Europe at Present [Spring 2003]
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JudaismJudaism, the religion of the Jews, is the oldest living religion in the Western world. Historically, Judaism served as the matrix for Christianity and Islam, the other two great monotheistic religions, which together with Judaism claim half the world's population as adherents. Judaism was the first religion to teach monotheism. This belief is the basis of Judaism and is summed up in the opening words of the Shema, recited daily: "Hear O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is One". Jews believe that God's providence extends to all people but that God entered into a special covenant with the ancient Israelites. They do not believe that they were chosen for any special privileges but rather to bring God's message to humanity by their example. Belief in a coming messiah has been a source of optimism for Jews. In the biblical account, the patriarchs Abrham, Isaac, and Jacob received the revelation of the one, true God, who promised special protection to the Israelite tribes.309 The basic source of Jewish belief is the Hebrew Bible (called the "Old Testament" by Christians), especially its first five books, called the Torah or the Pentateuch. Judaism did not stop developing after the Bible was completed. The traditional Jewish prayer book is an important result of this process of development, reflecting the basic beliefs of Judaism as well as changes in emphasis in response to changing conditions.310 Judaism has a system of law, known as Halachah, regulating civil and criminal justice, family relationships, personal ethics and manners, social responsibilities such as help to the needy, education, and community institutions as well as worship and other religious observances. Some laws once deemed very important, for example, laws governing the offering of sacrifice and most rules of ceremonial defilement and purification, have not been practiced since the destruction of the Second Temple in Jerusalem in AD 70. Individual practices still widely observed include the dietary laws, rules concerning the marital relationship, daily prayer, and study, and the recital of many blessings, especially before and after meals. At present, because of political circumstances, rigid Orthodoxy is the only form of Judaism officially recognized in Israel. But a large part of the population is remote from formal religion, and the modernist versions have difficulty making their message heard. A great exodus of Jews from the Soviet Union began in the 1970s and reached new heights after the breakup of the USSR in the 1990s. In the West, despite loss of members, mixed marriages, and a serious drop in the Jewish birth rate, religious institutions are flourishing. The number of synagogues and synagogue members increased dramatically after World War II. There has been a remarkable resurgence of Orthodoxy after a long period of decline, and modernist groups are placing greater emphasis on tradition and ceremony. IslamIslam is customarily defined in non-Islamic sources as the religion of those who follow the Prophet Muhammad. The prophet, who lived in Arabia in the early 7th century, initiated a religious movement that was carried by the Arabs throughout the Middle East. Today, Islam has adherents not only in the Middle East, but also in other parts of the world icluding Europe. Adherents of Islam are called Muslims.311 While many Muslims oppose the language that the Prophet Muhammad is the "founder" of Islam – an expression they interpret as an implicit denial of God's initiative and involvement in the history of Islam's origins, none would challenge that Islam dates back to the lifetime (570-632) of the Prophet and the years in which he received the divine revelations recorded in the Koran. At the same time, however, most of them would stress that it is only in a sense that Islam dates back to the 7th century, since they regard their religion not as a 7th-century innovation, but as the restoration of the original religion of Abraham.312 They would also stress that Islam is a timeless religion, not just because of the "eternal truth" that it proclaims but also because it is "every person's religion," the natural religion in which every person is born. Muslims have a specific view of other religions. They do not recognise other prophets besides Muhammad and other Scriptures besides the Koran. Muslims believe that the completion of God's favour to humanity have been realized in the sending down of the Koran. Those who, on the basis of what they had previously received from God, recognize the message of the Koran as the ultimate Truth show themselves thereby as true believers, while those who reject it prove themselves to be unbelievers, no matter by what name they call themselves. PAGANISM AND LOCAL FAITHS313FREEMASONRYThe basic doctrine of this faith is belief in a Supreme Being. All Masons are required to have some form of religious belief before being admitted. Freemasonry, although it claims origins in Ancient Egypt, was established in its present form in 1717 when the Grand Lodge of London was formed. According to them “Masonry is not a religion or a substitute for religion, (…) is not a competitor with religion, though in the sphere of human conduct it may be hoped that its teaching will be complementary to that of religion". Masonry was especially popular among intellectuals, who abandoned the Christian Church seeking new opportunities for their faith. The movement was also attractive because it claimed to be the only recipient and guardian of an ancient powerful secret handed down from the distant