Similarities Between Religion And The Yoruba Religion

Religions cannot be reduced to a belief system anymore than they can be reduced to ritual system” (Prothero 21). This quote is true to that of the religions of Christianity and the Yoruba religions. The role of believing plays a larger role in Christianity than it does for the Yoruba religion. The Yorubas seem to have more of a ritual based religion than a belief system . There are many difference between the two religions when it comes to how they express their “belief system.” That does not mean that they don’t share some similarities either. Belief in the Yoruba and the Christian religions are expressed in different ways but share some similarities as well.
Firstly, Christians express their beliefs in some different ways than the Yoruba …show more content…
The Yoruba religion is a polytheistic religion. They believe in many gods as opposed to Christianity which only believes in one god. The Yorubas have a larger focus on the story aspect of their deities. They have these stories about their gods once walking the earth, giving their believers a sense of connection to their gods as they have once been just like them. The olodumare is the god that does not get involved in human affairs, he is the highest god. The lesser gods, the orisas, are the ones that help humans out and are able to bring harm upon the humans. Since they can harm humans they are able to sin, unlike Jesus Christ who is considered to never sin. When you are being born in the Yoruba religion, you are placed before god and you can chose your own destiny: where you were born, what you want to do in life, and when you would die. Unlike in Christianity, you are born with sin already due to the original sin of Adam and Eve. Christians cannot pick their own destinies. The Yoruba also believe that after death you undergo the process of reincarnated. When you die, you forget your past life and are given you choice of a new