Water and religion

Many religions also consider particular sources or bodies of water to be sacred or at least auspicious; examples include Lourdes in Roman Catholicism, the Jordan River (at least symbolically) in some Christian churches and Mandaeism called Yardena, the Zamzam Well in Islam and the River Ganges (among many others) in Hinduism.

Immersion (or aspersion or affusion) of a person in water is a central sacrament of Christianity (where it is called baptism); it is also a part of the practice of other religions, including Mandaeism (masbuta), Judaism (mikvah) and Sikhism (Amrit Sanskar).

In addition, a ritual bath in pure water is performed for the dead in many religions including Judaism, Mandaeism and Islam.

In Islam, the five daily prayers can be done in most cases (see Tayammum) after completing washing certain parts of the body using clean water (wudu).

Example for local tutelary water deities include Celtic Sulis, worshipped at the thermal spring at Bath, or Ganges in Hinduism, personified as a goddess.