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WORLD RELIGIONS

by Jeff Hay

Linda Holler, Consulting Editor

Christine Nasso, PublisherElizabeth Des Chenes, Managing Editor

Date: December 17, 2008 Comp Specialist: gleach Edit session: 136

WORLDRELIGIONS

Date: October 26, 2006 Comp Specialist: gleach Edit session: 127

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WORLD RELIGIONS

by Jeff Hay

Linda Holler, Consulting Editor

Christine Nasso, PublisherElizabeth Des Chenes, Managing Editor


© 2007 Gale, Cengage Learning.

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LIBRARY OF CONGRESS CATALOGING-IN-PUBLICATION DATA

World religions / Jeff Hay, Linda Holler.p. cm. -- (Greenhaven encyclopedia of)

Includes bibliographical references and index.ISBN-13: 978-0-7377-3217-7 (lib. : alk. paper)ISBN-10: 0-7377-3217-2 (lib. : alk. paper)

1. Religions--Encyclopedias. I. Hay, Jeff. II. Holler, Linda.BL80.3.W643 2007200.3--dc22

2006034676

Printed in the United States of America1 2 3 4 5 6 7 13 12 11 10 09


Contents

Preface ............................................ 13

AAbraham ...........................................15

Abu Bakr ..........................................16

Acts of the Apostles ...........................16

Adi Granth .......................................16

African religions ................................17

Afro-Brazilian religions ......................19

Afro-Caribbean religions ...................20

agape ................................................22

agnosticism .......................................22

ahimsa ..............................................23

Ahura Mazda ....................................23

Ali ....................................................24

Allah .................................................25

Amaterasu .........................................25

Amhitabha ........................................25

Analects .............................................26

ancestor worship ...............................27

ancient Greece and Rome,religions of ........................................27

ancient Near East, religions of ...........31

angels ...............................................35

Anglican (Episcopal) Church .............36

animism ............................................37

anti-Semitism ....................................37

apocalypse ........................................38

Apocrypha ........................................38

apostles .............................................39

Apostles’ Creed .................................40

Al-Aqsa Mosque ................................40

Aramaic ............................................40

Aranyakas .........................................41

arhat .................................................41

ark of the covenant ...........................41

artha .................................................42

Ashkenazim ......................................42

Ashoka ..............................................42

ashram ..............................................43

atheism .............................................43

atman ...............................................44

Augustine, Saint ................................44

Australian aboriginal religions ...........45

Avalokitesvara ...................................47

avatar ................................................48

Avesta ...............................................48

BBabylonian Exile ...............................49

Baha’i ...............................................49

baptism .............................................50

bar mitzvah/bat mitzvah ....................50

Bhagavad Gita ...................................51

bhakti ...............................................52

bhikku/bhikkuni ................................53

Bible .................................................53

bodhisattva .......................................55

bohdi ................................................56

Bon ..................................................56

Brahma .............................................56

Brahman ...........................................57

Brahmanas ........................................57

brahmin ............................................57

Buddha .............................................58

Buddhism .........................................58

Ccalendars .........................................63

caliph ..............................................65

The Greenhaven Encyclopedia of World Religions 5


caliphate ...........................................65

Calvinism ..........................................67

canon ...............................................67

Cao Dai ............................................68

Carnival ............................................68

caste .................................................69

Christian heresies ..............................70

Christianity .......................................71

Christian Science ...............................76

Christmas .........................................77

Chuang-tzu .......................................77

church ..............................................78

circumcision .....................................79

companions of the Prophet ...............79

Confucianism ....................................79

Confucian scholar-officials .................84

Confucius .........................................84

Congregationalism ............................86

Conservative Judaism ........................86

Constantine ......................................87

Coptic Christianity ............................87

councils, Buddhist .............................88

councils, early Christian Church ........89

councils, Roman Catholic Church ......89

Counter-Reformation ........................90

covenant ...........................................91

crucifixion ........................................91

Crusades ...........................................92

cults ..................................................93

DDalai Lama .......................................94

Dao De Jing ......................................94

Daoism .............................................95

darshan .............................................98

David ................................................98

Dead Sea Scrolls ................................99

deism ..............................................100

dhamma ........................................ 100

Dhammapada ..................................100

dharma ...........................................101

Diamond Sutra ................................101

Diaspora .........................................102

Divali ..............................................102

divination .......................................103

Dome of the Rock ...........................103

Druzes ............................................103

dukkha ............................................104

Durga .............................................104

EEaster ..............................................106

Eastern Orthodox Christianity .........106

ecumenism ......................................108

Eid al’Fitr ........................................109

Eightfold Path .................................109

Elijah ..............................................110

Elohim ............................................111

Engishiki ..........................................111

Epistles ............................................111

eschatology ......................................112

Essenes ............................................112

Eucharist .........................................113

evangelicalism .................................113

excommunication ............................115

Exodus ............................................115

FFa-hsien ..........................................117

al-Fatiha ..........................................117

Fatima ............................................117

fatwa ...............................................118

feng shui .........................................118

filial piety ........................................119

Five Classics ....................................119

Five Pillars of Faith .........................120

Contents

6 The Greenhaven Encyclopedia of World Religions


