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Folk religion consists of belief
Belief

Belief is the psychological state in which an individual holds a proposition or premise to be true....
s, superstition
Superstition

Superstition is a belief or notion, not based on reason or knowledge. The word is often used pejoratively to refer to supposedly irrational beliefs of others, and its precise meaning is therefore subjective....
s and ritual
Ritual

A ritual is a set of repeated actions, often thought to have symbolic value, the performance of which is usually prescribed by a religion or by the traditions of a community by religious or political laws because of the perceived efficacy of those actions....
s transmitted from generation to generation in a specific culture
Culture

Culture is difficult to define. For example, in 1952, Alfred Kroeber and Clyde Kluckhohn compiled a list of 164 definitions of "culture" in Culture: A Critical Review of Concepts and Definitions....
. It could be contrasted with an organized religion or historical religion in which founders, creed
Creed

A creed is a statement of belief ? usually religious belief ? or faith often recited as part of a religious service. The word derives from the for I believe and credimus for we believe. It is sometimes called symbol , signifying a "token" by which persons of like beliefs might recognize each other....
, theology
Theology

Theology is the study of the existence or attributes of a deity or gods, or more generally the study of religion or spirituality. It is sometimes contrasted with religious studies: theology is understood as the study of religion from an internal perspective , and religious studies as the study of religion from an external perspective....
 and ecclesiastical organizations are present. In contrast, ethnic religion
Ethnic religion

Ethnic religion may include officially sanctioned and organized civil religions with an organized clergy, but they are characterized in that adherents generally are defined by their ethnicity, and conversion essentially equates to cultural assimilation to the people in question....
 refers to the religious practices particular to a certain ethnicity. Folk religion and ethnic religion alike are characterized by the absence of proselytization, membership being, as a rule, equivalent to ethnicity.

The folk religion with the largest number of adherents is the Chinese folk religion
Chinese folk religion

Chinese folk religion is a collective label given to various folklore beliefs that draws heavily from Chinese mythology. This labeling is similar to how non-monotheistic religions are collectively called paganism in the West....
, accounting for some 6% of world population
World population

The world population is the total number of living humans on Earth at a given time. As of March 2009, the world's population is estimated to be about 6.76 1,000,000,000 ....
.






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Folk religion consists of belief
Belief

Belief is the psychological state in which an individual holds a proposition or premise to be true....
s, superstition
Superstition

Superstition is a belief or notion, not based on reason or knowledge. The word is often used pejoratively to refer to supposedly irrational beliefs of others, and its precise meaning is therefore subjective....
s and ritual
Ritual

A ritual is a set of repeated actions, often thought to have symbolic value, the performance of which is usually prescribed by a religion or by the traditions of a community by religious or political laws because of the perceived efficacy of those actions....
s transmitted from generation to generation in a specific culture
Culture

Culture is difficult to define. For example, in 1952, Alfred Kroeber and Clyde Kluckhohn compiled a list of 164 definitions of "culture" in Culture: A Critical Review of Concepts and Definitions....
. It could be contrasted with an organized religion or historical religion in which founders, creed
Creed

A creed is a statement of belief ? usually religious belief ? or faith often recited as part of a religious service. The word derives from the for I believe and credimus for we believe. It is sometimes called symbol , signifying a "token" by which persons of like beliefs might recognize each other....
, theology
Theology

Theology is the study of the existence or attributes of a deity or gods, or more generally the study of religion or spirituality. It is sometimes contrasted with religious studies: theology is understood as the study of religion from an internal perspective , and religious studies as the study of religion from an external perspective....
 and ecclesiastical organizations are present. In contrast, ethnic religion
Ethnic religion

Ethnic religion may include officially sanctioned and organized civil religions with an organized clergy, but they are characterized in that adherents generally are defined by their ethnicity, and conversion essentially equates to cultural assimilation to the people in question....
 refers to the religious practices particular to a certain ethnicity. Folk religion and ethnic religion alike are characterized by the absence of proselytization, membership being, as a rule, equivalent to ethnicity.

