Perennial philosophy is the idea that all religious paths ultimately lead to the same God. Its origins can be traced to the 16th, 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries, when Christian Europe was exploring and colonizing foreign lands. It was discovered that Muslims worship one God, contrary to the Medieval belief that they worshiped Muhammad, or "Baphomet", as a deity akin to the Christian relationship to Christ. And they discovered that Hindus, nominally polytheists have a sort of esoteric belief in one great God who created everything, whose pursuit is arguably the true objective of Hinduism and which veneration of the lesser gods is a mere vehicle of.
It was shocking to them that parts of the world which were basically cut off from each other, thus developed independent religious traditions, had a convergent development toward a set of principles held in common by everyone. And so, it caused some thinkers to start asking questions, which led to perennial philosophy.
Anyway, this thread is about a related idea, though it concerns orthopraxy ("right practice") more than it does orthodoxy ("right belief"). It seems to me that different cultures all arrived at the same intuitive understanding of what religious practice ought to look like. Below is a probably not comprehensive list of tropes that can found across the world:
-The consecrated ones, the authorized functionaries of religion and special elites of the religious community. Tithes are paid to them and their institutions to which they belong by the community.
-Process of consecration. Which is the say, it's not enough that the consecrated ones exist, but they have strict notions of ritual purity that must be realized in order to be a "real" priest. A priest might be visibly distinct, such as shaving his head or wearing certain clothing or being circumcised or castrated. He might abstain from certain foods, or from sex or alcohol. The ritually pure may be called "holy". One is considered to have a greater degree of holiness if it costs more to enter that state, namely in terms of time and effort. Thus, as religions become better organized, the requirements on the consecrated ones grow more and more complicated. This also poses a barrier to entry for competitors who cannot match these requirements.
-The sacrifice. The institutions to which the consecrated ones belong, or "temples", perform a function pertaining to a god, which creates a bridge between men and the gods. A costlier sacrifice is considered more impactful. To prepare the priests who administer the sacrifice is in itself rather costly, but this usually means the forfeiture of a financially valuable asset. Priests can offer sacrifices on behalf of lay givers, usually of a more modest nature, or grand sacrifices on behalf of the nation which the religion serves, such as the white bulls slain in the Temple of Jupiter on behalf of Rome, or grand sacrifices on behalf of wealthy individuals, such as the Greek hecatomb (100 bulls). Depending on culture, the proceeds of this sacrifice may be administered to needy members of the community; for example, in many cultures the portion of the sacrifice which wasn't burnt up was served as a meal.
-Lay consecration. As a religion becomes better organized, the average citizen becomes a sort of mini-priest, being expected to uphold a fraction of the priest's holiness. For example, circumcision was practiced by priests in Ancient Egypt, but the Israelites made this a duty of all males. This creates a powerful in-group identity, which has helped the Jews remain as a cohesive group for thousands of years as a disaspora. Furthermore, when even the laity is holy, the small body of elites who go above and beyond this are the "holy of holies", and having such figures administer the sacrifices in the temple afford exceptional prestige to the god who that temple serves.
-Sacred texts. There may be a singular canon, such as the Bible for Protestants or the Qur'an for Muslims, or multiple sacred texts but some of which enjoy higher priority than others (e.g. the Bible for Catholics and the Torah for Jews). Rather than just considering that a sacred text contains true words, the physical copy may itself be an object of veneration, such as in Sikhism or Judaism, and manuscripts may be lavish and expensive, or have a heavy ritual element to their production so that the manuscript is itself a consecrated item. In folk religion, said physical copy may be an object used in divination. In some cultures, individuals who memorize said text may be persons of great honor.
-Sacred relics attached to holy places or people. For example, the tombs or bones of saints or water drawn from the wells of Zamzam (in Mecca). The act of going of pilgrimage to a sacred place may confer merit in the eyes of the gods.
-Holy elements, such as fire or freshwater without visible impurities, or sacred trees dedicated to a god. Conversely, sources of ritual impurity and defilement like feces, bodily fluids, or certain animals. Some traditions may have an eternally burning flame, such as Vesta in Rome or the Zoroastrian Fire Temples. Eastern Orthodoxy believes that a miraculous fire is lit annually in Jerusalem, and pieces of the fire are transported abroad for the benefit of the broader Orthodox world.
-Monasticism, which are communities dedicated to priest-level consecration without performing priestly functions for the wider community. These have sprung up in Christianity and the Indian religions, and Sufism has a quasi-monastic element to it.
-Liturgy in which the mass participates, either actively or passively. Chanting of hymns and recitation of prayers. In more developed religions, this often takes the place of the burnt offering.
-Repetitive prayer as a matter of private devotion. Prayer beads are used in Christianity, Islam, and the Indian religions, and have been found as artifacts of Bronze age cultures predating these religions.
