THEORIES OF RELIGION
NATURISM
The theory of naturism has been associated with German scholar Max Muller. The primitive man was inspired by natural phenomena to find out the reason behind some natural calamities and catastrophes. According to Max Muller, religion's origin lies in this attempt to explain and describe the reasons behind and implications of natural phenomena.
Primitive man never understood the vagaries of nature. He couldn’t say why thunder and lightning happened or earthquakes and floods. He convinced himself that nature had supernatural powers and that all of these natural events were just God’s way of showing that he was angry, unhappy, or upset with people and what they did. People thought that God was happy and pleased with them because they got enough rain, no natural disasters, a good harvest, and didn’t get sick or die. This is one of the main reasons why early people worshipped nature so much: they were afraid of nature and its power, and they wanted to thank nature for all the good things it gave them. People who depend on nature a lot but don't have any logical explanations for it or ways to control it often worship nature. Communities of hunters and gatherers and early farmers both worship nature.
There are various gods of nature – the mother earth, the sun God, the moon God, the fire God, the God of wind, thunder, and lightning, water, rain, and different kinds of plants and trees. All these Gods are revered and worshiped by one and all without exception, and elaborate rites and rituals are associated with them. Among primitive farming communities, several rituals aim to control people’s relations with supernatural forces. Even today, nature worship is prevalent in many societies in different parts of the world.
For example, the Munda would go to the tops of hills and throw down stones of all sizes and shapes so that the rumbling sound of stones falling would resemble the rumbling of thunder and they believed that rain would follow. The Ho would burn faggots so that some may cover the sky resembling a cloud and believe that this symbolic cloud can bring real clouds and rain.
Thus, the outward events that affect life have been explained and accounted for by primitive people on the basis of knowledge that they gained through experiences and gradually, this helped them to develop religion.
0 Comments