The folk religion with the largest number of adherents is the Chinese folk religion
Chinese folk religion

Chinese folk religion is a collective label given to various folklore beliefs that draws heavily from Chinese mythology. This labeling is similar to how non-monotheistic religions are collectively called paganism in the West....
, accounting for some 6% of world population
World population

The world population is the total number of living humans on Earth at a given time. As of March 2009, the world's population is estimated to be about 6.76 1,000,000,000 ....
. Various "primal indigenous
Indigenous peoples

File:Kaiapos.jpegThe term indigenous peoples or autochthonous peoples can be used to describe any ethnic group of people who inhabit a geographic region with which they have the earliest known historical connection, alongside immigrants which have populated the region and which are greater in number....
" religions (animism
Animism

Animism is a philosophical, religious or spiritual idea that souls or spirits exist not only in humans and animals but also in plants, rock s, natural phenomena such as thunder, geographic features such as mountains or rivers, or other entities of the natural environment, a proposition also known as hylozoism in philosophy....
, shamanism
Shamanism

Shamanism is a range of traditional beliefs and practices concerned with communication with the spirit world. A practitioner of shamanism is known as a shaman, , noun ....
) account for another 4%, but elements of folk religion exist as part of all religious traditions and should be regarded as popular currents (as opposed to a theological or institutionalized) rather than as separate religions, so that folk religion is a phenomenon present in every society.

Folk religion

Folk religion can also be thought of as the practice of religion by lay people outside of the control of clergy
Clergy

Clergy is the generic term used to describe the formal religious leadership within a given religion. The term comes from the Greek language ?????? - kleros, "a lot", "that which is assigned by lot" or metaphorically, "heritage"....
 or the supervision of theologians
Theology

Theology is the study of the existence or attributes of a deity or gods, or more generally the study of religion or spirituality. It is sometimes contrasted with religious studies: theology is understood as the study of religion from an internal perspective , and religious studies as the study of religion from an external perspective....
 (e.g. outside of organized religion). Don Yoder has defined "folk religion" as "the totality of all those views and practices of religion that exist among the people apart from and alongside the strictly theological and liturgical forms of the official religion." There is occasionally tension between the practice of folk religion and the formally taught doctrines and teachings of a faith. For "folk religion" to be a meaningful category, there must be an institutional religion with a traditional teaching or professional clergy to contrast it against; in cultures that lack these things, it is difficult to speak of folk religion as a meaningful category.

The term is also applied to the blending of folk practice with those of major religions (otherwise known as "syncretism"), so that folk practices among people in Christian
Christianity

Christianity is a Monotheistic religion #Christian view religion centered on the life and teachings of Jesus as New Testament view on Jesus' life....
 countries are called "folk Christianity
Folk Christianity

Folk Christianity is composed of Christian ideas and practices outside the approval or authority of a religious establishment?Roman Catholic, Protestant, or other....
", in Islam
Islam

Islam is a Monotheism, Abrahamic religion originating with the teachings of the Prophets of Islam Muhammad, a 7th century Arab religious and political figure....
ic countries "folk Islam", and so on. The term is also used, especially by the clergy
Clergy

Clergy is the generic term used to describe the formal religious leadership within a given religion. The term comes from the Greek language ?????? - kleros, "a lot", "that which is assigned by lot" or metaphorically, "heritage"....
 of the faiths involved, to describe the desire of people who otherwise infrequently attend religious worship
Worship

Worship usually refers to acts of religion devotion typically directed to one or more deity. It is the informal term in English for what sociology of religion call cult —traditional beliefs and practices, the individual study of which is one of the chief concerns of theology....
, do not belong to a church
Church Body

A local church is a Christian religious organization made up of a congregation, its members and clergy. They are organized more or less formally, with constitutions and by-laws, maintain offices, sometimes seek non-profit corporate status in the United States and often have state or regional structures....
 or similar religious society, and who have not made a formal profession of faith
Faith

Faith is the confident belief in the truth of or trustworthiness of a person, idea, or thing. It is also used for a belief, characteristically without proof....
 in a particular creed
Creed

A creed is a statement of belief ? usually religious belief ? or faith often recited as part of a religious service. The word derives from the for I believe and credimus for we believe. It is sometimes called symbol , signifying a "token" by which persons of like beliefs might recognize each other....
, to have religious wedding
Wedding

