Prayer (in Individual and Group
In this short essay, we will specify how, when, and why a prayer (in individual and group setting) constitutes a religious object according to the definitions of Dr. Roderick Ninian Smart. He shows how that prayer can be a ritual object even without a literal interpretation and practice of a particular custom.
Analysis
As we see in our class reading prayer is a religious object according to the methodology of Roderick Ninian Smart. It is what Smart identifies as part of his practical and ritual dimension which specify what the adherents of a particular religion do
as part of that religion. He argues that the act of prayer, in forms of hymns or individualistic spiritual meditation, is one of the most fundamental and spontaneous religious practices. As Smith points out, the practice of praying is an extremely experiential act. A leap of faith underlies the act of prayer. Prayers are not confined to the Christian faith, is constructed upon the belief that one is in conversation with superhuman beings or spirits ("Ninian smart's seven," 2010).
As Smart says, prayer constitutes private and solitary moments of quiet reflection on God. This might constitute
noisy, group singing and chanting, usually while fully prostrate, while prayer is conducted by a priest. The ritual in Islam includes kneeling down, reciting memorized prayers
bowing down repeatedly in direction of Mecca, chanting from the
Holy Qur'an
while they do so (ibid.).
Smart has especially argued for prayer as a religious object when prayer is seen as an element within the healing of the sick. This is accomplished by what Smart in one of his books calls the process of superimposition by an outsider to the religion. However, one can lump a great number of practices under the rubric of prayer from Torah study to Hindus meditating upon a yoga sutra to many other types of ritual practice. By recognizing that outside classification can be an imposition, one can realize that the scope of ritual activity can be virtually without limit. Therefore, Smart's examination of