Religion is an integral part of human history, and contrary to the statements of many ideologists of atheism, religious beliefs are far from a relic of the past. They largely shape modern reality and influence the course of history. We will talk about what religious belief is, how it arose and how it developed in the world, and in particular among the Slavs, in this article.
Dawn of civilization
It is not known for certain where and when for the first time the representatives of ancient mankind showed a religious feeling. Archaeological finds, shedding some light on this question, nevertheless leave behind many mysteries. Attempts to find answers to them led to the fact that several schools were formed in the religious community that postulated certain views.
Mythological School
For example, the mythological school, which once had enormous weight, claimed that the ancient savages, not knowing the true causes of natural phenomena, began to deify certain phenomena, such as the sun, moon, wind, and so on. Over time, however, scientists have come to the conclusion that this view presents an extremely simplified and generally incorrect picture. Explaining the emergence of religious beliefs from this perspective is now considered bad form and a manifestation of ignorance.
Alternative Views
Mythological school was replaced by many others who cling to various aspects of human life in their attempts to find answers. Someone proceeds from the fact that religion was a consequence of the development of agriculture and crafts. Others try to find the answer to the question of how the religious beliefs of primitive people came about through psychological functions. Some seek the answer in myths, the second in ancient artifacts, and the third in the human psyche and DNA. But so far there is no single theory that could explain what religious belief is. That's how complicated this phenomenon is. It is only known for certain that religion appeared before humanity remembers itself. There is irrefutable evidence that at least thirty thousand years ago, the tribes inhabiting Europe and Asia had fairly developed cults.
Great mother
In almost all religions, even in monotheistic Abrahamic echoes, echoes of the cult of the Great Mother are preserved. The spirituality of this goddess is considered the oldest in the world, as evidenced by the numerous vocal, that is, prayer figurines found in abundance in different places. Their age is thousands of years, in some cases we are talking about tens of thousands of years.
Today we are accustomed to the fact that God is at the head of the world, according to the religious ideas of most creeds. But the religious beliefs of primitive people were focused on the worship of precisely female divinity, personifying all nature, which gives birth and absorbs all that is generated. In general, the archetype of the Great Mother is quite complex, since it includes both the earth and the underworld, as well as the moon. Probably, all the other goddesses in various pagan pantheons were the result of the development and differentiation of a single image of the mother goddess. Obviously, such a high role played by the figure of a divine woman is associated with the matriarchal structure of ancient tribal communities leading a nomadic lifestyle.
The emergence of patriarchal cults
The oldest religious beliefs, as we have already found out, had a matriarchal character. Gradually, however, they began to fade, giving way to a male deity. It is believed that this is due to the fact that the tribes began to switch to a settled way of life, because of which private property appeared, agriculture, trade, and the economy began to develop. As a result, the role of a man has grown - a warrior, a defender, a getter. The role of a woman, on the contrary, began to fade into the background. So in the first place came the figure of a male deity.
What is worship based on worship? It is worth saying that the supremacy of God did not abolish the worship of the goddess. On the contrary, they began to be thought of as a single married couple, which creates the whole world and people. Since the dominant role in human families at that time began to play men, then God began to dominate the goddess, but not replace her. At this divine syzygy, offspring began to appear, who became gods, heads of certain areas of human life and the life of the world as a whole. This in one form or another is narrated by the mythologies of all peoples.
The emergence of monotheism
In some cultures, the role of a man began to prevail over the female role so much that a significant upheaval took place in their creed - the goddess completely lost her identity, her face. So there was monotheism. What is a religious belief based on the worship of a single god? This is a creed that insists that there is only one god who surpasses everything and excels above everything. The rest compared to him are not gods, but something like official spirits. Worship they are not worthy. However, monotheists most often simply deny the existence of any deities, except for a single creator. The monotheistic cult unbalanced by the goddess’s spirituality was expressed in various unpleasant psychological costs. Therefore, they began to balance it, introducing some feminine elements, such as Divinity and the Holy Spirit in Judaism - the most successful attempt to create a monotheistic cult. As for modern Christianity, such a balance is achieved thanks to the figure of the Virgin Mary, who is revered in no way less, or even more than God himself.
Religious beliefs of the Slavs
The original Slavic beliefs were pagan and came from a common source of pre-Indo-European. They included many gods and goddesses and were of a patriarchal nature, that is, they were led by a male god. Then, however, with the filing of Prince Vladimir, the Eastern Slavic tribes began to actively Christianize, as a result of which today Eastern Orthodoxy is considered the traditional religion of Russia. As for the Western Slavs, they, being pagans, also underwent Christianization at different times. However, Western Roman Catholicism had a greater influence on them than Greek orthodoxy.