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Elements of Religious Tradition
Religious traditions influence people and even more important cultures across the world on a daily basis. The paragraphs to follow will show how religious traditions describe and show how relationships are encouraged and established with the divine, sacred time and space, natural world and relationships with one another. This will ensure a more thorough understanding of different religions. Additionally, using several examples from various religious traditions will go one step farther in enhancing that understanding. The foundation to any successful religious belief is to establish a relationship with the divine.
Since the dawn of time spiritual relationships with …show more content…
Specifically, praying is prominent with Christians and is a way to communicate to God on a daily basis. Praying by Christians is just one example of various methods religions can use to foster a relationship with the Divine.
Daily lives are seen as moving forward into the future through what is known as ordinary time. Conversely, according to Malloy (2010), an example of sacred time is the sacraments of the Roman-Catholicism religion. As the Patheos, Seek, Understand (2008-2011) website states, that by celebrating the Eucharist, Baptism, Confirmation, Reconciliation, Marriage, and Anointing of the Sick Roman-Catholicism creates a space of sacred time in everyday life. The important thing to remember about sacred time is not how long it is, but instead making effective use of time while spending time with the Divine.
There is sacred time and space, the natural world exists within religions. Sacred space is a place of worship where holiness is strongest and religions can reinvigorate spiritual strength. Some of these sacred spaces as Malloy (2010) highlights may be in the natural world such as a great mountain, a volcano, a valley, a lake, a forest, a single tree, or another other natural site. A specific example according to Malloy (2010), is the sacred center of Uluru (Ayers Rock) it belongs to the Australian aboriginal …show more content…
As Malloy (2010) shows, rituals are the basic way people can ensure they are living in harmony with one another and also with nature. Rituals are ceremonies involving rites of passage, sacrifices, and even taboos. According to Malloy (2010) in some religions a woman about to give birth goes off by herself to bear her child at a sacred site or in a house built for that purpose. “A taboo is rule that forbids specific behavior with regard to certain objects, people, animals, days, or phases of life” (Malloy, 2010, p. 52). Specifically, taboos can relate to death, birth, blood, sex, and even the spirit of the dead in some religions. Taboos can even extend to positions of power, such as chiefs and priests, and offer protection from inappropriate activity toward their positions. Whether a rite of passage or taboo spiritual relationships with each other tend to foster the traditions of rituals within a given