past. It was at first opposed by the Church authorities (Pope Clement XII issued a Papal Bull in 1738 against the movement). DRUIDRY (NEO-CELTIC RELIGION)Modern Druidry draws its inspiration from Celtic traditions, but Druids do not have any specific central doctrine, therefore each member is encouraged to formulate their own beliefs. Druid groups are highly diversified, although there are some basic concepts that are more or less common. Most of them are open to both men and women on an equal basis. Some groups do not regard Druidry as a religion, but as a philosophy or a kind of science. Most, however, seek to preserve the ecological balance of the Earth and see humankind as an integral part of nature rather in control of it. It is estimated that there are some three thousand people who practice Druidry as a religion in Britain and Ireland. As Druidry is a nature based religion, they gather outdoors rather than in buildings. SWEDENBORGIANISMThis religion was created by Emmanuel Swedenborg, born in Stockholm. He taught a theosophy centred on Jesus Christ, in whom he found a Trinity of Love, Wisdom and Energy. He perceived the human body as the kingdom of the soul and developed his doctrine of correspondence – that all physical phenomena have their spiritual correspondences. Because his theological system is anthropocentric, Swedenborg did not believe in Christian redemption. His spiritual world is populated exclusively by deceased human beings grouped together into heavenly or infernal societies that form a huge man, so called Maximus Homo. Christ is to be regarded as the highest manifestation of this humanity. Swedenborg claimed that there was no such thing as a personal Devil or Satan, but that the name signifies the whole society of evil spirits. Swedenborg, and his doctrine of correspondence was particularly influential on Western poetic literature. He was admired by such people as Baudelaire, Goethe, Blake, and Kant. THEOSOPHYThe Theosophical Society was founded by Helena Petrova Blavatsky and Colonel Olcott in New York in 1875 and it was a breakthrough for occultism. For the first time ever an organised body was created, open to both men and women, for research and study. There were three main aims of Theosophical Society: (1) to form the nucleus of an Universal Brotherhood of Humanity, without distinction of race, creed or colour, (2) to promote the study of Aryan and other Eastern literature, religion and sciences and (3) to investigate the hidden mysteries of Nature and the Physical powers hidden inside man. Theosophy also tried to abolish Christianity and replace it with freethinking humanism. Of course, they did not succeed in overthrowing Christianity, but they did provide a forum for debate and study of many religions and did a great deal to popularise Indian religions in particular. THE HERMETIC ORDER OF THE GOLDEN DAWNThe order was founded by Dr. William Wynn Westcott in London in 1888. A candidate, who wanted to be admitted into the Golden Dawn had to acknowledge his or her belief in the existence of a Supreme Being, but the old Pagan gods were also very welcome. The Golden Dawn procedure for uniting with the divine was essentially pagan, using pre-Christian practices and names of power which they found in Hebrew, Greek, Coptic, Egyptian, and Chaldean sources. The order was founded to include both men and women on a basis of perfect equality. The Order has been reestablished in recent years as The Oxford Golden Dawn Occult Society (OGDOS) in Britain and the New Reformed Order of the Golden Dawn in the USA. WICCAWicca is a revived religious tradition, with roots reaching distant past. Between about 1480 and 1650, alleged witches were hunted and either burned or hanged. It has been suggested that as many as nine million victims died during this time (though more recent estimates quote a figure of 40,000 people). Wicca has no central doctrines. However, many witches hold to the Wiccan Rede - "An it harm none, do what thou wilt" – and the Law of Threefold Return – that whatever you do, whether for good or bad, will return to you threefold. Most Wiccan traditions use three degrees of advancement. The degrees are not regarded as hierarchical (all witches are equal) but as a mark of proficiency and experience in the Craft. Witches are normally initiated into the Craft by a family member, with mothers initiating daughters and fathers initiating sons. Covens are generally run by the High Priest rather than the High Priestess, and they tend to work robed, preferring a black hooded cloak or robe. There are many types of convents (e.g. Dianic, Seax-Wica, Faery), which differ one from another. Although different, the traditions of the Craft share sufficiently similar deities, forms of worship, language, symbolism and philosophy, such as moon magic, belief in reincarnation, and concept of deity as personification of powers of nature or universal life (feminine and masculine, God and Goddess), to make them recognisable as derivations of one religion. Witches celebrate eight major festivals (called Sabbats) in common with many modern Pagan religions. In addition, rituals called esbats are usually held every two weeks, in which teaching is given and spells are worked. Witches keep a Book of Shadows (traditionally kept in secret), in which to write invocations, rituals and other information and lore. The Book of Shadows is regarded as a shadowy reflection of the realities of the other world. As far as the number of adherents is concerned, there are no official figures available. However, witchcraft is very widespread and can be found, in one form or another, all over the world314.
