Uniformity

The same uniformity is observed in the field of law; the most General and most important legal norms are almost exactly the same among all peoples; even the exceptions to the generally accepted norms are not single: what was previously considered an exceptional feature of only some peoples, such as matriarchy, marriage between brothers and sisters, patronage of theft, etc., is now recognized as a fairly common

In the same way, when comparing religious beliefs, myths, and rites among different peoples, one can often notice a striking similarity. It is difficult to specify at least one belief, one religious establishment, one ceremony, which would be an exclusive feature of only one religion and would not be repeated in another. Until later, circumcision, for example, was considered a religious institution only for Jews and Muslims, but in recent years, scientific travelers have pointed out that it has long been practiced among many uncultured peoples-the Kaffirs, Hottentots, Polynesians, malgash Madagascar, and so on. Similarly, asceticism in many peoples takes extremely monotonous forms. In all religions, water and fire are recognized as purifying agents, which is why they have received everywhere the most widespread use in religious rites. Unity, sometimes striking, is also seen in religious myths; the German scholar lang made numerous comparisons in this respect between the mythological and heroic tales of various peoples, and noted here remarkable coincidences. Imitation or borrowing is often out of the question here, since the similarity in religious legends and rites is observed even among such peoples who have never come into contact with each other; this similarity is the result mainly of the unity of the human spirit, in its manifestations and in its development going everywhere and everywhere in the same way.

2. The law of organic growth. According to this law, religion experiences the same processes of gradual development of the basic grain that every organism experiences. A more and more complex phenomenon gradually emerges from the religious germ, and the initial germ determines the subsequent stages of development, just as a grain, for example, an Apple tree can only develop into a certain kind of tree with known leaves, flowers and fruits. In view of this law, it is impossible to agree with the often expressed opinion that the initial moment in religion was a feeling of fear of the terrible phenomena of nature, which at the highest levels of religious consciousness passed into a feeling of awe, gratitude and love for the deity; if the feeling of fear is the primary seed of religion, it can