service it was, very edifying.
Click to expand...

So the spoken word is necessary for Spirituality?

Or a building/house of worship?
 
firedragon

firedragon

Veteran Member
The Hammer said:
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
Click to expand...

Have you gone to the source of this information?
 
Luchito Prays

Luchito Prays

Member
The problem with the assumption that animals can have a religion is language.

The examples given above are just acts of imitation, no need of reasoning.

Elephants bathing under the moon's light is very simple to explain, at nights without moon bathing becomes harder... it's hard to see...

About animals leaving flowers to their death, such is also simple to explain. Elephants witnessed that from humans. The typical monkey see monkey do.

Religion without language, simply won't exist.
 
firedragon

firedragon

Veteran Member
The Hammer said:
No, but I've read other stuff regarding animal spirituality that says some of the same things. Mostly random stuff for college that I don't have sourcing for.
Click to expand...

Okay. I am not an expert on this so you could always correct me. This is more than a thousand years old as I know it. two millennia I think. There was a Roman Army veteran and I think he was a leader called Plinius famously called Pliny the Elder who had this idea that the elephants worship the moon. There could be some correlation in their behaviour and the moon, but is it because they "worship the moon"? Thats a leap of faith. He also thought that goats can grow from the earth like some kind of plants. And there is no observation data to any of this.

Yet, I could be corrected. I would go to primary sources, and I would like to see them.

Cheers.
 
The Hammer

The Hammer

[REDACTED]
Premium Member
firedragon said:
Okay. I am not an expert on this so you could always correct me. This is more than a thousand years old as I know it. two millennia I think. There was a Roman Army veteran and I think he was a leader called Plinius famously called Pliny the Elder who had this idea that the elephants worship the moon. There could be some correlation in their behaviour and the moon, but is it because they "worship the moon"? Thats a leap of faith. He also thought that goats can grow from the earth like some kind of plants. And there is no observation data to any of this.

Yet, I could be corrected. I would go to primary sources, and I would like to see them.

Cheers.
Click to expand...

Do any other animals have religion? | BBC Science Focus Magazine
 
C

Clara Tea

Well-Known Member
The Hammer said:
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
Click to expand...

DOGS:

A dog might think that his God has glowing eyes, and growls louder than a dog, and has hide tougher than fur (metallic). If only they could grab their God...grasp it in their teeth as it flees away. Most of the time their Gods don't move, and sometimes humans (who might be lesser Gods, who know where to get dog food) might take apart their main Gods, wheels, and gizmos abound in their gods. Only the humans know what they are doing, and likely they are just tinkering for the fun of it, without any aim or reason.

Sometimes they get to go inside their Gods, and whiz across the ground at incredible speeds, as wind buffets ears, furs, and tongues. Their Gods can run faster than any dog. The Gods have a weird smell. Just where is the crotch to sniff? Drips of oil, gas, brake fluid, transmission fluid, makes it obvious that God must constantly need to pee...yet some Gods don't.

Science | AAAS

Dogs take shortcuts with a compass. (link above).

Dogs poop in alignment with Earth's magnetic field, study finds

There is a special part of a dog's brain, and perhaps humans have it too, to a lesser extent. It points to the north. Dogs will circle before laying down so they can always face north. Dogs pee and poop in a north south axis. (link above).

What is this unseen force of magnetism that so draws dogs? Is the world filled with unknowns....how do brakes work? how does steering work? Or, is it all magic? Maybe there is some Great Dane in the sky that is controlling everything and everyone?

Humans tend dogs. Therefore, dogs are the masters, and humans are the servants. Is this what the Dane decreed?

They might want to post a "beware of canaries" on the big dog of the canary islands (presa carnario). Could that be a God among dogs?

Notice that the word God and the word dog have the same spelling, but backwards? Maybe God is playing a game with words?

CHIMPS:

Bonobos are man's closest relatives. Some live in caves, make spears, sharpen spears with teeth, walk upright, and hunt and eat jungle babies (small primates). Are they on the verge of evolving to humans? If they dance to the moon, is that the bosinova?

primates, native only to Democratic Republic of the Congo

Bonobos are native only to the Democratic Republic of the Congo. I thought that they were Republicans.

Bonobos documented for first time using ancient pre-agricultural tools, breaking bones, and using spears as attack weapons
 
We Never Know

We Never Know

No Slack
The Hammer said:
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
Click to expand...

I think religion is a man made concept.
With that said I think all animals focus on survival because thats their main instinct.
They don't have the concept of what may or may not happen after they die.
But thats my opinion and I could he wrong.
 
Mock Turtle

Mock Turtle

Oh my, did I say that!
Premium Member
If any non-humans exhibit religious beliefs then they are probably praying to the wrong God or gods, given that such seem to be listening much more to humans, and perhaps only to us - so as to wipe out much of non-human life or enslave such purely for our benefit. :oops:

Can't wait to witness the religious wars between these supposed religious species - given they can't all be right. :D
 
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