five relationships .............................121

Four Books .....................................121

Four Noble Truths ...........................122

four stages of life .............................122

fundamentalism, Christian ...............123

fundamentalism, Islamic ..................124

GGandhi, Mohandas K. ......................126

Ganesha ..........................................127

Ganga River ....................................128

Garden of Eden ...............................128

Garuda ............................................128

al-Ghazali ........................................129

Gnosticism ......................................129

Golden Temple ................................130

Gospels ...........................................130

Great Awakenings ............................131

guru ................................................132

Guru Nanak ....................................133

HHachiman .......................................134

Hadith ............................................134

hajj .................................................134

Hanukkah .......................................136

Hanuman ........................................136

Hare Krishna ...................................136

Hasidism .........................................137

heaven ............................................137

Hebrew Bible ...................................138

hell .................................................138

hijra ................................................139

Hinayana Buddhism ........................139

Hinduism ........................................140

Hindutva .........................................144

Holi ................................................144

Holocaust ........................................145

Holy Spirit ......................................146

Holy Week ......................................147

Hsun-tzu .........................................147

IIbn Rushd .......................................148

Ibn Sina ..........................................148

iconoclasm ......................................149

imam ..............................................150

Inari ................................................150

Inquisition ......................................150

Isaiah ..............................................151

Ise shrines .......................................151

Islam ...............................................152

Islamic modernism ..........................156

Islamism .........................................157

Ismailis ...........................................158

Izanagi and Izanami ........................159

JJainism ............................................160

Jalal al-Din al-Rumi .........................161

Jehovah ...........................................161

Jerusalem ........................................162

Jesuits .............................................163

Jesus of Nazareth .............................163

Jibril ...............................................166

jihad ...............................................167

John the Baptist ..............................167

Joseph .............................................167

Josephus ..........................................167

Judaism ...........................................168

KKa’aba .............................................173

Kabbalah .........................................173

Kali .................................................174

kami ...............................................175

karma .............................................175


Contents


khalsa ..............................................176

Kojiki ..............................................176

Krishna ...........................................177

Kuan Yin .........................................178

Kumbh Mela ...................................178

Kwanzaa ..........................................179

LLakshmi ..........................................180

lama ................................................180

Laozi ...............................................181

Laws of Manu .................................181

li .....................................................182

liberation theology ..........................182

Lotus Sutra .....................................183

Luther, Martin .................................184

Mmadrasa ..........................................186

Mahabharatha .................................186

Mahavira .........................................187

Mahayana Buddism .........................188

mahdi .............................................191

Maitreya ..........................................191

mandala ..........................................192

mandir ............................................192

Manichaeism ...................................193

mantra ............................................194

Mara ...............................................195

Mary ...............................................195

Mary Magdalene ..............................196

mass ...............................................196

matsuri ...........................................196

maya ...............................................197

Mecca .............................................197

Medina ...........................................198

meditation ......................................198

Mencius ..........................................199

messiah ...........................................200

middle path ....................................201

midrash ...........................................201

millennialism ..................................201

mindfulness .....................................202

moksha ...........................................203

monasticism ....................................203

monotheism ....................................205

Mormonism ....................................206

Moses .............................................207

mosque ...........................................208

Mo-tzu ............................................209

muezzin ..........................................209

mufti ..............................................210

Muhammad ....................................210

Muharram .......................................213

mullah ............................................214

NNation of Islam ...............................215

Native American religions,North America ................................216

neo-Confucianism ...........................220

neo-paganism ..................................221

new religious movements, Japanese ..221

new religious movements, Western ...223

New Testament ................................226

Nicene Creed ...................................227

Nihon-Shoki ....................................228

nirvana ...........................................228

OOceania, religions of ........................229

Omar ..............................................231

oracle bones ....................................232

Orthodox Judaism ...........................232

Ppaganism .........................................234

Contents


Date: November 2, 2006 Comp Specialist: cmontney Edit session: 131

Pa-hsien ..........................................234

Pali .................................................234

panentheism ....................................235

pantheism .......................................235

papacy ............................................235

Parsis ..............................................236

Parvati ............................................237

Passover ..........................................237

patriarch .........................................238

Paul ................................................238

Peoples of the Book .........................240

Peter ...............................................240

Pharisees .........................................241

philosophy of religion ......................241

pilgrimage .......................................242

polytheism ......................................243

prana ..............................................244

pre-Christian Europe, religions of ....244

pre-Columbian Mesoamerica,religions of ......................................246

pre-Columbian Peru and the Andes,religions of ......................................250

