One would think and quite understandably so that the mainstream religions of today have always been at the helm of humanity. From childhood we are conditioned with religious traditions and teachings binding us into a reality, which places particularly Abrahamic Religions at the fore. The concepts of these faiths are reinforced through the home, educational system and the media, which continually depict these traditions as the only ‘respectable’ way to acknowledge ‘God’.
The teachings are so ingrained in our minds that many see any belief outside of these faiths as backwards or foolish, thus ancient traditions are often dismissed without due respect or investigation. My question is, how did it become considered absurd to adhere or seek information on the earliest spiritual practices of humanity?
Across the globe no matter where you go you will find that the earliest spiritual beliefs are those that fall under the term pantheism, which defines the view that all facets of creation are intimately interconnected and that the universe and everything in it is an aspect of God. This is quite evident in traditional nature based spiritual traditions where minerals, plants, animals and celestial bodies are seen as interrelated with each their own role to play in this existence.
This global understanding is truly fascinating as it highlights that despite the various forms of expressions the core understanding remains the same as though it is something intuitive inside us.
Now with that said, why is there still so much emphasis on religions and not the teachings that gave birth to them? It’s like starting a book from the middle, who does that? Surely understanding these ancient beliefs would give us a better understanding of ourselves as connected body of humanity and definitely enabling an informed opinion for comparative religious study.