| ambience |
Nov 3, 2007 03:27 PM |
I guess I'm going to have to give a little backstory before I describe the role religion plays in my life.
I'm a practitioner of Santeria, a syncretic religion that combines Spiritism, the Yoruba religion from western Africa, and Roman Catholicism. The religion came about in its modern-day form after slaves were brought over to Cuba and forced to convert to Catholicism by the Europeans who held them. Instead of surrendering their belief system as a whole, they adopted the Catholic saint names to their own spiritual deities that guide various tenets of people's lives, and the world as a whole. For example, the deity Eleggua is represented by Saint Anthony, while Babalu Aye is associated with Saint Lazarus. By performing their ceremonies on the corresponding saint days of the calendar and disguising them as celebrations of these corresponding saints, the slaves were able to perform their religion without suffering persecution by the Spaniards that took hold of the island. A large part of this religion involves the Ifa divination system, a system that is remarkably similar to the Chinese I Ching. Ifa priests, called Babalawos, give readings to individuals, giving advice to them about how they should solve the problems in their life. There are also various other rituals, such as spiritual cleansing and sacrifices (which are typically fruits, vegetables, and flowers. Sometimes we also sacrifice animals, however, they are done so in a humane manner and are usually eaten afterward.) The religion spread to the US by many Cuban immigrants and possesses a fairly active base within most major US cities and parts of Europe. To this day, most people who practice the religion in secrecy, because of its history as an underground religion, as well as the fear people possess of things they are unfamiliar with. The media's negative portrayal of any African religion, doesn't seem to help with that either.
Now that the backstory is out of the way, religion is a very personal thing to me. I'll participate in rituals when they are called for, request to have a reading when I feel my life needs a check up, and I view prayer as a form of meditation, doing myself more good than anything else simply because it gives me some time to contemplate my actions in a day. Aside from that, to people I have never told of my religious leanings, it is assumed that I am a pretty strong agnostic.
I'm a skeptic at heart, and it has taken me a long time to really identify myself as anything. If I were not raised in the way I was and seen the things I have within my own family, I probably would not believe in what I do at all. This religion was never imposed on me by anyone in my family. Even my dad, who is a babalawo, has always told me that what I believe is my own business and he'll be with me 100% any path I choose. I do not impose my religion on anyone, it's just not the type of religion that calls for evangelism. I also refrain from such imposition because it is something I do not appreciate myself.
I honestly don't see the clash between science and religion that most people talk about. Despite the myths about the scientific community that are present, scientists are just as varied in religious beliefs as the general populace. I daresay, the motivation many scientists have to explore the world around them is to learn about the glory of the world around us, to those who possess faith in a creator, it wouldn't be too absurd to extend that to an appreciation of God's works.
As an aside, Theology is a very interesting subject. I absolutely love studying the history of religions. If I didn't take the route of studying Computer Science in college, I probably would have majored in Theology or Philosophy in some college that had a good program in it. I have a copy of the Bible, Bhagavad-Gita, and various texts on Buddhism lying around that I really enjoy perusing. Studying what people believe in their own lives really opens your eyes to the world around you.
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