Protestantism ..................................252

puja ................................................254

Puranas ...........................................255

purdah ............................................255

Pure Land Buddhism .......................255

Qqadi ................................................258

qi ....................................................258

qibla ...............................................258

Qur’an ............................................259

Rrabbi ...............................................262

Radha .............................................262

Rama ..............................................262

Ramadan .........................................263

Ramanuja ........................................263

Ramayana .......................................264

Rastafarianism .................................265

Reconstructionist Judaism ................266

rectification of names ......................266

Reformation ....................................266

Reform Judaism ..............................268

reincarnation ...................................269

relics ...............................................269

religion ...........................................270

resurrection .....................................271

Revelation .......................................271

Roman Catholicism .........................272

Rosh Hashanah ...............................276

Ryobu Shinto ..................................276

Ssacraments ......................................277

saddhu ............................................277

Sai Baba, Sathya ..............................277

saint ................................................278

samadhi ...........................................278

samsara ...........................................278

sangha .............................................279

sannyasin ........................................279

Sanskrit ...........................................279

Sarah ..............................................280

Satan ...............................................280

sati ..................................................281

satori ..............................................281

Saul ................................................281

seder ...............................................282

Sephardim .......................................282

Septuagint .......................................283

Shabbat ...........................................283

Shakti .............................................284

shamanism ......................................285

Shangdi ...........................................285


Contents


Shankara .........................................286

sharia ..............................................286

Shia (Shiite) Islam ...........................288

Shinto .............................................290

Shiva ...............................................294

Shrine Shinto ..................................294

Siddhartha Gautama ........................295

Sikh gurus .......................................297

Sikhism ...........................................297

sin ..................................................299

Sita .................................................300

Smriti .............................................301

Society of Friends (Quakers) ............301

Soka Gakkai ....................................302

Solomon .........................................302

State Shinto .....................................303

stupa ...............................................303

Sufism .............................................304

Sunni Islam .....................................305

sura ................................................308

sutra ...............................................308

synagogue .......................................309

Tal-Tabari ..........................................310

Talmud ...........................................310

tanha ..............................................310

Tantricism .......................................311

Temples, Jerusalem ..........................312

Ten Commandments .......................313

theism .............................................314

theology ..........................................314

Theosophism ...................................315

Theravada Buddhism .......................316

Thomas Aquinas, Saint ....................317

three refuges ....................................317

Tibetan Buddhism ...........................317

Torah ..............................................320

torii ................................................321

trimurti ...........................................321

Trinity .............................................321

Tripitaka .........................................322

Twelvers ..........................................322

Uulema ..............................................323

’umra ..............................................323

Unitarianism ...................................323

Upanishads ......................................324

Uthman ..........................................324

VVaranasi ..........................................326

Vatican ............................................327

Vatican Councils ..............................327

vedanta ...........................................328

Vedas ..............................................328

vipassana .........................................329

Vishnu ............................................330

WWah’habism .....................................331

Wailing Wall ....................................331

wu-wei ............................................332

YYahweh ............................................333

Yasukuni Shrine ..............................333

yeshiva ............................................333

yin-yang ..........................................334

yoga ................................................335

Yom Kippur ....................................336

yoni ................................................336

ZZen Buddhism .................................337

Contents



Zionism ..........................................338

Zoroaster .........................................339

Zoroastrianism ................................340

Chronology .....................................342

For Further Research ......................346

Index ..............................................351

About the Author ............................371

About the Consulting Editor ...........372


Contents


Preface

“A friendly study of the world’s religions isa sacred duty.”

—Mohandas K. Gandhi

The Indian nationalist and spiritual leaderMohandas K. Gandhi, known to millionsas Mahatma, or “great soul,” was born andlived his life as a Hindu. But like othersaround the world during the violent twen-tieth century, he saw a need to move be-yond the boundaries of traditional reli-gions in search of the common groundshared by the major faiths. His hope wasnot to combine the world’s religions into anew one, but to find ways to minimize theoften deadly conflicts that religious differ-ences tend to inspire. Recognizing com-mon concepts and understanding religiouspractices besides one’s own, Gandhi be-lieved, was an antidote to entrenchedprejudice, mistrust, fear, and antagonismbetween religious and cultural communi-ties and a catalyst for greater toleranceand, ultimately, peace. After all, toleranceand understanding, as Gandhi and manyothers have pointed out, lie at the heart ofthe teachings of history’s religious teachersand masters, from the Buddha to Jesus ofNazareth to the Prophet Muhammad.