File:Pimenov SvadbaOnTomorrowStreet.jpgA wedding is the ceremony in which two people are united in marriage. Wedding traditions and customs vary greatly between cultures, ethnic groups, religions, country, and social classes....
s or funeral
Funeral

A funeral is a ceremony marking a person's death. Funerary customs comprise the complex of beliefs and practices used by a culture to remember the dead, from the funeral itself, to various monuments, prayers, and rituals undertaken in their honour....
s, or (among Christians) to have their children baptised
Baptism

In Christianity, baptism is the ritual act, with the use of water, by which one is admitted as a full member of the Christian Church and, in the view of some, as a member of the particular Church in which the baptism is administered....
.

Folk religion answers human needs for reassurance in times of trouble, and many of its ritual
Ritual

A ritual is a set of repeated actions, often thought to have symbolic value, the performance of which is usually prescribed by a religion or by the traditions of a community by religious or political laws because of the perceived efficacy of those actions....
s are aimed at mundane goals like seeking healing
Faith healing

Faith healing is the attempt to use religious or spirituality means such as prayer, mental practices, spiritual insights, or other techniques to prevent illness, cure disease, or improve health....
 or averting misfortune. Many elements of folk religion stem from animistic
Animism

Animism is a philosophical, religious or spiritual idea that souls or spirits exist not only in humans and animals but also in plants, rock s, natural phenomena such as thunder, geographic features such as mountains or rivers, or other entities of the natural environment, a proposition also known as hylozoism in philosophy....
 or fetishistic
Fetishism

A fetish is an object believed to have supernatural powers, or in particular, a man-made object that has power over others. Essentially, fetishism is the attribution of inherent value or powers to an object....
 practices, which is almost inevitable given its mundane goals and ritualistic nature. Folk religion also often aims at divination
Divination

Divination is the attempt to gain insight into a question or situation by way of a standardized process or ritual. Diviners ascertain their interpretations of how a querent should proceed by reading signs, events, or omens, or through alleged contact with a supernatural agency....
 to foresee the future. The line is often blurry between the practice of folk religion and the practice of magic
Magic (paranormal)

Magic, sometimes known as sorcery, is a conceptual system that asserts human ability to control or predict the nature through Mysticism, paranormal or supernatural means....
. (see magic and religion
Magic and religion

A belief in Magic as a means of influencing the world seems to have been common in all cultures. Some of these beliefs crossed over into nascent religions, influencing rites and religious celebrations....
)

Examples of folk religion would include:
  • Popular theophanies
    Theophany

    Theophany, from the Greek language, theophaneia , refers to the appearance of a deity to a human, or to a divine disclosure. This term has been used to refer to appearances of the gods in the ancient Greek and Near Eastern religions....
    , and similar phenomena like Marian apparitions, originating outside the formal liturgy and hierarchy of the faiths in question.
  • Perceptions of religious imagery in natural phenomena
  • ancestor worship
    Ancestor worship

    Ancestor worship or ancestor veneration is a practice based on the belief that deceased family members have a continued existence, take an interest in the affairs of the world, and/or possess the ability to influence the fortune of the living....
  • amulet
    Amulet

    An amulet , a close cousin of the talisman consists of any object intended to bring good luck and/or protection to its owner.Potential amulets include: Gemstone or simple Gemstone, statues, coins, drawings, pendants, jewelry ring, plants, animals, etc.; even words said in certain occasions?for example: vade retro satana?, to repe...
    s, protective qualities ascribed to religious objects like the Bible
    Bible

    The Bible is the central religious text of Judaism and Christianity. The exact Books of the Bible is dependent on the religious traditions of specific denominations....
     or a crucifix
    Crucifix

    A crucifix is a Christian cross with a representation of Jesus' body, or corpus. It is a principal symbol of the Christianity religion. It is primarily used in the Roman Catholic Church, Anglican churches, and Eastern Orthodox churches, and it emphasizes Christ's sacrifice— his death by crucifixion, which they believe brought about th...
    ; hex sign
    Hex sign

