The Anthropological Study of Religion, Magic & Supernaturalism

Weeks 1 & 2Articles:Geertz- ReligionHarris- Why We Became Religious & the Evolution of the Spirit WorldLee- Religious Perspectives in Anthropology

Origins of Religion

100KYA- Neanderthal’s burials- controversy 30KYA- Homo Sapiens Sapiens 10KYA- Neolithic Period

Burials Agriculture

Medieval Europe Enlightenment Period

Kant Rousseau Darwin Lett

Religious Categories

19th Century Scholars World religions- higher vs. lower

Main Three: Judaism Christianity Islam

Primitive religions

Religious Categories

Features of World Religions: Based on written

Scriptures Notion of salvation Universal Can subsume or

surplant a primal Forms a separate

sphere of activity

Features of Primal Religions: Oral This world dimension

orientation Confined to single

culture/ethnicity Form basis for

development of world religions

Religion & social lie are inseparable & intertwined

Functions of Religion Solution to adversity Psychological- Freud & Malinowsky Sociology- Durkheim & Radclife Anthropology- “Include all that is not natural, unexplainable” Wallace

Positivistic approach- “typology based on cult institutions a set of rituals all having the same general goal, all explicitly rationalized by a set of similar or related beliefs, and all supported by the same social group.”

Doomed to die out Shamanic Communal Ecclesiastical

Geertz Interpretative semiotic approach

Pandian Mytholiminal rationality Evolutionary adaptation

Religion, Magic & Supernaturalism (Pandian)

Concept of “religion” 17th century

Religion= civilized/organized Magic= inferior/unorganized

Definitions of religion (p.25-26) Tylor, Durkheim, Wallace, Spiro, Geertz Norbeck- ideas, attitudes, creeds & acts of

supernaturalism. Science & religion not mutually exclusive Origin of word “religion”

religio religare

Disciplinary Domains in the Study of Religion

Anthropology of religion- comparative, cross-cultural, & evolutionary study. Sociology Psychology History Philosophy Anthropology

Explanation & Interpretation in Study of Supernaturalism

Heelas- positivism inadequate Theoretical stagnation Neglect of meaning Neglect of intra-religious explanations

Comte- scientific positivistic stage Horton- today’s truth will change Kuhn- science non-linear fashion Fundamental difference between study of

physical and cultural phenomena Study of knowledge & meaning “Understanding of understandings”

Analysis of different levels of cultural reality

Religion

By

Clifford Geertz

3 major Intellectual Developments

Emergence of History Radical Split of the Social Sciences Primitive reasoning vs. civilized thought Evolutionism & its Enemies Psychological approaches

Freud’s major work Bettelheim Malinowski

Religion by Geertz

Sociological approaches Durheim Rise of Functionalism or Structuralism Radcliffe Brown

Analysis of symbolic forms Primitive thought Symbolic systems

Levi-Strauss

Why We Became Religious & the Evolution of the Spirit World

By

Marvin Harris

Why We Became Religious & the Evolution of the Spirit World

Religion in non-human species Pigeon food pellets

Superstitious responses Mana The Evolution of the Spirit World

Band & Village people

Religious Perspectives in Anthropology

Dorothy Lee

Religious Perspectives in Anthropology

Religious perspectives vary among Western and “primitive” societies

In Western societies: Nature was ordained by heaven to be dominated

and exploited to human’s desires and needs. In “primitive” societies:

“Religion is present in human’s view of his/her place in the universe”

“Human’s relatedness to the universe, nonhuman nature, reality & circumstance” Religion is evident in daily life, agriculture, hunting, health

measures, arts, and crafts.

Religious Perspectives in Anthropology

Agriculture Navaho- no word for religion

Farming- “mirage stone” Art- Sand painting

Maya of Yucatan Farming = Worshipping World inhabited by supernatural beings

Hopi- masks, costumes, etc. Drama- more than mere form of art