An important belief is that elements of nature are influenced by spirit that has been appeased. As such, offerings (sajen) made from agricultural products are offered to the spirits. It is believed that Gunung Agung is the dwelling place of the gods and the ancestors, it is revered as the "Mother" mountain and is highly sacred to the Balinese. As water and volcanoes-considered as the wrath of the gods - come from Gunung Agung, the mountain occupies the pole of purity, kaja. In contrast, the pole of impurity is the sea, or kelod. Balinese Hinduism revolves around the kaja-kelod axis and determines the spatial organization of the rituals, architecture and daily life. One sleeps, for example, with one's head in the direction of the mountain.

Religion in Bali varies according to three principles: desa (place), kala (time) and patra (circumstances). Hinduism acknowledges five pillars of faith. They are belief in the Supreme God (Brahman of Sang Hyang Widhi Wasa), belief in the soul as the universal principle of life and consciousness (atma), belief in the fruition of one's deeds (karma phala), belief in the process of birth and death (samsara); and belief in ultimate release (moksa).

One of the consequences of the principles of karma and samsara is the existence of the caste system where an individual inherits his status as a result of his past life. The four castes in Bali are the brahmana, who deal with religion and the holy texts, the satria or rulers, the wesia or merchants and the sudra, the lower class, a social stratification initially based on division of labor.