Having identified the functions of religion in our last blog post, we are now going to focus on the origins of primitive religions. As hominids continued to advance, so did their brain size and cognitive capacity. With the introduction and transmission of cultural capital from one generation to the next, early humans sought to explain the world around them. They were no longer willing to settle with the acceptance of natural phenomena occurring. Humans were awe struck by their world and determined to unearth explanations. Through prominent primitive forms of religion such as animism and naturism, early hominids were able to acquire peace and a greater understanding of their surroundings.
According to his findings in Breaking the Spell, Daniel Dennett claims that Animism is the practice of attributing intentions to non-human objects, or “literally giving a soul to the mover” (Dennett 116). The world is made up of spiritual beings that control our everyday lives. Early humans (as well as soon people today) who practiced animism focused on appeasing these spirits in order to achieve specific goals such as finding food or protection. Animism became less popular however as people developed new forms of technology as well as more advanced forms of language (Dennett 114). They then began to develop somewhat more advanced forms of religion such as naturism, which emerged from animism.
Naturism is the reverence for the forces of nature, which are believed to have supernatural power (Sociology Guide). Man identified many of the forces of nature but could not explain them. Instead, he attributed these forces with power and began worshiping nature. Out of reverence and ignorance, humans glorified the most illustrious endowments of nature: the sun, the moon, air, and water (Sociology Guide). Naturism is contingent upon the personification of natural forces. By personifying nature, early humans were reassured by the familiarity of their surroundings, leading to a greater sense of security.
As early humans conquered the concept of nature, they turned to the ethereal. Hominids’ surroundings provided a limited amount of knowledge that could no longer be used as the only source of earthly answers. Only later did the modern concept of “God” enter the picture.
SOURCES:
http://www.sociologyguide.com/religion/naturism.php
http://durkheim.uchicago.edu/Summaries/forms.html
According to his findings in Breaking the Spell, Daniel Dennett claims that Animism is the practice of attributing intentions to non-human objects, or “literally giving a soul to the mover” (Dennett 116). The world is made up of spiritual beings that control our everyday lives. Early humans (as well as soon people today) who practiced animism focused on appeasing these spirits in order to achieve specific goals such as finding food or protection. Animism became less popular however as people developed new forms of technology as well as more advanced forms of language (Dennett 114). They then began to develop somewhat more advanced forms of religion such as naturism, which emerged from animism.
Naturism is the reverence for the forces of nature, which are believed to have supernatural power (Sociology Guide). Man identified many of the forces of nature but could not explain them. Instead, he attributed these forces with power and began worshiping nature. Out of reverence and ignorance, humans glorified the most illustrious endowments of nature: the sun, the moon, air, and water (Sociology Guide). Naturism is contingent upon the personification of natural forces. By personifying nature, early humans were reassured by the familiarity of their surroundings, leading to a greater sense of security.
As early humans conquered the concept of nature, they turned to the ethereal. Hominids’ surroundings provided a limited amount of knowledge that could no longer be used as the only source of earthly answers. Only later did the modern concept of “God” enter the picture.
SOURCES:
http://www.sociologyguide.com/religion/naturism.php
http://durkheim.uchicago.edu/Summaries/forms.html
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