Folk religion
Folk religion consists of
beliefs,
superstitions and
cultural practices transmitted from generation to generation. It could be contrasted with the "organized religion" or "historical religion" in which founders,
creed,
theology and ecclesiastical organizations are present.
The term is also applied to the blending of folk practice with those of major religions, so that folk practices amongst people in
Christian countries are called "
Folk Christianity," in
Islamic countries "
Folk Islam", and so on. The term is also used, especially by the
clergy of the faiths involved, to describe the desire of people who otherwise infrequently attend religious
worship, do not belong to a
church or similar religious society, and who have not made a formal profession of
faith in a particular
creed, to have religious
weddings or
funerals, or (among Christians) to have their children
baptised.
Folk religion can also be thought of as the practice of religion by lay people outside of the control of
clergy or the supervision of
theologians (e.g. outside of organized religion --
popular culture). 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.
Folk religion answers human needs for reassurance in times of trouble, and many of its
rituals are aimed at mundane goals like seeking
healing or averting misfortune. Many elements of folk religion stem from
animistic or
fetishistic practices, which is almost inevitable given its mundane goals and ritualistic nature. Folk religion also often aims at
divination to foresee the future. The line is often blurry between the practice of folk religion and the practice of
magic: see
magic and religion.
In general, believers in these folk versions of a religion are usually not aware of any distinction between their folk practices and their official religion. No one consciously practices a folk religion or calls their own religious practices a folk religion. When awareness of the tension between folk religion and the formal creed of an institutional religion rises to conscious levels, and the folk religion successfully resists that tension, it is well on its way to becoming an institutional religion in its own right, and develops a body of
doctrine of its own to justify its continued practice against the institutional opposition.
The
folk religion with the largest number of adherents is the
Chinese folk religion.
* belief in the
Evil Eye* rituals to ward off
evil,
curses,
demons,
witchcraft*
blessing of
animals,
crops,
beer,
wine,
cheese*
fertility rites
* belief in traditional magic systems
*
thanksgiving prayers,
grace before
meals and other domestic rituals
*
veneration of
ancestors and deceased family members, esp. in Christian, Jewish, or Islamic households
* some aspects of the
veneration of various
saints and the
Blessed Virgin Mary in
Roman Catholicism and
Eastern Orthodoxy**
Marian apparitions*
hoodoo,
voodoo,
pow-wow,
Palo Monte and
Santería*
snake handling*
hex signs
* religious
jewelry* religious
art in the home
* use of
Bible,
crucifix, other objects as
talismans
* systems of interpretation of
prophecy as it relates to the
end times*
monsters,
aliens,
ghosts,
yurei and
yokai in
anime,
manga and
films
*
Deep England*
folklore*
civil religion*
superstition*
belief*
folk medicine*
Magick*
Folk Christianity in the Philippines*
Folk Islam in Kazakhstan*
Folk Islam in Somalia*
Introduction to Folk Religion*
Traditions Magazine
