Chp 12 Religion: Ritual and Belief

Edward B Tylor

Early anthropological scholars of religion, including ________, viewed technologically primitive people as being primitive in all respects, even religion.

Magic

________- an explanatory system of causation that does not follow naturalistic explanations, often working at a distance without direct physical contact.

Victor Turner

Anthropologist ________ (1967, 1969) focused on the links between ritual and symbols.

Trance

________- a semiconscious state typically brought on by hypnosis, ritual drumming and singing, or hallucinogenic drugs like mescaline or peyote.

Charlie Hebdo

The ________ attacks in 2015 are used to illustrate how religious beliefs and behaviors are linked to political and social actions and violence.

Religion

________- a symbolic system that is socially enacted through rituals and other aspects of social life that relate to ultimate issues of humankinds existence.

Fundamentalists

________ define themselves in relation to what they are not: outsiders, modernizers, and moderates.

Colors

________ (white= purity or grief, depending on context)

Quran

________- the main body of scripture in Islam, consisting of verses of classical Arabic poetry understood to be revealed to the Prophet Muhammad by Allah, often in dreams or in the midst of other activities.

unknown language

Speaking in tongues- the phenomenon of speaking in an apparently ________, often in an energetic and fast- paced way.

Wallace

________ studied the changing religious ceremonies and rituals (stylized performances involving symbols that are associated with social, political, and religious activities) of the Seneca, one of the Iroquois tribes.

Totemism

________- a system of thought that associates particular social groups with specific animal or plant species called "________ "as an emblem.

Rituals

________- stylized performances involving symbols that are associated with social, political, and religious activities.

Papua New Guinea

In ________, the significance of clan memborship is reflected in religious systems.

Egyptian pharaohs

________ were also viewed as earthly manifestations of the gods, along with many others in their polytheistic system.

Animism

________- the belief that inanimate objects such as trees, rocks, cliffs, hills, and rivers are ________ by spiritual forces or beings.

Spirit

________ familiar- a(n) ________ that has developed a close bond with a shaman.

European travelers

Beginning in the 1500s, ________ encountered Siberian shamans: religious leaders who communicate the needs of the living to the spirit world, usually through some form of ritual trance or other altered state of consciousness.

Monotheism

________- belief in a single god.

Secular worldview

________- a worldview that does not accept the supernatural as influencing current peoples lives.

Sympathetic magic

________- any magical rite that relies on the supernatural to produce its outcome without working through a specific supernatural being such as a spirit, demon, or deity.

Interpretive approach

________- a kind of analysis that interprets the underlying symbolic and cultural interconnections within a society.

Edward Tylor

From 1871, anthropologist ________ introduced animism: an early theory that primitive peoples believed that inanimate objects such as trees, rocks, cliffs, hills, and rivers were animated by spiritual forces or beings.

Rite of passage

________- any life cycle rite that marks a persons or groups transition from one social state to another.

World religions

________ of Asia, Hinduism and Buddhism, are polytheistic and nontheistic, respectively.

explanatory system of causation

In anthropology, magic refers to a(n) ________ that does not follow naturalistic explanations, that often works at a distance without direct physical contact.

traditional clan

The Ningerum live in low- population density forests and view their ________ lands as inhabited by a range of spirits with human emotions and motivations.

monotheistic traditions

The ________ of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam all became state religions, whose religious message and ritual supported the government of the state.

Anthropologist Sir James G Frazer

________ coined the term sympathetic magic: any magical rite that relies on the supernatural to produce its outcome without working through some supernatural being such as a spirit, demon, or deity.

Religious symbols

________ can unify people around a shared identity but also reinforce social hierarchies.

Tyler

________ proposed that religion evolved in stages from animism to polytheism to monotheism (an ethnocentric view since he came from a largely monotheistic culture)

Hinduism

________ shares many traits with the polytheistic systems of the Middle East: religious specialists and political leaders maintaining cosmic and social order by seeking the intervention of local deities.

Geertzs approach

________ to religion has been criticized for viewing religion as a personal, rather than a social, phenomenon.

Frazer

________ conducted a cross- cultural analysis of sympathetic magic, identifying two principles: the law of similarity and contagion.

Symbols

________ describe a "model of "how the world is, as well as a "model for "how the world (morally) should be.

shaman

The ________ is supernaturally assisted by a spirit familiar: a spirit that has developed a close bond with a(n) ________.

Wallaces

________ approach to religion can be criticized for not doing enough to explain religious change, for treating religious groups and individuals as intellectually imparied, and for not explaining the overwhelming fervency of religious believers.

