Religions in societies that are tribal are based on what is happening around them. There is no specific founder of religion as every tribe had their religion based on what was happening to them at the time. The beginning of religion is covered with many myths and folklore and of people who are claimed to have been close to God. Most anthropologists claim that Christianity is filled with animism where people believe in a supernatural being that takes care of their entire problem (Frykenberg 67). Additionally, the term animism became such a popular term that it was used in the British census. However, the term has been contested various times, and they have much criticism for being too simple a term for understanding tribal language. In the recent years, the primal language has been suggested instead of the animism.
Primal religion, on the other hand, has existed for a very long time, and the people have been forced to lie low other kinds of religion because it is considered as inferior to the other kind of religion. Primal also means the primary religion and the most common understanding is that the primal religion began before the invention of Christianity and Islam (Kamei 72). They are characterized by historicity and localized area of influenced. For instance, people from the same area had the same kind of beliefs, and they also had the same kind of values and traditions. It is to say that people from the same tribes had the same god and were connected with the same gods and the same rites of passage. They are also cursed using the same beliefs. They have the same leaders and are guided by the same set of rules.
Primal religion has found its way into the Christian life through the use of witchcraft. Most Christians expect to see supernatural forces happening in their lives, they are struggling to see changes in their lives and are not willing to be patient. Therefore, they have resorted to witchcraft so that their needs can be met (Johnstone 97). They have also struggled to make it in life so that they can be satisfied. Witchcraft gives supernatural results very fast, and some pastors have taken this up so that they can attract a huge congregation which them means that they have better offerings during their services. The churches have become so commercialized that people no longer preach the word because they will receive eternal life, but rather because they will be able to get riches faster.
There have been cases of human sacrifices where the leaders of the churches sacrifice their members so that they get riches. However, this has very devastating effects on the people as they suffer without knowing, and they are usually the ones who suffer the consequences of the bad spirits. However, people are so desperate to be released from their problems that they rarely recognize when they are being led astray (Frykenberg 42).
They are willing to believe in anything so that they can have their wishes fulfilled. There is so much suffering in their lives that they are willing to do anything so that they can get delivered. They get blinded by the fact that they can get everything that they are willing to do anything to achieve greatness. People have resorted to witchcraft so that they can either get riches or power on earth. The power can come in the form of wealth, political power and even destroying those people who seem like competition. They do whatever they want so that they can be people of power. Furthermore, the church may resort to witchcraft so that they can heal the normal illnesses such as blindness, physically disabled people and the deaf and dumb. They are healed using dark [powers, and since they do not know any better, and then it means that are bound by the dark powers.
Another issue that has come into Christianity is the traditions of the people. People are not willing to leave their traditions especially those who come from African countries. They are not willing to abandon their traditions, so they get to do something in between. Therefore, they are forced to compromise their Christian values so that they can accommodate their tradition values. They are forced to maintain their traditional values mostly user to the societal influence and due to the pressure to be the same as the rest of the population (Johnstone 56). They adhere to Christianity since it is considered to be more modern and to ensure that they do not look primitive. They are influenced to think that they will be considered backward if they do not conform to the Christian values and they will be considered to be people with no values if they take up the Christian values without considering their traditional values and culture.
They are afraid to leave completely behind their traditions because they are threatened with curses. This has made people not to advance because they always fear that they will either be cursed and will remain totally poor if they abandon their traditions completely. The primal traditions started a long time ago, and it may be very hard to get completely rid of them (Frykenberg 89). People have to be well-informed on the significance of sticking to one value so that they have a clear path in life. As a result of this, some churches have been forced to accommodate a traditional aspect to their churches so that they can cater for these people and so that they feel like they are serving both worlds without the fear that one will get angry and do something to them. In this way, they feel that they can appease both sides without having to suffer the consequences of both sides. And this is one way in which they have been forced to have primal religion in the churches.
The tradition beliefs of the people are very different, and they believe that they have tom be accommodated wherever they go. People have different beliefs and believe that they have to be accommodated in whatever they do. They believe that the churches have to make space for them rather than them making space and compromises for the churches (Frykenberg 92). As a result of this, the churches have been forced to accommodate such people by bending their rules to fit them and making them feel welcome even when they do not deserve this. The churches may do this since they want to attract a larger congregation and also maybe so that they can convert more people to Christianity. Therefore, in this way, the primal religion enters into the church so that they can hear the word and abide by the laws of Christianity.
Another issue may be the objects that were used while the primal times are the same ones that are used in the churches today. They may not be used in the same way, but they may have the same meanings. People do this without even thinking of the penalty of their deeds and without thinking of the impact of their actions on their lives and the people around them. This is because people are too busy to think clearly about the issues that affect them and thus may do things blindly without really thinking of the effect on their lives and also thinking of why they are even doing it (Johnstone 78). It is very possible to find a staunch Christian who will do something because they have been told to do it rather than because of knowing the reason behind doing what they are doing.
In my individual life, primal religion has entered into my life especially in the form of the original traditions. In the quest to maintain a culture, it has been hard to ensure that one serves only one side so as not to face criticism. It is important that a person finds a compromise between the two so that they are not labeled as those who have abandoned their traditions and at the same time remain modern and embrace all the things that modernity comes with which includes Christianity.
