Elements of Religious Traditions
Anon
University of Phoenix
REL/133
Professor Rossum
June 22, 2011

Elements of Religious Traditions Some issues need to be addressed when a person sets out to study the topic of religion. It must first be acknowledged that every aspect of religion when viewed by two biased individuals will have varying conclusions, people gather biased ness as they age, gain worldly experiences, and can comprehend ideas on a more complex level. The ability to comprehend a different cultures rituals, prayers, pilgrimages or doctrines, inevitably becomes tainted by the observer’s current knowledge or prejudices. The textbook definition of a tradition is, “the handing down of a practice, custom, or story that is memorized and passed down from generation to generation, with or without a writing system” (Stein, Hauck, & Su, 1988, p. 1392). The traditions held sacred by different faiths can sometimes be easily comprehended and studied and other times confusing and only surmised. The amount and type of documentation or the lack thereof with each religious tradition is a critical factor when studying religions. The insight gained when studying religion and its traditions can play an important role in the relationships between two of the same faith, two of opposing faiths, a person and his or her divine, the history of his or her religion, and his or her belief in what is sacred. When referring to the sacred, it does not always mean the Deity or Gods a person worships. It can mean a sacred place like the Incan city of Machu Piccho, or the Buddhist Monestary, Jokhang Temple. These two sacred spaces had very different outcomes. One site deserted leaving religious researchers questioning whether this was because the Incans revered the place to holy to walk on, or because of an epidemic like smallpox the city changed from a place of