What is the anthropological study of religion?
A further foundational strand in the anthropological study of religion has been the investigation of the relationship between religion and social order. In such work, the discipline’s Durkheimian inheritance has come to the fore, in particular the view of ritual as expression and promoter of societal unity, alongside the more general assumption that religious ideas provide the key to socially shared categories of understanding. Reflecting on the history of the anthropology of religion, Michael Lambek (2002: p. 4) characterizes contemporary research as drawing on a number of early sources: Franz Boas’s tracing of connections between religion and language; Émile Durkheim’s emphasis on the importance of the social; Karl Marx’s pointing to forms of alienation, mystification, and power; and Max Weber’s analysis of the place of religion in transitions to modernity.
Why is Christianity not studied in anthropology?
One reason may be the ironic one that Christianity is too close to the culture of Western anthropologists, and so it was avoided or perhaps simply not noticed as a valid topic of study. More recently, the emergence of Christianity as an explicit object of study has contributed to and resonated with many current concerns of anthropology, including globalization, reflexivity, and postcolonialism. A particularly fertile strand of research has been a focus on materiality and its relationship with notions of both transcendence and modernity (Keane, 2007).
What is the use of religion in the study of Azande?
The use of religion as a key site for the examination of human rationality permeates E.E. Evans-Pritchard’s Witchcraft, Oracles and Magic among the Azande (1937). In contrast to Frazer’s evolutionary assumptions and reliance on scattered examples drawn from around the world, Evans-Pritchard focuses on a single African case study, showing interrelations among religious, social, and political aspects of Azande life. The book assesses the logic and consistency of Azande modes of thought, and indicates how they might be translated into the understandings of a Western readership. Evans-Pritchard’s implicit interlocutor was the French ethnologist and philosopher, Lucien Lévy-Bruhl, who had highlighted what he saw as the ‘primitive’ mind’s inability to distinguish the supernatural from reality. While refuting Lévy-Bruhl’s view, Evans- Pritchard’s book also implies a comparison with Christianity: his discussion of Azande explanations of misfortune echoes biblical scholars’ attempts to explain the presence and direction of evil in the world.
How does language influence religious activity?
Language mediates much religious activity, ranging from spells to prayers to texts. Some religious language seems not merely to describe reality, but also to have ‘performative’ dimensions, in other words to create material or social change through being articulated by authoritative figures. An early piece by Bloch (1974) explores his interests in the relationships between ritual and authority by arguing that the religious oratory of the Merina of Madagascar is expressed in a language that is so formalized that it is difficult ever to argue against: we might compare it with a Latin Mass, for instance, or with the inauguration speech of a President.
What is comparative religion?
The comparative study of religion formed a central building block of anthropology as the discipline emerged in the nineteenth century and early twentieth century. In the light of social evolutionary models of human development, religious practice was perceived as providing a powerful index of the mental and moral levels of so-called primitive peoples. James Frazer’s The Golden Bough, first published in 1890, traced magical and religious threads throughout history and weaved them into a pattern depicting the past and future progress of humanity, claiming to discern shifts from magical manipulation toward religious devotion and then ultimately in the direction of purely scientific modes of engaging the world. Inherent in Frazer’s work was also a juxtaposition that has reemerged, albeit in very different form, in contemporary writings (e.g., Cannell, 2006): Christianity as an object of study but also a mode of thought that has itself framed anthropological understandings of religion, temporality, and culture.
Who was the anthropologist who argued that religion is a collective social act?
In the 1970s, the American anthropologist Clifford Geertz combined a Durkheimian understanding of religion as a collective social act with a more Weberian emphasis on meaning and experience. For Geertz (1973: p. 4), religion was “ (1) a system of symbols which acts to (2) establish powerful, pervasive, and long-lasting moods and motivations in men ...
Which religions are considered autonomous systems?
Although most anthropologists feel uneasy with the idea that so-called world religions such as Christianity, Islam, Judaism, Buddhism, and Hinduism can be regarded as autonomous systems, there has been a move in recent decades for researchers to identify themselves as ethnographers of a particular religion.
What did anthropologists believe about religion?
Anthropologists circa 1940 assumed that religion was in complete continuity with magical thinking, and that it is a cultural product. The complete continuity between magic and religion has been a postulate of modern anthropology at least since early 1930s.
Who are some of the most influential anthropologists in the history of religion?
Today the anthropology of religion reflects the influence of, or an engagement with, such theorists as Karl Marx (1818-1883), Sigmund Freud (1856-1939), Émile Durkheim (1858-1917), and Max Weber (1864-1920).
What was the dominant interest of cultural anthropologists in the 19th century?
In the 19th century cultural anthropology was dominated by an interest in cultural evolution ; most anthropologists assumed a simple distinction between "primitive" and "modern" religion and tried to provide accounts of how the former evolved into the latter. In the 20th century most anthropologists rejected this approach.
What is the problem with anthropology?
One major problem in the anthropology of religion is the definition of religion itself. At one time anthropologists believed that certain religious practices and beliefs were more or less universal to all cultures at some point in their development, such as a belief in spirits or ghosts, the use of magic as a means of controlling the supernatural, the use of divination as a means of discovering occult knowledge, and the performance of rituals such as prayer and sacrifice as a means of influencing the outcome of various events through a supernatural agency, sometimes taking the form of shamanism or ancestor worship. According to Clifford Geertz, religion is
What is the study of religion in relation to other social institutions?
Anthropology of religion is the study of religion in relation to other social institutions, and the comparison of religious beliefs and practices across cultures.
Who wrote the elementary forms of the religious life?
Durkheim, Émile (1912). The Elementary Forms of the Religious Life.
