Religion is a special type of worldview associated with belief in transcendental forces. The word itself, translated from Latin, means “piety” or “conscientiousness”. Most often, religion is an idealistic worldview based on faith in God. Its main feature is belief in the supernatural.
Let's figure out what religions are. At an early stage of the existence of mankind, there was already a cult of animals (in the so-called Stone Age) and hunting witchcraft rites. This is confirmed by archaeological data, in particular, preserved ancient images carved with primitive tools on the walls of caves. Around the same time, the belief in the existence of an afterlife was born. In support of this, we can say that the hunters were buried with their weapons, which supposedly would have been useful to them in another world. Over time, the level of awareness and culture of the people grew. Developed and ideas about the world. If you look at what kind of religions exist among the most backward peoples today, you can get an idea of whatour ancient ancestors believed in the Bronze Age. These are idolatry, animism, shamanism and veneration of the dead.
Religion, however, is not just some primitive cult. This is a higher level of worldview, which includes a number of provisions. Otherwise, it degrades to the level of primitive sorcery. Consider what religions are. All of them can be divided into two main varieties: mono- and polytheistic. What are the religions in the first case? The most famous of them are Judaism, Christianity, Islam. They are similar in many ways. The monotheistic nature of many areas of Christianity is questioned, since this religion usually recognizes the triune essence of God. In all of these listed worldview systems, the confrontation between good and evil, the Almighty and the devil is emphasized. It is safe to say that Islam grew out of Judaism, incorporating elements of Christianity, Zoroastrianism and Arabic folklore. What are the religions that do not profess the principle of monotheism (monotheism)? Perhaps the largest of these is Hinduism. It has about 900 million followers. There are four main positions in Hinduism: veneration and study of ancient sacred books, belief in
supernatural beings, as well as the immortal soul and the afterlife. Shinto is the ancient religion of the Japanese. It is based on the veneration of the gods responsible for the forces of nature, and the spirits of dead ancestors. This religion was formed under the influence of Confucianism, Taoism andBuddhism. However, a lot of originality remained in it, for example, the practice of shamanism. Here we can also mention the archaic cults that have survived south of the Sahara desert. What are the faiths and religions in Africa? First of all, it is worth remembering the widespread cult of voodoo. This religion teaches that the whole world around us is filled with invisible energy, that there is infinity in the Universe. Priests (ungan and mambo) act as priests. If they are expelled due to misconduct, they most likely become bokors - dark magicians. Such people are dangerous because they can zombify, that is, deprive the mind of a person in order to completely subordinate him to their influence. As it turned out recently, the point here is not even witchcraft, but the use of certain chemicals. The deeds of the bokors are usually blamed. Speaking about what kind of religions are south of the Sahara, it is worth pointing out those signs that are common to all beliefs of black Africans. First, they have developed a cult of the deceased ancestors. Huts are often built in family cemeteries. Thus, the deceased ancestors still remain members of the family. Africans believe in evil spirits and believe that sorcerers can use their power. The possibilities of such people have no limits. According to the Africans, they can easily turn into animals, move through the air over long distances, and also send damage. Soothsayers fight with sorcerers - people who are supposedly also endowed with special abilities. Africans believe that there is a single creator, as well as gods of lower and higher ranks.
What religions do the indigenous peoples of Siberia andFar East? Before the advent of Christianity, shamanism was widespread there. A number of Turkic peoples had faith in Tengri - the God of Heaven. Until today, many Altaians turn to shamans for help - intermediaries between people and the world of spirits. These sorcerers go into a trance and try to contact transcendental forces.
