Religious symbol

thumb|355x355px|A collage of artistic representations of various religious symbols; clockwise from top left: [[Om for Hinduism, Dharmachakra for Buddhism, Jain Prateek Chihna for Jainism, Khanda for Sikhism, Star of David for Judaism, Latin Cross for Christianity, Star and Crescent for Islam and Taijitu for Daoism.]]

A religious symbol is an iconic representation intended to represent a specific religion, or a specific concept within a given religion.

Religious symbols have been used in the military in many countries, such as the United States military chaplain symbols. Similarly, the United States Department of Veterans Affairs emblems for headstones and markers recognize 57 symbols (including a number of symbols expressing non-religiosity).

Symbols representing a specific religion

<!--symbols representing religions (entire traditions), not specific religious concepts. The references cited must make this clear. E.g. Ankh is historically not a symbol *of* Egyptian religion, it is a symbol of "life" *within* Egyptian religion; Aum is not a symbol *of* Hinduism (or wasn't, until the 2000s or so), it is a symbol of the Vedas (or Vedanta, mystic union, etc.).

Make sure to pay attention to this distinction, and make sure that the references cited are unambiguous.

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Symbolic representation of a specific religious tradition is useful in a society with religious pluralism, as was the case in the Roman Empire, and again in modern multiculturalism.

{| class="wikitable sortable"

! Religion

! Name of Religious symbol

! Religious symbol

! Origin

! Notes and references

| rowspan="2" | Christianity

| Cross and Cruciform

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| 32 AD

| The Christian cross has traditionally been a symbol representing Christianity or Christendom as a whole, and is the best-known symbol of Christianity. However, in most countries where Mahayana Buddhism is prevalent such as China, Taiwan, Korea and Japan, the Swastika is traditionally used as the symbol of Buddhism instead of the Dharma Wheel.

| Baháʼí

| Nine-pointed star

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| According to the Abjad system of Isopsephy, the word Bahá' has a numerical equivalence of 9, and thus there is frequent use of the number 9 in Baháʼí symbols. It was recognized as a grave marker by the United States Department of Veterans Affairs in 2005.

| Dievturība

| Krustu krusts

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| Krustu krusts, known as cross crosslet in English, a sigil used in Latvia for more than 1000 years, is the religious symbol of Dievturība, the ethnic religion of the Latvians since 1925.

| Druidism

| Triskelion

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| As a Celtic symbol, it is used by various eclectic or syncretic traditions such as Neopaganism.

| Druze

| Druze star

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| The Druze strictly avoid iconography, but use five colors ("Five Limits") on their Druze star and Druze flag as a religious symbol: green, red, yellow, blue, and white. Each color pertains to a metaphysical power called ', literally "a limit", as in the distinctions that separate humans from animals, or the powers that make human the animalistic body. Each ' is color-coded in the following manner: Green for ' "the Universal Mind/Intelligence/Nous", Red for ' "the Universal Soul/Anima mundi", Yellow for ' "the Word/Logos", Blue for ' "the Potentiality/Cause/Precedent", and White for ' "the Future/Effect/Immanence".

| The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints

| Angel Moroni

| center|40x40px

| 1844

| The Angel Moroni is an important figure in the theology of the Latter Day Saint movement, and is featured prominently in Mormon architecture and art. An angel with trumpet motif was first used as the weather vane for the 1844 Nauvoo Temple, and starting with the 1892 Salt Lake Temple, most LDS temples feature an Angel Moroni statue, including the rebuilt 2002 Nauvoo Illinois Temple. As of April 4, 2020 Russell M. Nelson, the president of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, changed the symbol to an image that is a representation of the "Christus" statue at its center, placed within a rectangular cornerstone with the Church's name above it.

| Community of Christ

| A child with the lamb and lion

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| 1874

| The lamb and lion have been used informally in Community of Christ since the Latter Day Saints' "Kirtland" period. Its original formal iteration, prominently featuring the lion, the lamb, and child, along with the motto Peace, was designed by Joseph Smith III, Jason W. Briggs, and Elijah Banta, and approved in the denomination's General Conference in 1874.

| Hinduism

| Om

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| The syllable "om" or "aum" is first described as all-encompassing mystical entity in the Upanishads. Hindus believe that as creation began, the divine, all-encompassing consciousness took the form of the first and original vibration manifesting as sound Om. Before creation began there was shunyākāsha, the emptiness, or the void. The vibration of Om symbolises the manifestation of God in form (sāguna brahman). Om is the reflection of the absolute reality, it is said to be "Adi Anadi", without beginning or the end and embracing all that exists.

