Chapter 15Religion and Magic
The Universality of ReligionVariation in Religious BeliefsVariation in Religious PracticesReligion and AdaptationsReligious Change
Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.
What is a religion?
ReligionReligion is defined as any set of attitudes, beliefs, and practices
pertaining to supernatural power, whether that power be forces, gods,
spirits, ghosts, or demons.
What do people’s religious experiences around the world tell us about religion for the human experience?
Religion as a WorldviewReligion is Universal and can be described as
an interpretive effort to express a set of shared assumptions about how the world works….
Let’s take a look….. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6fBT72-hhTs
Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.
How would you explain the Universality of religion?
Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.
The Universality of Religion
The Need to UnderstandReversion to Childhood Feelings
Anxiety and UncertaintyThe Need for Community
Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.
Variation in Religious BeliefsThere is no general agreement among scholars as to why people
need a religion. Yet there is general recognition of the
enormous variation in the details of religious beliefs and practices
around the world.
Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.
Supernatural BeingsGods are named personalities, they can be
conceived in the image of a person, animals, or celestial bodies
Spirits are beings which are beneath the gods in prestige, and live closer to people
Ghosts are supernatural beings who were once human
Ancestor Spirits are ghosts of dead relatives
Types of Supernatural Forces and Beings
Celebrating our ancestors…Aquí no existe la tristeza
Solo existe la alegría El baile de los queridos De los queridos del pasado Mira como baila mi mama Bailando con mi hermano del pasado Sus espíritus se juntan bailando Llenos de alegría y gozando
Cierta gente puede ver Espíritus bailando entre la gente Si pueden verlos bailando mis hermanos Serán bendecidos entre los cielos Mira como baila mi mama Bailando con mi hermano del pasado Sus espíritus se juntan bailando Llenos de alegría y gozando
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sUUAgEWeYeI
Variation in Religious BeliefsPolytheistic ReligionsMonotheistic Religions
Can Catholicism be considered a polytheistic religion?
Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.
Variation in Religious PracticesWays to Interact with the
Supernatural Various methods have been used
to attempt communication with the supernatural.
Prayer, ethnogens, simulation, feasts, and sacrifices are some
examples.Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.
Variation in Religious Practices
Magic compelling the supernatural to act in some particular and intended way
Sorcery may include the use of materials, objects, and medicines to invoke supernatural malevolence.
Witchcraft may be said to accomplish the same ills by means of thought and emotion alone.
Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.
Variation in Religious PracticesTypes of Practitioners
The ShamanSorcerers and Witches
MediumsPriests
Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.
Variation in Religious PracticesPractitioners and Social Complexity
The number of types of practitioners seems to vary with
degree of cultural complexity
The more complex the society, the more types of practitioners.
Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.
Religion and Adaptation
Following Malinowski, many anthropologists take the view
that religions are adaptive because they reduce the
anxieties and uncertainties that afflict all peoples.
Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.
Religious ChangeConversion to one of the world
religions has often been associated with colonization and the expansion of state societies. Can you think of some negative issues
associated with religious conversion?
Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.
Cargo Cults
Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.
Top Related