Have you ever wondered about the origin of religion? Those of you who have given birth or watched the birth of of a child know that babies do not come into the world with religious sensibilities. No baby has ever exclaimed "Oh My God," or "Jesus Christ," at birth. So where then does religion come from? How did humans ever begin to exhibit religious traits?
The answer is that religion, like humans and all other things in existence, has evolved over time as represented by the following story.
In the time before time, there was a loosely organized community in which the men went out to hunt for food and the women remained behind to take care of the families. Sometimes these men would be gone for weeks at a time. On one such occasion, after three weeks of not catching or killing any animals, the men gathered what berries, plants, and fruits they could find and headed home.
One desperate fellow refused to return with such meager goods. He continued the search. Three days later, he encountered a tree in which an animal was entangled. Seeing this event, the man could have interpreted it many ways; however, he chose what became the first religious expression - he exclaimed that the tree had caught an animal for him. He bowed before the tree, gave it thanks, then looked around and noticed that none of the other trees had caught such an animal. This tree was special. It possessed a power which the other trees did not possess. Thus was born the notion of the sacred and the profane - the first stage in the evolution of religion. The sacred is that which possesses power and the profane is ordinary things which are powerless. The man took the animal home where he was hailed as a hero.
His wife took some of the skin of the animal and made the man a headdress which he wore as the people formed a circle around him and celebrated his feat. There was dancing and singing and out of this celebration emerged shamanism which is the oldest form of religion and the second development in the evolution of religion.
The next day, the man took the head of the animal and mounted it on a pole. He led a group of villagers to the tree where he erected the pole a few feet from the tree. These acts represent the third stage in the evolution of religion - totem and taboo. The people are told that this is the tree of life and all are forbidden to touch the tree or even visit it, except the shaman. His wife gathers a few fallen leaves and branches and takes them home with which she makes a crown for the shaman to wear.
Although the men continue to go hunting, the main source of food for this community becomes the tree and they begin to call themselves people of the tree. However, one day, the shaman goes to the tree but there is no animal. He concludes that someone has violated the taboo and he invents a ritual to identify the guilty person which turns out to be the only blond haired woman in the tribe. She is killed and her blood is sprinkled over the base of the tree. This ritual of sacrifice will be practiced whenever the tree does not catch an animal for the shaman.
Later, the shaman dies and his son takes his place. One night while worshiping the tree, the son sees his father, although his father has been dead for some time. The son develops rituals and ceremonies to honor his father who appears from time to time. This next stage in the origin of religion is called animism - the worship of ancestors and later spirits which is the second oldest form of religion. When the mother dies, she too is worshiped and praised.
Unfortunately, one day there is a terrible fire and the forest around this village is destroyed, including the tree. The shaman is also killed while praying to the tree to save the forest. Depression and terror beset the community. The shaman's son is elevated to shaman even though he is but a boy. He is at a loss what to do until one night his grandmother visits him and tells him to lead his people to a place beyond the forest.
When they arrive there after many trials and tribulations, a memorial is erected to the grandmother and she is declared a goddess who is the new protector and provider of this community. In a visit from his grandmother, the son shaman receives instructions how to gather and plant all kinds of fruits and vegetables and grains. Goddess worship is the fourth stage in the evolution of religion.
In subsequent generations, a revolt takes place and the original shaman is elevated from animism to god status and so are all the subsequent shamans and their wives. This establishes a transitional phase of gods and goddesses which is the fifth stage of religious development and its shortest phase as the next phase, the age of the gods replace it and this sixth phase will after only a few generations be replaced by the seventh and final phase - the idea of one ultimate reality.
Here, some people will settle on the idea of one god, while others will settle on a state of being or non-being, and others on energy or a force.
Don E. Peavy, Sr., J.D., Mdiv. Is an adjunct faculty member of religious studies and an ordained minister in the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) For more information http://www.authorsden.com/donepeavysr To answer your questions regarding religion, visit my website http://www.authorsden.com/donepeavysr
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