Religious behaviour
Encyclopedia
The religion
s of the world consist of religious images
and religious behaviour. The images of the religions from the past and of present day religions, like gods, ghost
s and worshipped ancestors, concepts of guilt
, dogma
tic teachings and ideas of the hereafter, are generally quite well known. Religious behaviour on the other hand, the actions which believers of a specific religion do or do not do, is often not that well known. For an understanding of religion however, religious behaviour is at least as important as the religious images.
'. Religious avoidances are called taboo
s or ritual prohibitions.
and sacrifice
. The most general religious action is prayer. It can be done quietly by a person all alone, but people can also pray in groups using songs. Sacrifice is also a widely spread religious action. Prayer and sacrifice often form the basis of other, more complicated religious actions like pilgrimage
, procession
s, or consulting an oracle
. There are many rituals connected to a certain purpose, like initiation
, purification
and rituals in preparation of an important happening or task. Among these are also the so-called rituals of transition, which occur in important moments of the human life cycle, like birth
, adulthood/marriage
, sickness and death
. A special religious action is possession
and ecstasy. In many religious actions religious specialists like priest
s, vicar
s, rabbi
s, imam
s and pandits are involved.
). This abstinence
can also be for a longer time. Some people do not have sex (celibacy
). Or one avoids contact with blood
, or dead animals. Well known examples are: Jews and Muslim
s do not eat pork
; the celibacy of Catholic
priests; the purity rules of Hinduism
and Judaism.
These avoidances, formerly also called 'taboos', are often about food and drink.
Religious avoidances are often not easily recognisable as (part of) religious behaviour. When asked, the believers often do not motivate this kind of behaviour explicitly as religious. They often do not refer to their religious images (gods a.o.), but say the avoidance is because of health reasons, because of ethical reasons, or because it is hygienic. It is analysis that reveals the religious nature of this important part of religious behaviour.
Religious actions and religious avoidances can be combined and thus appear connected. One abstains for example from food or sex in preparation for an important ritual. That is why these religious avoidances are also called 'ritual avoidances'.
In English:
Th. P. van Baaren and H. J. W. Drijvers (Hrsg.): Religion, Culture and Methodology. Papers of the Groningen Working-group for the Study of Fundamental Problems and Methods of Science of Religion. - The Hague/Paris: Mouton & Co. (1973). 171 pp. (Religion and Reason. Method and Theory in the Study and Interpretation of Religion, Bd. 8)
Religion
Religion is a collection of cultural systems, belief systems, and worldviews that establishes symbols that relate humanity to spirituality and, sometimes, to moral values. Many religions have narratives, symbols, traditions and sacred histories that are intended to give meaning to life or to...
s of the world consist of religious images
Icon
An icon is a religious work of art, most commonly a painting, from Eastern Christianity and in certain Eastern Catholic churches...
and religious behaviour. The images of the religions from the past and of present day religions, like gods, ghost
Ghost
In traditional belief and fiction, a ghost is the soul or spirit of a deceased person or animal that can appear, in visible form or other manifestation, to the living. Descriptions of the apparition of ghosts vary widely from an invisible presence to translucent or barely visible wispy shapes, to...
s and worshipped ancestors, concepts of guilt
Guilt
Guilt is the state of being responsible for the commission of an offense. It is also a cognitive or an emotional experience that occurs when a person realizes or believes—accurately or not—that he or she has violated a moral standard, and bears significant responsibility for that...
, dogma
Dogma
Dogma is the established belief or doctrine held by a religion, or a particular group or organization. It is authoritative and not to be disputed, doubted, or diverged from, by the practitioners or believers...
tic teachings and ideas of the hereafter, are generally quite well known. Religious behaviour on the other hand, the actions which believers of a specific religion do or do not do, is often not that well known. For an understanding of religion however, religious behaviour is at least as important as the religious images.
Religious behaviour consists of actions and avoidances
Religious behaviour consists of both religious actions and religious avoidances. Religious actions are also called 'ritualRitual
A ritual is a set of actions, performed mainly for their symbolic value. It may be prescribed by a religion or by the traditions of a community. The term usually excludes actions which are arbitrarily chosen by the performers....
'. Religious avoidances are called taboo
Taboo
A taboo is a strong social prohibition relating to any area of human activity or social custom that is sacred and or forbidden based on moral judgment, religious beliefs and or scientific consensus. Breaking the taboo is usually considered objectionable or abhorrent by society...
s or ritual prohibitions.
Religious actions
The two best known religious actions are prayerPrayer
Prayer is a form of religious practice that seeks to activate a volitional rapport to a deity through deliberate practice. Prayer may be either individual or communal and take place in public or in private. It may involve the use of words or song. When language is used, prayer may take the form of...
and sacrifice
Sacrifice
Sacrifice is the offering of food, objects or the lives of animals or people to God or the gods as an act of propitiation or worship.While sacrifice often implies ritual killing, the term offering can be used for bloodless sacrifices of cereal food or artifacts...
. The most general religious action is prayer. It can be done quietly by a person all alone, but people can also pray in groups using songs. Sacrifice is also a widely spread religious action. Prayer and sacrifice often form the basis of other, more complicated religious actions like pilgrimage
Pilgrimage
A pilgrimage is a journey or search of great moral or spiritual significance. Typically, it is a journey to a shrine or other location of importance to a person's beliefs and faith...
, procession
Procession
A procession is an organized body of people advancing in a formal or ceremonial manner.-Procession elements:...
s, or consulting an oracle
Oracle
In Classical Antiquity, an oracle was a person or agency considered to be a source of wise counsel or prophetic predictions or precognition of the future, inspired by the gods. As such it is a form of divination....