Resolving world conflict is an importantreason for studying religion, but it is notthe only reason. Religious belief and prac-tice have always been central to the hu-man experience. The hunter-gatherers ofprehistoric eras formed religious societies,as their burial practices and other customsindicate. Humankind’s first cities—in Iraq,Eypt, and India—grew up as religious cen-ters and temples were their greatest struc-tures. As settled civilizations grew morecomplex, the world’s major religious tradi-

tions emerged, mostly in the period fromabout 800 B.C. (when Hinduism was takingshape) to the first decades of the seventhcentury A.D. (the era of the founding ofIslam). Today most of the world’s morethan 6 billion people either adhere directlyto or live in societies shaped and informedby these great traditions, now many centu-ries old. In religion, people find solace,hope, meaning, connection with nature,and a sense of community. These religioustraditions are living institutions that con-tinue to evolve as human society evolves,and knowledge of them is essential to anyunderstanding of human nature as well asglobal politics.

Knowledge of religious traditions is alsoessential to understanding world history.Many of the violent conflicts of recent de-cades have religious overtones rooted inreligious conflict dating back at least tothe third millennium B.C. Hindus, Mus-lims, and Sikhs in the Indian subcontinentclashed violently and repeatedly in the late1500s, for example, just as they have in re-cent decades; Christians and Muslimsfought each other in the medieval Cru-sades and have fought each other muchmore recently in southeastern Europe andthe islands of Indonesia in the earlytwenty-first century. The early twenty-firstcentury conflict in the Middle East is basedin part on centuries-old hatreds betweenMuslims and Jews. Meanwhile, virtually allreligious traditions include ultraconserva-tive groups who are fearful of or reject el-ements of the modern world such as secu-larism, materialism, and progressive socialmovements. Among them are the Islamicfundamentalists responsible for numerous



terrorist acts around the world in the lasttwenty-five years. Many of these conflictshave nonreligious motives as well, notablycompeting claims for territory or eco-nomic rivalry, but the emotional rhetoricof conflict is often couched in religiousterms, as it has been for thousands ofyears. In an echo of the Crusades, for ex-ample, spokespersons on both sides of thecurrent war on terrorism even speak of a“war of civilizations” between Christianityand Islam.

The “friendly study” of world religions isthus both a personal and a public duty. Itis personal because through knowledgeone can aspire to achieve greater nearnessto God, the goal of most of the major reli-gions. It is public because the study of re-ligions also develops greater understand-ing of one’s fellow human beings, of theirbeliefs, aspirations, behavior, and ways oflife. Ultimately, this understanding is animportant step toward a more peacefulworld for all.

Preface



Abraham(ca. 2000 B.C.–1800 B.C.)The patriarch of the ancient Hebrews andfounding prophet of Judaism, Christianity,and Islam. Little about Abraham can becited confidently by historians or archae-ologists; what is known of him comes pri-marily from accounts in the Tanakh, theHebrew Bible. Notions that he might nothave been an actual historical figure butwas rather a literary composite—an amal-gamation of several historical persons forthe purposes of telling a simplified story—can be no more than conjecture.

According to the book of Genesis, thefirst book in the Hebrew Bible, Abrahamwas called on by God to lead his people,the Hebrews, from the city of Ur in Meso-potamia (modern Iraq) to a land unknownto him. In this new land, west of Meso-potamia, Abraham became the father of anew nation. While on the journey, whichhe begins at the age of seventy-five, Abra-ham entered into a covenant, or agree-ment, with God. As part of this covenant,God promised Abraham that his new na-tion will be fruitful and his people will beprotected. Abraham, for his part, is to sac-rifice his first-born son to God as a test ofhis faith.

Abraham fathered sons by both hiswife, Sarah, and a servant named Hagar.Sarah’s son, Isaac, was the youth desig-nated for sacrifice. In the biblical account,God mercifully substituted a ram for Isaacwhen Abraham proved his faithfulness andobedience to God by willingly preparing

to slay his own son. Hagar and her son,Ishmael, were banished from the tribe.

Abraham, Sarah, Isaac, and their fol-lowers settled in the land of Canaan,roughly the area of present-day Israel, Jor-dan, and Lebanon. According to Genesis,the patriarch purchased land near Hebronand designated it as a family burial place.To cement his clan’s ties to the region andsecure the fulfillment of God’s promises,Abraham assured Isaac’s marriage to aCanaanite woman and Isaac’s successionto leadership of the tribe before Abraham’sdeath at the age of 175.

To Jews, Abraham is the founder of Ju-daism, the first figure to accept the exist-ence of one true God and the first to seala covenant with God. Traditionally, all Jewslikewise are expected to observe the samecovenant and seek to match Abraham inhis righteousness. He is also credited withestablishing such Jewish rites as circumci-sion (the symbol of the sacrifice called forin the original covenant) and prayers ofbenediction.