GODDESS SPIRITUALITYGoddess spirituality encourages creativity and spontaneity and the development of power-from-within rather than power-over others. The Goddess Movement has enabled women to reclaim their own spirituality, unmediated by male priests. In spirituality groups, the Goddess is represented as strong and powerful. Women are honoured as Priestesses, women of power. Some regard themselves as a sisterhood, in which the older women teach the younger women and conduct rites of passage for menarche, childbirth, menopause and other transitions in a woman's life. However, not all goddess spirituality organisations and groups are exclusively orientated to women. The Fellowship of Isis, founded in 1976 and based in Eire, concentrates on both female and male principles of divinity. It is today the largest Goddess-centred organisation with over 13,000 members, both male and female, world-wide. NEO-PAGANISMPagan religions have their roots in the traditions of ancient Nature religions. Paganism is a term used to describe a variety of religions linked by common traditions. The main Pagan religions to be found in Europe are Wicca, Druidry, Shamanism, Goddess Spirituality, Sacred Ecology, the Northern Traditions, and various Magical Groups. As such, there are no official doctrines – most Pagans believe that no one belief system is correct, and that each person has the freedom to choose their own religion. The Pagan Federation, the largest umbrella organisation for Paganism in Europe, has set out three principles of Paganism: (1) love for and kinship with nature, (2) “Do what thou wilt, but harm none”, (3) the concept of the Goddess and God as expressions of the Divine reality. NEO-GERMANIC RELIGIONSThe Norse-German Gods were worshipped all over Northern and Western Europe by the ancestors of the Norse, Dutch, German and English peoples, and were brought to Britain by invaders such as the Angles, Saxons and Vikings. Thus, the myths and stories of the Northern Tradition have always been part of Iceland's cultural heritage and Christianity was adopted as the state religion in the year 1,000 only through a substantial bribe to the law-speaker Thorgeirr. Practitioners of the Northern Traditions follow the pre-Christian Pagan traditions of Northern Europe, centred around two distinctive groups of divinities, the Aesir sky gods and the Vanir earth gods. The Gods are viewed as immanent and manifest in nature, and are venerated through the seasonal celebrations which are based around the major festivals of Yule. The most widely used symbols in neo-germanic religions are the runic symbols, which are thought to be embodiments of truth, and are used for divination, magic, and decoration to honour the gods. NEO-SHAMANISMShamanism originated in Siberia and Central Asia and spread from the Russian steppes westwards into Europe and Eastwards into North America. There is no single dogma or central authority for Shamanism, which is very diverse. The spirit world is viewed as part of everyday reality – it surrounds us and we live with spirits all the time. A Shaman is usually identified at an early age as possessing special powers of communication with the otherworld. They often had a spontaneous, severe and traumatic experience – an illness or spiritual crisis – which forced open for them the doors of the otherworld. He has the ability to move between the worlds and thus provide a bridge, becoming a pathfinder for his people. Through training or calling the Shaman is able to access the spirit worlds and work with the powers there. Through this contact, he is able to work acts of healing, divination and magic, revealing human spirituality through vision, poetry and myth315. BALTIC RELIGIONIn Baltic religion, all of nature is considered sacred and the Earth is the universal mother. The pre-Christian Pagan traditions have become integral to the aspirations of newly emerged countries such as Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia to establish their own distinctive national identities. Christianity came late to the Baltics and the people proudly retained their pre-Christian heritage, boasting of being the last christianized region in Europe. In Lithuania there is a strong Pagan church and an organisation called Romuva, which promotes Lithuanian Paganism. A similar organisation operates in Latvia, called Dievturiba, after Dievs the sky-god who, along with Laima, goddess of life, is believed to determine the fate of humans316. FINNISH PAGAN RELIGIONDue to the geographical proximity of Finland to Siberia, Finnish Paganism has its roots in Shamanism, sharing many similar concepts, such as the honouring of ancestors, spirits of the land, and the elements of earth, air, fire and water. In Finnish cosmology there are three realms - the Upperworld, the Lowerworld or Underworld, and the world of everyday consciousness, which are to be found on a World Tree. Some Finnish pagans believe that people's destinies are written in the leaves of this tree, and that when a leaf falls, a person dies. The major feast of the Finnish seasonal cycle is Ukon Vakat (Ukko's Day) in honour of the sky and thunder god Ukko. Modern Pagans in Finland have developed their own seasonal cycle, which includes Ukko's Day. Rites are simple and are often conducted outdoors.
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