Traditional Religious Rituals

Traditional religious rituals carry from one generation to the next and they act as a conduit for relationships with each other. In the Islam faith, "There is no God but Allah, and Muhammad is his Messenger." Islam believes in one God only. Allah sits at the center of Islam. The belief that Allah is omniscient, omnipotent, and omnipresent and that God is everywhere is universal to all Muslims (McCloud, 2010). One difference in the Islam faith is that practicing Muslims pray five times a day. These prayers are established in the Qur'an and are something that Muslims do not take lightly. During the month of Ramadan Muslims practice fasting and self restraint for 30 days. This is a time when family becomes more of a focus. There is attention paid to the sharing of the morning meal, breaking the fast in the evening, and the reading of the Qur'an together at night. Two other major holidays for Islam are Eid al Fitr and Eid al Azha (McCloud, 2010). Many Muslims take a pilgrimage to Mecca and it is something that is planned for at least once in a lifetime. This journey is very sacred to them. Muslims also believe that humans are essentially born well and that there is no blight on their souls. They believe in a final day of judgment with God and that God is the final judge. Those who make it to Paradise will have believed in one God only, will have done good deeds, and upheld right while resisting wrong. (McCloud, 2010)

In conclusion, religious beliefs and practices come in many forms and fashions; however, no matter what the religion each type encourages a relationship with the Divine. The Divine can be a person, place, or object within nature. In addition to relationships with the Divine, the investigation has shown religious traditions encourage relationships with sacred time, sacred space or natural world and even with each other. The culminations of these religious relationships comprise the body of a given religion and consequently establish a robust foundation to carry on traditions relative to a specific following or belief.

Reference

Islam (2011). Retrieved from http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/islam

McCloud, A. (2010). Worship in Islam: What Muslims Want Jewish and Christian

Molloy, M. (2010). Experiencing the world's religions: Tradition, challenge, and change

(5th ed.). New York, NY: McGraw-Hill.