#religions

[mapsontheweb]

Largest religions in US.

by indiatour__

#maps #igsourced #indiatour__ #religions #us

[crazycatsiren]

"I don't have a religion therefore you can't either" isn't any less colonialist than "my religion is valid and yours is not", by the way, people.

#witches of color #people of color #religious people of color #religions #antitheists dni #antitheists are fucking stupid #colonialism #fundamentalism

[writingwithcolor]

Any advice for handling race in reincarnation situations?

@swamp-spirit asked:

I'm writing a story that includes characters being reincarnated with completely different appearances. It's a fantasy world, and most of the characters are being reborn in the same region, but I still want a range of skin tones and features in the main cast (this is a comic). I have weird feelings about a character being 'reborn' with notably lighter or darker skin, but it also feels implausible and lazy for people to Just Happen to have a similar appearance when the theology of the story doesn't support it. Characters being reborn, and taking out things specific to real life groups, what are the major things you'd want an author to read up on or take into account? (Note: there is not a 'white' looking ethnic group in this story)

I don’t think it’s a problem as long as the skin tones don’t have any correlation to the circumstances that they’re reincarnated into.

- SK

It’s an interesting question, because in most religions where reincarnation/ transmigration of the soul is a feature of “what happens after death”, remembering one’s past life is not really part of the package deal. From what you’ve written, it’s not clear to me where the “memory” of these characters’ lives are held. Is there a 3rd person omniscient narrator telling the audience who each person is in their next life or do the characters themselves retain memory of past lives?

Assuming this is your typical reincarnation scenario where characters retain no memory of previous lives, it doesn’t much matter. The next life is the next life. Who a person was in their previous life and that identity, in theory, means nothing to them. This also means whatever personality, values, experiences and so on they had in their previous life no longer has meaning. They are, in effect, another person. However, you say you feel awkward about the above which makes me wonder if characters are remembering past lives, in which case…

If you study pretty much any major Asian religion where reincarnation is a part of the belief system, having no memory of the previous life is par for the course. In present-day religions like Jainism, Sikhism, Hinduism and Buddhism, only “special” (I’m using the term very casually here) entities like bodhisattvas, guru, arihant, buddhas, etc. usually get to keep their memories, while the rest of us (literal) mere mortals are supposed to lose our memories between lives as a part of Samsara. In Hinduism, even the gods often forget their previous lives, unless their reincarnation had a targeted purpose (Like being born to defeat an evil entity). 

For most people, it is only through prayer, devotion, meditation and accumulated virtuous/ good/ compassionate deeds that humans are thought to deepen their understanding of the nature of the universe, and thus have the capacity to remember past lives (I’m, again, paraphrasing very loosely here from several years worth of university history+religion courses).  

This is why the isekai genre in Japan is largely regarded as a “cheat”/ parody genre of fantasy. The protagonist, according to common Japanese cultural beliefs, which are quite heavily grounded in Buddhism, is definitively “cheating.” Not to get too ironically biblical, the character’s success often comes from the forbidden knowledge borne of their previous life. 

Thus, there are two ways I look at your characters’ predicaments: 

It’s not technically reincarnation - not by the way most major world religions define reincarnation, anyway. You have people who died now inhabiting other bodies, but that’s not the same as the transmigration of the soul. Also, you want to delve into the weirdness (and maybe heaviness) of “Wow, I went to sleep with one face and woke up with another.” There are certainly stories about people who have had dramatic cosmetic plastic surgery, weight loss surgery, HRT, etc. and then experienced the difference in the “before” versus “after” of how their altered physical appearance makes them feel, as well as how other people treat them. Even if the community your characters are born into now differs from their previous community (Which I guess would make this more a “I traveled between dimensions, and my appearance altered in the process” sci-fi adjacent affair), their new life will still have social environments with differing attitudes towards human physical appearance that will affect your characters’ emotional states. 

