01-06-2008, 12:00 AM
Quote:On the contrary, the level of spirituality had developed into increasing sophistication with the advent of agriculture.
I suspect that tribal religion is at least as complicated as Catholicism, but I wouldn't think that sophistication is one of the factors that distinguish post agricultural religion from tribal religion.
For instance, Catholicism has little, if any, advice for living directly from nature, and none is needed.
Catholics generally do not live directly from nature, but have human civilization as an insulating factor from nature.
Should a Catholic wish to live as a hunter gatherer, he may find himself in need of ideas he does not have.
I suggest that animism and totemism are examples of tools the Catholic would need to be able to live from nature.
I offer the idea that all tribal religions (pre agricultural) are animistic and totemic.
It could be that there is a reason these ideas occur spontaneously to peoples all over the globe and throughout history.
Perhaps they are a genetic predisposition.
I suspect that tribal religion is at least as complicated as Catholicism, but I wouldn't think that sophistication is one of the factors that distinguish post agricultural religion from tribal religion.
For instance, Catholicism has little, if any, advice for living directly from nature, and none is needed.
Catholics generally do not live directly from nature, but have human civilization as an insulating factor from nature.
Should a Catholic wish to live as a hunter gatherer, he may find himself in need of ideas he does not have.
I suggest that animism and totemism are examples of tools the Catholic would need to be able to live from nature.
I offer the idea that all tribal religions (pre agricultural) are animistic and totemic.
It could be that there is a reason these ideas occur spontaneously to peoples all over the globe and throughout history.
Perhaps they are a genetic predisposition.