World Religions that Worship Water
Tags: Purity, Water, Clean, Religion, Environment

“We made from water every living thing” (Qur’an 21:30).

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Water is often thought of as a purifier in many religions. In some, it is associated directly with a god or deity. Without modern scientific knowledge, adherents to ancient religions were capable of recognizing the importance of water in their lives and duly worked to protect, save, and honor it. Here are a few religions that worship the most divine resource on Earth:

Aztec religion

The Aztecs believed that Tlaloc, the god of rain, was responsible for bearing the fruits of the Earth and providing water (1). In Tenochtitlan (modern-day Mexico City), atop The Great Temple sits a shrine dedicated to Tlaloc where the Aztecs gave many water-related offerings. When the Aztecs inhabited Tenochtitlan, they built the city on an island of then Lake Texcoco. Water was not only important for the health of the people and their agriculture, it was imperative for literally keeping the city afloat. At Mount Tlaloc, an extinct volcano located slightly East of Mexico City, the Aztecs would hold sacrificial rituals just before the rainy seasons to secure rain for the land. In the ones where children's hearts were ripped out, they were supposed to cry leading up to the ceremony because their tears symbolized abundant rain. If they did not cry, they would rip the child’s fingernails off to elicit tears. Sadly, Mexico City no longer floats on top of a lake. It’s actually one of the most water-scarce cities in the world despite receiving more rainfalls than London. The water shortages largely affect low-income families and are expected only to get worse. Let’s hope the Mexican government can come up with some science-based means of water renewal soon before someone tries going old-school to restore water for the people. President Lopez-Obrador, at least do it for the children!

Yoruba

For the Yoruba people, Yemoja is the goddess of the oceans and rivers. She is one of many orishas (deities) in the Yoruba religion and is considered the metaphysical mother of all orishas, exemplifying the importance of water to life. The etymology of her name comes from the Yoruba words Iye, meaning “mother”; ọmọ, meaning “child”; and ẹja, meaning “fish”; roughly translated to mean “mother whose children are fish.” She is patron orisha of the Ogun River which supplies water to Nigeria’s largest city, Lagos. In more than just ethereal belief, water is also essential to the daily worship rituals of the Yoruba.

Hinduism

The Ganges river is the most sacred river in Hinduism. Worshipped as the goddess Ganga, she became associated as the bestower of earthly gifts and ultimate liberation. The Hindus believe that the waters of the Ganges are pure and cleansing (2). Simply a droplet of water from the Ganges carried by the breeze in one’s direction is believed to “erase the sins of many lifetimes in an instant” (3). Unfortunately for many Hindus and those reliant on the material benefits provided by the Ganges River, the Ganges faces serious threats from pollution to environmental destruction. Despite many government actions to preserve the river, most have seen only limited success. Hopefully, the Indian government and its people recognize just how important it is to preserve this body of water quickly to ensure the religious and corporeal health of the people reliant on it.

Zoroastrianism

Zoroastrianism was a dominant religion in ancient Iran. One of the seven holy immortals (key aspects) of the religion is water and its association with health (page 32). A core tenet of Zoroastrianism is protecting the life-giving elements. Unlike most other religions on this list, Zoroastrians believe water is inherently pure and should not be used as a cleansing agent (page 35). For the sake of its purity, nothing impure must come into contact with it, so lakes, streams, and other natural water sources are to be protected. If we — in the United States, at least — had a more Zoroastrian stance on preserving water, we’d likely be more cautious about what we discharge into water sources and have more abundant clean water.

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Islam

“We made from water every living thing” (Qur’an 21:30). This statement could sum up the importance of water to nearly all of the beliefs in this list. Water not only symbolizes human provenance in Islam but also purity. For the ritual purification practices detailed in 5:6 of the Qur’an, the reader is instructed to perform a cleansing with water before worship. Mosques are always equipped with fountains or other water sources for Muslims to perform ablutions before prayer. Additionally, consuming excess water is considered sinful. 7:31 of the Qur’an explains that God does not like those who consume in excess. Water also plays an integral role in the most beautiful instances of Islamic architecture like the water tank in front of the Taj Mahal, the various pools at the Alhambra fortress in Granada, Spain, and the hammams (public baths) that covered ancient Muslim cities.

Judaism/Christianity/Catholicism

From Genesis 2:5, “no small plant of the field had yet sprung up — for the Lord God had not caused it to rain on the land,” there was an understanding that water was necessary for life. This concept gets further emphasized in Ezekiel 47:1–12 when it was explained that life follows the path of the water running from the temple to the Dead Sea. As in Islam, many Jewish rituals (and even after menstruation) call for cleansing with water. Water is also symbolic in cleansing sins. In Christianity, Jesus instructs his disciples to baptize in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit (Matthew 28:19–20). The ceremonial baptism symbolizes rebirth and purity of the soul. In yet another instance of ritual purification, water is again the key element.

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Taoism

Taoism teaches virtue to its practitioners by demanding them to “be like water.” In chapter 8 of Lao Tzu’s, Tao Te Ching, Tzu describes seven ways that virtues are connected to water. Some virtues like embodying a giving spirit are based on the environmental roles of water, such as how rivers provide to animals and the surrounding lands. Other virtues like practicing humility are based on water’s physical properties, such as how water naturally flows to the lowest point, not concerning itself with needing to be seen. With very visible metaphors and some that are a slight stretch, Taoism preaches a lot of water-based wisdom.

Shinto

Shinto uniquely recognizes the beauty of incorporating natural water landscapes into their religious architecture and practices. When communities have a thirst for a natural backdrop, they will use portable Shinto shrines, called mikoshis, to hold a ceremony at a waterfall. Like basically every other religion, Shinto also adheres to using water for ritual cleansing practices in which they use a temizuya, a stone water trough. To preserve the sanctity of religious shrines, worshippers wash their hands and mouth with water.

Greek Mythology

The Greeks really had fun with their religion. They created action-packed stories with intriguing plotlines. Out of Greek mythologies, Hollywood has produced dope movies like Hercules. In creating entertaining stories, naturally, they also created diverse sets of characters. Of their over 30 deities relating to the sea and water, some bear no significance to any of the water-based themes prevalent in the previously discussed religions. Glaucus is a deity who simply just protects fishermen. Conversely, Naiads is a deity associated with more classic water-based themes like protecting freshwater supplies.

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The above religions listed are just a few of the many old religions that worship water. There’s something to learn from each one about how we could appreciate or approach preserving this essential resource. The reason that we universally see water as a core piece of nearly every religion has to do with the critical role it plays in sustaining human life.

Civilizations were built on water. Societies fought and continue to fight each other over land containing water. And we use absurd amounts of water to develop nearly every product on a grocery store shelf. As water becomes more scarce, our secular societies may take science-based but religiously fervent steps to ensure our most precious resource continues to be accessible by humanity.