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RELIGION AS THE SOCIAL
PHENOMENON
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1. Circumstances of the Primitive Religion
Formation.
2. The Evolution of Religious
Consiousness.
3. Polytheism and Monotheism.
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Why is religion the social phenomenon? Because
religion is inseparable from the history of human
society. The Teachers of the Church note that
religion is the phenomenon common to all
mankind. It corresponds to the vital
requirements of the man: sanctity, conscience,
ethic duty, ideology, moral connection and law,
the development of education, science and
civilization.
The power of Divine creature more and more
arises before the man in the process of historical
development of the society. It began with the
primitive religious views and continued to the
modern developed religions such as: Buddhism,
Christianity and Islam.
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What is the development and evolution of primitive
religions? Archaeology and ethnography study the man
in the process of his historical development. Archaeology
studies the origin and evolution of the man, ethnography
studies the culture and peoples mode of life.
Man’s history numbers two million years.
Anthropomorphous beings – pithecanthrope and
synanthrope are considered to be the predecessors of
the present man. Why? Because they could make
primitive labour tools. Judging by the size of the skull
they were not able for world cognition on a large scale.
The Neanderthal man lived more than 100.000 years
ago. He used fire, caves as the dwelling. The late
Neanderthal man had the deceased burials. The
primitive forms of religion belong to Croman – the man
of present type. His history began approximately 5040.000 years ago. The evolution of religions forms
belongs to that time.
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What is the way of life of the primitive people? They had
stone labour tools, different tips, spears, arrows. Early
tribal organization of the life and activity was evident. At
the head of the clan or tribe was the mother. Here we
have the name of maternal clan community or
matriarche. Purials, were purposeful. The deceased
“continued to live” in the minds of primitive people. They
put labour tools, food into the tomb. The facts
mentioned above prove the following:
the development of thinking;
the feeling of sanctity or holiness;
the feeling of moral interdiction and conscience;
the man regulates his behaviour.
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Labour tools prove the development of thinking and
perception of environment. Matriarchy proves the feeling
of sanctity before the mother who gave birth and took
care of the family. Realizable feeling of moral interdiction
appeared. So the man can regulate his behaviour.
Beneficial weather and natural disasters personify the
notions of good and evil as something external with
respect to the man. The realization of the Highest
Substance awoke. The man began to regulate his
relation with “invisible world”. The form of relation
determined his notions about good and evil.
Burials prove elementary notions about the other world.
The world is doubled in man’s consiousness. World
doubling is the base of religious consiousness as it has
been already mentioned above.
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How religious consiousness of the man was
formed. How did he double the world? Religion
and Religion History are inseparable from his
history Due to Religion the man became spiritual
person – the personification of God’s image and
similarity.
The man is inseparable from the natural
phenomena though his standards of the
development are high. We’ll always provide the
world around us with self -consiousness.
Everything strives for the integrity. And we strive
to be the embodiment of the world around us,
otherwise it will be deprived of the sense of our
existence.
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Animatism was the general background of the
primitive man in perception of real world. He
provided the world with his feelings and wishes.
Such attitude towards natural phenomena and
forces gave the man possibility to sep up
double-sided contact according to the following
principle: “Scratch my back and I’ll scratch
yours”. If natural phenomena live by man’s life,
the man may ask them, seeks sympathy and
cajoles. That what stroke the man’s imagination
became the object of Sypernatural Power
respect. It might be animal’s bone, skull, jaw,
anthropomorphous carved image from wood,
clay and stone. All these objects in primitive
man’s consiousness that can change their
properties are called fetishes.
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They were taken as the amulet, they were asked
for help in different life situations. At the
beginning the fetish was treated as partner’s
equal. Then the fetish became more and more
respected. It became personal and family sacred
thing. The form of their treatment became more
complex. This complex system of treatment is
known as the magic. The magic accompanied
the primitive man in his everyday life. It exists in
our time too. This is the magic of hunters,
cattle-breeders, farmers, craftsmen, fishermen.
It’s a part of man’s personal life the magic of
love and sensuality. We also have medical
magic. Then the magic of sailors, pilots and
steeple-jacks appeared.
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Psychology of this phenomena becomes evident. The
man always strives and will strive to find inner calmness,
self-reliance, balance with external and unexplored
world. Otherwise he will lose selfconfidence and won’t
provide his vital activity.
If we skilfully combine fetishism and magic the third
form of primitive religions will appear. His animism –
from Latin “anima” that means “soul”.
The man lives by inner feeling of the Highest Power and
he addresses to the fetish as the incarnation of this
power. At the same time natural phenomena also
possess consiousness and feeling. They live by man’s
life. Here comes the conclusion that all phenomena,
surrounding the man have doubles – those that we see,
hear, feel and those that we perceive by intuitive sense.
Fetish, magic and animism composed the first forms of
religious belief.
Early matriarchy – mother’s supremacy in patrimonial
community caused the next form of religion – totemism.
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Why does the necessity to know about our
origin appear? We must know what was
before and will be after us. The faith in
totem – the founder and keeper of the
family was important stage in the
realization of spiritual unity of tribal
community. At that time totems were
animals, birds and seldom fish. It’s
impossible to offend the totem or to kill
him, because he can do harm to the tribe.
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Agricultural cult appeared during the
period of late matriarchy. It was the next
form of ancient religions.
