Difference between Rural Religion vs. Urbanized Religion

Rural Religion vs. Urbanized Religion

1. Crude vs. Refined form of Religion: It is essential to distinguish the crude forms of religion comprising animism, magic, polytheism, mythology, ghost beliefs, and others, which exercise influence over the mind of the rural population, form the refined and subtle forms of religion and religious ideas which exist in cities among the urban intelligential. ‘These refined and subtle religions and religious philosophical speculations on basic problems of life such as the problems of the nature of ultimate reality, the genesis of human knowledge, and others, which markedly distinguish them from the native religious beliefs generated in the rural atmosphere.’
2. Concrete vs. Abstract: Rural religion is crude and concrete in form whereas urbanized religion is abstract. Thus, ‘whereas the rural population worships and falls prostrate before a multitude of gods and goddesses derived out of their animistic conception of the universe, the cultured educated section of the urban humanity subscribes to the idealistic view of the universe and discusses such categories as the nature of Brahman, Free Will, and others.’
3. Fanaticism vs. Rationalism: Even critical rationalism and philosophical materialism as minority philosophical currents flourish in urban centers.
4. Static vs. Dynamic: The rural sociologist needs to distinguish between the crude, almost static, rural religion and the refined and highly abstract urbanized religion which soars in the stratosphere of speculative thought and grapples with ontological, epistemological, and other basic problems of philosophy. Further, he should also note that rationalist and materialist philosophical thought currents found in the urban society are almost absent in the rural area.”
5. Roots in Ignorance Vs. Intelligence: The root of rural religion is in the great, ignorance and ‘resultant fear of the forces of the environment prevailing among the rural people. Refined urban religion, even if based on the erroneous idealistic interpretation of the world, is not born of mere fear. This distinction regarding the psychological roots of rural and urban religions is important.’