Folk Religion In religious studies and folkloristics, folk religion, popular religion, or vernacular religion comprises various forms and expressions of religion that are distinct from the official doctrines and practices of organized religion. The precise definition of folk religion varies among scholars. Sometimes also termed popular belief, it consists of ethnic or regional religious customs under the umbrella of...
What Is Magical Thinking? Magical thinking is a term used in anthropology, philosophy and psychology, denoting the causal relationships between actions and events. There are subtle differences in meaning between individual theorists as well as amongst fields of study. In anthropology, it denotes the attribution of causality between entities grouped with one...
Occult The occult (from the Latin word occultus “clandestine, hidden, secret”) is “knowledge of the hidden” or “knowledge of the paranormal”, as opposed to facts and “knowledge of the measurable”, usually referred to as science. The term is sometimes taken to mean knowledge that “is meant only for certain people” or that “must be kept...
What Is Wicca? Wicca, also termed Pagan Witchcraft, is a Contemporary Pagan new religious movement. Gardnarian Wicca was developed in England during the first half of the 20th century and was introduced to the public in 1954 by Gerald Gardner, a retired British civil servant. Since the last of the Witchcraft...
Black Magic Black magic has traditionally referred to the use of supernatural powers or magic for evil and selfish purposes. With respect to the left-hand path and right-hand path dichotomy, black magic is the malicious, left-hand counterpart of the benevolent white magic. In modern times, some find that the definition of “black...
Rastafari The Rastafari movement (or “Rasta” for short) is a Jamaican religion that accepts Haile Selassie I, the former emperor of Ethiopia, as “Jah” (the Rasta name for God incarnate – a shortened form of Jehovah). The term Rastafari derives from “Ras (Duke or Chief) Tafari Makonnen,” the pre-coronation name of Haile Selassie I, who, in the Rastafari view,...
What Is Spiritualism? Spiritualism accepts the existence of both the body and the spirit, and while attributing all physiological activities to the body, perceives that the functions of the soul are under the control and disposition of the spirit. According to spiritualists, it is the substance which is called the...
Islam And Domestic Violence The relationship between Islam and domestic violence is disputed. Even among Muslims, the uses and interpretations of sharia, the moral code and religious law of Islam, lack consensus. Variations in interpretation are due to different schools of Islamic jurisprudence, histories and politics of religious institutions, conversions,...
Mysticism Mysticism is the practice of religious ecstasies (religious experiences during alternate states of consciousness), together with whatever ideologies, ethics, rites, myths, legends, and magic may be related to them. It may also refer to the attainment of insight in ultimate or hidden truths, and to human transformation supported by various practices and experiences....
What Does The Bible Say About God? This article covers the answer to the question: “What Does The Bible Say About God?” There is nothing that anyone can know about God’s nature unless He reveals it to humankind. Without divine revelation humanity will be in darkness. Fortunately, the Bible has...
Satanic Ritual Abuse Satanic ritual abuse (SRA, sometimes known as ritual abuse, ritualistic abuse, organized abuse, or sadistic ritual abuse) was the subject of a moral panic (often referred to as the satanic panic) that originated in the United States in the 1980s, spreading throughout many parts of the world by the late 1990s. Allegations of SRA...
Muhammad’s Generosity This article covers Muhammad’s Generosity in detail. The Messenger is the most polished mirror in which God’s Names and Attributes are reflected the highest degree. As the perfect manifestation of these Names and Attributes, an embodiment of the Qur’an and Islam, he is the greatest and most decisive...
Muhammad’s Modesty This article describes the Islamic Prophet Muhammad‘s Modesty. In society, each person has a window (status) through which he or she looks out to see others and be seen. If the window is built higher than their real stature, people try to make themselves appear taller through vanity...
Muhammad’s Mildness And Forbearance This article covers the Islamic prophet Muhammad’s Mildness and Forbearance. Mildness is another dimension of his character. He was a bright mirror in which God reflected His Mercy. Mildness is a reflection of compassion. God made His Messenger mild and gentle, thereby allowing him to gain...
Muhammad: The Prophet Of Universal Mercy This article covers Muhammad: The Prophet of Universal Mercy. The beginning of existence was an act of mercy and compassion without which the universe would be in chaos. Everything came into existence through compassion, and by compassion, it continues to exist in harmony. Muslim...
Sodom And Gomorrah Sodom and Gomorrah were cities mentioned in the Book of Genesis and throughout the Hebrew Bible, the New Testament, and in the deuterocanonical books, as well as in the Quran and the hadith. According to the Torah, the kingdoms of Sodom and Gomorrah were allied with the cities of Admah, Zeboim, and Bela. These five...
Isaac In Islam The biblical patriarch Isaac (إسحاق , إسحٰق, Isḥāq) is recognized as a patriarch, prophet and messenger of God by all Muslims. In Islam, he is known as Isḥāq. As in Judaism and Christianity, Islam maintains that Isaac was the son of the patriarch and prophet Abraham from his wife Sarah. Muslims...
Prophet Isaac Prophet Isaac is one of the three patriarchs of the Israelites, according to the biblical Book of Genesis. In the biblical narrative, he was the son of Abraham and Sarah, the father of Jacob, and grandfather of the twelve tribes of Israel; his name means “he will laugh”, reflecting when both Abraham and Sarah laughed in disbelief...
![The most significant mosque in Islam, that is the Mosque of the Kaaba in the Hejazi city of Mecca, is believed to date to the time of Abraham and Ishmael[47]](https://slife.org/wp-content/uploads/Kaaba_mirror_edit_jj-520x390.jpg)
Abraham In Islam Ibrahim (إِبْـرَاهِـيْـم,ʾIbrāhīm), known as Abraham in the Hebrew Bible, is recognized as a prophet and messenger in Islam of God. Abraham plays a prominent role as an example of faith in Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. In Muslim belief, Abraham fulfilled all the commandments and trials wherein God nurtured him throughout his lifetime. As...
Prophet Abraham Abraham, originally Abram, is the common patriarch of the Abrahamic religions. In Judaism, he is the founding father of the covenant of the pieces, the special relationship between the Jewish people and God; in Christianity, he is the prototype of all believers, Jewish or Gentile; and in Islam he is seen as a link in the chain of prophets that begins...