    Hex signs are a form of Pennsylvania Dutch folk art, related to Fraktur , found in the Fancy Dutch tradition in Pennsylvania Dutch Country.Today some non-Pennsylvania Dutch people use the signs in a Amuletic nature, although others see it as purely decorative, or "Chust for nice" in the local dialect....
    s
  • animism
    Animism

    Animism is a philosophical, religious or spiritual idea that souls or spirits exist not only in humans and animals but also in plants, rock s, natural phenomena such as thunder, geographic features such as mountains or rivers, or other entities of the natural environment, a proposition also known as hylozoism in philosophy....
    , or belief in spiritual beings associated with landscape or specific human domains
  • belief in traditional systems of magic
    Magic (paranormal)

    Magic, sometimes known as sorcery, is a conceptual system that asserts human ability to control or predict the nature through Mysticism, paranormal or supernatural means....
     (hoodoo, voodoo
    Voodoo

    Haitian Vodou or Vaudou is a religion originating from the Caribbean country of Haiti, located on the island of Hispa?ola. It is based upon a merging of the beliefs and practices of West African peoples, , with Roman Catholicism, which was brought about as African slaves were brought to Haiti in the 16th century and forced to convert...
    , pow-wow
    Pow-wow (folk magic)

    Pow-wow is a system of American folk religion and magic associated with the Pennsylvania Dutch. Its name comes from the book Pow-wows, or, The Long Lost Friend, written by John George Hohman and first published in German as Der Lange Verborgene Freund in 1820....
    , Benedicaria
    Benedicaria

    Benedicaria, which means "Craft or Way of Blessing," is a relatively new term for a number of loosely-related family-based folk traditions found throughout Italy, most notably in southern Italy and Sicily....
    , Palo Monte and Santería
    Santería

    Santer?a is a Syncretism of Caribbean origin. Also known as Regla de Ocha, La Regla Lucumi, or Lukumi. From Spanish meaning "one who 'has', 'makes' or 'works' the spirit"....
    )
  • bless
    Bless

    Bless may refer to:* Blessing, a religious pronouncement* Bless , a hip-hop artist from Montreal* Bless , a hip-hop artist from Brooklyn, NY...
    ing of animal
    Animal

    Animals are a major group of multicellular, eukaryotic organisms of the Kingdom Animalia or Metazoa. Their body plan eventually becomes fixed as they develop, although some undergo a process of metamorphosis later on in their life....
    s and crops
    Agriculture

    Agriculture refers to the production of food and goods through farming and forestry. Agriculture was the key development that led to the rise of civilization, with the animal husbandry of domestication animals and plants creating food surpluses that enabled the development of more Population density and Social stratification societies....
     (fertility rite
    Fertility rite

    Fertility rites are religious rituals that reenact, either actually or symbolically, sexual acts and/or reproductive processes. As with the sacrifices of humans which many scholars think that ancient peoples made to ensure good fortune , fertility rites are a variety of sympathetic magic in which the forces of nature are to be influenced by...
    s), food, vehicles, buildings etc.
  • superstition
    Superstition

    Superstition is a belief or notion, not based on reason or knowledge. The word is often used pejoratively to refer to supposedly irrational beliefs of others, and its precise meaning is therefore subjective....
    , ritual
    Ritual

    A ritual is a set of repeated actions, often thought to have symbolic value, the performance of which is usually prescribed by a religion or by the traditions of a community by religious or political laws because of the perceived efficacy of those actions....
    s to ward off the Evil Eye
    Evil eye

    The evil eye is a belief that the envy elicited by the good luck of fortunate people may result in their misfortune. The perception of the nature of the phenomenon, its causes, and possible protective measures, varies between different cultures....
    , curse
    Curse

    A curse is any manner of adversity thought to be inflicted by any supernatural power, such as a spell , a prayer, an imprecation, an execration, magic , witchcraft, a god, a natural force, or a spiritual being....
    s, demon
    Demon

    In religion, folklore, and mythology a demon is a supernatural being that is generally described as a malevolent spirit. In Christian terms demons are generally understood as fallen angels, formerly of God....
    s, witchcraft
    Witchcraft

    Witchcraft, in various historical, anthropological, religious and mythological contexts, is the use of certain kinds of supernatural or Magic powers....
      etc.