. There are many rituals connected to a certain purpose, like initiation
Initiation
Initiation is a rite of passage ceremony marking entrance or acceptance into a group or society. It could also be a formal admission to adulthood in a community or one of its formal components...
, purification
Ritual purification
Ritual purification is a feature of many religions. The aim of these rituals is to remove specifically defined uncleanliness prior to a particular type of activity, and especially prior to the worship of a deity...
and rituals in preparation of an important happening or task. Among these are also the so-called rituals of transition, which occur in important moments of the human life cycle, like birth
Birth
Birth is the act or process of bearing or bringing forth offspring. The offspring is brought forth from the mother. The time of human birth is defined as the time at which the fetus comes out of the mother's womb into the world...
, adulthood/marriage
Marriage
Marriage is a social union or legal contract between people that creates kinship. It is an institution in which interpersonal relationships, usually intimate and sexual, are acknowledged in a variety of ways, depending on the culture or subculture in which it is found...
, sickness and death
Death
Death is the permanent termination of the biological functions that sustain a living organism. Phenomena which commonly bring about death include old age, predation, malnutrition, disease, and accidents or trauma resulting in terminal injury....
. A special religious action is possession
Possession
In law, possession is the control a person intentionally exercises toward a thing. In all cases, to possess something, a person must have an intention to possess it. A person may be in possession of some property...
and ecstasy. In many religious actions religious specialists like priest
Priest
A priest is a person authorized to perform the sacred rites of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in particular, rites of sacrifice to, and propitiation of, a deity or deities...
s, vicar
Vicar
In the broadest sense, a vicar is a representative, deputy or substitute; anyone acting "in the person of" or agent for a superior . In this sense, the title is comparable to lieutenant...
s, rabbi
Rabbi
In Judaism, a rabbi is a teacher of Torah. This title derives from the Hebrew word רבי , meaning "My Master" , which is the way a student would address a master of Torah...
s, imam
Imam
An imam is an Islamic leadership position, often the worship leader of a mosque and the Muslim community. Similar to spiritual leaders, the imam is the one who leads Islamic worship services. More often, the community turns to the mosque imam if they have a religious question...
s and pandits are involved.
Religious avoidances
A religious avoidance is when a person desists from something or from some action for religious reasons. It can be food or drink that one does not touch because of one's religion for some time (fastFAST
-Primary meanings:Fast may refer to:* Fast as in high speed or velocity, may be used with anything that has a speed.* Fasting, abstaining from foodSlang:* Fast, a slang term for someone who is sexually promiscuous-Sports:...
). This abstinence
Abstinence
Abstinence is a voluntary restraint from indulging in bodily activities that are widely experienced as giving pleasure. Most frequently, the term refers to sexual abstinence, or abstention from alcohol or food. The practice can arise from religious prohibitions or practical...
can also be for a longer time. Some people do not have sex (celibacy
Celibacy
Celibacy is a personal commitment to avoiding sexual relations, in particular a vow from marriage. Typically celibacy involves avoiding all romantic relationships of any kind. An individual may choose celibacy for religious reasons, such as is the case for priests in some religions, for reasons of...
). Or one avoids contact with blood
Blood
Blood is a specialized bodily fluid in animals that delivers necessary substances such as nutrients and oxygen to the cells and transports metabolic waste products away from those same cells....
, or dead animals. Well known examples are: Jews and Muslim
Muslim
A Muslim, also spelled Moslem, is an adherent of Islam, a monotheistic, Abrahamic religion based on the Quran, which Muslims consider the verbatim word of God as revealed to prophet Muhammad. "Muslim" is the Arabic term for "submitter" .Muslims believe that God is one and incomparable...
s do not eat pork
Pork
Pork is the culinary name for meat from the domestic pig , which is eaten in many countries. It is one of the most commonly consumed meats worldwide, with evidence of pig husbandry dating back to 5000 BC....
; the celibacy of Catholic
Catholic
The word catholic comes from the Greek phrase , meaning "on the whole," "according to the whole" or "in general", and is a combination of the Greek words meaning "about" and meaning "whole"...
priests; the purity rules of Hinduism
Hinduism
Hinduism is the predominant and indigenous religious tradition of the Indian Subcontinent. Hinduism is known to its followers as , amongst many other expressions...
and Judaism.
These avoidances, formerly also called 'taboos', are often about food and drink.
- speech; some words are forbidden (cursing)
- dying, death and mourningMourningMourning is, in the simplest sense, synonymous with grief over the death of someone. The word is also used to describe a cultural complex of behaviours in which the bereaved participate or are expected to participate...
Religious avoidances are often not easily recognisable as (part of) religious behaviour. When asked, the believers often do not motivate this kind of behaviour explicitly as religious. They often do not refer to their religious images (gods a.o.), but say the avoidance is because of health reasons, because of ethical reasons, or because it is hygienic. It is analysis that reveals the religious nature of this important part of religious behaviour.
Religious actions and religious avoidances can be combined and thus appear connected. One abstains for example from food or sex in preparation for an important ritual. That is why these religious avoidances are also called 'ritual avoidances'.
The study of religious behaviour
Religious behaviour is seldom studied for it self. When it is given attention at all, it is usually studied as an illustration of the religious images, like in comparative religion and cultural anthropology, or as part of the study of man in the social sciences.See also
All the works of Th. P. van BaarenIn English:
Th. P. van Baaren and H. J. W. Drijvers (Hrsg.): Religion, Culture and Methodology. Papers of the Groningen Working-group for the Study of Fundamental Problems and Methods of Science of Religion. - The Hague/Paris: Mouton & Co. (1973). 171 pp. (Religion and Reason. Method and Theory in the Study and Interpretation of Religion, Bd. 8)