Types of Religious Practices | Sociology Optional for UPSC (Notes) PDF Download

Animism

Animism is the belief in the existence of spirits or souls in objects and natural phenomena. This concept suggests that the world is inhabited by various spirits that influence and drive the events around us. In its essence, animism is a form of religion where individuals perceive the presence of a spirit in all things that surround them. It is considered one of the most primitive ideas that gave rise to religion in human society. Even today, many tribal communities, cults, and sects around the world practice animism as part of their religious beliefs.

Spirits in Animism

• In animistic beliefs, spirits can be either benevolent or malevolent.
• For example, the Teton Sioux tribe in America practices an animistic religion where they believe that certain spirits play negative roles in their lives. To appease these spirits, they perform rituals such as the Ghost Dance ceremony.
• Anthropologist Evans-Pritchard, in his study of the Nuer people of South Sudan, found that they have a complex theological system centered around the Sky Spirit or High God.
• Even in contemporary societies, some sects in India resort to practices like witchcraft and sorcery to treat illnesses, reflecting animistic beliefs.

Challenges in Hunting and Gathering Societies

• In hunting and gathering societies, individuals faced numerous challenges and uncertainties. This led them to believe that their well-being was closely tied to the happiness of their deceased relatives and ancestors. The belief was that if the souls of their ancestors were not at peace, the living would suffer misfortune.
• In Hindu culture, concepts like Pitra and Shraadh reflect similar beliefs, where rituals and prayers are performed to placate the souls of ancestors, seeking their blessings for peace and happiness in the lives of the living.
• This aspect of animism is sometimes referred to as ancestor worship theory, where the veneration of ancestors plays a central role in religious practice.
• Religions that emphasize the transmigration of souls also incorporate the idea of spirits or souls being inherent in all living beings and objects.

Edward B. Tylor and Animism

• Edward B. Tylor was the first sociologist to elaborate on the concept of animism in his book "Primitive Culture" published in 1871.
• Tylor made a distinction between magic, religion, and science, associating animism with primitive societies and suggesting that it evolves into modern religion as societies progress.
• According to Tylor, animism is the explanation of spiritual phenomena such as souls and divinities, as understood by humans.
• He believed that the idea of spirits originated from human dreams, where individuals encounter their doubles or duplicates. This led to the understanding that the soul is responsible for the vividness of images in dreams.
• Tylor argued that primitive minds believed the soul temporarily leaves the body during sleep and permanently departs upon death.

Worship of Nature in Animism

• As humans observed the processes of birth, growth, and decay in various embodiments like trees, rivers, and mountains, they came to believe that these entities also housed spirits.
• This realization led to the worship of these embodiments, marking the emergence of animism as a specific form of religion.
• Tylor identified ancestor worship as the most ancient form of animistic practice, suggesting that religion in the form of animism originated to satisfy humanity's intellectual curiosity about death, dreams, and visions.

Dreams and the Concept of Soul

• Tylor, like Spencer, associated the idea of the soul with dreams, proposing that human encounters with their doubles in dreams contributed to the belief in the soul.
• Graham Harvey, in his work "Animism: Respecting the Living World," discusses a contemporary form of animism derived from ethnographic studies.
• Post-modernist scholars challenge Tylor's notion that only primitive societies animate their surroundings, arguing that all societies engage in some form of animating their social world.
• They emphasize the personal relationships individuals form with elements of the objective world, blurring the distinction between the natural and social realms.
• For instance, people create emotional connections with pets, toys, or even abstract concepts, illustrating the universal tendency to animate the world around them.

Monism and Pluralism

Monism and pluralism are two contrasting beliefs about the nature of existence, particularly in the context of religion and philosophy.

Monism

• Monism is the belief in a single attribute, God, or religious idea. It centers on the idea of the oneness of all existence or the existence of a single God or ideology.
• The term "monism" has been popular across cultures, including in Hinduism, where it is known as "Advaita."
• In Western literature, the term was coined by Christian Wolff, although it was used in a narrower sense.
• Philosophers like Thales, Plotinus, and Adi Shankara preached forms of monism.
• Modern religions like Islam are considered monistic because they deny the existence of any power other than Allah.
• Similarly, the Advaita philosophy of Hinduism asserts that there is no distinction between the disciple and God; they are ultimately one.
• Sufi saints also emphasized the concept of a single, all-powerful entity.
• Some believe that monistic beliefs symbolize the emergence of a new religion.

