MRB Chapter 1 Review - Anthropology of Religion

Anthropology

Study of humankind; holistic study of humanity’s physical and cultural development.

Human factors that led to the questioning of human existence (4):

1. Abstract thinking

2. Spread to all parts of the world

3. Development of technology

4. Conscious of the inevitability of death.

Religion

A system of beliefs involving supernatural forces or beings that provide shape and meaning to the universe.

Supernatural

Refers to those powers, experiences, and events beyond ordinary human control and the laws of nature.

Different cultures =

Different views of what is supernatural.

Many cultures DO NOT separate…

the supernatural from the everyday.

Element of a Religion (4):

1. Belief system (revolves around the worship of supernatural forces).

2. Supernatural forces

3. Cosmology (Myths)

4. Rituals and behaviors

60,000 years ago…

Believed earliest origins of religion; associated with Neanderthals of Europe and Southwest Asia.

The Neanderthals 60,000 years ago…

1. buried their dead with tools (indicates so belief in an afterlife).

2. May have had cave bear cults.

30,000 years ago (Europe’s Late Stone Age)

evidence of supernatural belief becomes more apparent.

10,000 years ago human concern with…

the supernatural intensified.

With the emergence of agricultural, humans became more concerned with…

the cycles of life and the seasons/natural calendar became important to supernatural/religious beliefs.

3 Basic Types of Religious Beliefs:

1. Theism

2. Animism

3. Animatism

The more complex the society…

the complex the religious belief system.

Theism

the belief that a god/goddess or several deities as controllers of the universe.

Monotheism

a religion with only one god.

Polytheism

a religion with more than one god (a pantheon).

What religion is between monotheism and polytheism?

Buddhism

What distinguished major theistic religions from the beliefs of less complex societies (4)?

1. Messianic (involving a messiah).

2. Rigid ethical form (body of work that lays out right and wrong).

3. Missionary + imperialistic aspects.

4. Intolerant to other faiths.

Animism

The belief that spirits animate natural objects.

Animism is seen as the first…

stage of human religious belief.

Types of Supernatural Beings (4)

1. Anthropomorphic

2. Anthropopsychic

3. Zoomorphic

4. Abstract

Anthropomorphic Being

spirit that resemble human beings

Anthropopsychic Being

spirit having the psyches/personalities of humans.

Zoomorphic Being

spirit that takes an animal form

Abstract Being

vaguely conceived beings lacking body and form.

Animatism

belief that the world is animated/occupied by an impersonal power or force.

In animatism, who are assumed to control an extraordinary amount of power?

The successful

Emic

shared perceptions of phenomena/ideology by members of a society; cultural insider’s view.

Often based on tradition or custom.

Etic

an outsider’s view of a society’s phenomenon/ideology.

Based on objective observation.

Psychological Functions of Religion (2):

1. Provide order and meaning.

2. Reduce anxiety and increase feeling of control.

Social Function of Religion (5):

1. Maintains social order.

2. Educates people and regulates human behavior.

3. Provides a common identity and social solidarity.

4. Provides a mean for the socially powerless to gain feelings of power (Confidence Theory).

5. Serve as an outlet of frustration and anger.

Evolutionary Approach

Focused on the correlation between the evolution of humans and human society and the basis of religion.

Marxist Approach

Focused on the ideas of Marxism; holds the belief that religion is a method used by the powerful to distract the masses from the misery of their exploitation-driven lives.

Functional Approach

Focused on how religion functions in society or for individuals in said society.

Interpretive Approach

Focused on understanding religions through the meaning within their symbols and connecting said meaning to their cultural systems.

Psychological Approach

Focused on the “relationship between culture and personality and the connection between society and the individual”

Biological Basis of Religious Belief (4):

1. Human Perception of Reality and Changes in Brain Activity.

2. Evolution

3. Human Cognition (dualism)

4. Theory of Mind

Evolution as biological basis:

with evolution comes more awareness (death) and intelligence = more anxiety and a need for an explanation (religion).

Human cognition as biological basis:

• Dualist: objects v. people and body v. soul

• Human tendency to infer purpose, goals, and intent (even when there may not be any).

Theory of mind as biological basis:

Leads people to prescribe human qualities to animals and non-living things, which is a basis of belief in spiritual beings.