Christians consider Abraham the firstof all believers, and in Roman Catholicismhe is the model for all the saints. Abrahamis cited as the first who put his completetrust in God, demonstrating the Christianconcept that faith alone leads to salvation.

In Islam, teachings connected withAbraham draw on more sources thanteachings in Judaism or Christianity, asvarious scholarly religious texts over thecenturies have been added to the biblicalsources. Abraham figures largely in the



Qur’an, the holy book of Islam, as one ofIslam’s major prophets. Muslims too con-sider Abraham the first among all proph-ets, the “Friend of God,” ready to toleratehumiliation and suffering out of his lovefor God. Muslims also view Abraham asthe founder of the first monotheistic faith(worshipping one God), a religion that waslater perfected by Muhammad. Muslimsalso credit Abraham with building theKa’aba, Islam’s holiest shrine, in Meccawith the help of Ishmael (thought to bethe founder of an important Arabic line ofkings) and with establishing the rituals as-sociated with Muslim pilgrimage to Mecca.

SEE ALSO: Hebrew Bible; Moses; Qur’an

Abu Bakr(ca. 573–634)The first caliph, or successor to the prophetMuhammad as the leader of Islam. AbuBakr was a merchant and relation to Mu-hammad who became one of the Prophet’sfirst converts and a member of the first Is-lamic community established at Medina in622. There he became known as the “truth-ful one” thanks to his loyalty. AfterMuhammad’s death in 632, Abu Bakr,whom the Prophet had designated to leadprayers after his own death, was selectedto replace him. His accomplishments weremostly political as opposed to religious,but in them he made substantial contribu-tions to the faith. Under Abu Bakr numer-ous contentious Arabic tribes agreed tounite, and he assured that captured oppo-nents would be treated with honor and re-spect in the hope that they would join thenew faith. With this example he providedIslam with the concept that unity underAllah should take precedence over politicaldifferences, and reinforced the Prophet’sinsistence that “every Muslim is a brotherunto every other Muslim.” When he died

in 634 Abu Bakr was buried alongside Mu-hammad.

SEE ALSO: caliph; companions of theProphet; Islam

Acts of the ApostlesThe fifth book of the New Testament inthe Christian Bible, and one of the mostimportant sources of knowledge of theearliest days of the Christian Church. Itwas probably written by Luke, one of theauthors of the four Gospels contained inthe New Testament (although not one ofJesus’ original twelve apostles) sometimebetween 70 and 90 A.D., in Rome. In Acts,as this text is commonly known, Luketouches on what were to be the basicthemes of this early, foundational periodof Christian history. The book begins withthe Pentecost, or the beginnings of theChristian Church, when God’s Holy Spiritdescends upon the apostles. It describeshow early Christians began to break awayfrom their society’s Jewish traditions toform an entirely distinct church, and howthey tried to spread Christianity to theworld, or at least to other parts of the Ro-man Empire. Acts also emphasizes thepreaching and travels of Paul, helping tofirmly establish Paul as Christianity’s firstgreat teacher and thinker (after JesusChrist himself).

SEE ALSO: apostles; New Testament; Paul

Adi GranthThe primary scripture of Sikhism. The titlemeans “original book” or “first book,” butthe text actually evolved over time, com-piled first by Guru Arjan, the fifth Sikhguru, in 1603 and 1604, and appended sev-eral times over the remainder of the sev-enteenth century. When it reached its fi-nal, canonical form, the Adi Granth

Abu Bakr



contained more than 6,000 hymns andverses. Over 4,500 of these are attributedto the first ten Sikh gurus, with the heartof the text being those composed by GumNanak (1469–1539), the founder ofSikhism. They were written in a languagecalled Sant Bhasha, a poetic form of theHindi language common in much ofnorthern India. The authors used a scriptknown as Gurmukhi, which is the scriptof the modern Punjabi language spokenby most Sikhs.

Modern printed editions of the AdiGranth contain some 1,430 pages, each ofa standard length. This consistency is car-ried forward in the organization of thetext, with the hymns and verses organizedaccording to author, meter, and form.The verses are intended to be sung, andthe main portion of the texts appends theproper musical mode for each verse. Atthe beginning of the book are three prayersintended to be recited daily at sunrise, sun-set, and day’s end. The theme of the versesis also consistent: The proper form of wor-ship is meditation on the name of God.

Under the last of the ten Sikh gurus,Guru Gobind Singh (1666–1708), the AdiGranth became itself an object of venera-tion, as it replaced the series of living gu-rus. In this context the text is known asGuru Granth Sahib, meaning “guru inbook form.” The text remains at the centerof Sikh devotional life, and copies of thetext maintain places of honor in Sikhtemples, which are known as gurdwaras,or “houses of the guru [in book form].”

