Page "Creation myth" Paragraph 29

While creation myths are not literal explications they do serve to define an orientation of humanity in the world in terms of a birth story.

They are the basis of a worldview that reaffirms and guides how people relate to both the spiritual and natural world as well as to each other.

The creation myth acts as a cornerstone for distinguishing primary reality from relative reality, the origin and nature of being from non-being.

In this sense they serve as a philosophy of life but one expressed and conveyed through symbol rather than systematic reason.

And in this sense they go beyond etiological myths which mean to explain specific features in religious rites, natural phenomena or cultural life.

Creation myths also help to orient human beings in the world, giving them a sense of their place in the world and the regard that they must have for humans and nature.