Religious and Secular Symbols in the World

Religious and Secular Symbols in the World

Introduction

We observe spiritual and religious symbols and signs in all places from mosques, synagogues and churches to media devices like television, internet and through bumper stickers. We possibly know several symbols and signs related to religion whereas the others are skipped by us. Those who make use of these symbols understand these meanings but what are the meanings of those? Why those specific symbols? Religious representation involves the usage of that exclusive signs by a specific belief which explains everything related to its psyche and traditions counting epitome, natural phenomenon and events plus the art that is developed on that ground over that phase (Ellwod, 1993). The entire religions use their modern and olden signs and symbols for forming deep and booming culture which results in the reflection of the wisdom, ethical values and customs of that civilization. In addition, holding this religious representation also encourages and promotes the unity and harmony among the people who follow which keeps them sheltered as an entity and helps focusing better on their objective of devotion.

Discussion

The Christian Cross

The commonest sign of the Christianity is the cross which we see nearly everywhere. The Christianity and the martyrdom of Jesus Christ are symbolized by the cross, as a religion. We see that one more figure of the cross is the cruciform, that includes the Jesus' figure, attached to the cross by both feet and hands, generally by a cap of spines on top of his head and a sign containing the letters INRI that is the short form of the phrase in Latin, "Jesus the Nazarene, King of the Jews."

The Ichthys (Fish)

It is an additional common sign of Christianity. This is showed on the rear buffer of the automobiles by many Christians. The word ichthys is an olden Greek word which means fish, containing the letters of Greek, ?XTYS which stands for 'Jesus Christ, son of god, and savior. There are various causes for fish, as a symbol of Christianity. One of those is that fishing was the profession of several followers of Christianity. Another one is that various wonders were presented by the Jesus relating fish and the most accepted cause is that in Matthew, Jesus states, “Come, follow me, and I will make you fishers of men." The mission of Christians is symbolized by the ichthys.

The Star and Crescent

The Islamic belief is recognized by a symbol of Star and Crescent. On the other hand, this sign is older and formerly, central Asians and Siberians used it for the symbol of the gods of sky. In the year of 1453, when it was the period of Ottoman kingdom in which Constantinople was dominated by Turks, Islam adopted the symbol of star and crescent. This symbol was used in tribute of goddess Diana by the city of Constantinople but, when it was taken over by the Turks, they whipped that sign and flag and declared it for the ...