Chapter 11

Religion

Religion

The means by which human society and culture is extended to include the nonhuman

Magic

practices intended to bring supernatural forces under one's personal control

Functional (Malinowski)

Religion is born out of the problems of human life

Social (Durkheim)

Difference between sacred and profane objects

Collective effervescence

Celebrating the sacred can create an intense emotional experience

Profane

objects or ideas are ordinary and can be treated with disregard or contempt

Power (Marx)

Religion helps justify inequalities in power and status

Psychological (Freud)

Keeps us from acting on our worst instinct

Economic (Harris)

Belief develop to aid in peoples survival in their environment

Symbolic (Geertz)

Symbols represent cultural ideal and reinforce values

Cosmology

An explanation for the origin or history of the world

Belief in the supernatural

Realm beyond direct human experience

Animatism

Belief in an impersonal supernatural force (Mana)

Animism

Belief in supernatural beings, spirits, or aspects of humans (Soul)

Gods

Powerful non-human spirits

Anthropomorphic

An object or being that has human characteristics

Rules governing behavior

Proper conduct, morality

Karma

Guide behavior with the goal of reincarnation in Buddhism

Ritual

Practices or ceremonies that serve a religious purpose

Rites of Passage

A ceremony designed to transition individuals between life stages

Separation

The first stage of a rite of passage in which individuals are removed from their current social identity and begin preparations to enter the next stage of life

Liminality

A time in which individuals often undergo tests, trials, or activities designed to prepare them for their new social roles

(Re)Incorporation

The final stage of a rite of passage in which individuals return to the community with a new socially recognized status

Xhosa Communities

A community in South Africa that practices a rite of passage to transition teenage boys into manhood

Isolation

A liminal phase during which individuals do not talk to anyone other than boys who are also undergoing the rite of passage

Rites of Intensification

Actions designed to bring a community together (communitas)

Nagol Land Diving Ceremony

This is a dramatic example of a Rite of Intensification held on the island of Pentecost in Vanuatu in the South Pacific

Revitalization rituals

Solving serious problems through supernatural intervention

Cargo Cult

describe rituals that seek to attract material prosperity, like the John Frum ritual, but the term is not preferred by anthropologists because it oversimplifies the complex motivations involved in the ritual

Practitioners

specialist practitioners charged with responsibility for supervising the details of religious rituals, and they have a high social status and are treated with great respect

Priests

Full-time religious practitioners

Shaman

Part-time religious practitioner

Prophet

Person who claims to have direct communication with the supernatural realm

Filial piety

a tradition requiring that the young provide care for the elderly and in some cases ancestral spirits

Sorcerer

an individual who seeks to use magic for his or her own purposes

Zoomorphic

an object or being that has animal characteristics