Religion v. Myth

stellaluna

stellaluna

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This feels a bit silly to ask, but what is the difference between religion and myth? Weren't ancient myths also part of a religious belief system?
 
stellaluna said:
This feels a bit silly to ask, but what is the difference between religion and myth? Weren't ancient myths also part of a religious belief system?
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When I think of myths, I usually think of origin stories - such as the creation of the world or the significance of a person instrumental to the community's origin - that express the worldview of a particular culture or group of people. Religion encompasses myth, but myth doesn't encompass religion. In other words, myth is a component of religion.
 
wil said:
An answer most won't like is mythology is a former religion that went out of favor, or one that you don't believe.
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Joseph Campbell, "Myth is what we call other peoples' religion."

Though we also call more mundane things which we consider baseless beliefs by the name of myths.
 
Not necessarily disagreeing, but there's much more to myth than that.

Myths are often concise and stripped-down stories that transmit complex understandings.

And myth-making continues. Can't recall the author, but there's a book on modern myths, those tales we've all heard of that happened to someone we don't know, that are actually retellings of centuries-old stories.

Then their are our personal myths, how we tell our own history, to ourselves as much as others.

Humans are myth-makers.
 
Interesting, in the context of this discussion I think myth needs some group think, and acceptance, ancient chronology and literary notoriety.

myth
Dictionary result for myth
/miTH/
Learn to pronounce
noun
  1. 1.
    a traditional story, especially one concerning the early history of a people or explaining some natural or social phenomenon, and typically involving supernatural beings or events.
    synonyms: folk tale, story, folk story, legend, tale, fable, saga, allegory, parable, tradition, lore, folklore;More

  2. 2.
    a widely held but false belief or idea.
    "he wants to dispel the myth that sea kayaking is too risky or too strenuous"
    synonyms: misconception, fallacy, mistaken belief, false notion, misbelief, old wives' tale, fairy story, fairy tale, fiction, fantasy, delusion, figment of the imagination;
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wil said:
An answer most won't like is mythology is a former religion that went out of favor, or one that you don't believe.
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This is actually kind of where I was landing, but I know there must be more nuance than that.
 
Cino said:
Joseph Campbell, "Myth is what we call other peoples' religion."

Though we also call more mundane things which we consider baseless beliefs by the name of myths.
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The story of Adam and Eve, for example, is a myth.
 
Some myths express perennial truths, whereas other myths are false.
 
wil said:
True myths?
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Yes, there are Native American myths that resonate more with me than the story of Adam and Eve or stories rooted in ancient Roman culture.
 
wil said:
As in true? Or moralistic parables?
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Not only a moralistic parable, but truths about the universe too. Here's an example from a Hopi origin story of human beings:

 
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