SEE ALSO: Guru Nanak; Sikh gurus; Sikhism

African religionsAfrica is a vast continent of many peoplesand many religions. Nevertheless, in sub-Saharan Africa many of the largest groupsof peoples are descended from Bantu-

speaking migrants who came to dominatethe region after 500 B.C. and, in the broad-est of terms, their religions may be consid-ered collectively and are distinguished bysome common features. They are polythe-istic, often featuring a belief in an ultimatedivine Creator as well as gods of naturalforces or deities considered messengers be-tween this world and the divine realm;these lesser deities are more important indaily life. A number of African religionsalso believe in the importance of the soulsof dead ancestors who are able to inter-vene in the world, a likely reflection of theimportance of kinship in African societies.Likewise, African religions are concernedwith the maintenance of social order;rather than abstract ideas about the di-vine, African religions emphasize earthlyrelationships and proper behavior. Manyrituals and ceremonies are intended tokeep various otherworldly beings happy inorder to ensure their generosity in thisworld. Commonly these rites are directed,again, at lesser deities or dead ancestorsrather than the creator god, whom manyAfrican traditions believe withdrew fromany interest in the world following theCreation. Central to these rites, and an-other feature of many African religions,are rituals of magic and witchcraft.

West African Practices Among the majorpeoples of West Africa are the Yoruba, whonumber over 10 million and live mostly inthe modern nation of Nigeria. Among theYoruba, the creator god is known as Olo-dumare. But far more common is devo-tion to the hundreds of so-called orishas.Although many myths describe the orishasas the children of Olodumare, in practicethey have their own separate cults com-plete with shrines, priests, prayers, and fes-tivals. Among them are Ogun, the god ofironworking (and, in the modern world,


African religions


mechanics and drivers); Shango, the godof thunder and lightning; and the tricksterorisha, Eshu. Orunmila, meanwhile, is thepatron of divination, an important part ofYoruba religious practice. Divination isconducted by a figure known as the ba-balawo, or “father of secrets.” It involvesthe chanting of sacred verses and the read-ing of the signs apparent through the toss-ing of various ritual objects such as palmnuts. People consult a babalawo to gaininsight into their personal futures, and theritual often ends with visits to the shrinesof appropriate orishas. Orisha cults as wellas divination practices have spread to otherWest African peoples as well. The Fonpeople of modern-day Benin, for example,refer to the orishas as Vodun and considerthem subdeities to a male-female pair ofhigh gods known as Lisa and Mawu. Lisarepresents the sun and daily work, whileMawu represents the moon, rest, and fer-tility. They, and the orishas, are a micro-cosm of both cosmic and earthly order,and are invoked through divination ritu-als. Orishas are commonly worshipped us-ing iconic objects sometimes known as fe-tishes, both in larger ceremonies andwithin the home. These objects are thoughtto “contain” divine power and to give theirholders or wearers a measure of thatpower.

The Mende peoples, who live prima-rily in the coastal areas of central West Af-rica, present a clear focus on ancestors.Their creator god is known as Ngewo,communication with whom almost alwaystakes places through “near” ancestors, orKekeni, or “distant” ancestors, known asNdebla. To facilitate the intermediation ofancestors, Mende funeral rites are veryelaborate, and the living continually giveofferings at grave sites. A distinct featureof Mende religion is the presence of secret

societies that control specific groups ofrituals. Among them are the Poro, the se-cret society of male initiation and politicalleadership, and the Sande, which controlsfemale initiation and motherhood. Bothteach initiates proper social and sexual be-havior, as well as the distinct “powers” ofwomen or men. For boys, initiation cer-emonies often include circumcision, asthey do elsewhere in Africa. The Mendedo not practice female circumcision, how-ever, although some peoples in other partsof the African continent do. Both maleand female initiation rituals are thought tobe important ways of clearly defining gen-der and, therefore, of ensuring fertility.

Divination, Offerings and Numerology Tothe south and east, in parts of modern-day Congo and Sudan, live the Azandepeople. Their creator god is known asMbori, but few prayers or other rituals aredevoted to him, and in a variation fromother African practices, little devotion isgranted to lesser deities or spirits. Instead,Azande ritual focuses on explanations forearthly behavior and events using witch-craft and magic. Azande witch doctors, orabinza, are consulted for divination pur-poses and have special training in readingomens or in the health-giving propertiesof plants, but all people are thought to becapable of gaining access to the divine. Insouthern Africa, the Zulu peoples refer tothe creator god by several names, some ofwhich connote a god of the sky and his“female twin,” the earth, which are thesource of human life. These deities arethought to control most large naturalforces, such as thunder. Mundane aspectsof individual life, meanwhile, are the do-main of the ancestors in the Zulu world,who are believed to live under the earth.Worship commonly involves the giving ofofferings or sacrifices to the ancestors, who

African religions



will be angry if they are neglected. Divina-tion among the Zulu is commonly con-ducted by women known as inyanga, whoare thought capable of being possessed bythe spirits of ancestors. As with the Azande,witchcraft is generally considered thesource of danger or bad health, and divin-ers try to combat it with rituals and herbs.

