Some may visit the graves of their parents or other ancestors, leave flowers and pray to them in order to honor and remember them, while also asking their ancestors to continue to look after them. In this regard, many cultures and religions have similar practices. Rather, the act is a way to express filial duty, devotion and respect and look after ancestors in their afterlives as well as seek their guidance for their living descendants. However, in other cultures, this act of worship does not confer any belief that the departed ancestors have become some kind of deity. In English, the word worship usually but not always refers to the reverent love and devotion accorded a deity (god) or God. Most cultures who practice ancestor veneration do not call it 'ancestor worship'. Others do not believe that the ancestors are even aware of what their descendants do for them, but that the expression of filial piety is what is important.

Some cultures believe that their ancestors actually need to be provided for by their descendants, and their practices include offerings of food and other provisions.

In other cultures, the purpose of ancestor veneration is not to ask for favors but to do one's filial duty. As spirits who were once human themselves, they are seen as being better able to understand human needs than would a divine being. In some Afro-diasporic cultures, ancestors are seen as being able to intercede on behalf of the living, often as messengers between humans and God.

3.3.4 Pitru Paksha in Indian-origin religionsĪncestor reverence is not the same as the worship of a deity or deities.

Ancestor veneration occurs in societies with every degree of social, political, and technological complexity, and it remains an important component of various religious practices in modern times. The social or non-religious function of ancestor veneration is to cultivate kinship values, such as filial piety, family loyalty, and continuity of the family lineage. In European, Asian, Oceanian, African and Afro-diasporic cultures, the goal of ancestor veneration is to ensure the ancestors' continued well-being and positive disposition towards the living, and sometimes to ask for special favours or assistance. Other religious groups, however, consider veneration of the dead to be idolatry and a sin. Certain sects and religions, in particular the Eastern Orthodox Church and Roman Catholic Church, venerate saints as intercessors with God the latter also believes in prayer for departed souls in Purgatory. Some groups venerate their direct, familial ancestors. In some cultures, it is related to beliefs that the dead have a continued existence, and may possess the ability to influence the fortune of the living. The veneration of the dead, including one's ancestors, is based on love and respect for the deceased.

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