I've been thinking about the different forms of religion that come into being based on the various spiritual themes within their cultures, and I've come to the conclusion American spirituality is both unique and odd.
There is no canon, just a vague set of frequently repeated rumors (e.g. one supreme deity, active force of evil, spirits that can interact with the material realm). These lead to a set of assumptions on how to carry oneself through day-to-day life, as well as how to treat the "sacred."
This must be due to the fact that the wilder sects of Protestantism settled here and propagated and evolved alongside the native belief systems. This led to a sort of syncretism that was much more complex than, say, the form of Roman Catholicism in Latin America. In that case, it is obvious what is native and what is catholic, and how they mixed. In America, not so much.
Any thoughts? My personal background is southern baptist, though my spiritual views are more eccentric these days.
There is no canon, just a vague set of frequently repeated rumors (e.g. one supreme deity, active force of evil, spirits that can interact with the material realm). These lead to a set of assumptions on how to carry oneself through day-to-day life, as well as how to treat the "sacred."
This must be due to the fact that the wilder sects of Protestantism settled here and propagated and evolved alongside the native belief systems. This led to a sort of syncretism that was much more complex than, say, the form of Roman Catholicism in Latin America. In that case, it is obvious what is native and what is catholic, and how they mixed. In America, not so much.
Any thoughts? My personal background is southern baptist, though my spiritual views are more eccentric these days.
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Havamal 77
Cows die,
family die,
you will die the same way.
I know only one thing
that never dies:
the reputation of the one who's died.