The Dogon people of Mali have anelaborate system of myth, ritual, and so-cial organization based on a highly eso-teric view of the universe; theirs is one ofthe most distinct of African faiths. Theircreator god is known as Amma, who cre-ated the universe by mixing his spokenword with the elements. Most Dogon de-votion, however is granted to the Nommo,who are described variously as the createduniverse, the first ancestors, and the guard-ian spirits. They are most commonlythought of as matched pairs of male andfemale twins, which in Dogon cosmologyimply the balance of Creation. In Dogonmyth the original ancestors consisted offour pairs of twins; the number 8 becamea sacred number, as did the notion ofmatched pairs. Dogon villages, for in-stance, are built in pairs and contain eightstorehouses to contain eight varieties ofgrain. The Dogon high priest, or hogon, isboth the intermediary of Amma and thesuccessor of the first man, Lebe. Lebe wasthought to have been sacrificed to preservethe order of the world. The hogon’s house,which is considered sacred ground, con-tains eight stones to honor past hogonsand eight to honor future ones. At the cen-ter of much Dogon ritual is the need topreserve the purity of the hogon in orderto maintain the order of the world.

African religion remains dynamic aswell as very diverse. The faiths of thepeoples of the continent are not fixed butcontinue to evolve and to overlap. Newer

influences such as Islam and Christianity,which are both practiced widely, combinedwith the challenges of secular modernity,ensure the continued multiplicity of Afri-can religion.

SEE ALSO: Afro-Brazilian religions; Afro-Caribbean religions; divination

Afro-Brazilian religionsThanks to its ethnic mix of Native Ameri-can peoples, European settlers, and Afri-cans originally brought to the region asslaves, Brazil has been the center of a num-ber of syncretic religious movements.These religions combine features of manydifferent traditions: African religions, Na-tive American spirit worship, and RomanCatholicism. Most of these began to takeshape in a formal sense in the nineteenthcentury with the emancipation of Brazil’sslaves, and they have continued to grow inappeal. Today millions of people belong toAfro-Brazilian religions, whose popularityis expanding to countries beyond Brazil.

One of the largest of the Afro-Braziliancults is Macumba, which is practicedmostly in Rio de Janeiro and other big cit-ies. At its heart is the belief in ancestralspirits rather than gods. These spirits arethought to be able to possess believers; theMacumba were the original founders ofthe faith or those who are otherwise ad-vanced enough to be possessed. Macumbaceremonies often involve communicationbetween these spirits and the mediumswho conduct the rites. Ceremonies usuallytake place outdoors, and might involveanimal sacrifices and the giving of offer-ings. A vivid example of Macumba syncre-tism is the worship of Roman Catholicsaints, who are given African names. Oneof the most revered of the Macumba saintsis Jemanja, the Virgin Mary. The wordMacumba, meanwhile, is often used as a


Afro-Brazilian religions


blanket name for all Afro-Brazilian reli-gions. Brazilians also tend to view reli-gions as not mutually exclusive; devoutRoman Catholics, for example, might fromtime to time engage in Macumba or otherrites, while even nonbelievers might takepart in festivals or other events.

Spirit Possession Another important Afro-Brazilian cult is Candomble, centered inBahia state in the northern coastal regionsof the country. Candomble is thought tobe the earliest Afro-Brazilian faith, andmost of its adherents are women. It alsoinvolves possession by the spirits of ances-tors, and its rites remain similar to thoseof traditional African religions. Althoughthey generally involve singing, dancing,and the appearance of spirit mediums,rites vary depending on which location inAfrica its original adherents came from orwhich religions their ancestors practiced.There are even Candomble sects based inAfrican Islam. Unlike Macumba, Can-domble beliefs feature the worship of gods,notably Shango, the thunder god of theYoruba people of West Africa.