Technology has also been a major detriment to Christianity since people now prefer to do things over the technology rather than the way that things need to be done. For instance, people would rather read the bible over the internet rather than buy the bible itself. They would rather watch services over the television rather than go to church and share with the rest of the Christians. They would rather go to work rather than spend time at the church. People have gotten so out of touch with the Christian values that they can do anything that they need (Frykenberg 102). It is also important to recognize that when people do not take time to practice Christianity in full force, then they are more prone to be led astray than if they can dedicate special rime and prayers for their vocations.
People are so blinded by getting g rich that they do not even care what they do to obtain riches. People now worship getting rich rather than being ion true connection with God. People are too lazy to interpret the bibles by themselves but rather wait for the preachers who may not even have the best of intentions in guiding them. They struggle to ensure that they live in fancy houses, take their children to exclusive schools and go to very expensive hospitals whenever they get sick. The worship of money has formed the basis of why people do the things that they want whether or not they are in line with the Christian values (Kamei 67). The ignorance of the people has further enhanced this by ensuring that they do not get to know anything and some people have even formed businesses out of the word of God. They offer prayers at a fee, they preach to the people at a fee, and some even perform miracles at a fee. Nothing can be done out of the goodness of one’s heart.
Furthermore, people have lost the values that belong to Christianity, but rather work very hard to destroy each other than build each other. The world has become such an envious place that they are not willing to see each other to grow (Frykenberg 89). They are willing to destroy each other so that they get ahead and so that they can be the best at everything that they place their hands on. It is important to note that the bad values and the values that are against the Christian values are mostly considered to be primal values where people do not really care for each other but rather look forward to the downfall of one another.
However, not all the primal values are bad, and there are values that can be emulated in Christianity today. For instance, there is the issue of goodness. These people were also good and even though they were not as informed as the people are now informed, but they still believed in the basic good values if caring for one another and ensuring that each other was always alright. They cared for each other in a way that may be hard to comprehend now, but they still cared for one another regardless of where they came from. Only people who came from different areas were viewed with suspicion and were at some times persecuted. Whatever they did at the only time was done due to ignorance and without knowledge of what is right and what is wrong. They did what they did without the influence of other things such as modernity and at least they knew why they did things that they did.
Primal religion could fast be removed from Christianity if the people knew the values of Christianity to the full extent. People need to be taught and informed of the values that they need to possess. They should be taught that compromising the values of Christianity so that they can fit in both worlds is wrong and that they would rather leave both than follow both (Kamei 102). By trying to please both sides, they wind up by doing more damage than good, and they end up even inferior than they were before. If they are required to carry out their projects by pleasing both the sides, then they would rather remain neutral or rather choose one side and defend it to the core. The reasons as to why they would choose one side without really caring for the other side should affirm their beliefs and make them decisive people who know and understand what they want.
The churches can also play a very huge role in stopping the rise of primal religion into the churches. It means that they can prevent anyone who practices both religions from entering into their churches. This way, the people would be forced to choose and therefore to ensure that whoever was in the churches worships God alone. However, this is not a sure method as no one can understand the heart of man except the person himself and God (Kamei 107). Therefore, if the churches can preach the word of God as sincerely as they can instead of just looking for money and other earthly possessions, then they are likely to breed real Christians. Churches should not be ready to compromise with people no matter how rich or how influential they may in order to have many followers but rather, they should be willing to advise those people accordingly and guide them.
The church will not help anything if they decide to chase people who practice both out of the churches, but would rather just teach them the ways that they are supposed to act and think. They should be taught on the right way to go. On one hand, they may be required to work so much harder to convince the people that they ought to worship God alone. Anything that is associated with primal religion should be done away with. There should be no sacrifices as Christianity clearly teaches that Jesus was the last sacrifice ever to be made. They claim that the people should never be willing to work with everyone so as to achieve perpetual glory (Kamei 109). Everything that is associated with evil should be done away with. Christians should be able to discern between a person who will teach them on the way to go rather than teach them on the bad things in life. They can do this by constantly staying in touch with God and following only his teachings. Primal religion cannot be abandoned in the churches if the people are not willing to dedicate their lives to Christ. They have to read the bible very carefully and interpret it for themselves so that they get the correct teachings that will benefit them by aiding them to tell apart between good and evil.
The major traditions from the primal religion can completely be removed from the world by reducing it from time to time. Even today, there has been a considerable decrease in primal religion, which means that the traditions are being done away with slowly. In a few years to come, people may not even remember the traditions on their own and embrace Christianity fully without compromising on anything that they do (Johnstone 72). The primal religions can further be revitalized so that the people can be able to accept the good things about primal religion and abandon the bad issues. It is because when they are revitalized, they can be integrated into Christianity and therefore creating a favorable environment for all the people. No one would be able to declare that his or her religion is much better than the other as he or she will have integrated the best values in a religion that is widely accepted.
In the past, Christianity was known as a religion for the people who were lost in their values. However, today people recognize that it is important for an individual to recognize where they come from and appreciate that they would have become the people that they are now if it were not for the good aspect of the particular religion that they were used to (Frykenberg 108). There are various issues in which people can learn from. The bad aspects of primal religion can be removed through the use of revitalization of the religion and integration to the Christian religion. It may be very hard to understand Christianity but people need to make an effort to understand it rather than staying ignorant.
Works Cited
Frykenberg, Robert Eric. Christianity in India: From Beginnings to the Present. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2008. Book.
Johnstone, L Ronald. Religion in Society: A Sociological of Religion . New York: Prentice Hall, 2002. Book.
Kamei, Gangmumei. Essays on Primordial Religion. New Delhi: Akansha Publishing House, 2006. Book.
