Elements of Religious Tradition

Elements of ghostlike Traditions Paper Defining a religion bottom be a difficult task and thither is no simple commentary that can completely describe it. Every culture and society has whatever form of religion and some maybe specific to that culture and not practiced anywhere else in the populace (Fontaine, 2013 Molloy, 2010). The vast diversity of saintly usances can be discerned by examining their understanding of what is sanctified. For example, umpteen religions believe in a single deity that is held sacred.Other ghostly usages do not correct emphasis on deities, but believe that the world itself is the sacred (2010). In spite of this diversity, all spiritual customss share broad fragments what does a ghostlike tradition communicate, how is it performed, and how is it organized. When a anthropologists and sociologist choose to study various spiritual traditions, they can encounter a number of telephone numbers that can impact their study, such as, fractional spiritual texts, and traditions that are passed on orally (2010). Components of phantasmal TraditionsThe first component is what does a phantasmal tradition communicate? These are the various teachings, texts, stories, and myths. Religious teachings are the ideas and principles passed on that describe core beliefs, values, morals, etc. of a religious tradition (Molloy, 2010). These can be expressed through stories or myths. Religious teachings can be passed orally between members or compose in a scared text. Religious teachings attempt to communicate an understanding of the sacred within the tradition to its members.In Christian traditions, the basic ideas revolve around the manner and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth. Jesus was the embodiment of the sacred within these traditions (Woodhead, 2009). For the Igbo people of Nigeria, there main beliefs involve the Earth as being sacred and that the world is comprised of a number of different realms (Molloy, 2010). These contrasting examples show the diverse personality of religious traditions and how they share the common component of what is communicated by a point religious tradition. The second element is how a religious tradition is performed?This is constituted through prayer, worship, the undertaking of a pilgrimage to a holy site, or the performance of a ritual. The specific ceremonies observed for a specific religious tradition is based on the religious teachings for that particular tradition. What all of these confine in common is that each ceremony is meant to bring the soulfulness enveloping(prenominal) to the sacred within reach tradition. For example, in Islamic traditions it is a believers duty to make a pilgrimage to Mecca (Brown, 2009). In Christian traditions, worshipers pray to Jesus in a church or throughout their day (Woodhead, 2009).In many Native American religious traditions, a rite of passage is preformed through a vision quest where the individual attempts to arrest spiritual g uidance and meaning (Molloy, 2010). All of these traditions attempt to move the individual closer the sacred and attempt to connect in a important way. The final aspect is how is a religious tradition organized. This describes the anatomical structure of it, for example, the leaders and how members relate to one another. Once again, this is based on that religious traditions teachings. The organization describes how members of the tradition relate to the sacred.Specifically, does an ordain individual indispensableness to act as an intermediate between the sacred and the individual or who are the individuals that decide what is guessed sacred within a religious tradition. In many religious traditions, the priest, priestess, and other high religious figures are held with the highest postulate (Molloy, 2010). In Catholicism, the Pope is viewed as the absolute head of that religious tradition and his word is essentially law (Balmer & Pullella, 2013). In a number of religious tradit ions, a shaman is viewed as a person with vast wisdom.He or she has the powers to communicate directly with the sacred and acts as an intermediate for various individuals (Molloy, 2010). In the past Grecian tradition, the Oracle of Delphi was an important woman, individuals from all around the Greek world would come seeking her advice and to communicate with the Gods (Legon, 2013). Ultimately, an important component of a religious tradition is how it is organized. This organization has the important role of stating the power structure and how members can communicate with the sacred. Critical Issues in Religious StudiesThere are a number of different critical issues that one needs to consider when canvass religious traditions. The first is that some religious texts baron be broken or entirely lacking(p) (Molloy, 2010). This can be exceedingly hard when a person is attempting to understand a given tradition that magnate be lacking important components. For example, a sacred t ext written on a stone tablet might be missing large sections of the text, which could contain important rituals or principles for that tradition. This is extremely difficult with ancient religious traditions such as the Egyptian, Roman, and Greek traditions (2010).This leads into the second critical issue is that the religious tradition might not have a sacred text or any written record, because traditions, stories, and myths might be passed orally. This is extremely trouble some for many people studying religions (Molloy, 2010). For example, there might be a limited amount of individuals that have the traditions. This is the case with many Native American religious traditions, because members passed on these important teachings orally and may people have may stopped practicing.This can cause a religious tradition to be lost (2010). Also, oral traditions can be corrupted with time and might not resemble the original report that was originally told. A storyteller might change aspec ts or shuffle it with other stories from another religious tradition. All of these are important issues to consider when studying religious traditions. Conclusion In spite of this diversity, all religious traditions share several broad components what does a religious tradition communicate, how is it performed, and how is it organized.Every religious tradition shares these common principles and this allows individuals the ability to understand each religious tradition and how they compare with one another. Also, studying religious traditions can have a number of critical issues that have to be addressed in distinguish to full appreciate the vast collection of human religion. Reference Balmer, C. , & Pullella, P. (2013, establish 14). New pope urges church to return to its gospel roots. Reuters. Retrieved from http//www. reuters. com/article/2013/03/14/us-pope-idUSBRE92D05P20130314 Brown, D. (2009).A new introduction to islam. (2nd ed. ). Oxford Blackwell Publishing. Fontaine, C. R. (2013). Religion. In Public libraries. Retrieved from http//www. worldbookonline. com/pl/referencecenter/article? id=ar464360 Molloy, M. (2010). Experiencing the worlds religions Traditions, challenged, and change (5th ed. ). New York, NY McGraw-Hill. Woodhead, L. (2009). An introduction to christianity. Cambridge University Press. Legon, R. P. (2013). Delphi. In Public Libraries. Retrieved from http//www. worldbookonline. com/pl/referencecenter/article? id=ar153420