Fundamentalism

________ in larger societies sets itself up in opposition to the social order.

Religious symbols

________ are a central part of a worldview: a general approach to or set of shared unquestioned assumptions about the world and how it works.

11

10 AM EST

From 1871, anthropologist Edward Tylor introduced animism

an early theory that primitive peoples believed that inanimate objects such as trees, rocks, cliffs, hills, and rivers were animated by spiritual forces or beings

His definition of religion became standard in anthropology

"beliefs and rituals concerned with supernatural beings, powers, and forces" (Wallace, 1966, p. 5)

Religious symbols are a central part of a worldview

a general approach to or set of shared unquestioned assumptions about the world and how it works

Many anthropologists employ Geertzs definition of religion as part of an interpretive approach

a kind of analysis that interprets the underlying symbolic and cultural interconnections within a society

Beginning in the 1500s, European travelers encountered Siberian shamans

religious leaders who communicate the needs of the living to the spirit world, usually through some form of ritual trance or other altered state of consciousness

More recently, anthroplogists have paid particular attention to this state of trance

a semiconscious state typically brought on by hypnosis, ritual drumming and singing, or hallcuinogenic drugs like mescaline or peyote

The shaman is supernaturally assisted by a spirit familiar

a spirit that has developed a close bond with a shaman

Closer to home, Pentecostal and charismatic Christian traditions engage in rituals like snake handling and speaking in tongues

the phenomenon of speaking in an apparently unknown language, often in an energetic and fast-paced way

As opposed to locally variable deities, monotheistic systems present themselves as world religions

religions that claim to be universally significant to all people

Hinduism shares many traits with the polytheistic systems of the Middle East

religious specialists and political leaders maintaining cosmic and social order by seeking the intervention of local deities

Anthropologist Sir James G. Frazer coined the term sympathetic magic

any magical rite that relies on the supernatural to produce its outcome without working through some supernatural being such as a spirit, demon, or deity

Frazer conducted a cross-cultural analysis of sympathetic magic, identifying two principles

the law of similarity and contagion

One of the most common forms of ritual worldwide is the rite of passage

any life-cycle rite that marks a persons or groups transition from one social state to another

See "Thinking Like an Anthropologist

Examining Rites of Passage"

Religion, politics, and social change remain intertwined, especially with the rise of fundamentalists

people belonging to conservative religious movements that advocate a return to fundamental or traditional principles

In the 1990s, the Fundamentalism Project at the University of Chicago explored fundamentalism across a wide range of religious groupings (many not traditionally associated with fundamentalism)

Christianity, Islam, Zionist Judaism, Buddhism, Hinduism, Confucianism, and Sikhism

Fundamentalists define themselves in relation to what they are not

outsiders, modernizers, and moderates

Animism

the belief that inanimate objects such as trees, rocks, cliffs, hills, and rivers are animated by spiritual forces or beings

Fundamentalism

conservative religious movements that advocate a return to fundamental or traditional principles

Fundamentalist

a person belonging to a religious movement that advocates a return to fundamental or traditional principles

Interpretive approach 

a kind of analysis that interprets the underlying symbolic and cultural interconnections within a society

Magic

an explanatory system of causation that does not follow naturalistic explanations, often working at a distance without direct physical contact

Monotheism

belief in a single god

Polytheism 

belief in many gods

Quran

the main body of scripture in Islam, consisting of verses of classical Arabic poetry understood to be revealed to the Prophet Muhammad by Allah, often in dreams or in the midst of other activities

Religion

a symbolic system that is socially enacted through rituals and other aspects of social life that relate to ultimate issues of humankinds existence

Rite of passage 

any life cycle rite that marks a persons or groups transition from one social state to another

Rituals

stylized performances involving symbols that are associated with social, political, and religious activities

Secular worldview 

a worldview that does not accept the supernatural as influencing current peoples lives

Shaman

a religious leader who communicates the needs of the living with the spirit world, usually through some form of ritual trance or other altered state of consciousness

Speaking in tongues

the phenomenon of speaking in an apparently unknown language, often in an energetic and fast-paced way

Spirit familiar 

a spirit that has developed a close bond with a shaman

Sympathetic magic 

any magical rite that relies on the supernatural to produce its outcome without working through a specific supernatural being such as a spirit, demon, or deity

Totemism

a system of thought that associates particular social groups with specific animal or plant species called "totems" as an emblem

Trance

a semiconscious state typically brought on by hypnosis, ritual drumming and singing, or hallucinogenic drugs like mescaline or peyote

World religions 

religions that claim to be universally significant to all people

Worldview

a general approach to or set of shared, unquestioned assumptions about the world and how it works