A Look At Superstition And Religion

A Look At Superstition And ReligionSuperstitions are very common. A superstitious person, knowing that there is something higher than he cannot control, believes in the liveence of supernatural forces. Superstition arose from a sense of powerlessness to make contact with God. Therefore, a man creates his own religion in which he tries to cast certain and clear logic of supernatural forces around him or influence them through his own behavior.Superstition is a credulous notion, which is a belief in a prediction of our future and an impact on it through the use of any supernatural forces. It contains an assumption, often unconscious, that with the help of these forces it is possible to achieve a compromise, which is satisfying for a man.Superstition usually manifests itself in reduced stamps of a ritual at the behavioral level the use of mascots, tattoos, magical gestures, etc. A supererogatory place occupies different signs and superstitious beliefs certain events are attributed to prognostic significance.There are four main types of superstitions that includePagan superstitions, which are directly connected with a pagan anti-Christian worldview. They sire their origins in the polytheistic religions that deny the existence of God, and reject the Creator of the worldOccultism, in turn, elevates to a deity some inscrutable forces, and attributes them the ability to change a persons lifeFolk superstitions differ from pagan ones that they do not represent a holistic pagan worldview, but exist fragmentarily and separately, not included in any complete system of the world outlookEcclesiastical superstitions are expressed in the use of religious rituals in pagan rites or vice versa.The examples of superstitions in American culture are the following onesSome common groovy luck superstitionsYou will get good luck, if you take your stand on your shadowIf you find a horseshoe that was lost by someone, it will bring you good luckYou will have good luck, if you fin d a clover with four leaves.Some common bad luck superstitionsThe family will fall ill, if a cat sneezes no more than than three timesIf a black cat crosses your road, it brings you bad luckYou will have bad luck, if you spill salt.Religion is a special form of the worlds awareness, caused by the belief in the supernatural forces, which include a set of moral norms and behaviors, rituals, cult actions and unite people in an organization (for example, a perform or a religious community).In addition, religion is a mans worldview (or a certain free radical of people), which is based on the belief in something supernatural, unexplainable. In each religion, there are certain rules of behaviors to be followed by the adherents, as well as the purpose for which people follow the tenets of that religion.In this part of the paper, let us discuss and explain two different types of religions, such as Catholicism and Protestantism.Catholicism the faith is based on the Bible and Holy Traditio n, which includes decrees of the Ecumenical Councils. chastity is compulsory for priests and bishops. A sign of the cross most often is executed by five fingers as a symbol of the five wounds of Christ. Catholics believe that the beat(p) return home and sometime visit their living relatives in a day of commemoration. People, who are stingy to the funeral repast, are punished by loss of cattle, fire, etc. There is a custom to paint eggs at Easter, as well as to bake cakes. Then these cakes are sanctified, and they are considered to be a symbol of this holiday. When people swim in an ice-hole during Epiphany, it helps him to be cleansed of his sins. It is prohibited to scorch the bottom of the candle when it is inserted into a candlestick. It is motivated as follows Thus, a person burn down the feet of Christ.Protestantism Protestants believe that a person can receive forgiveness of sins by a faith in Jesus Christ (by a faith in His death for the sins of all people and in His resur rection from the dead). The Bible is the most supreme and final authority on all issues going the mankind in its development. In addition, Protestants do not see any point in prayers for the dead, saints, and many holidays in their honor. Protestants, in comparison with other Christians, pay very much vigilance to speaking in tongues (glossolalia) (they consider it to be a sign of Baptism of the Holy Spirit), and to other gifts of the Holy Spirit, such as the gift of healing and prophecy.There is no doubt that there are some differences and similarities amid superstition and religion. Let us discuss superstition and religion from the standpoint of an emic and etic prospective. Different religions are innate(p) with the help of peoples faith in something supernatural. They pass this belief on from one generation to another within their family. For instance, we can often hear that different illnesses of a religious person were cured with the help of many prayers. The illness disapp eared by the effect of a prayer. In fact, there are no logical and overcompensate explanations about this event. The religious people can call it a miracle. In turn, some philosophers would name it superstition.Superstition is influenced by some irrational beliefs, such as the reverence of different things, black cats. The things of this nature is a peculiar fear that people believe and carry that if they face with those things, that probably something unhappier and bad will affect them. Thus, it can be considered to be a religion, but it is a kind of false and incorrect worship.Ethnocentrism is a view of society, in which a certain group is central, and all other groups are compared and related to it. Levine and Campbell emphasized that the attitudes include seeing ones own group (the in-group) as virtuous and superior, ones own standards of value as universal, and out-groups as contemptible and inferior (qtd. in Hammond and Axelrod 926). Cultural relativism is opposite to ethnoce ntrism. The basis of cultural relativism is the assertion that members of one social group cannot understand the motives and values of other groups, if they go these motives and values according to their own culture.In summary, it is possible to conclude that both superstition and religion are powerful notions, even if they have some similarities between each other, they are not common things and act and operate separately and independently from each other.