Ethnic religion

Ethnic religions may include officially sanctioned and organized civil religion
Civil religion

The intended meaning of the term civil religion often varies according to whether one is a sociologist of religion or a professional political commentator....
s with an organized clergy
Clergy

Clergy is the generic term used to describe the formal religious leadership within a given religion. The term comes from the Greek language ?????? - kleros, "a lot", "that which is assigned by lot" or metaphorically, "heritage"....
, but they are characterized in that adherents generally are defined by their ethnicity, and conversion essentially equates to cultural assimilation
Cultural assimilation

Cultural assimilation is when an individual or individuals adopts some or all aspects of a dominant culture . Cultural assimilation is a process of socialization....
 to the people in question. Contrasted to this are imperial cult
Imperial cult

An Imperial cult is a form of state religion in which an emperor, or a dynasty of emperors , are worshiped as messiahs, demigods or deity. "Cult " here is used to mean "worship," not in the modern pejorative sense....
s that are defined by political influence detached from ethnicity.

In antiquity, religion was one defining factor of ethnicity, along with language
Language

A language is a form of symbol communication in which elements are combined to represents something other than themselves. Language can also refer to the use of such systems as a general phenomenon....
, regional customs
Customs

Customs is an authority or Government agency in a country responsible for collecting and safeguarding Duty and for controlling the flow of goods including animals, personal effects and hazardous items in and out of a country....
, national costume, etc. As Xenophanes
Xenophanes

of Colophon was a Greece philosopher, poet, and social and religious critic. Our knowledge of his views comes from fragments of his poetry, surviving as quotations by later Greek writers....
 famously comments:
Men make gods in their own image; those of the Ethiopians are black and snub-nosed, those of the Thracians
Thracians

The ancient Thracians were a group of Indo-European peoples who spoke the Thracian language - a scarcely attested branch of the Indo-European language family....
 have blue eyes and red hair. (Clement of Alexandria
Clement of Alexandria

Clement of Alexandria , was the first notable member of the Christianity of Alexandria, and one of its most distinguished teachers. He was born about the middle of the 2nd century, and died between 211 and 216....
, Stromata
Stromata

The Stromata is the third in Clement of Alexandria's trilogy of works on the Christian life. Clement entitled this work Stromateis, "patchwork," because it dealt with such a variety of matters....
 7.4)


With the rise of Christianity
Christianity

Christianity is a Monotheistic religion #Christian view religion centered on the life and teachings of Jesus as New Testament view on Jesus' life....
, Islam
Islam

Islam is a Monotheism, Abrahamic religion originating with the teachings of the Prophets of Islam Muhammad, a 7th century Arab religious and political figure....
 and Buddhism
Buddhism

Buddhism is a family of beliefs and practices considered by most to be a religionand is based on the teachings attributed to Siddhartha Gautama, commonly known as "The Buddha" , who was born in what is today Nepal....
, ethnic religions came to be marginalized as "leftover" traditions in rural areas, referred to as paganism
Paganism

Paganism is the blanket term given to describe religions and spiritual practices of pre-Christian Europe, and by extension a term for polytheistic?traditions or folk religion?worldwide seen from a Western or Christian viewpoint....
 or shirk
Shirk (polytheism)

Shirk is the Islamic concept of the sin of polytheism specifically, but in a more general way refers to worshipping other than Allah, associating partners with him, giving his characteristics to others beside him, or not believing in his characteristics....
 (idolatry).