Isekai it up and play with the ridiculous contradiction of having past lives and differing memories of one’s appearance. Isekai manga, manhwa and webtoons all make use of this trope heavily, especially with protagonists who experience a “glow-up” (Ex. Going from a Plain Jane OL to beautiful fantasy heroine) or, by contrast, protagonists who end up in very different forms from their original lives (Tensura, I’m a Spider, So What?). I’d be creative and go even more granular. Being able to tan after a lifetime of getting sunburns or no longer needing glasses might be nice, but what if the new body lacks the enzymes to process dairy or alcohol? What about dealing with differences in hair texture? Skincare routines? What about living life as a very tall person after being quite short or vice versa? What if you bumped into an acquaintance from your previous life, and one of you clearly got a more “coveted” reincarnation?  See how far of an extreme you can take this idea until it feels too uncomfortable or ridiculous. 

Marika.

#reincarnation #skin #skin tone #worldbuilding #religions #characters #ask #isekai #writeblr

[bonyassfish]

#religions #religion #polls

[useless-catalanfacts]

February 3rd is Saint Blaise (Sant Blai in Catalan). In the areas of Baix Camp, Alt Camp and Conca de Barberà (Camp de Tarragona broader area, in Catalonia), it's traditional to eat these biscuits called blais or blaiets. Similar recipes exist in other parts of the Catalan Countries, like the coques de Sant Blai in Terres de l'Ebre, various Saint Blaise cookies around the Valencian Country, or the senyorets or blaiets from Menorca.

Blais are butter biscuits aromatized with vanilla or sometimes lemon. The most noticeable characteristic is that they're stamped with an imagine of Saint Blaise.

In the Christian belief, Saint Blaise is the patron saint who cures throat ache, cough and prevents getting a cold. For this reason, the tradition from this area take the blais to be blessed, so that eating them with green apples with protect from these harms.

Photo 1: blais from Valls, photo by Vilaniu Comunicació. / Photo 2: blaiets from Reus, photo from CatalunyaDiari.

#sant blai #menjar #reus #valls #montblanc #catalunya #tradicions #food #biscuits #biscuit #cookie #cookies #baking #february #saint blaise #foodblr #snack #sweet #religions

[creature-wizard]

I can't overstate how important it is to educate yourself on religious and occult history from academic sources. This is extremely useful in deprogramming yourself from former belief systems and preventing yourself from getting yoinked into toxic belief systems in the future.

#history #religion #religions #occultism #occult

[thebusylilbee]

there isn't enough love for atheism in this world ! shout out to my homies who don't believe in any religion or otherworldly power and go through life with only the physical and moral rules of this world as their guidance ! you're being brave and you're doing good !

#i love atheism <3 #bee tries to talk #religions #atheism #agnostic

[nando161mando]

#god #religion #atheist #dogma #suffering #earth #humans #animals #ecology #religious #religious trauma #religious art #religious imagery #ex religious #religion is a mental illness #religion is bullshit #religion is toxic #religions #religion is a scam #religion is stupid #ausgov #politas #auspol #tasgov #taspol #australia #fuck neoliberals #neoliberal capitalism #anthony albanese #albanese government

[siamkram]

#richard rohr #truth #religions #spirituality #the perennial philosophy

[mapsontheweb]

Fastest Growing Religions in Europe

by very_useful_maps

Buddhism ⚛️ seems to be growing fastest in the Scandinavian countries ❄️(plus Austria and the Netherlands), far from its base in Asia 🌏 Hinduism 🕉️ is growing quickly in an interesting mix of countries from Muslim ☪️ Saudi Arabia and Pakistan to Catholic Italy, Ireland and Belgium.

#maps #very_useful_maps #igsourced #europe #religions

[crazycatsiren]

Since ancient times, in cultures across the globe, people have participated in religions from the moment of birth.

Children have worshipped divine beings since thousands of years ago.

