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Extremity of Ancient Religion

To what extent do modern religion practices adhere to ancient practices?

Aina Mall

Ms. Kwon

Social Studies 11

December 6, 2017
Mall 1

Aina Mall

Ms. Kwon

Social studies 11

December 6, 2017

Extremity of Ancient Religious Practices

Modern religion practices only slightly follow ancient practices, but do not fully adhere to

them. Many religious practices in present time stem from ancient ones, but only

to some extent. While basic traditions are kept the same, such as reading the bible, or doing certain

prayers, many practices from the ancient times have become outdated. When relating modern

practices to ancient practices, they greatly contrast one another. Modern religious practices are far

less extreme. In general, ancient practices are far more strict and rigorous, when in modern

times, the practices are more relaxed. In ancient times, for instance, when one does not follow

certain practices or beliefs, they were punished or out casted, which is seen far less often in modern

times. Also, in ancient times religion was the basis of all knowledge. There was no science for

society to use, so religion was relied on for all aspects of life. For these reasons, modern religious

practices can be very distinct from ancient ones. Also, when looking at present religious

practices it is clear to see that they only slightly follow ancient practices, and more so depend on

their own beliefs for new practices.

It is easy to see how ancient religious practices and beliefs are extreme when looked

at next to modern ones. Looking far into the past, religion provided a strong bond
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within society. The majority of people in a certain area followed the same religion. People who

did not adhere to the religion were seen as outsiders of society. Many people who did not follow

this said religion were also looked down upon and could even be punished for having different

views. For example, in the roman empire the Corpus Juris Civilis states that anyone who did not

follow Christianity would be punished. When one did not follow the religion or criticized it, it

was seen as blasphemy, and blasphemy had to be punished.

The punishments for blasphemy could vary from getting the blasphemers lips cut off, burning,

cutting, or tearing the tongue, to even execution and death. Majority were afraid of the

consequences of apostasy and therefore kept quiet about their beliefs. The fear of a death penalty

was so common that almost no one dared to say anything against the teaching of the church,

or against the Christian religion. This however, is not seen in modern times as every human is

given certain rights that offer protection from situations like these. For instance, the following is

stated in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights:

"Everyone has the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion; this right includes freedom

to change his religion or belief, and freedom, either alone or in community with others and

in public or private, to manifest his religion or belief in teaching, practice, worship and observance."

While in the past people were controlled by the extreme religious practices and beliefs, this is not

the case for people in the present time. The extremity of ancient religious practices compared to

modern religious practices can also be seen the beliefs themselves. Various traditions that used

to exist are now viewed as unethical and inhumane. An example of this is human sacrifice. In

ancient Rome, human sacrifice was a way to please God. Human sacrifices are no longer done

today as they are immoral and barbaric. This is just a single example of the many beliefs and

practices of the ancient times that are no longer done in the contemporary world.
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The basis of religious practices is carried throughout history and still to date. The more relaxed,

less rigorous practices, such as praying everyday or following the teachings of

a holy book, are still relevant and are still followed. However, modern religion practices

are considerably relaxed in comparison to primitive religions. While religion was almost forced

onto people in the old days, people now are free to make their own decisions. Often in present

day, many people are influenced to follow a certain religion because they have grown up doing

certain practices in their family. But, this does not mean that they are forced to believe the

religion. Presently, different religions of all kinds can be seen throughout society. The diversity

of religions in an area shows how each and every person can choose to believe in their own

choices and follow their own traditions and practices.

Religion at one point in time was the basis of all knowledge. It was used in every aspect of

life and determined the choices one made. Before science was discovered, religion was relied on

to provide an explanation for almost everything. Everything one learned was based off of religious

beliefs, therefore creating a bias look on life. People were unaware of the fact that they could think

for themselves, and instead followed the teachings of their religion without question. To recall,

in history the Christian Church controlled almost all aspects of life. The only education provided

was through the Church and therefore, the only knowledge that was provided was through religion.

There was almost no way for one to create their own beliefs or thoughts, since everything that was

learned was based off the teachings of the Church. It was once strongly believed that God

controlled all the wonders of the world, such as the weather, the sun setting, and rising. These

beliefs were very strong, since the idea of science was yet to become a concept. Now, science is
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used to make sense of all these natural events and it is unnecessary to have beliefs without

evidence. Science is an important factor in showing how extreme ancient

practices once were. Without the aid of the technology and knowledge that is at presently at

hand, there were many things that were presumed without proof. For example, the dunking of

witches in ancient times was a practice that was used to prove whether one was innocent or

guilty of being a witch, but in no way was this practice an ethical one. Witches were related to

the devil and many innocent members of society were accused of doing witchcraft. Since there

was no ideal way to prove innocence, dunking was one method that was used. The one who was

accused would be "dragged to the nearest body of water, stripped to their undergarments, bound

and then tossed in to see if they would sink or float" (Evan Andrews 1). It was believed that a

witch would float, while someone who was innocent would sink to the bottom. Almost always,

the one accused would be proven innocent, but would drown in the process. This was an insane

form of experimentation and would never be done in modern times. If this were to be done now,

it would be seen as torturous and malicious. With the presence of science, many traditions and

practices of the ancient times have become obsolete.

Only the fundamental practices of ancient religion is still followed to date, there are a vast

number of new practices that do not adhere to the old practices. Many practices of ancient

religions have become obsolete in modern time. Although principle concepts, such as praying,

have remained the same throughout history, when looking closely, the traditions of ancient times

differ greatly from the traditions of present day. The practices of present day are far less austere

than historical ones and are nearly completely different. Although religion is now a choice, it once
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controlled every aspect of one’s life, from education to punishments. For this reason, religious

practices used to be much more extreme and barbaric. Practices that are being followed today have

grown out of the ones from history, however the extremity of these has now almost

completely disappeared.
Work Cited

O’Connor, J J and Robertson, E F “Srinivasa Aiyangar Ramanujan” 2005 August


http://www-history.mcs.st-and.ac.uk/Biographies/Ramanujan.html

Jadia, Varun “10 Things to Know about Srinivasa Ramanujan, the Genius Who Continues to
Amaze the World” The Better India April 20, 2016
https://www.thebetterindia.com/52974/srinivasa-ramanujan-mathematician-biopic/

Bollobás, Béla “The man who taught infinity: how GH Hardy tamed Srinivasa
Ramanujan’s genius” The Conversation April 22, 2016 https://theconversation.com/the-man-
who-taught-infinity-how-gh-hardy-tamed-srinivasa-ramanujans-genius-57585

“Srinivasa Ramanujan Biography” The Biography.com Website September 10, 2015


https://www.biography.com/people/srinivasa-ramanujan-082515
“Srinivasa Ramanujan Biography” TheFamousPeople.com July 24, 2017
https://www.thefamouspeople.com/profiles/srinivasa-ramanujan-503.php

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