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Astronism
ASTRONOMICAL RELIGIONS
what religious tradition does
Astronism belong to?
Free to use image from Unsplash by Jerry Larry (link)
By the time Cometan founded Astronism at the age of fifteen in 2013, astronomical religions had all but disappeared from the modern religious landscape, in real-world practice and in academic study.
After founding and developing the identity of Astronism, Cometan soon came to the dilemma of the categorisation of Astronism in relation to pre-existing religions and their traditions.
Cometan's subsequent study of the history of religion lead to his realisation of the prehistoric origins of the relationship between astronomy and religion, but he also too saw that this relationship had been severely under-researched and was undeveloped.
A new mission for Cometan emerged atop his already mammoth task of developing Astronism itself. This new mission involved the clarification of the history and the subsequent establishment of a new tradition of religion that was entirely astronomically-themed.
He named this the Astronic tradition and it would come stand alongside the other major religious traditions like the Abrahamic, Dharmic, and Taoic traditions.
Free to use image from Unsplash by Benjamin Voros (link)
Free to use image from Unsplash by Denis Degioanni (link)
The first form of religious belief has been estimated at around 100,000 BCE which is when Neanderthals started burying their dead which suggests concern for some type of religious ideas.
The second type of belief was that of bear worship suggested to have emerged due to the hunter-gatherer way of life that Neanderthals lead.
But thirdly, and most importantly, beliefs connected to the stars are archaeologically-proven, through discovered amulets and carved stone walls, to have emerged as far back as 40,000 BCE.
This is marked as the starting point of Astronic religious belief, making the Astronic tradition the oldest religious tradition in history. This provided Astronism with a rich and profound history and lineage to be categorised as part of.
So, what is an astronomical religion?
An astronomical religion is a type of religion that involves some central importance placed on the role of the stars and of The Cosmos.
In Astronist scholarship, the term 'astronomical religion' is used interchangeably with the term 'Astronic religion' although the former is generally more ambiguous as the extent of religions it includes is broader. Typically, the term 'space religion' is not preferred in Astronist scholarship due to its inclusion of UFO religions which are rejected by Astronism.
And, what religions other than Astronism are classified as Astronic religions?
An Astronic religion is a narrower designation and is any religion that shares the same cosmocentric worldview that Astronism follows. This means that the religion needs to consist of the same style of focus on The Cosmos as Astronism for it to be classified as Astronic.
Other Astronic religions include Astrology, Astrolatrism (astrolatry), and Archaeoastronism (which consists of a large collection of extinct religions dating back to prehistoric times).
Free to use image from Unsplash by Alexander Andrews (link)
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