r eligion. w hat is religion ? any set of attitudes, beliefs, and practices pertaining to...
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RELIGION
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WHAT IS RELIGION?
Any set of attitudes, beliefs, and practices pertaining to supernatural power, e.g. forces, gods, spirits, ghosts, or demonsThe supernatural elements are outside the
observable world Non-empirical Accepted on faith
The supernatural elements differ within and between societies
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THE ETIC APPROACH
Anthropology’s concern is not which religion is superior Its concern is WHY religions exists and
HOW and WHY it varies from culture to culture
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ORIGINS AND REASONS FOR RELIGION Neandertal & early Homo sapiens
Burial of the dead, art, decoration
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REASON #1: THE NEED TO UNDERSTAND Edward Tylor & R.R. Marett Religion was born as people tried to
understand conditions and events that normal experience could not explainDual existence: physical/visible and
psychic/invisible Animism: the belief in souls Animatism: the belief in the impersonal
supernatural forces Preceded the creation of spirits
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REASON #2: REVERSION TO CHILDHOOD FEELINGS Freud Totems and taboos represent projected
oedipal desires
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REASON #3: COPING WITH ANXIETY AND UNCERTAINTY Bronislaw Malinowski Religion helps us deal with death, stress, and
anxiety Can be a very therapeutic, positive aspect
Jung, James, Maslow
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REASON #4: THE NEED FOR COMMUNITY Emile DurkheimCommunitas Religion is social It helps us feel part of a
communityAffirms our place in societyEnhances feelings of
communityGives people confidenceFights alienation
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REASON #5: SOCIAL CONTROL
Religion mobilizes people and their emotionsCrusades JihadThe TalibanWitch crazes
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ELEMENTS AND VARIATION IN RELIGION Supernatural forces
Mana: a sacred, impersonal force (i.e., luck, karma)
Taboo: things not to be touched, places not to be entered, animals not to be killed, etc.
Gods: named personalities, often anthropomorphic
Spirits: beneath gods, closer to humans
Ghosts: beings that were once human (ancestors)
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MONOTHEISTIC VS. POLYTHEISTIC
Monotheistic Religion: One supreme god Polytheistic Religion: Many gods, none
supreme over all others
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RITUALS AND RITES OF PASSAGE
RitualsConvey information
about the participants and their traditions
Generally very formal
Rites of PassageCustoms associated
with transition from one stage of life to another
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INTERACTING WITH THE SUPERNATURAL Prayer Physiological Experience Simulation/Divination
Getting the supernatural to provide guidance
Ouija boards, fortune tellers
Feasts Sacrifices Magic
The belief that a person’s action can compel the supernatural to act in some particular way
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WITCHCRAFT
Witchcraft: using thought and emotion to evoke supernatural malevolence
Sorcery: using materials and objects to evoke supernatural malevolence i.e., voodoo doll
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RELIGIOUS PRACTITIONERS Priests: full-time, usually male
Highly educated and specializedHigh standing in societyCan communicate with the supernatural
Shamans: part-time specialist, generally a healerOften enters into trances to communicate
with gods or spirits Mediums: generally female, thought to
heal while possessed or in a trance Sorcerers and Witches: low economic
or social status, generally feared in society
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RELIGION AND ADAPTATION
Syncretisms: cultural mixesCargo Cults
Fundamentalism (or anti-modernism) i.e., the Taliban
Revitalization i.e., early Christianity,
the Protestant Reformation
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RELIGIONS OF THE WORLD
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