So yes, even if you're a beginner, even if you're young, just go ahead and pick a deity who's piqued your interests, and start praying. They won't bite.

#religious advice #religions #polytheism #witchblr #paganblr #spirituality #deity work

[wormonastringtheory]

people who are completely anti-religion/theology/spirituality need to unpack a lot; destruction of religion can be an sact of cultural genocide. divorcing religion and/or spirituality from culture is nearly impossible and would strip elements of a culture inherently

#judaism #islam #theology #religion #religions #theological #jumblr #fyi #anti-zionist jewish convert. dont like do not interact #jainism #buddism #leftism #leftist

[dontmean2bepoliticalbut]

#us politics #political cartoons #art #drawings #repost #@lainey.molnar #freedom of religion #religious freedom #religions #organized religion

[obsessivefangirl]

If you're something else or specific that you think should be known for your answer just put it in the tags

#my ramblings #religion #religions #Jesus #Christian #Christianity #Jewish #Judaism #Muslim #Islam #Islamic #Jew #if any of you start smearing hate on anyone I'll block you don't be an ass #Abrahamic #Abrahamic religions #Muhammad #Satan #the devil #Halloween

[useless-catalanfacts]

The Tossa Pilgrim has been walking this path every year since the 15th century.

According to the tradition, around the year 1400 the plague was devastating the town of Tossa de Mar (in Comarques Gironines, Catalonia). The inhabitants asked Saint Sebastian for help and promised that, if he saved them, they would walk every year to the nearest chapel dedicated to him.

Soon, the plague ended. Since then, every year on January 20th (Saint Sebastian's Day), the people of Tossa have sent a man in representation of the town to walk the 40 kilometres to the nearest chapel dedicated to Saint Sebastian, which is in the town of Santa Coloma de Farners. This man is called the Father Pilgrim (pare pelegrí in Catalan), and still continues nowadays. He walks there accompanied by everyone who wants to join, arrives in the chapel after the sun has set, and gives away shells (pilgrimage symbol) to the people of Santa Coloma who gather to welcome him. The next day, he walks back. When he reaches Tossa again, inhabitants join him carrying candles, and many religious people follow him barefoot for a personal promise.

Video by fototecapatrimonial on Instagram. Photos from Visit Tossa and Turisme Santa Coloma de Farners.

#tradicions #tossa de mar #santa coloma de farners #catalunya #pare pelegrí #pelegrí de tossa #history #pilgrim #pilgrimage #cultures #religions #culture #travel #europe #ethnography #traditions #folk catholicism #catholic #christian #christianity

[devouredbyflame]

Basics of Deity Communication - Part 2

How do I know whether my message is received? How do I know it’s Them responding?

No one can really know for sure whether or not you’re speaking to the Deity you think you are. There are certain ways, however, to know whether it is possible you are speaking to the right one or not but it takes an immense amount of trial and error. This is why experimentation is somewhat the most important way to get through this sort of discernment. It’s important to be open to being wrong no matter how hard it is and how many other people think it’s right while also holding onto the fact that you might also have been right while other people have told you otherwise. 

However, if a message has been received and it is appropriate to respond to, the Gods tend to respond in Their own time. Most answers to questions I’ve ever asked Loki have gotten back to me and most of the time He has guided me to the answer in some way or shape. Often, finding resources, listening to songs on shuffle, things popping into my mind at random are all the ways in which He has responded to my questions before I got close to Him in the way that hearing Him is not much of a problem anymore.

Read the rest of this post here:

#norse polytheism #mysticism #devotional polytheism #paganblr #deity work #norse gods #norse paganism #deity worship #lokean #pagan blog #devotional #polytheistic #polytheist #celtic polytheism #norse pagan #paganism #loki deity #norse loki #Lokean resource #guide #pagans of tumblr #pagan community #spirituality #nature based religion #religions #greek polytheism #pagan resources #polytheist resource #deity communication #divine communication