Elements of Religious Traditions Term Paper

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Religious Traditions

Global religions have blended practices with traditional or indigenous practices. Mainstream religious practices have elements of spiritual, religious, and cultural beliefs and practices adopted from native religious practices. For example, as Buddhism spread it adopted the customs and practices of local deities (Warren, 2012). This implies that to understand the different forms of religions requires the consideration of religious elements, which are manifested as seven dimensions of religious traditions. These include mythic, experiential, ethical, ritual, social, and doctrinal (Brodd, 2009). These are often identified as worship, ritual pilgrimage, leadership, stories, texts, teachings, myths, and doctrines.

Religious traditions have adopted different aspects of traditional myths, stories, and doctrines to create their identities. Often religions doctrinal belief is composed of the creeds, teachings, stories, and doctrines originating from their traditional experience. Brodd (2009) finds that most religious doctrines have a firm foundation in traditional myths, by making rational sense of the experiences myths defy. Religions that are founded on doctrines will record their doctrines in sacred scriptures or texts, along with the accompanying myths and the encounters or revelations of the religious experiences of the founders of the religion (Warren, 2012). Religious myths are historical stories without proven historical and rational basis, but are not necessarily irrational or false nor do they conflict science or history. Myths are used by religions as sources of sacred truths, creating a powerful history for the religion (Wilson, 2000). Myths are an important element of traditional religions be it Islam, Christianity, or Buddhism, since they adopt the form of sacred stories passed down generations by word of mouth or recorded in religious scripture.

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Religions use myths to create fundamental knowledge of the way to live and the nature of things (Brodd, 2009). The most common myth existing in all traditional religions is the origin of man and the world. The mythic idea that God created the world and humans and by nature, humans are meant to have dominion over the world and other creatures. This is a myth without historical or scientific basis but holds a sacred truth held by Muslims, Christians, and Jews alike.

Another important element of traditional religions is their practices or ways of doing things depicted in terms of ritual, worship, pilgrimage, prayer, faith, experiential, ethics and morals. In any religion, worship is a common practice adopting various forms. Often, forms of worship are carried out in formal rituals or practices accepted as a tradition by the religion (Martin, 2006). Traditional religious rituals, beliefs, and worship will mimic a sacred story or myth (Martin, 2006). For example, the Muslims will try to make at least one pilgrimage to Mecca, trying to re-enact various aspects of Muhammad's sacred story of his journey to Mecca (Brodd, 2009).

In addition, worship, rituals, and prayers are elements symbolizing the faith of a religious experience. However, in religious theory faith is also an element of a religious doctrine as described by stories concerning religious faith. For example, in Christianity, Apostle Paul explains in….....

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