Cultural Anthropology Stevan R Jackson Ph D Anthropology of Religion Religion Anthropologists are interested in religious behavior within a social context It is not the anthropologist s job to determine if a God or god is real only how the belief effects human behavior Religion There is no known group of people who have been without a form of religion depending upon its definition Religion may date back to the Neanderthals some 100 000 years ago when those people showed reference to the cave bear by the ritualistically placing skulls of cave bears It is surmised reference was given because out of the death of the cave bear came life for the Neanderthals What is Religion Anthony F C Wallace religion is a set of rituals rationalized by myth which mobilizes supernatural powers for the purpose of achieving or preventing transformations of state in people and nature What is Religion Reese bodies of people who gather together regularly for worship Durkheim religious effervescence Turner Communitas intense community spirit Religion also associated with social divisions World View A world view is an overarching idea of what reality is based shared assumptions about how the world works A world view is often encompassed within what the Western world may call religion Definitions of Religion What is mythology Mythology or myths are stories that attempt to explain the unexplainable and know the unknowable Myths is a misused word in that most people use it to mean a lie or falsehood Origins myths are the most common but there are several genres i e Genesis They are important in most religious systems Joseph Campbell 4 functions of mythology 1 2 3 4 eliciting and supporting a sense of awe before the mystery of being to render a cosmology an image of the universe that supports this sense of awe to support the current social order to integrate the individual organically with his group to initiate the individual into the order of realities of his own psyche guiding him toward his own spiritual enrichment and realization Definitions of Supernatural Supernaturalism vs Religion The term supernatural is more neutral Supernatural Belief A belief that transcends the observable natural world It suggests there are natural things in the universe and supernatural things beyond or outside of the natural Simply means above nature Major World Religions by Percentage of World Population 2005 mile Durkheim s Approach to Religion Sacred Elements beyond everyday life that inspire awe respect and even fear Profane Includes the ordinary and commonplace Supernatural Beings Major deities gods and goddesses Ancestral spirits Other sorts of spirit beings Invisible beings that exhibit form personality attitudes and powers Examples gods demons souls ghosts tricksters witches Supernatural Beings Supernatural forces Mana An impersonal supernatural force that flows in and out of people and objects Supernatural Beings Magic The techniques used to manipulate supernatural forces and beings Magic exists in cultures with diverse religious beliefs Anthropologists identify two types of magic Imitative magic Contagious magic How Imitative and Contagious Magic Work Imitative magic The idea that working magic on an image of an animal or person will effect the actual animal or person Contagious magic The idea that something that has contact with a person or animal contains some essence of that being and magic performed on that item will have the same effect as if performed on the being Differences between Religion and Magic Deals with major issues of human experience Uses prayer and sacrifices to appeal or petition supernatural powers Tends to be a group activity Practiced at specific times Involves officially recognized practitioners such as priests Directed toward specific immediate problems Practitioners attempt to control or manipulate the supernatural powers Tends to be an individualistic practice Practiced irregularly in response to specific problems Performed by a wide variety of practitioners usually part time UNCERTAINTY ANXIETY SOLACE Religion and magic don t just explain things and help people accomplish goals They serve emotional and cognitive needs Bronislaw Malinowski magic is used to establish control but religion is born out of the real tragedies of human life Evolution of Religion E B Tylor religion evolved through stages Animism belief that everything has spirit Polytheism belief in multiple gods Monotheism belief in single all powerful deity Tylor felt religion would decline as science offered better explanation Animism A belief in spirit beings other than ancestors who are believed to animate all of nature These spirit beings are closer to humans than gods and goddesses and are concerned with human activities Animism is typical of peoples who see themselves as a part of nature rather than superior to it Animism Here are a few examples of the belief that spirits may reside in things in nature Animals Plants Trees Mountains Weapons Artwork Humans Animism There may also be spirits that are not attached to things such as Fairies Nymphs Brownies Gnomes Trolls Pookas Changelings Animatism The concept of impersonal supernatural power It refers to obtaining good fortune or luck from something Rabbit s foot Hex signs on barns Coming in the same door you go out Sports Mana Animatism Mana sacred impersonal force existing in the universe Melanesian mana similar to good luck Polynesian mana attached to political offices Because high chiefs had so much mana their bodies and possessions were taboo sacred and forbidden prohibition backed by supernatural sanctions Supernatural Practitioners Shamans Name comes from Siberia but used for all such practitioners Specializes in contacting and manipulating supernatural beings and powers through altered states of consciousness Provides a focal point of attention for society and can help maintain social control Benefits for the shaman are prestige wealth and an outlet for artistic self expression Supernatural Practitioners Shamans Techniques shamans use may include Drumming Medicinal flora Psychosomatic practices Other forms of gaining altered states of consciousness Supernatural Practitioners Priests and Priestesses Primarily a full time supernatural practitioner who is part of a bureaucracy The term Priests is used as a generic term by anthropologists with other terms being i e Chaplain Pastor Monk etc Ritual Ritual is behavior that is formalized is regularly repeated often