The leading role of the woman in religion
became apparent. Besides that she started
agricultural labour she gives birth to the
new life. The Mother’s cult and land cult
supplement each other. The land provides
man’s life. That’s why agricultural ghosts
were the main in respects and worrhips.
The cult of the Sun and the rain appeared
too.
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Religious conceptions – fetish, magic, totem,
agricultural cult extended the man’s idea about
the world and himself, formed entire world
outlook: the Earth – Man – Cosmos.
Then with the separation of cattle – breeding
from agriculture the role of man and woman had
been changed. The most notable representatives
of male sex became the elder of the tribe.
Essencial changes in the tribe structure
contributed to the formation of the elders and
leaders cults.
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The other form of early religious
conceptions – the cult of ancestor arose.
The views about totems as the symbol of
the tribe had been changed. The leaders
of the tribe could communicate with them.
Everything that was told on the behalf of
the totem must be done by tribesmen.
Conscious relations were formed as the
tribe life was impossible without them.
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The complexity of religious conceptions
and actions demanded corresponding
explanation. It was insufficiently for the
man to know what thing or object was
that and why it had such meaning or
explanation. It was necessary to connect
real life with the past, that is to learn
where the natural phenomena and the
man are from. The other form of religion
– myth appeared. This word is of Greek
origin muvos – means story.
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Mythes are divided into religious and nonreligious. Primitive mythes – are narrations
about the Earth, heavenly bodies. The
man was satisfied with the explanation
that the Earth rested upon three elephants
or whales, that heavenly bodies were
sparks of the fire. Mythes influenced on
man’s feelings.
Ancient mythes became the attainment of
artistic creative work in European culture.
Mythical works have great artistic value.
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Religious myth differs from non-religious one.
The man feels direct connection and
dependence of active forces of the myth. This is
the “second world” for him which he perceives
with holiness and reverence. Active forces are
capable to help the man, but they are capable to
punish him. For example the myth about Sungood-Dazhboh in the Slavs. If one angers the
god, the sun will grow dark, everything will die
and the life will stop.
Myth is so close to the tale. But essential
difference exists between them. Myth describes
relations, their causes and effects, but the tale
narrates about the triumph of good above evil.
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Who was the founder of mythical works, who perfected,
maintained them in man consiousness?
It was the group of people – the prototype of future
priests. They were called shamen.
The shaman obeyed (submit) the elder or leader and
carried out their instructions. He kept off evil spirits,
drew in good spirits, treated sick. The shaman had
personal influence on religious consiousness of the
people.
The formation of states changed religious notions of the
people. Deities took the place of spirits. Peculiar “ladder”
of deities arose at the head of Senior Deity. It was
Dazhboh in the Slavs and in the IX century – Perun.
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Polytheism arose in that period. It is belief
in many Gods. Belief in one God –
monotheism arose during the formation of
centralized states. In modern religions we
have – Christ, Allah, Buddha.
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Monotheism – the belief that there is but
One God. Christian-Biblical monotheism
teaches that the One true God subsists
eternally as Father, Son and Holy Ghost;
the doctrine of Triniti in unity.
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Trinity – It has been said that if you try to comprehend
the doctrine of the Trinity you may lose your mind, and
is you deny it you will lose your soul. The finite mind of
man cannot possibly comprehend the infinite God. So a
complete understanding of the doctrine of the Trinity is
not attainable by us. However, we can obtain a
knowledge of the trinity from God’s revelation of Himself
in His Word, and although the knowledge so gained by
our finite minds is incomplete, it is nonetheless true
knowledge.
God’s revelation of Himself lies at the heart of all He has
revealed in His Word. In a very real sense, our
understanding of any part of the Scripture revelation is
dependent upon our acceptance of God’s revelation of
Himself, a revelation which is denoted by the term trinity.
One theologian aptly said, “The Trinity is the point in
which all Christian ideas and interests unite; at once the
beginning and the end of all insight into Christianity”.
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Trinity. “The word trinity is derived from Latin
and Greek terms meaning three in one, or the
one which is three, and the three which are one
… The word is not found in the Scriptures.
Technical terms are, however, absolutely
necessary in all sciences. In this case they have
been made particularly essential because of the
subtie perversions of the simple, untechnical
Biblical statements by infidels and heretics. The
term, as above defined, admirably expresses the
central fact of the great doctrine of the one
essence eternally subsisting as three Persons, all
the elements of which (doctrine) are explicitly
taught in the Scriptures” (A.A.Hidge).
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Person. The original meaning of the Latin word persona, is far
removed from its present sense and it is an even larger step from
the present sense of the word to the scriptural and theological
meaning when applied to the Godhead. But despite its imperfection
as a term, there is none better in man’s vocabulary. In everyday
usage, the term person denotes an entirely separate and distinct
rational individual. It does not have this meaning when referred to
the Persons in the trinity. A divine person, to use John Calvin’s
words, is “a subsistence in the divine essence – a subsistence
which, while related to the other two, is distinguished from them by
incommunicable properties”.
Since there is one God; and since the Father is God, and the Son us
God, and the Holy Spirit is God; and since these three are clearly
distinguished in Scripture we are left with the glorious fruth of the
trinity – one God eternally existing as Father, Son, and Holy Ghost,
each indwelling the other and each possessing, not in part, but
entirely, the infinite essence of the one divine Being. Contemplating
such a majestic mystery of revealed truth we are constrained to cry
out with heaven’s seraphim, “Holy, holy, holy, is the lord of Hosts”
(Isa. 6:3).