While most religions have a few unique customs, some practices are just completely weird. Here are a few that continue to spark curiosity and controversy.
1. Kaparot – A Controversial Jewish Atonement Ritual
Kaparot is a traditional Jewish religious ritual that takes place around the time of the High Holidays. Classically, it is performed by grasping a live chicken by the shoulder blades and moving around one’s head three times, symbolically transferring one’s sins to the chicken. The chicken is then slaughtered and donated to the poor, preferably eaten at the pre-Yom Kippur feast. Kaparot is a traditional Jewish ritual performed before Yom Kippur, symbolizing the transfer of one's sins to a chicken. The ritual involves swinging a live chicken around one’s head three times, after which the bird is slaughtered and ideally donated to the poor as part of the pre-fast meal.
It's primarily practiced in Haredi communities today; the ceremony is often accompanied by the recitation of Psalms 107:17-20 and Job 33:23-24. However, the practice has drawn criticism for animal cruelty. In 2005, over 200 chickens were abandoned during a Kaparot event in Brooklyn, some of which died from neglect. Following public outcry, animal rights groups have actively protested such ceremonies, particularly in Israel.
2. Mormon Baptism for the Dead
Baptism for the dead, vicarious baptism, or proxy baptism is a religious practice of baptizing a living person on behalf of an individual who is dead; the living person is acting as the deceased person’s proxy. It has been practiced since 1840 in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, where it is also called temple baptism because it is performed only in dedicated temples. In the practice of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, a living person, acting as proxy, is baptized by immersion on behalf of a deceased person of the same gender.
The baptism ritual is as follows: after calling the living proxy by name, the person performing the baptism says, “Having been commissioned of Jesus Christ, I baptize you for and in behalf of [full name of deceased person], who is dead, in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and the Holy Ghost. Amen.” The proxy is then immersed briefly in the water. Baptism for the dead is a distinctive ordinance of the church and is based on the belief that baptism is a required ordinance for entry into the Kingdom of God. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints vicariously baptizes people regardless of race, sex, or creed. This includes both victims and perpetrators of genocide. Some Jewish survivors of the Holocaust and their supporters have objected to this practice..
3. Jain Digambar Monks – The Path of Extreme Renunciation
Digambar ("sky-clad") is one of the two main sects of Jainism. Senior Digambar monks wear no clothes, following the practice of Lord Mahavira. They do not consider themselves to be nude; they believe they are wearing the environment. Digambaras believe that this practice represents a refusal to give in to the body’s demands for comfort and private property; only Digambara ascetics are required to forsake clothing. Digambara ascetics have only two possessions: a peacock feather broom and a water gourd. The native Jain communities of Maharashtra, Bundelkhand (MP/UP), Karnataka, and Tamil Nadu are all Digambaras. In north India, the Saravagis and the Agrawals are also Digambaras. In Gujarat and Southern Rajasthan, the majority of Jains follow the Svetambara tradition, although some Jain communities of these regions like the Humad are also Digambaras.
4. Jehovah’s Witnesses and the Refusal of Blood
The fundamental doctrine of the Jehovah’s Witnesses teaches that the Bible prohibits consumption, storage and transfusion of blood, including in cases of emergency. This doctrine was introduced in 1945, and has been elaborated upon since then. Although accepted by a majority of Jehovah’s Witnesses, evidence indicates a minority does not wholly endorse this doctrine. Facets of the doctrine have drawn praise and criticism from both members of the medical community and Jehovah’s Witnesses alike. In 1964, Jehovah’s Witnesses were prohibited from obtaining transfusions for pets, from using fertilizer containing blood, and were even encouraged to write to dog food manufacturers to verify that their products were blood-free. Later that year, Jehovah’s Witnesses doctors and nurses were instructed to withhold blood transfusions from fellow Jehovah’s Witnesses. As to administering transfusions to non-members, The Watchtower stated that such a decision is “left to the Christian doctor’s own conscience.”
