Religion, Culture, and Identity - Essay Example

Religion, Culture and Identity What is religion? It is truly difficult to comprehensively define religion. Some people would say religion is a belief system by which people impose an order in a universe that is in truth dis-ordered. For others, it is a way of looking at life, explaining that one final event in our lives that we all think of with dread and mystery – death. Atheists look at religion as a drug, the opium of the soul, so to speak, if one were to believe Karl Marx who coined that phrase. Haught (1990) describes religion as the combination of four attributes: symbolic, mystical, silent, and active. Religion is a synthesis of symbolic or sacramental consciousness, mystical quest for union, return to silence, and exhortation to action (p. 81). These four elements are linked to what we have learned about religion: symbolism is shown in the sacramentals, mystical union comprises the belief, action is seen in the rituals, and ethics comprises the silence of meditation and contemplation of what is right and true. Recently, I had been fortunate enough to be invited by a friend to their small community. My friend (we shall call him Igme, although he wouldn’t mind being called Keanu, after his movie idol) belongs to a group called the Igorots, a mountain-dwelling, rice-planting, once head-hunting, tribe in the Far East. Once separated from civilization, he explained to me that he and his clansmen have adapted to the modern ways, and having lived closely with the Americans when the latter had military bases in his country, they understand the cosmopolitan ways. which is why they have travelled to another country and began a new life. But at heart, he says, he is still Igorot, and his family still practice many of the old ways. The old Igorots practiced animism, or spirit belief, although the younger generations have combined their old ways with a belief in one God, and they do not see any conflict in the two concepts. Like the Jews, Igorots circumsize their male children (a ritual), between the ages of 4 to 7; they believe that such is pleasing to the spirits, and failure to cut the foreskin will cause it to grow like a vine. (One thing I noticed about their religion is that there are plenty of references to things in nature.) There is symbolism in their belief, as the older members have their bodies tattooed with symbols that have meanings for the tribe. Mysticism likewise characterizes their beliefs, since the feel that animals and plants have a soul that one connects with. Igorots also believe in the spirit of their dead staying with them to help the generations along. There are other rituals included in this form of animism, especially when it comes to marriage. In the older generations, marriage was arranged by the parents; today, blessing by the parents of both the man and woman is sufficient. The man and woman lay together and have sexual intercourse before the marriage; when the woman shall have become pregnant, that is when the man marries her, because she has proven that she could give him children. Divorce is unheard of; and a widower must allow one year to pass before he can remarry. The Ultimate Reality in this form of animism is that all things in nature have a spirit, including plants and animals, and when one eats an animal the spirit of the animal becomes part of him. When one is at one in spirit with nature, one is at one with the Universal Being that created all things. Because the belief system has symbolism, mysticism, contemplation (in the form of chanting) and ethics (a way of life), I would say that this primitive faith is a religion. 2. How does religious practice shape individual and group identity? Ritual is important among the group. They probably have a ritual for everything, at least everything that is relevant to their simple way of life. They tell of the old ways when head hunting was still the tribe’s way of life. A warrior who kills his enemy chops off his head and brings it back to the village. It is believed that the man’s spirit becomes part of that of the victor. A tattooist in the village, who is more of a priest or priestess, then puts on a series of designs on the body of the successful head hunter, with intricate patterns for those who have accomplished more difficult feats (such as bringing home the head of another known to be a strong and fearsome warrior). There is then dancing (of a particular victory dance) and slaughtering of the fattened pig (actually, in the mountains they hunted down the wild boar) in a celebration where the warrior shows off his new tattoos as one would display a medal or trophy. The tribe then feasts. All of these have religious implications to the Igorot; in fact, there is nothing that they do – the planting, the harvest, the hunting, the armed encounters with enemy tribes – that this quiet people do not attribute to God or the spirits. Furthermore, as previously mentioned, the younger members find no contradiction between belief in a single God and belief in the spirits of nature and of one’s ancestors, seeing them rather as part of a continuous whole. Such activities – including the marriage rituals earlier mentioned – are commonly observed patterns of behaviour that have a profound and significant meaning for the group. The communal rituals of dancing and feasting, among others, helped bind the small community together. The manner of identifying the brave and successful warriors among them, and honouring them with bodily adornments and feasting, cemented the community into closer ties, so that when the group was threatened by outside forces, the warriors whom the community honours as heroes took the lead in defending their tribe from outside aggression. These activities help shaped the identity of the group, who still see themselves as part of each other’s spirit. However, the influences of modern lifestyles have redefined some of the customs. For instance, of course at this day and age there are no more headhunters and warriors; the small group honours instead those members among them who earn distinctions in their own fields, such as in politics, business and sports. The prominent members are still invested with honours, the pig is still slaughtered for them and offering made to the spirits of the ancestors and to God for their continued success. 3. How are religious groups shaped in part by cultural elements, and how do religious groups engage or affect secular culture? There are seven elements of culture, namely language, norms, values, religion and beliefs, social collectives, statuses and roles, and cultural integration. The cultural elements that prevail in modern society have certainly influenced the lives of this small group of animistic believers. Had they remained in their original surroundings, probably the influence of modern society would not have been so much, because mountain life more or less isolates the main body of believers. However, several have gone off to find a more economically prosperous life, and education has played an important role in this. One such small group is the one I visited, and there have been influences that have changed aspects of their culture. Firstly, the language they now use is no longer so much connected with nature as it is with technology. They have to an extent adopted the norms and values of city life, although their core beliefs – the existence of the spirits in mother earth and elementals, the belief in good luck and prosperity as a blessing from God, and the watchful guidance of their ancestors – are still evident in their belief system. And as earlier mentioned, roles that are looked at with elevated status are no longer the head hunters and warriors, but a different type of warrior, one who brings honour to the community and who has shown his prowess in city life. Also, seldom do they prefer to have tattoos anymore. Today also, marriages are no longer arranged for the most part, although I understand that this has not been practiced so much anymore even in the main body of believers. It is also part of the influence of modern life and legislation, for instance, because the tribe members could no longer marry at 14 or 15 as was the case in ancient times; the law fixes the age for marriage at 18. At that age, normally the partners would already have made their own choices, and the parents would have merely provided advice; rarely would they object, and only in the most serious circumstances. Strangely, the tradition of getting the woman pregnant before marriage has evolved into marriage first before cohabitation, not so much because of social taboo, but by choice of the would-be spouses as the woman is accorded more importance today. This is most likely due to the influence of education, where the woman usually has gone to university. As to their influence on secular culture, the group I visited is too small to have much influence on the society they move in, but the belief in nature and the spirits in the elements may have translated to society’s greater concern for the natural environment. This small group has struck me with their great respect for the balance of the natural elements, for their care for the welfare of animals and plants, and they have chosen alternatives in our contemporary way of living that one would call “sustainable”, even in the small things, such as preferring to walk instead of taking the car, in order to preserve the quality of the air around us. Prayer and respect for the past generations still plays an important role among them. Family life, meals together and feasting (like gathering together for an outdoor barbecue and pot luck) on occasions still keeps the community spirit alive. As was already mentioned, they find no conflict between their belief in the spirits of the earth and the concept of a single God which made the earth. What they could not assimilate, however, is the atheist belief that there is no God. It is as if the spirituality of the environment and belief in an ultimate moving force that unifies past and present, nature with technology, the tiniest living thing and the greater universe, is so ingrained in their culture that the concept of a Godless world is inconceivable. In this sense, I believe the small community will continue to live out its belief system indefinitely. References Haught, J. F. (1990) What is Religion? An Introduction. Mahweh, NJ: Paulist Press Read More