Religious norms: their 8 types, and examples

All religions have rules that define how their believers should behave appropriately. Is about religious norms, which are very varied depending on the creed and they can imply several consequences at a social level.

Although there are many religions, almost as many as there are cultures, all their norms have a series of characteristics in common. If you want to discover what these characteristics are, we invite you to continue reading this article.

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What are religious norms?

religious norms are sets of rules that define a series of behaviors and habits that believers of a religion must carry out. Normally, these norms are stipulated in some sacred text or are dictated by people who are considered the representatives of the will of God or deities.

Not following these rules can be interpreted as an offense by other believers, a disobedience to God's will or a sin. That is why, through the use of these norms, an attempt is made to prevent believers from carrying out acts that constitute a violation of the designs of religion. It may also be the case that not following these rules is not seen as such a bad thing by society, but rather by the individual, who acquires a deep sense of guilt.

Traditionally, religious norms have tried to regulate people's behavior, and have acquired a key importance in the proper functioning of the society of yesteryear.

Characteristics

Religious norms have a series of characteristics, which occur in most organized religions. Let's see the most notable.

1. Origin

Traditionally, the appearance of religious norms precedes legal ones, and they have laid the foundation for the configuration of the legal system.

That is why in many cultures, even though there is a more or less secular legal system that legislates the correct behavior of citizens, their laws are usually based on old rules formulated in a perspective religious.

2. timeless

Religious norms are difficult to change over time. Unlike social and legislative norms, which allow for a greater degree of change, religious norms They can last hundreds of years without any modification..

This is because, within the context of obedience to a specific divinity, changing that rule or admitting a certain freedom could be interpreted as not respecting God's designs and acting on behalf of own.

3. internal

Compliance with these standards is not expressed in an open and external way, but has more to do with agree to follow them or not, and, consequently, behave according to how they mark these rules.

Each norm must be internalized and accepted by the believer himself, doing it out of devotion to God or the gods in which he believes.

4. incoercible

Religious norms do not admit, in most cases, that they be imposed on people by force. Each believer is free to follow or not the established norm.

Nobody forces the believer to follow the religious norm. Although each norm, according to the religion that marks them, implies a series of consequences in case they are not complied with, cannot be followed outside of the person's will.

5. unilateral

With unilateral reference is made to the fact that in religious norms there is no third person who has the capacity to decide whether or not to respect that specific norm.

That is to say, each person who believes in a religion has the obligation to follow the rules set by his creed, but this obligation is not determined by other people, but is a decision of the believer himself to his belief.

6. Permitted Conduct

Religious norms are, in essence, those behaviors that God or the deities of a religion allow to be done and those that are not tolerated.

7. heteronomous

With that they are heteronomous, reference is made to the fact that a third party has been, such as a prophet, a priest or another figure religious, who has dictated these norms, assuring that the deity to whom he said was indicating them represent.

The person who dictates the religious norms, but does not impose them or force their compliance, usually says that it has been through a divine revelation. The believer does not have the power to change the rules or add new ones, but You just have to stick to them..

8. religious promise

In most religions, in case of respecting all the norms that have been dictated from that belief, some kind of benefit or privilege is promised in life or in the afterlife.

But promises of good things are not only made in case of obeying the heavenly designs. In many cases, hell, eternal suffering and unhappiness are also promised in case one sins or acts against the divine will.

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Some examples and social implications

All religious norms have, as an objective, to modify the behavior of the population in such a way that so that it is appropriate and in accordance with the designs of what is interpreted as the will of God.

There are many, many more examples than existing religions. Next we will see a series of examples of real religious norms, followed by the believers of religions as influential as Islam, Judaism and Christianity, in addition to explaining their social implications.

1. Outfit

One of the most famous religious rules of Islam It is the one that concerns the use of a certain type of clothing if you are a woman. Whether in the form of a veil that covers the hair or a burqa, a garment that covers the entire body, women in society Islamic woman must wear some kind of garment that hides her attributes and, thus, does not provoke lust in men, according to her religion.

