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What are some of the ways in which belief in souls, gods, and other spiritual beings vary among societies? Compare and contrast at least two different societies.

Religion exists when people believe in the existence of souls, gods, and other spiritual beings. However, it changes throughout the globe, and different societies have varying beliefs and rituals that they follow. In his work, Marvin Harris talks about the notion of animism – “the belief that humans share the world with a population of extraordinary, extracorporeal, and mostly invisible beings, ranging from souls and ghosts to saints and fairies, angels and cherubim, demons, jinni, devils, and gods” (Harris, 26).

One of the ways the animistic beliefs differ in various societies is that, for example, band-and-village people believed in gods who lived on top of mountains or in the sky. They believed that the sky god created the Earth and nature, and that it is the god who actually show the inhabitants how to hunt, make fire or bring up a child. The Yaruro people of Venezuela, similarly, believed in “great mother” who created the world. While, the Semang people of Malaysia believed in Kedah who created everything, including the god.

The belief in inner being - a soul- also differs in various societies. For instance, Ancient Egyptians, as well as many West African people believed that each person had two souls- one from the paternal line, another-from the maternal side. According to Harris, the Fang people of Gabon have seven souls, “ a sound inside the brain, a heart soul, a name soul, a life force soul, a body soul, a shadow soul, and a ghost soul” (Harris , 27). As opposed to Western cultures, where they believe only in one soul which guides people throughout their lives and also in the life after death. All these differences among societies demonstrate that the notion of animism is universal and exist almost everywhere.

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