Is religion a product of culture?
Religious anthropology suggests that every religion is a product of the cultural evolution, more or less coherent, of one race or people; and this cultural product is further enriched by its interaction and cross-fertilization with other peoples and their cultures, in whose vicinity the former originated and evolved.
What is the role of anthropologists in religion?
Anthropologists of religion are especially concerned with how religious beliefs and practices may reflect political or economic forces; or the social functions of religious beliefs and practices. In 1912 Émile Durkheim, building on the work of Feuerbach, considered religion “a projection of the social values of society”, ...
What did anthropologists believe about religion?
Anthropologists circa 1940 assumed that religion was in complete continuity with magical thinking, and that it is a cultural product. The complete continuity between magic and religion has been a postulate of modern anthropology at least since early 1930s.
What was the dominant interest of cultural anthropologists in the 19th century?
In the 19th century cultural anthropology was dominated by an interest in cultural evolution ; most anthropologists assumed a simple distinction between “primitive” and “modern” religion and tried to provide accounts of how the former evolved into the latter. In the 20th century most anthropologists rejected this approach.
What is the problem with anthropology?
One major problem in the anthropology of religion is the definition of religion itself. At one time anthropologists believed that certain religious practices and beliefs were more or less universal to all cultures at some point in their development, such as a belief in spirits or ghosts, the use of magic as a means of controlling the supernatural, the use of divination as a means of discovering occult knowledge, and the performance of rituals such as prayer and sacrifice as a means of influencing the outcome of various events through a supernatural agency, sometimes taking the form of shamanism or ancestor worship. According to Clifford Geertz, religion is
What is the dominant ecclesiastical?
Ecclesiastical: dominant in agricultural societies and states; are centrally organized and hierarchical in structure, paralleling the organization of states. Typically deprecates competing individualistic and shamanistic cults.
What is the definition of religion?
Definition of religion. Specific religious practices and beliefs. See also. Anthropology of religion is the study of religion in relation to other social institutions, and the comparison of religious beliefs and practices across cultures.
What is the meaning of "communal" in religion?
Religious authority acquired through one’s own means. Communal: elaborate set of beliefs and practices; group of people arranged in clans by lineage, age group, or some religious societies; people take on roles based on knowledge, and ancestral worship.
What is the purpose of anthropology?
Anthropology is concerned with the way religion functions in society, not whether it is "true".
How did religion evolve?
Religion evolved as a way to fulfill social needs such as encouraging cooperation between Individuals, reinforcing kinship ties, and imposing order and stability on society
What is a god?
gods are individualized supernatural beings, each with a distinctive name, personality, and sphere of influence that encompasses the life of an entire community or a major segment of the community.
What is supernatural belief?
a set of beliefs in supernatural forces that provides meaning, peace of mind, and sense of a control over otherwise unexplainable phenomena
What is a culture hero story?
stories about culture heroes who, through knowledge and mastery of certain skills, are able to bring about marvelous results
Emergence of Anthropology of Religion
Definitions of Anthropology of Religion
- Attempts to produce a sustainable, universal definition of religion have prompted much debate. Not all scholars believe that a definition is possible. Saler (2000: p. ix) asserts that “Religion is a Western folk category that contemporary Western scholars have appropriated.” A similarly skeptical view is maintained by Maurice Bloch, who notes (2010...
Enduring Themes in Anthropology of Religion
- The following highlights some of the most prominent themes in the anthropology of religion that have remained topics of interest throughout the discipline’s history.
Newer Themes in Anthropology of Religion
- Despite predictions from secularization theorists that the significance of religion would weaken around the world along with modernization, religion has retained and even increased its profile in many public as well as private contexts. To some degree anthropologists have turned their attention to secularism itself as a particular, historically constructed category. The study of religi…
Summary
- Both in the past and the present, the ethnographic study of religion has contributed to numerous mainstream analytical concerns, ranging from classic approaches to rationality, symbolism, and social order to more recent studies of transnationalism, materiality, and both cultural and evolutionary change. The study of religion remains in a vibrant state, even as scholars still wrestl…
Overview
Anthropology of religion is the study of religion in relation to other social institutions, and the comparison of religious beliefs and practices across cultures.
Definition of religion
One major problem in the anthropology of religion is the definition of religion itself. At one time anthropologists believed that certain religious practices and beliefs were more or less universal to all cultures at some point in their development, such as a belief in spirits or ghosts, the use of magic as a means of controlling the supernatural, the use of divination as a means of discovering occult knowledge, and the performance of rituals such as prayer and sacrifice as a means of influe…
History
Al-Biruni (973–1048), wrote detailed comparative studies on the anthropology of religions and cultures across the Mediterranean Basin (including the so-called "Middle East") and the Indian subcontinent. He discussed the peoples, customs, and religions of the Indian subcontinent.
In the 19th century cultural anthropology was dominated by an interest in cultural evolution; most anthropologists assumed a simple distinction between "primitive" and "modern" religion and trie…
Specific religious practices and beliefs
• Apotheosis
• Apotropaic magic
• Amulet
• Animism
• Circumcision
See also
• Anthropological Perspectives on Religion
• Archaeology of religion and ritual
• Cognitive science of religion
• Evolutionary origin of religions
External links
• Homepage of The Society for the Anthropology of Religion within American Anthropological Association
• Anthropology of Religion Page Archived 20 November 2005 at the Wayback Machine M.D. Murphy, University of Alabama
• Andrew Lang, Anthropology and Religion, The Making of Religion, (Chapter II), Longmans, Green, and C°, London, New York and Bombay, 1900, pp. 39–64.