Umbanda is a third major Afro-Brazilian religion, with hundreds of thou-sands of small congregations. Born in thelate nineteenth century, its appeal is pri-marily in the big cities, and its followerscome from a spectrum of social groups,including the educated middle classes. Um-banda features a focus on contact with aspirit world whose ancestor spirits possessvarious powers depending on their ori-gins. Some spirits are derived from thoseof great Native American leaders, whileothers are derived from respected eldersduring the days of Afro-Brazilian slavery.Prominent among the spirits are theorixas, no doubt variations of the orishasfound in West Africa. These might be ei-ther the spirits of African gods such as

Shango, of Roman Catholic saints such asMary, or even of Jesus. Umbanda rites,which take place in ritual houses, involvemusic and the giving of offerings. Leadersof these rites are known as “saint fathers”or “saint mothers,” thought capable ofcommuning with the spirits. Aside fromthe general emphasis on spirits, believersoften undertake Umbanda rites to solvespecific problems such as joblessness,trouble with the police, or illness. An un-usual influence on Umbanda was theFrench spiritualist Alan Kardec (1804–1869), who was thought to have pioneeredways to understand and communicate withthe spirit world, and who believed thathuman life could be improved by suchmeans. Modern rites have expanded, fur-thermore, to include versions of Hindu orBuddhist practices such as Tantricism.Umbanda numbers many prominent Bra-zilians among its adherents, and it hasspread to other South American countries,notably Argentina and Uruguay.

SEE ALSO: African religions; Afro-Caribbeanreligions; new religious movements, West-ern

Afro-Caribbean religionsThe various faiths or cults that emerged inthe islands and coastal areas of the Carib-bean Sea over the last three hundred years.They are the product of several culturalinfluences and religious traditions, includ-ing the Roman Catholicism of Europeansettlers and colonists, various African be-liefs and practices maintained by slavesand their descendants, and elements ofNative American religions.

Santeria, or the “way of the saints,” is afaith that originated among slaves in Cubabut has spread to other islands and, espe-cially in recent years with the suppressionof religion in Cuba, to the United States.

Afro-Caribbean religions



Its believers are not solely people of Afri-can descent; adherents include many Cau-casians and people of mixed race or eth-nicity. Santeria combines many elementsof Roman Catholic Christianity with cer-tain African beliefs. The Santeria traditionfeatures faith in a single, omnipresent God,but much more prominent is its worshipof various spirits. The common pattern isto view these spirits as both Roman Catho-lic saints and as orishas, the ancestral spir-its of the Yoruba peoples of West Africa.The Yoruban war and thunder god Shango,for example, is associated with Saint Bar-bara, the Catholic saint and patron of gun-fire; Jemanja, the Virgin Mary, is anothercommon focus of devotion. Each of thesespirits has its own distinct characteristics,and devotion to them is expressed in spe-cific ways. Shopana, the smallpox orishaassociated with Saint Lazarus, likes to eatcorn and uses crutches. Shango wears redand white beads. Rituals devoted to thesefigures might include giving the appropri-ate offerings and the “baptism” and “feed-ing” of the spirits in the form of iconic sa-cred stones. Drumming is often thoughtof as the “voice” of the spirits, while be-lievers might also sing or chant, often in aYoruba language. Believers also mightpractice animal sacrifice, which is thoughtto aid in the possession of the believer bythe spirit. Once you attain possession by aspirit you are considered a santero, onewho is capable of using the spirit’s power.On a more mundane level, believers inSanteria might call on their patron spirits,using various divination methods, to aidthem in their daily lives.

Obeah and Voudou Obeah, a separateAfro-Caribbean faith, arose among theslave populations of Jamaica and is verymuch a product of the slave experience.Its founders were the Akan people of West

Africa, and it retains far more African thanEuropean or Christian features. Obeah isfundamentally a form of witchcraft in itsbelief that bad forces can affect human be-havior and destiny. In Obeah, each personpossesses a “duppy,” a spirit or soul, that isvulnerable at various times of his or herlife, notably during times of sickness orweakness and at the time of death. Anobeahman (sometimes in fact a woman) isthought to have the ability to take posses-sion of one’s duppy and force it to workfor him. These obeahmen are also consid-ered to have special knowledge about suchmatters as health and medicine. Since Af-rican belief in witchcraft was driven un-derground by slave owners and overseers,Obeah arose as a way to use witchcraft toexplain the conditions of slavery, to try tolive a healthy life under harsh conditions,and sometimes to challenge the slave own-ers themselves. The more positive Jamai-can counterpart to Obeah is Myalism,which is much more clearly influenced byChristianity and came to feature such ritesas baptism. Myalists also hold a strong be-lief in the power of good, and work tocombat the more evil aspects of Obeah byseeking converts and rooting out Obeahmedicines and ritual objects. Like Santeria,Obeah and its Myalist counterpart havespread from Jamaica to other islands.

Voudou, or voodoo, which originatedin Haiti in the 1700s, is the largest of theAfro-Caribbean religions. Some 80 percentof the population of Haiti professes it, andHaitian migrants have taken it to other is-lands as well as to the North Americanmainland. Like other Afro-Caribbean faithsit is syncretic, combining aspects of Ro-man Catholicism, particularly the Frenchversion practiced by Haiti’s colonizers, andvarious African religions; studies suggestthat as many as 115 distinct African eth-


Afro-Caribbean religions


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