| Menorah

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| 4th century CE

|The Menorah, originally a symbol from the Temple in Jerusalem, became a symbol of Jewish communities after the destruction and exile. Eventually it was overtaken in popularity by the Star of David, but is still used to this day. Pythagoras himself was credited with having devised the tetractys Iamblichus, in his Life of Pythagoras, states that the tetractys was "so admirable, and so divinised by those who understood [it]," that Pythagoras's students would swear oaths by it. where it symbolically marks the transition from the profane to sacred; two uprights and two crossbars denoting the separation. Their first appearance in Japan can be reliably pinpointed to at least the mid-Heian period. However, the idea of having a single Shinto symbol is foreign to most Japanese people.

| Zoroastrianism

| Faravahar

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| The symbol is currently thought to represent a Fravashi (approximately a guardian angel). It is regarded as a national icon in Iran, as well as a symbol among Zoroastrians. There are various interpretations of what the faravahar symbolizes, and there is no universal consensus except to note that it does not represent the fravashi. It symbolizes good thoughts, good words, and good deeds - the basic tenets and principles of Zoroastrianism.

Religious symbolism

African Indigenous religions

In some African Indigenous religions, there are graphical and pictorial symbols representing the actual religion or faith just like the Abrahamic faith. Each indigenous religion however, has symbolisms which are religious or spiritual in nature. Some of these may be graphical, numerological (as in Serer numerology - see Serer creation myth) or a combination of both. However, these graphical images represent the actual religion practice and elements within the faith.

The Ìṣẹ̀ṣe religion of the yoruba people indigenous religion as an example has it graphical and pictorial symbol representing the religion, the symbol explained the philosophical concept of the four cardinal point of the earth.

The very nature of African art stem from "their themes of symbolism, functionalism and utilitarianism" hence why African art is multi-functional. In the African Indigenous belief system, Africans draw from their various artistic traditions as sources of inspiration.

{| class="wikitable sortable"

! Traditional African religions

! Name

! Symbol

! Notes and references

| rowspan="1" | Akan religion

| Gye Nyame

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| The Adinkra symbol representing the omnipotence, omniscience, omnipresence, and immortality of Nyame (the Akan sky god).

| rowspan="2" | Serer religion (a ƭat Roog)

| Yoonir

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| Yoonir is a religious symbolism in the traditional faith of the Serer people. It symbolizes the universe as well as the Serer people. In the Serer worldview, it represents good fortune and destiny and was used by Serer illiterates to sign their names. The peak of the star represents the Deity Roog. The other four points represent the cardinal points of the Universe. The crossing of the lines pinpoints the axis of the Universe, that all energies pass. The top point is "the point of departure and conclusion, the origin and the end".

| Mbot

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|The mbot is the symbol of the Ndut rite of passage (a circumcision rite) that every Serer male must go through. The female equivalent is Ndom (the tattooing of the gums). It is in Ndut classical teachings where Serer boys get to learn about themselves, the importance of teamwork, good citizenship and the secrets and mysteries of the universe.

| rowspan="3" | Ìṣẹ̀ṣe Religion

|Ìṣẹ̀ṣe

|70px|Isese Religion

|The Symbol of Ìṣẹ̀ṣe - Yorùbá indigenous Religion explained the Philosophical concept of the Four Cardinal Points (Igun Mẹ́rin Ayé) and its cosmological meanings as it was arranged and explained by Ọ̀rúnmìlà Baraà mi Àgbọnnìrègún through IFÁ - the esoteric language of OLÓDÙMARÈ, and which is the Centrality of the Existence of Humanity, Divinity, and the Cosmos.

- Iwájú Ọpọ́n

- Ẹ̀yìn Ọpọ́n

- Olùmú Ọ̀tún

- Olùkànràn Òsì

- Àárín Ọpọ́n Ìta Ọ̀run

Other examples of religious symbolism

Ayyavazhi symbolism
Baháʼí symbols
Buddhist symbolism
Christian symbolism
Jewish symbolism
Symbolism in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
Symbols of Islam

Religious symbol

Symbols representing a specific religion

Religious symbolism

African Indigenous religions

Other examples of religious symbolism

See also

References

Bibliography

External links