Neopagan revivals

  • Baltic
    Baltic neopaganism

    The Baltic region countries were the last part of Europe to be Christianization, and vestiges of paganism blend into a Neopaganism movement that is largely independent of Western Asatru....
    • Lithuanian
      Romuva (church)

      Romuva is a Balts pagan organization, reviving the religious practices of the Lithuanians before Christianization of Lithuania. Romuva is an ethnic religion community that claims to continue living Baltic mythology traditions which survived in folklore and customs....
    • Latvian
      Dievturiba

      Dievturiba is a Neopaganism religion movement; a modern revival of the ethnic religion of the Latvian people before Christianization in the 13th century....
  • Celtic
    Celtic Reconstructionist Paganism

    Celtic Reconstructionist Paganism is a Polytheism, Animism, Religion and Culture movement. It is an effort to reconstruct and revive, in a Modern Celts cultural context, pre-Christian Celtic polytheism....
  • Finnish
    Finnish neopaganism

    Finnish Neopaganism is a Neopagan religion system that attempts to revive old Finnish paganism, a pre-Christian ethnic religion of Finland. Finnish paganism died out during the millennia-long period while Finland has been a part of the Christian world....
  • Germanic
    Germanic neopaganism

    Germanic Neopaganism is the Neopaganism of historical Germanic paganism. Precursor movements appeared in the early 20th century in Esotericism in Germany and Austria....
     (Norse
    Ásatrú

    File:Valknut-Symbol-triquetra.svg in the United States is a form of Germanic Neopaganism, in particular inspired by the Norse paganism as described in the Eddas and as practiced prior to the Christianization of Scandinavia....
    , Anglo-Saxon)
  • Greek
  • Slavic
    Slavic neopaganism

    Slavic Neopaganism is a modern polytheistic, polytheistic reconstructionism, and Neopaganism religion; its adherents call themselves Rodnovers, and consider themselves to be the legitimate continuation of Slavic mythology....


See also

  • Animism
    Animism

    Animism is a philosophical, religious or spiritual idea that souls or spirits exist not only in humans and animals but also in plants, rock s, natural phenomena such as thunder, geographic features such as mountains or rivers, or other entities of the natural environment, a proposition also known as hylozoism in philosophy....
  • Appalachian Granny Magic
    Appalachian Granny Magic

    Appalachian Granny Magic is a combination of home remedy, faith healing, superstitions, and storytelling handed down by generations of families in the Appalachian Mountains....
  • Ancestor worship
    Ancestor worship

    Ancestor worship or ancestor veneration is a practice based on the belief that deceased family members have a continued existence, take an interest in the affairs of the world, and/or possess the ability to influence the fortune of the living....
  • Civil religion
    Civil religion

    The intended meaning of the term civil religion often varies according to whether one is a sociologist of religion or a professional political commentator....
  • Folketro
  • Folklore
    Folklore

    Folklore is the body of expressive culture, including tales, music, dance, legends, oral history, proverbs, jokes, superstitions, customs, and so forth within a particular population comprising the traditions of that culture, subculture, or group ....
  • Folk medicine
  • Magic
    Magic (paranormal)

    Magic, sometimes known as sorcery, is a conceptual system that asserts human ability to control or predict the nature through Mysticism, paranormal or supernatural means....
  • Paganism
    Paganism

    Paganism is the blanket term given to describe religions and spiritual practices of pre-Christian Europe, and by extension a term for polytheistic?traditions or folk religion?worldwide seen from a Western or Christian viewpoint....
  • Pre-Christian Alpine traditions
  • Shamanism
    Shamanism

    Shamanism is a range of traditional beliefs and practices concerned with communication with the spirit world. A practitioner of shamanism is known as a shaman, , noun ....
  • Totemism


Literature

  • Thomas, Keith, Religion and the Decline of Magic. Studies in popular beliefs in sixteenth and seventeenth century England, London: Weidenfeld and Nicholson (1971).
  • Yoder, Don, 'Toward a Definition of Folk Religion', Western Folklore 33.1 (January 1974): 1-15.
  • Nepstad, Sharon Erickson. 1996. “Popular Religion, Protest, and Revolt: The Emergence of Political Insurgency in the Nicaraguan and Salvadoran Churches of the 1960s-80s,” in Disruptive Religion: The Force of Faith in Social Movement Activism, by Christian Smith. New York: Routledge.
  • Nash, June. 1996. "Religious Rituals of Resistance and Class Consciousness in Bolivian Tin-Mining Communities," in Disruptive Religion: The Force of Faith in Social Movement Activism, by Christian Smith. New York: Routledge.


External links

  • : A account of the folk religion of children living in homeless shelters in Miami, circa 1997.