World Religious Traditions

Religious Tradition |

World Religious Traditions I |

|

|

Religious Tradition

As young children, one of the biggest culture shocks one experiences is that of visiting a friend’s house. We find that our friend’s mother is not quite the same as our own, which is strange as we may have assumed that every other family is exactly the same as our own. We realize that the strange rituals our family have are not reciprocated by the families of our friends. These are often silly and what seem like meaningless traditions. Perhaps your Uncle Larry insists you have a bonfire every winter or maybe your extended family all meets up to go on a vacation once a year. Either way, these family traditions are a big factor in the people we grow up to become. This culture shock of childhood is reminiscent of when we discover that not everyone holds the same religious beliefs as your family does, and ergo they have different traditions. Tradition is an integral part of all religious beliefs and even though they are all different, the purpose of tradition connects us all because no matter the religion, the tradition is still considered sacred.

Religious traditions are often used to establish and maintain important relationships through the use of spoken and written word. These words are used to connect no matter their other intentions, whether to teach, comfort, or explain. In Christianity, it is explained that Jesus Christ told parables, or short stories that were used to teach. The parables of Jesus are still told today to and by the Christian people as teaching tools. The parables tell stories of relationships with God and how these can be strengthened. Stories and teachings from all religions are told over and over again and passed down through generations. These stories are told through writings, songs, chants, poetry, and even pictures drawn on a wall in an ancient cave. One of these types of traditions that does not use the power of words however, is a totem...