Primal Religions The religious beliefs and practices of
Primal Religions The religious beliefs and practices of human beings in hunger/gatherer societies Myth & Mythology – the sacred stories and rituals of a particular people or culture
Paleolithic Age 200, 000 – 10, 000 years ago
Why are people Religious? • Three views: 1) Functionalism – Religion makes society stronger and gives it survival value 2) Marxism – Religion is the attempt by some to hold power over others 3) Experientialism – Religion is based in an experience of Transcendence –beyond our power and understanding and Sacredness
Animism 1. The forces of the natural world transcend us nourish us, threaten us, we depend on them, we can’t control much about them. 2. My body is controlled by my soul/spirit, so everything in the world must also be controlled by my soul/spirit (anthropomorphism)
What Primal Religion is about • • Death The origin and solidarity of the tribe (community) The Ancestors The spirits of nature (animism) Birth Puberty Marriage Becoming a parent
Burial
The Shaman and the Caves
Neolithic Age 10, 000 – 5, 000 years ago
The Story teller
The First Cities
The Epic of Gilgamesh
Priests
The Axial Age 800 BCE – 200 BCE 1) Ethics becomes central to region 2) Religion becomes much more personal, you don’t leave in all with the priests and tempe
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