So a lot of people think that the Native Americans had a religious view of nature and the land.
While this might only be the story passed down to us through the years, it is still an interesting idea!
When trying to imagine a greater power than themselves, they merely looked to the environment and stopped there. This seems like the safest assumption of all when it comes to a religious view. It is tangible. It's right there in front of you. You live within it, and without it you would be lost. So are other religions silly to be looking further for something bigger than just what lays around us?
Ryan,
ReplyDeleteI think for the Native Americans, nature and land were something bigger for them at the level of development their society was at. If you look at other religions and the times that they were developed, their societies were advancing very quickly, and activity was much more frequent on the Eastern Continents. Something that greatly affected people's world views was technological advancements and scientific discoveries. Although, I do agree that looking at nature as a greater religious view than some entity who has the power to decides how are lives should be lived, and whether what we do is right or wrong is a correct assumption. Maybe other religions are somewhat silly for ignoring the environment surrounding us all, but I think it isn't all silly, because it does have some valid concerns for morality, and helps give people faith, even if that faith is sometimes misplaced.
I took a class on Native American Peoples last semester, and it is true that the land they lived on was very sacred to them. Of course, as Matt said, it could have been passed down throughout centuries as a story from those only observing Native people. They could have also been fighting for their land because it was constantly being taken from them, and then the perception become that their land was something more to them then just where they lived. Either way, I agree that at times this makes the most sense, but I'm not sure that other religions are silly to be looking further. I think every religion is far more complex than just simply viewing nature as sacred or not.
ReplyDeleteI think that focus on the environment is such a strong foundation to base beliefs off of and as noted this story that Native Americans did just that, it prompts me to wonder if other peoples did the same? Are there other documented examples of people basing their faith off the environment and if so does it at all mirror the Native Americans? I really want to look into this - because if one group of peoples did this there must be more as it is such a basic response to want to praise what is right in front of you.
ReplyDeleteNotice how closely the idea of the sacredness of land is to a sort of expanded animism, which may be the most elemental human belief system.
ReplyDeleteRyan, please turn off your word verification function right away.