Folk religion is indigenous beliefs held before major organized religions and science. Chinese folk religion has 400 million followers worldwide, with common characteristics including superstition, magic, and rituals. Folk religions have more followers than Buddhism or Judaism and have been absorbed into modern mega-religions. Deliberate revivals of folk religions occur in various locations worldwide.
Folk religion refers to indigenous beliefs held throughout the world, especially before the introduction of major organized religions such as Christianity and secular movements such as science and reason. Many people still follow indigenous religions, particularly in parts of South America, Africa, China, and Southeast Asia. The largest folk religion in the world is Chinese folk religion, which has around 400 million followers worldwide, about 6.6% of the world’s population. Folk religions have even more followers than Buddhism or Judaism, claiming about 10% of the world’s population in total. Only Christianity, Islam and Hinduism have more adherents.
Despite being followed by groups separated by many thousands of miles, many aspects of popular religion have characteristics in common. Folk religion is heavily imbued with superstition and magic, especially sympathetic magic, the idea that influences like, even if they are not causally related in an immediately obvious way. For example, the idea that the movements of the stars and planets somehow influence or portend events or trends on a human scale. The popularity of astrology and psychics shows us that popular religion still exists, even in the Western world.
There are several common characteristics and/or examples of folk religion. These include theophanies, or appearances of a god or spirit to a human being, also known as divine revelation; perceptions of religious imagery in natural phenomena; ancestor worship; the use of amulets and other magical items; animism; belief in traditional systems of magic or superstition; bless animals, individuals and/or crops; and rituals to ward off demons, witchcraft, the evil eye, etc. A classic book describing tens of thousands of popular religious traditions and their parallels is The Golden Bough by Sir James Frazier.
Those who are aware of the characteristics of folk religions can easily see how they have been absorbed into modern mega-religions such as Christianity and Islam. For example, Christmas marked a pagan holiday before the advent of Jesus’ birth. It was then known as the winter solstice. The symbolic consumption of the body and blood of Jesus during Mass is an example of sympathetic magic, whereby the one who consumes the magical substance is imbued with some of the holiness that derives from the divine person. There are countless other examples.
In some places around the world, there are deliberate revivals of folk religions, which are sometimes seen as more genuine – and certainly older – than newcomers like Christianity. These locations include Norway (Odinism), the Baltic states, the Celtic countries, Finland, Germany, Greece, and various locations throughout Russia.
Protect your devices with Threat Protection by NordVPN
