Elements of Religious Traditions

Elements of Religious Traditions

Humanity has had numerous different religions and religious beliefs throughout its existence. Despite the differences in religious cultures and practices certain fundamentals in religion remain the same. This paper will cover how religious traditions describe and encourage the relationship with the divine, the relationship with sacred time, the relationship with sacred space or the natural world, and the relationship between all three. This paper will also review key critical issues in the study of religion and references to specific religious traditions will be made. The journey into understanding religion begins with understanding divinity and what some religions consider to be divine.

Divinity or divine is the power, being, or realm understood by religious persons to be at the core of existence and to have a transformative effect on their lives and destinies (Encyclopedia Britannica, 2008). Early man believed in divinity to help explain away natural occurrences that he had no way explanation for such as earthquakes, hurricanes, solar and lunar eclipses, volcanic eruptions, and so forth. However, the contemporary man continues to use divinity to explain away supernatural phenomena which one commonly refers to as miracles. For example: a sudden and total recovery from an ailment or life threatening condition, surviving a near fatal accident. In both sets of circumstances a belief of divine intervention was predominantly responsible for cause or the outcome. Anything that associates in any way, shape, or form with the divine or divinity is in reference sacred. This includes space and time.

According to Molloy (2010), “Our everyday lives go on in ordinary time, which we see as moving forward into the future. Sacred time, however, is “the time of eternity.” Sacred time is known by a different name depending on the religion of the people and their location. For instance the Australian Aborigines refer to this...