Natural Religion

Natural Religion

Reference page: Echoes: Reflections from the past, resonances in the present

Metope depicting Helios coming out of the sea - Pergamonmuseum in Berlin

Abstract

This article, part of the series “Echoes: Reflections from the past, resonances in the present”, "

explores the early religions of the Paleolithic, which marks the beginning of the first forms of religious thought, a belief system that would later be defined natural religion.

This term refers to that category of religions in which the elements of nature – meteorological phenomena, celestial bodies, flora, fauna and aspects related to human life – are deified or considered expressions of supernatural powers.

The first humans, trying to make sense of the environment around them, began to develop cults aimed at non-human entities, identifying in natural phenomena the presence of sacred forces.

Natural Religion

In the article Homo Religiosus: the origins of religious sentiment, I told how the Paleolithic marks the beginning of the first forms of religious thought.

The Paleolithic, in fact, marks the beginning of the first forms of religious thought, a system of beliefs that will later be defined natural religion. This term refers to that category of religions in which the elements of nature – meteorological phenomena, celestial bodies, flora, fauna and aspects related to human life – are deified or considered expressions of supernatural powers.

The first humans, trying to make sense of the environment around them, began to develop cults aimed at non-human entities, identifying in natural phenomena the presence of sacred forces.^[1] Among the deified elements we can distinguish:

Meteorological phenomena, such as thunder and lightning, often associated with celestial deities, seen as powerful and sometimes irascible beings
Celestial bodies, such as the Sun and the Moon, considered fundamental to the cycle of life and often objects of worship (for example, the god Ra in Egypt, Helios in Greek mythology, Tonatiuh in Aztec mythology, the Sun goddess “Sól” in Nordic mythology or Surya: The main sun god in Hinduism)
Flora and agriculture, with rituals dedicated to the fertility of the land and the growth of vegetation, practices that with the advent of agriculture became an integral part of archaic religions
Sacred fauna, with the veneration of specific animals considered sacred for their peculiar characteristics (such as the bull, the snake or the eagle)
Key moments in human life, such as birth and death, celebrated through rites of passage and beliefs related to the continuity of existence after death

Worship of the Sun/Calf (Golden). Deir el-Medina (near Luxor – Egypt), Ramesside period (1320-1085 BC)

From Totemism to Animism

Within natural religion, we can distinguish a first phase totemistics, based on the veneration of an animal or a natural element considered sacred and closely linked to the identity of a social group.

The term Totem comes from the word ototeman, belonging to the language of the Ojibwa, a native tribe of North America. Totemism was a belief system that established a mystical kinship relationship between a community (tribe or clan) and an animal or plant considered sacred. This bond was not only biological, but above all religious and spiritual: the totem was venerated as a symbol of protection and tribal identity. Usually, this imaginary relationship linked a group of people to certain animals or plants to which the group thought it owed its sustenance. It was not uncommon for the group itself to take the name of the animal elevated to Totem.

Totemism can be considered the oldest form of religion in the history of man^[2].

Totemism was gradually joined by another form of natural religion, that naturalistic, characterized by the attribution of a soul to natural phenomena and human life. This process, known as animism, consisted in the belief that every element of nature was inhabited by a spirit or a divinity^[3]

The transition from totemism to animism was not clear-cut, as the two conceptions continued to influence each other. For example, even in the most advanced natural religions, animals continued to be venerated as intermediaries between man and divine forces.

Among the animals we remember the bull, present in mythology since the times of the Minoan culture, the dove associated with Aphrodite, the deer associated with Artemis, the cow associated with Hera, the crow and the owl associated with Athena, and finally the dog associated with many deities and often a recurring element in Sicilian myths and legends.