Pantheism

• Pantheism is a western religious ideology that posits that all of reality is identical with divinity, and everything composes an all-encompassing God.
• Pantheists do not believe in a distinct personal or anthropomorphic God.
• Baruch Spinoza, a 17th-century philosopher, was influential in spreading this idea through his book "Ethics," where he opposed Descartes' mind-body dualism.
• Although the term "pantheism" became popular in the 17th century, the idea was present in many eastern religions, including Hinduism and Buddhism, as well as in European thought.
• Established religions in Europe, particularly the Church, regarded pantheism as heretical.
• The ideology gained momentum in the 19th century, with notable followers like William Wordsworth, Ralph Waldo Emerson, Henry David Thoreau, and even Albert Einstein in the 20th century.

Pluralist Religious Practices

• Pluralist religious practices are those that accommodate different viewpoints and beliefs.
• Pluralism can be understood as respecting others as they are, contrasting with exclusivism.
• It differs from syncretism, which seeks to blend different beliefs into a single output.
• The existence of religious pluralism relies on freedom of religion, the fertility of ideas, and mutual tolerance.
• Freedom of religion entails that different religions in a region have equal rights to worship and express their beliefs publicly.
• Hinduism exemplifies pluralism, as it allows multiple philosophies and ideologies, such as Vaishnavism, Shaivism, Advaita, Dwaita, and even atheism, to coexist.
• Similarly, various denominations within Christianity, like Calvinists, Methodists, Protestants, and Catholics, thrive in parallel.
• Religious pluralism promotes the idea that differences between religions and within the same religious framework can be overcome.
• Steve Bruce argues that religious pluralism arises from various sources and has weakened the communal basis of religious orthodoxy.
• Modernization and industrialization are seen as key factors contributing to social fragmentation and bringing diverse cultural and religious groups into contact with each other.
• In such diverse societies, the state cannot favor a single religion without causing conflict.
• Plurality of religions serves a functional purpose in society by reminding individuals that religion is a matter of personal choice.
• Bruce also views pluralism as a sign of increasing secularization in society.

Contested Views on Pluralism

• However, many of Bruce's hypotheses about religious pluralism are open to contestation.
• Recent conflicts in religiously pluralistic regions like Syria and Europe demonstrate that pluralism can be dysfunctional.
• Peter Berger links the growth of pluralistic beliefs to modernization and secularization, suggesting that pluralism undermines the notion of one absolute truth.
• Similarly, Bryan Wilson argues that with the pluralization of society, religious values become personal values rather than communal ones.

Religious Pluralism in India

• Religious pluralism has been a feature of the Indian subcontinent since the rise of Buddhism around 500 BCE.
• It expanded further with several Muslim settlements, including the Delhi Sultanate (1276-1526 CE) and the Mughal Empire (1526-1857 CE).
• Zoroastrianism was established in India in the 8th century when Zoroastrians fled from Persia and were given refuge.
• Christianity arrived in India long before the colonial period.

Sects and Cults

Understanding Sects

• A sect is a smaller group that has broken away from a larger religious, political, or philosophical organization, often sharing many beliefs with the original group but differing in key doctrinal areas.
• The term "sect" comes from the Latin word "secta," which means a course of action or way of life. It implies an organized group following a specific path.
• Sociologists often use the term sect to describe a religious group that is in tension with the surrounding society but whose beliefs are largely traditional within that context.
• The main feature of a sect is that it is a voluntary association. Members choose to join and adhere to the group's beliefs and practices.

Characteristics of Sects

• Small and Organized: Sects are relatively small groups that develop a distinct religious consciousness and often criticize mainstream religion.
• Closed Membership: Sects are ideologically and operationally closed, often drawing members from lower classes and the poor.
• Rejection of Norms: Sects reject many societal norms and values, replacing them with beliefs and practices that may seem strange to outsiders.
• Critique of Original Religion: Sects emerge as critiques of the original religion, often focused on purity of doctrine and genuineness of religious feeling.
• Leader-Focused: Sects are initially focused on a leader but may continue after the leader's demise.
• Insularity: Sects are insular and closed to those who have not undergone initiation procedures for membership.
• Behavioral Strictness: Sects institute strict behavioral patterns for members and make strong loyalty claims.
• Dominance of Belonging: Belonging to a sect often becomes the dominant factor in a member's life.
• Organizational Structure: Sects are typically organized in small, face-to-face groups without a hierarchical structure of paid officials.
• Intensity of Worship: Worship in sects is characterized by intensity and open commitment, lacking in mainstream religion.

