Folk religion facts for kids

Have you ever heard of folk religion? It's a way of talking about religious beliefs and practices that are different from the official rules of big, organized religions. Think of it as the everyday, local ways people express their faith, often mixed with old customs and traditions.

Sometimes, folk religion is called "popular religion" or "traditional religion." It includes things like local customs or beliefs that are part of a larger religion but aren't always taught by religious leaders.

Folk religion often covers two main ideas. First, it's about the religious side of a culture's traditions. Second, it looks at how two different cultures' beliefs mix together. For example, in places like Haiti and Cuba, African folk beliefs blended with Roman Catholicism to create new religions like Vodun and Santería.

You can find folk religion connected to many major faiths, like Chinese folk religion, folk Christianity, folk Hinduism, and folk Islam. Sometimes, religious leaders use the term "folk religion" to describe people who don't go to church often but still want religious ceremonies like weddings or baptisms.

What is Folk Religion?

John Bowker, a scholar, described folk religion in two ways. It can be a religion found in small, local communities that doesn't follow the rules of bigger religious systems. Or, it can be how regular people use religious beliefs and practices in their daily lives.

Another scholar, Don Yoder, said folk religion is "all those religious views and practices that exist among people, separate from and alongside the official religion." He noted that folk religion is usually less organized than official religions.

Think of it as the everyday beliefs and practices that help people connect with something beyond their normal lives.

How We Started Studying Folk Religion

The idea of studying "folk religion" first became popular in Europe. In Germany, a Lutheran preacher named Paul Drews used the term in 1901. He wanted to help young preachers understand the local ways people practiced Lutheranism, which were often different from the official church teachings.

Later, scholars in Germany began to study these local religious customs, especially among farmers. They looked at things like pilgrimage (religious journeys) and the use of shrines (special holy places).

In the Americas, people started studying folk religion by looking at how different cultures mixed. For example, Robert Redfield studied how "folk religion" and "official religion" worked together in a Mexican village in his 1930 book.

Over time, the study of folk religion grew in universities. However, some scholars later felt the term "folk religion" wasn't perfect. They thought it sounded like these beliefs were less important or "unofficial." So, some suggested using terms like "vernacular religion" instead, which means "religion as it is lived" by people every day.

Chinese Folk Religion

Chinese folk religion is a name for the traditional beliefs of the Han Chinese people. It's been the main belief system in China for a long time. People who follow it often worship nature, their ancestors, and believe in a balance in the universe. They also believe in spirits and gods.

These gods can be deities of nature, human behavior, or even ancestors of families. Many stories about these gods are part of Chinese mythology. Over centuries, these practices mixed with ideas from Chinese Buddhism (like karma) and Taoism (about gods and spirits).

Chinese folk religion is sometimes grouped with Taoism because Taoism has tried to include local religions. But more accurately, Taoism grew out of and shares many ideas with folk religion. With about 454 million followers, Chinese folk religion is one of the world's largest religious traditions.

Even though it faced challenges in the past, it's now becoming popular again in both Mainland China and Taiwan. The Chinese government even supports some forms, like the worship of Mazu (a sea goddess) and the Yellow Emperor.

Indigenous Philippine Folk Religions

The Indigenous Philippine folk religions are the unique native beliefs of different ethnic groups in the Philippines. Most of these beliefs are based on animism, which means they believe that spirits live in natural things like animals, plants, and rocks. These religions are often called Anitism or Bathalism.

Many of these beliefs existed before Christianity came to the Philippines. They were influenced by Hinduism. When the Spanish arrived, they called these beliefs "myths" and "superstitions." They wanted to replace them with their own Catholic Christian beliefs. Even today, some Filipinos, especially in rural areas, still hold onto these old beliefs.

Folk Christianity

Botánicas like this one in the USA sell religious items, such as statues of saints and candles with prayers, along with folk medicine and amulets.

Folk Christianity is how Christianity is practiced by many people in their daily lives. It often includes local customs, traditions, and even some superstitions that are not part of official church teachings.

For example, in some places, people might use special objects or rituals that blend Christian ideas with older local beliefs. These practices show how Christianity has been shaped by the cultures it spread to.

Folk Islam

Folk Islam is a term for forms of Islam that include local folk beliefs and practices. It's often seen as the Islam of everyday people, especially in rural areas, different from the more official or "orthodox" Islam. Sufism, a mystical branch of Islam, is often part of Folk Islam.

Some practices and beliefs found in Folk Islam include:

• Belief in traditional magic and special rituals.
• Using shrines (holy places) and amulets (lucky charms).
• Honoring saints or jinn (spirits).
• Including animistic beliefs, where spirits are thought to be in nature.

Folk Judaism

In one of the first big books on the topic, Jewish Magic and Superstition, Joshua Trachtenberg said Jewish folk religion includes ideas and practices that were very popular, even if religious leaders didn't always approve. This included beliefs about demons and angels, and magical practices.

Later studies showed how the destruction of the Temple in Jerusalem led to many Jewish folk customs about mourning. For example, the belief in hibbut ha-qever (torture of the grave) says that the dead are tortured in their grave for three days after burial by demons until they remember their names.

Raphael Patai studied Jewish folk religion using cultural anthropology. He pointed out the important role of female divine figures, like the goddess Asherah and the Shekhinah.

Writer Stephen Sharot said that Jewish popular religion, like other folk religions, often focuses on apotropaic (protective) or thaumaturgical (miracle-working) practices. These are used to protect people from sickness and bad luck. While official Rabbinical Judaism focuses on religious law, magicians claimed to use special rituals to help people in daily life, like with marriage or childbirth.

Charles Liebman described the folk religion of American Jews. He said it's mainly about their social connections. For example, many American Jews might not strictly follow all dietary laws or Sabbath rules if it prevents them from socializing. But they often keep practices like the Passover Seder and High Holy Days because these strengthen family and community ties.

Folk Hinduism

June McDaniel (2007) describes Folk Hinduism as one of the main types of Hinduism. It's based on local traditions and tribal cults that worship local deities (gods or goddesses). This is the oldest, non-written system of Indian religions.

Folk Hinduism involves worshipping deities not found in Hindu scriptures. It includes worshipping Gramadevata (village deities) and Kuladevata (household deities). It's a local religion with many gods and animistic beliefs. These religions have their own priests who worship regional deities.

In the 1800s, scholars often saw "Brahmanism" as the intellectual, scripture-based Hinduism, while "Hinduism" was linked to superstitious folk traditions. Folk Hinduism is the part of the Hindu tradition that exists alongside the more official, scripture-based tradition.

For example, Indo-Caribbean Shaktism is a unique form of Shakti worship found in places like Trinidad and Tobago. It mixes Indian Shaktism with local Dravidian folk religion and other Caribbean influences. Devotional songs are often sung in local languages, and you might even see Catholic saints alongside Hindu deities in temples, showing how different beliefs have blended together. People in Indo-Caribbean Shaktism also experience trance and ecstatic states during rituals, which they see as a sign of the deities' presence.

Folk Religion in Society

In sociology, which is the study of human society, folk religion is often compared to "elite religion." Elite religion refers to the official beliefs and practices led by religious authorities. Folk religion, on the other hand, includes beliefs and practices that come from regular people, not just the leaders.

Often, religious leaders might allow folk religion, even if they see some parts as mistakes. A similar idea is "lived religion," which is the study of how believers actually practice their religion in their daily lives.

Images for kids

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  Botánicas like this one in the USA sell religious items, such as statues of saints and candles with prayers, along with folk medicine and amulets.

See also

In Spanish: Religiosidad popular para niños