Normas que regulan la información y publicidad

Because religious behavior finds expression in so many aspects of everyday life, we find it difficult to disentangle religion from other institutional spheres. In fact classifying behavior as religious or political or economic is a relatively recent custom. For instance, although the ancient Greeks had notions regarding various gods; they did not have a word for religion. However, precisely because religious behavior is so varied, we have difficulty thinking about it unless we

95

find some way to sort it into relevant categories. Although no categories do justice to the diversity and richness of the human religious experience, sociologist Bryan (1969) has provided a scheme that is both intelligent and manageable: simple supernaturalism, animism, theism, and a system of abstract ideals.

Simple supernaturalism prevails in pre-industrial societies. Believers attribute a diffuse, impersonal, supernatural quality to nature, what some South Pacific peoples call mana. No spirits or gods are involved, but rather a ―force‖ that influences events for better or worse. People compel the superhuman power to behave as they wish by mechanically manipulating it. For instance, a four-leaf clover has mana; a three-leaf clover does not. Carrying the four-leaf clover in your wallet is thought to bring good luck. You need not talk to the four-leaf clover or offer it gifts- only carry it. Similarly, the act of uttering the words ―open sesame‖ serves to manipulate impersonal supernatural power; you say it, and the door swings open on Aladdin‘s cave. Many athletes use lucky charms, elaborate routines, and superstitious rituals to ward off injury and bad luck in activities based on uncertainty (Mbiti, 1969).

Mana is usually employed to reach practical, immediate goals control of the weather, assurance of a good crop, the cure of an illness, good performance on a test, success in love, or victory in battle. It functions much like an old-fashioned book of recipes or a home medical manual. A belief in spirits or otherworldly beings is called animism. People have imputed spirits to animals, plants, rocks, stars, and rivers and, at times, other people. Spirits are commonly thought to have the same emotions and motives that activate ordinary mortals. So humans deal with them by techniques they find useful in their own social relationships. Love, punishment, reverence, and gifts- even cajolery, bribery, and false pretenses- have been used in dealing with spirit.

Occasionally, as with mana, supernatural power is harnessed through rituals that compel a spirit to act in desired way- what we call spells (Mckee, 1981).

In theism, religion is centred in a belief in gods who are thought to be powerful, to have an interest in human affairs, and to merit worship. Judaism, Christianity, and Islam are forms of monotheism, or belief in one god. They all have established religious organizations, religious leaders or priests, traditional rituals, and sacred writing. Ancient Greek religion and Hinduism (practiced primarily in India) are forms of polytheism, or belief in many gods with equal or

96

relatively similar power. Gods of the Hindus are often tribal, village, or caste deities associated with particular place- a building, field, or mountain- or a certain object-animal or tree.

Finally, some religions focus on a set of abstract ideals. Rather than centering on the worship of a god they are dedicated to achieving moral and spiritual excellence. Many of the religions of Asia are of this type including Taoism and Buddhism. Buddhism is directed toward reaching an elevated state of consciousness, a method of purification that provides a release from suffering ignorance, selfishness, and the cycle of birth and rebirth. In the Western world, humanism is a religion based on ethical principles. Its adherents discard all the logical beliefs about God, heaven, hell, and immortality, substituting for God the pursuit of good in the here and- now. Heaven is seen as the ideal society on earth and hell, as a world in which war, disease, and ignorance flourish. The soul is the human personality and immortality is a person‘s deeds living on after death, for good or evil, in the lives of other people.

Sociologist Durkheim (1948) suggests that a sharp dualism- the historic distinction between

―the world‖ and some ―other world‖ no longer characterizes the major religions of contemporary Western nations. Modern religions tend to mix the sacred and the profane. They increasingly ground their claim to legitimacy in their relevance for the contemporary human condition rather than their possession of supernaturally revealed wisdom. God becomes less remote and more approachable. Religion is seen as providing a ―sacred canopy‖ that shelters its adherents from feelings of chaos, meaninglessness, and ultimate despair (Stephen, 1999).

Not only are believers brought increasingly face-to-face with God; they must also choose the God they are to worship. Creeds must not only be lived up to; they must be interpreted and selectively combined, modified, and personalized in ways each person finds meaningful. This process of choosing and adapting often assumes the character of a lifelong journey rather than a one-time determined reality. Simultaneously, the definition of what it means to be ―religious‖ and the meaning of the ―ultimate‖ expand, becoming more fluid and open to individual interpretation.

Even so, as Bellah recognizes, sects and fundamentalist religions with orthodox beliefs and standards continue to retain the allegiance of segments of the population and undergo periodic revivals as reactions against the uncertainties of modern society (Peter, 1967).

97 3.5 Ecclesia

An ecclesia (plural, ecclesiae) is a religious organization that claims to include most or all of the members of a society and is recognized as the national or official religion. Since virtually everyone belongs to the faith, membership is by birth rather than conscious decision. Examples of ecclesiae include the Lutheran church in Sweden, the Catholic Church in Spain, Islam in Saudi Arabia, and Buddhism in Thailand. However, there can be significant differences even within the category of ecclesia. In Saudi Arabia‘s Islamic regime, leaders of the ecclesia hold vast power over actions of the state. By contrast, the Lutheran church in contemporary Sweden has no such power over the Riksdag (parliament) or the prime minister. Generally, ecclesiae are conservative in that they do not challenge the leaders or polices of a secular government. In a society with an ecclesia, the political and religious institutions often act in harmony and mutually reinforce each other‘s power over their relative spheres of influence. Within the modern world, ecclesiae tend to be declining in power (Odetola and Ademola, 1985).