Origins of Sects

• According to sociologist Max Weber, sects are likely to arise within marginal groups in society. Members of these groups often feel they are not receiving the prestige or economic rewards they deserve. Sects based on a "theodicy of disprivileged" offer explanations for their members' disprivilege and promise a sense of honor in the afterlife or a future new world.
• Other sociologists argue that the explanation for sects must account for the variety of social backgrounds represented in their membership. Sects are not confined to the lower strata of society; for example, the Christian Science sect has a largely middle-class membership. The concept of relative deprivation applies to members of all social classes. Relative deprivation refers to the subjectively perceived deprivation that people feel. For instance, a middle-class individual may feel more deprived than a poorer person, leading them to join a sect.
• Sects often emerge during periods of rapid social change, when traditional norms are disrupted, social relationships lack coherence, and the traditional "universe of meaning" is undermined. Sociologist Bryan Wilson sees the rise of Methodism as a response by the new urban working class to the chaos and uncertainty of life in newly settled industrial areas.
• Newly emergent social groups, in a society where the religious view of the world dominates, are likely to need and evolve new patterns of religious belief to accommodate their new situation.

Life Span of Sects

• Sociologists generally view sects as short-lived. H. Richard Niebuhr argues that sects are necessarily short-lived because the fervor and commitment of members cannot be sustained beyond the first generation.
• The social marginality and isolation that initially contributed to the formation of the sect may diminish over time. Sects with ascetic creeds often accumulate wealth, allowing them to enter the mainstream of society.
• When a sect either ceases to exist or evolves into a denomination, its extreme teachings and rejection of wider society no longer align with the social situation of its members. If it transforms into a denomination, its beliefs are modified to align with mainstream society, and it develops a bureaucratic organization with a hierarchy of paid officials.
• Some sects follow this path. For example, the Methodists, as they rose in status during the nineteenth century, abandoned the strict disciplines of the sect and its opposition to wider society, transforming into a denomination.
• The development of large sects in response to major religions may lead to conflict, religious intolerance, and/or the rise of a pluralistic society due to increased tolerance.

Understanding Cults

• A cult is a small religious group that is often seen as deviant and lacking in organization, with a focus on private beliefs and a high degree of tension with mainstream culture.
• Cults are characterized by innovative and new beliefs within the context of society, and they may seek to transform society or focus on creating satisfying group experiences.
• Unlike sects, which are products of religious schism, cults arise spontaneously around novel beliefs and practices.
• The social reality of a cult is rooted in heroic acts, involving worship systems, feelings, attitudes, gestures, words, rites, rituals, and relationships with sacred objects.
• Cults tend to flourish in metropolitan centers with culturally heterogeneous populations experiencing rapid social change, creating feelings of contingency and powerlessness that cults address.

Characteristics of Cults

• A cult is a small religious group that is characterized by a high degree of tension with the surrounding society. Its beliefs are often new and innovative within that societal context. While a cult may seek to transform society, it more commonly focuses on creating satisfying group experiences.
• Cults are not reactionary or revolutionary; instead, they are revisionary. They do not stand in opposition to religion but rather supplement it. The existence of a cult is often closely tied to the lifespan of its leader, who is typically a charismatic figure for the followers.
• Cults engage with the day-to-day problems of people, addressing various questions posed by followers, even if there are inherent contradictions within the cult's practices. Over time, a cult may develop into a sect, similar to the evolution of Calvinism into Protestantism.
• In Indian society, it was during the Mughal rule that sectarian divisions among Brahmins, such as Shaivism and Vaishnavism, were greatly emphasized. This occurred because Hinduism was losing its great tradition due to a decline in political patronage.
• When there is a distance between people and organized religion, individuals may endorse various cults as a means of finding spiritual or communal fulfillment.