religion, ritual and medical systems (pt 6 — study guide)

Rites of passage (def)

3 stage process of social transformation

What are the 3 stages of rites of passage

Separation, liminality, reaggregation

Separation stage (rites of passage)

Leaving behind an old stage (childhood to adulthood)

Liminal stage (rites of passage)

Seclusion, in between, ambiguous state

Reaggregation stage (rites of passage)

Formal return with new social status (now an adult)

Example of secular rite of passage

Tattoos and piercings are rites of passage to adulthood

Example of religious rite of passage

Baptism

Azande witchcraft

A logical “causal theory” for making meaning out of suffering ; animist beliefs

Animism (Azande witchcraft)

Specific kinds of religions that see spiritual energies (trees, animals, earth, planet, etc)

Azande witchcraft — medical suffering

Can explain why u hurt inside ur body

Second spear analogy (Azande witchcraft — Evans-Pritchard)

It can explain WHY specific things happen to a specific person at a specific time, but it can’t explain HOW these things happen

Magical thinking

Rituals used in high-stakes environments to manage risk and uncertainty (Gmelch)

Ex of magic rituals in sports

Wearing a specific necklace or socks for a game for good luck every time

Ex of magic rituals in test-taking

Using a certain pencil, wearing a certain necklace, buying a certain snack the day of

Ex of magic rituals in emergency medicine

Rituals have healing powers; performing exorcists, prayers for demonic possessions that cause illness

Rituals are often seen to be irrational (Gmelch)

They are prescribed behaviours in which there is no empirical connection between the means and the desired end

Religious syncretism

The blending of distinct religious traditions into new cultural forms

3 examples of syncretism

Christianity, rastafari, Sikhism (Hinduism and islam),

Types of ways to do syncretism

Divination, alters, sacrifice, music/dance