Although among Islamic countries there is much variation in the degree of adherence to this religious norm, in those in those who are still in force the Sharia or Islamic law this rule has legal consequences, such as jail, flogging or stoning

In Christianity, both nuns and priests must wear special garments according to their position in the religious hierarchy, in addition to being modest and do not make them sin with pride.

Another example of this is the case of Christian women when they get married, who must wear white as a symbol of their purity and virginity.

2. Feeding

Returning to Islam, during the month of Ramadan, the consumption of food is prohibited during the hours in which the sun is in the sky. Late night, food consumption is allowed. This religious norm admits exceptions: children, pregnant and menstruating women and the sick can eat and drink according to their needs at the time they require it.

Another Islamic rule related to food, shared with Judaism, is the ban on eating pork, considered an unclean animal. The consumption of alcohol is also not welcome.

In Christianity, the wine of the mass represents the blood of Christ, although it does not mean that the abuse of this drug is viewed favorably.

Red meat is not eaten during Holy Week in most Catholic countries., replacing it with chicken or fish. This is done coinciding with the anniversary of the death of Jesus, representing the suffering that he had to suffer before his crucifixion.

3. Intervention on the body

Religions such as Christianity do not accept intervention on the body, since it is seen as a creation of God and, therefore, only he has the right to modify what he has created.

Thus, Christians generally do not look favorably on tattoos or piercings, and in more radical cases, blood transfusions and vaccinations. This has as a consequence the association of individuals with this type of body markings with delinquency or to belong to areas that are not in accordance with the faith.

As for blood transfusions and vaccines, not accepting them for religious reasons is not only a danger to the individual himself, but also to the people close to him who may be affected by the disease of which he is not aware. protect.

On the other hand, in religions such as Hinduism and in various religions of the Pacific body modification is a religious symbol. Hindu women wear nose piercings, and ceremonial tattoos are common in Polynesian religions.

In Judaism, the newborn is circumcised, while in Islam a circumcision is performed. similar procedure, although it can be said that this was already carried out before the appearance of religion islamic

This type of procedure, in which surgery is basically performed on the penis for no medical purpose, can be perceived as a masculine version of female genital cutting, something that in the West is considered mistreatment of women women.

4. animal worship

As we were already saying, there are religions such as Judaism and Islam which flee from certain animals, in this case the pig.

Others, on the other hand, adore certain animals. In India, cows are considered sacred animals, which cannot even be touched. As a consequence of this, on more than one occasion the bovines, who walk through the cities at their wide, they can stop traffic by standing in the middle of the street and without anyone doing anything to stop them. put them away

In Ancient Egypt, cats were seen as practically gods, and large sphinxes and statues were erected on honor them, in addition to having certain privileges that the citizens of lower estates did not have the right to enjoy.

The adoration for felines was such in Egypt that they were even paid homage once the kittens were dead, building tombs and placing their mummies in them. In those same tombs they were accompanied by offerings to the gods, which were very expensive.

5. Punishment of crimes

In certain Islamic countries, theft is punished by a law that is a readaptation of the ancient code of Hammurabi, which can basically be summed up with the principle of an eye for an eye. The thief, who has used his hand to commit a crime, will see his hand amputated as just punishment for his criminal act.

It should be said that in most religions, both robbery and murder are considered sins and they are not accepted in any way.

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6. Pilgrimage

In Islam there is a religious rule to visit Mecca, a holy Arab city, at least once in a lifetime. Every year millions of Muslims visit this city to gather in the square where the Kaaba is located and pray around it.

In the Christian world there is the Camino de Santiago, which also moves thousands of people every year traveling the Northern Spain to honor Saint James the Greater, who is buried in the Galician city of Santiago de Compostela.

Bibliographic references:

• Jaki, S. L. (1985). The Road of Science and the Ways to God. 3rd ed.