Religion plays a critical role in the socio-economic and political environment in the global society. According to Turaki (2020), about 83% of the global population identify themselves with some form of belief in supernatural powers. Some of the classical religions include Christianity, Islam, Buddhism, Judaism, Bahai, Shinto, and Hinduism. Others include Taoism, Sikhism, Confucianism, and Zoroastrianism. These world religions have also led to violence in some parts of the world. According to Juergensmeyer et al. (2017), there is a major violent conflict among Muslims and those who have embraced Judaism in the Middle East. The conflict between Israel and Palestine, which has lasted for over five decades, was primarily caused by religious conflicts. Religious conflicts have also been witnessed in parts of China, India, and Africa. Crawford et al. (2020) explain that during colonization, the West used religion as one of the tools to control Africans. In parts of East, West, and North Africa, Islam was an already developed religion. After independence, cases of religious conflicts started emerging in some of these countries. For instance, the Boko Haram of Nigeria claims to be a religious entity that is fighting against the unbelievers (Juergensmeyer et al., 2017). Such incidences have also been reported in parts of Asia. In China, the Tibet community believes that they are persecuted by the government partly because of their religious beliefs and teachings. In the United States, Muslims often feel they are the target of extremists who associate them with terrorism primarily because of their religion.
In North America, the indigenous people had their religious practices based on their customs and beliefs. One of them that have proven to be resilient is the kachina (katsina) religion of the Pueblo peoples (Crawford et al., 2020). They believe in the supernatural powers and their capacity to define the fate of an individual and community in general. They curved dolls to represent these gods and kept them safe as a sign of their respect and admiration. Women played a special role among the Pueblo people when it came to religious practices. According to Turaki (2020), the gods were worshiped through special dances that were performed by women. It was believed that they had the best capacity to please the gods through their dances. Men were expected to curve the dolls, but it was the women (mothers, sisters, and wives) who had the special responsibility of respectfully taking care of them (Crawford et al., 2020). Society believed that women are the best custodians who can ensure the safety of these gods.
Africans also had their religious beliefs and practices that they cherished before the contact with Europeans and Arabs who introduced Christianity and Islam respectively. Among the Luo of Kenya in East Africa, their god was Nyasaye who was the creator of everything on earth (Turaki, 2020). They had to worship this supernatural being regularly and make sacrifices when the community is faced with natural calamities such as drought and flooding. They believed that Nyasaye resided in hills and in the lake. Spiritual leaders were responsible for making sacrifices to appease the gods and the spirits, especially when going to war or when faced with a given challenge. According to Turaki (2020), most of these African communities believed in supernatural spirits based on the environmental forces and factors that they often faced. Some believed that gods existed in the form of thunder and would only be seen when angry.
References
Crawford, O. J., & Talamantez, I. (2020). Religion and culture in Native America. Littlefield Publishing Group.
Juergensmeyer, M., Kitts, M., & Jerryson, M. K. (Eds.). (2017). Violence and the world’s religious traditions: An introduction. Oxford University Press.
Turaki, Y. (2020). Engaging religions and worldviews in Africa: A Christian theological method. Hippobooks.