Religious knowledge Characteristics and examples

4115
Anthony Golden
Religious knowledge Characteristics and examples

The religious knowledge or religious knowledge can be understood as that form of thought that is based on dogmas or proposals made from a religious current.

Religious knowledge has a series of characteristics that are fulfilled in all cases where a system of beliefs or thoughts is implanted that goes from the spiritual to the purely practical..

What is religious knowledge or thought?

Religious knowledge is part of human knowledge just like scientific knowledge, but it is very different from this since its postulates are based on beliefs of oral or written transmission without undergoing a rigorous analysis..

Religious knowledge or religious thought is normally transmitted by family or social groups and is usually implanted from a very early age in each human being.

This type of thinking has prevailed for a long time since it has been strongly linked both to other currents of thought and to political power..

The above has guaranteed religious knowledge a kind of protection over the centuries, and although at present this protection has been weakened a bit and the peoples enjoy freedom of worship, religious knowledge remains the main source of information. between large groups of people.

Main characteristics of religious knowledge

To be considered religious knowledge or to be recognized as a current of religious thought, it must comply with a series of rules.

It is not that there is a standard for conceiving new currents of religious thought at will, but rather this is a group of common characteristics among the great currents of religious knowledge..

Dogma

The main characteristic of any current of religious thought is its dogmatic character.

Dogma is characterized by the impossibility of being questioned, a dogma is something that has to be taken as true beforehand and no evidence can refute its veracity.

Most forms of religious knowledge are based on dogmas transmitted through stories, gospels, prayers and others, all this information is taken as true and nothing in the world can question it..

Moral precepts

Another characteristic of religious thought forms is that they transmit moral and behavioral precepts to people that are indisputable and on which their adequate adaptation to the group that lives according to said form of religious knowledge depends..

Normally the breach of these moral precepts carries great sanctions both in this world and in eternal life according to the religious doctrine that is practiced.

Rituals

Rituals are central to almost all forms of religious thought, In fact, in most cases, the transmission of these rituals is the most important part of the activities of the practitioners of the religion as such..

These rituals, depending on the current of religious knowledge and the passion or depth with which they are practiced, can be quite varied, ranging from meditation / prayer to complex ritual practices that involve achieving strange things or learning complex songs or dances..

Books or carriers of sacred knowledge

Consequently with the aforementioned we can highlight that in most currents of religious knowledge there are sacred books or carriers of sacred knowledge.

In many cases, these books or knowledge that are transmitted orally are not handled publicly among the followers of the current of thought, but are reserved for a select group of people who, due to any random factor or are not chosen to carry said religious / sacred knowledge.

Examples of religious knowledge

To go a little deeper into what religious knowledge is, we will address some examples highlighting its main characteristics and the way in which its current of thought is applied..

Christianity - Catholicism

Historically, this is one of the religions or currents of religious thought with the most adherents and the greatest worldwide expansion, so it is undoubtedly a good example to particularize the characteristics of religious knowledge..

Dogma: Without a doubt, Christianity has hundreds of examples of dogmatic knowledge, beginning with the act of creation and continuing almost with every point of the Catholic cosmogony..

Moral precepts: Clearly the religious knowledge transmitted in Catholic Christianity contains its moral precepts in the 10 commandments.

Although it must be borne in mind that beyond these ten commandments new norms and rules are continually given that tell the believer how to act or decide.

Rituals: This is also quite clear in Catholicism, they have the so-called sacraments that are rituals that the believer must perform throughout his life, from baptism to marriage and others..

They also have permanent rituals such as attending mass and constantly praying..

Books or knowledge carriers: In this case, the religious knowledge of Catholicism is transmitted in both ways, since they have the Bible and priests, cardinals and others in charge of transmitting knowledge..

They also have knowledge that is not of the public management of the believers of said doctrine.

Hinduism

Dogma: In Hinduism we can highlight two main dogmas that are clearly visible, the concept of Karma and reincarnation. By their nature, like all dogmas, it is impossible to verify their veracity, but they are the essence of Hindu religious knowledge..

Moral precepts: The dogmas and concepts derived from Hindu knowledge create pre-established moral precepts for their believers and although they have considerable flexibility in these aspects, the most radical branches of practitioners have quite elaborate precepts..

Rituals: Meditation and the worship of different deities with particular rituals, essences and practices are the main rituals that are held in Hinduism, this in very broad terms since if you delve into this type of religious thinking you will find millions of rituals that are performed there.

Books or carriers of sacred knowledge: Just as in Catholicism in Hinduism there are sacred writings in which the stories of the course of history can be found, many of them are even analogous to the stories told in books of other cosmogony.

Santeria and witchcraft

Finally we want to highlight the example of religious knowledge with Santeria and witchcraft, because although these are not forms of religious thought properly speaking, they do have a great religious magic component.

Dogma: Without a doubt, this type of religious thought contains hundreds of dogmas, but the main one is the ability to change matter or influence energy through different practices..

Moral precepts: Although it may seem contradictory, moral precepts also work in an inverse way, for example in this case, unlike most currents of religious knowledge, it is allowed to influence the will of people and things like that..

Rituals: Anyone who approaches any of these modes of thought can at a glance account for the amount of rituals and symbols included in the transmission of their knowledge and even more so in their different practices..

Books or knowledge carriers: In this case it is quite strange to find deep knowledge in books, at least not in books that are available to everyone, normally in this case the knowledge is transmitted between teachers and learners.

We hope that with this article you have understood a little what religious knowledge is about and what its most important characteristics are.. 


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