Religion

Religion refers to belief in the supernatural, often including practices as a consequence thereof. Religion generally provides implications for the whole sphere of life, concerning people's customs, values, societal structure, etc.

Notable religions

Paganism

Paganism is a religion that derived from the Celtic, Gothic, Germanic, Frankish, Slavic, and other tribal cultures. In those ages history had been passed around by word of mouth so only anthropological evidence, common spoken myths, and some trace amounts of literature could be found to describe this religion. An iconic piece of literature that embellishes paganism is Beowulf, an old English folklore story. Paganism holds spirits to be people, having families and ancestors, with ancestral relationships being emphasized in this religion overall.

Shamanism

Has the concept known as Animism which is a belief that both animate objects and creatures all have souls. All of matter all makes certain and unbounded choices and there is no distinction between the corporeal and incorporeal. Shamanism adds that there are people who can interact with both the souls and the matter itself. The purpose of the Shaman is to be the intermediaries between such and perform a balancing act between humans and the other souls that they interact with, to keep in an equilibrium with the environment. In practical terms they are there to guide the tribe so they don't eat too much and go hungry, or don't eat too little and let the animals or things overwhelm them. To not drink so much or a drought may come, so on and so forth. An example of an Animistic religion is the religion of the Ainu people and the Ryukyuan people.

Shintoism

A religion which was traditionally known as a strict religion based on classes in which the Shogunate dictate what rituals and religious interpretation is to be accepted. For example, the Tokugawa shogunate requiring subordinates to be Buddhists. Other times the practices and religious rituals are more lenient. It is an animist and polytheistic religion. It share many features with Shamanism in that it bellies all things possess a certain essence, people can be Kami, and so forth. After the American bombs dropped new derivations of this religion emerged from this religion. Festivals are called Masturi in shinto religions.

Zoroastrianism

Otherwise known as the first monotheistic religion.

Obon Festival

Obon is a Summer festival that celebrates the visitation of the dead to their loved ones. It occurs in the 13^th to the 15^th of August, mid summer, and is celebrated by hanging lanterns in front of your home. Visits to the graves are also visited. It has many similarities with the Mexican cutom of Día de Muertos that Happens in the first of November. Near the end of the ritual it is customary to let the lanterns float into rivers and streams. It originated in India and has its origins in the story in which a subordinate of Buddha's mother that is deceased was in anguish. He then asked Buddha to free fer from pain, Buddha directed him to give food to his Monks. After the task his Mother's pain had ceased. The Word Obon in Sanskrit means to hang upside down, meaning to be in pain and suffering. It is practiced in India, Japan, and China as a way to visit dead relatives and loved ones.

Luciferianism

Luciferianism is based on the figure of Lucifer as interpreted widely, from various ancient cultures, as opposed to the Abrahamic notion of Satan. Rather than seeing Lucifer as the personification of evil, luciferians see Lucifer as a revolutionary who attempted to overthrow the tyrannical dictatorship of God and in such he represents freedom, enlightenment, human progression, etc. As well as this, Luciferian principles typically highlight the protection of the natural world, worshiping one's inner self, the removal of traditional dogma, etc. There are many different branches of Luciferianism with each having differing emphasis on the level of theism involved however all agree on the basic principles of what Lucifer represents as well as the idea that Lucifer should not be worshiped, but rather seen as a guide, friend or merely an archetype. Due to the religion's nature it and the symbols of Lucifer have been used by certain left-wing revolutionary organizations and thinkers throughout history such as William Godwin, Pierre-Joseph Proudhon, Helena Blavatsky, Atterdag Wermelin, and The Satanic Temple

Satanism

While there are leftist Satanists, there are also plenty of rightist ones. The Church of Satan for one has had fascists in its leadership, while others like the Order of Nine Angles are explicitly fascist. There are also things like Anton LaVey having personally endorsed neo-Nazi manual Siege. Other works like the Satanic Bible are heavily borrowed from social Darwinistic thinking as well as the works of Ayn Rand — whom LaVey has also praised.

Origin of the concept of "Religious Tolerance"

Genghis Khan was known among many titles, the "defender of religion". This was due to the actions that he had done against the Christian Khan Guchlung in which he took in Religious dissidents and waged war on the Khan annihilating him. It is known that the raided towns and assimilated cities were allowed to practice their own religion. There were internal conflicts within the Khanates after Genghis. One such example was Ghazan in which he persecuted the Buddhists after his conversion to Islam. Since then the Turkic-Slavic peoples held on to this concept and it pervades into literature and philosophy in the Eurasian sphere of influence.

Religion and the capitalist state

Religion, especially Christianity, often has quite large significance in capitalist countries, especially ones such as the United States. It is often used by the alt-right and fundamentalists to justify certain opinions. An example is using Leviticus 18 and 20 ('You shall not lie with a male as with a woman; it is an abomination' and 'If a man lies with a male as with a woman, both of them have committed an abomination; they shall surely be put to death; their blood is upon them.') to justify homophobic opinions. Religion has also been often used to control the public in different ways, for example to justify hierarchy or placate people into refusing change. As Marx said: "Religion is the opium of the masses."

This does not necessarily mean all religious people are capitalist or right-wing; there are many religious socialists, such as Leo Tolstoy. There are leftist elements in many religions, as exemplified through Bible verses such as Matthew 6:24: “No one can serve two masters, Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and Money.”; and in Luke 12:15, Jesus says, “Watch out! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; a man’s life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions.” Interestingly, the same religion can be used to justify both exploitation and liberation, as had happened with slavery in America.

External links

Marxist works on religion

• On Religion (compilation of writings by Marx and Engels)
• On Religion (compilation of writings by Lenin)
• Socialism and Religion: An Essay (CPGB work, 1960)
• A Dictionary for Believers and Nonbelievers (1989 Soviet work, 600 pages)
• History of Religion (1989 Soviet work)
• The Origins of Christianity (by a British Marxist)
• Christian Ecumenism (1983 Soviet work)
• The Urgency of Marxist-Christian Dialogue (by an American Marxist)
• Marxism and the Renegade Garaudy (1974 Soviet work, Chapter V discusses the possibilities and limits of dialogue between Marxists and Christians)
• Theses Concerning Thomas Müntzer, 1489-1989

Religion in the Soviet Union

• Church and Religion in the USSR (1982 Soviet work)
• Freedom of Conscience in the USSR (1983 Soviet work)
• Jews in the USSR: Figures, Facts, Comment (1984 Soviet work)
• Christianity Today in the USSR (1987 work published by the CPUSA)