There is a big difference between superstition and religion, yet sometimes they can be used interchangeably, depending on who you are talking to. Both superstition and religion hold a significant role in society these days. These have shaped and connected every culture. However, superstition and religion do not point to the same thing. If you are talking about religion, this simply refers to the worship and belief in a God or gods. With superstition, it is defined as belief in the supernatural practice or influences that are based solely on this. This clarifies the differences between these two, which are integral to society.

Religion

As it is already defined above, religion refers to the belief in a single God or gods. It is a system of beliefs wherein it is functional in a society. According to sociologists, they see that religion is not only being a part of society and its culture but also comes with a distinctive purpose. You can understand this clearly through the definition of religion by Yinger’s. He believes that religion is a system of practices and beliefs in which a group of individuals struggles with the ultimate issues of life. The issues of life, meaning that religion provides the people the system of beliefs. This is the reason that Marx said before that religion is the opium for the masses since it always the suffering.

From the sociologists’ point of view, religion is not only creating the belief system for the people to accept and embrace but it makes a collective conscience. Since many see that it is impossible to move forward in social life unless there is that shared value system, religion makes up for that void. It also makes that social stability and even maintains order.

There are different religions today and the major ones are Christianity, Islam, Buddhism, and Hinduism. All these religions form up the society wherein its central belief is to heighten social solidarity.

Superstition

Unlike with religion, superstition is a belief in the supernatural practices or influences that are based on religion. Superstitions are shaped by people and they are passed on from one generation to another. Back in the ancient days, the people had great belief and faith in superstitions. However, these days this situation has changed. This is mainly because of the advancement of technology, plus the enhancement of science that made people realize that the entire thing about superstition is just beliefs and no more beyond that. In particular cultures, wherein they haven’t advanced much when it comes to technology, superstitions still exist among them. There are times that societies people consider as very advanced, they still believe in superstition. The reason for this is due to the socialization process wherein people have acquired various cultural attributes like myths, superstitions, and values wherein it can be quite difficult to get rid of them.

Superstitions can involve evil spirits, witchcraft, magic and various traditional beliefs, too. The culture’s beliefs and superstitions are generally intertwined, which is why it is very difficult to separate the both of them.

Every religion has its own set of misconceptions and Hinduism is not an exception. It is the oldest religion in the world, not to mention there isn’t a specific date as to when it was first formed. The name itself is a Sanskrit word and both Hindu and Hinduism were coined by the invaders as a means to refer to people that they have encountered during the time that they crossed the mountains of Hindu Kush and arrived at Indus River.

There are over a billion followers to Hinduism, followed by Islam and Christianity behind. Some people argue that Hinduism is not only just a religion as it doesn’t have a common church or creed. It is not even based on teachings from a holy book or founder.

1. There are over 330 million gods

There is one supreme being that can never be understood or known. Followers of Hinduism are encouraged that they related to the Supreme Being in a way that really suits them best, just like how worshiping a lot of deities believed to be different manifestations of the Supreme Being. The 3 main deities are the creator Brahma, the preserver Vishnu and the destroyer Shiva. This is why the many people mistakenly think that Hinduism is polytheistic.

2. They are idol worshipers.

Reality is that the Hindus worship as a means to remind them of God. You will never meet a Hindu that will tell you they are worshiping an idol.

3. They worship cows.

The Hindus do not worship or even pray to the cows. However, they regard every creation and life as sacred. Hindus do believe that every living thing contains a soul. However, cows hold a special place in Hinduism. This is why they avoid eating beef.

4. Hindus are vegetarians.

The truth is, most Hindus eat meat. Around 30 percent avoid meat. This comes from the belief of ahimsa, which is a principle referring to non-violence. All living things are the creation of the Supreme Being, thus violence against them is seen as the imbalance of the universe.

5. It supports the caste system.

The caste system where Hindus are dominantly living, India, is seen as discriminatory. However, the caste discrimination is rooted in culture and not in religion.

6. In Hinduism, women are subservient to it.

This is the same misconception with the caste discrimination – it is rooted in culture and not in religion.

7. Women in Hinduism wearing the ‘read dots’ on foreheads are married.

Reality is, not all of them. The red dot was once the marriage symbol among Hindu women. These days, the red dot is widely decorative. They are used as fashion statements.

8. Hinduism’s Bhagavad Gita is similar to the Bible.

Hinduism doesn’t have a central and authoritative book. However, they are rich in scripture with the vast collection of religious writings from ancient times.

9. Karma is fatalistic.

Every individual is given the freedom to choose their life’s actions. The theory of karma is like this: every action that the person has set in motion, there will be a corresponding reaction. Know More