What is a religious rite? Religious rituals and rituals

Religious rites and rituals - what is it? Perhaps, some people think that only those who are closely tied with religion face such phenomena. However, in reality such rituals have long intertwined with the everyday life of ordinary people. What to say about a believing person for whom religious customs and rituals are an integral part of being.

And yet, despite this, there remains in the shadowsa lot of interesting questions. For example, even the meaning of the word "religious rite" raises a number of perplexities. After all, how to understand what rituals are to be attributed to them, and which are not? Or what is the difference between Orthodox and Catholic ordinances? And in the long run, how long was the first religious rite held? So, consider everything in order.

The meaning of the word "religious rite"

As always, you need to start from the root of the problem, andnamely with the exact meaning of this expression. So, a religious rite is a certain action based on the mystical representation of a person about the surrounding reality.

That is, the main task of such a ritualis to strengthen the connection of the believer with his higher principle, or God. It does not matter at all whether such an action is carried out individually or this collective event.

What is a religious rite?

Yet it is not enough just to know the meaning of thisthe words. To fully understand its essence, it is necessary to look at everything from a special angle, based on visual examples and arguments. That is why let's consider what a religious rite is in reality.

First, let's take an example of baptism with your fingers,which is common among all Christians. It would seem nothing mystical, the usual manipulation of the hand in a given order that is applied during prayer. And yet this is a religious ceremony ... Do you know why?

Because there are two important points. First, the established ritual, which is unchanged for all Christians for many centuries. Secondly, it is based on the belief that such an action can shed God's grace on a person.

Proceeding from this, it is possible to draw the following conclusion: any custom combining these two moments is a religious rite.

The first mystical mysteries

No one knows when exactly a person began to believethe fact that the world is governed by the higher mind. For the first time it happened in those times when our distant ancestors did not know how to write. The only evidence of their reasonable way of life is the pattern and notches on the rocks. However, even this meager information is enough to understand what is the religious rite of ancient people.

In those distant times, a person's life directlydepended on how favorable Mother Nature was to him. Just imagine how magnificent it was for people who do not have the faintest idea of ​​the laws of physics and chemistry. Consequently, it is not surprising that over the years they began to ascribe to it the existence of their own will and mind.

Therefore, answer the question: "What is the religious rite of ancient people?" Will be quite simple. Virtually all of their rituals were aimed at appeasing the spirits of nature, so that they granted them their protection.

This belief in the power of sacred rituals had a significant impact on the whole history of mankind. It is because of the ancient sacraments that the first priests appeared - people who communicate with otherworldly forces.

Rituals of the Slavs

Before the advent of Christianity in Russia, our ancestors werepagans. They believed in the existence of many gods, forming the Slavic pantheon. So, warriors worshiped Perun, peasants - Lada, and creative people - Veles.

Initially, rituals were invented by simplepeople, in order to somehow appease your beloved deity. A little later the priests themselves began to select the most favorable rites and insist that this is the will of the higher mind.

It came to this that no holiday or significantthe event did not do without a religious sacrament. And the more often and systematically they were repeated, the more they dug into the consciousness of people. After many years they became an integral part of the everyday life of the Slavs and were accepted by the people as a matter of course.

For example, peasants always sacrificedLada, before you start seeding. After all, if this is not done, then the goddess will not endow the crop with her grace, and then the harvest will be bad. The same was true of other aspects of the life of the Slavs: the birth of children, weddings, wars and death. In each case, there was a personal religious ritual, aimed at strengthening the relationship between the deity and man.

And what about other countries and continents?

The most curious is that suchworldview was inherent in virtually all nations and peoples. So, the Greeks believed in the gods of Olympus, the Egyptians - in the mighty god Osiris and other equally powerful creatures. And the indigenous inhabitants of Africa and at all had so many different deities that they do not have the slightest chance of finding them.

And they all practiced religious rites. For example, the Greeks made rich offerings to their gods in the temples, and on the days of the holidays they organized festivities with a masquerade. The Egyptians built pyramids so that their pharaohs lived there even after death. And some African tribes ate human hearts, hoping in this way to get the strength and courage of the defeated enemy.

Religious rites in the modern world

Despite the fact that now is the agepopularization of scientific theories and atheistic views, religious rituals have not gone away. Moreover, some of them are so deeply rooted in the minds of people that they have become the norm. Let us consider the most popular rites of two giant religions - Christianity and Islam.

So, let's begin with the Orthodox baptism of children. This religious rite is considered one of the most ancient in our history. According to his laws, small children are bathed in holy water, in order to purify them from original sin. In addition, Christians believe that at the time of baptism, God grants a guardian angel to man.

Another ancient religious rite that has come downuntil our days, is the annual pilgrimage of Muslims to Mecca. They believe that every true believer must at least once in his life make such a trip, in order to show Allah his devotion.

Devotion on the verge of bigotry

However, not all rituals and rituals are harmless. Unfortunately, sometimes faith grows into fanaticism, and then the first victims appear. In particular, some religious rituals require blood, sometimes even human. And a believing fanatic is ready to present such a gift. After all, this is the will of God, and human life in comparison with it - only dust.

At the same time, a bloody trace from religious ritesstretches from the very depths of history, then disappears, then again appears. What are the Crusades of Christians or the holy wars of Muslims against the infidels. Not to mention the fact that the ancient Aztecs sacrificed people in hundreds or even thousands, just to satisfy the mystical appetite of the sun god.

In this regard, it should be understood that religiousRites can be held for good, and vice versa. In this case, not God creates evil, but people, because they ultimately determine the essence and order of the ritual.