RELI 1000 Lecture 3Outline of Current Lecture II. What Really is the Origin of Religion?III. Animism- Edward Burnett Taylor (1832-1917) IV. Magic - James George Frazer (1854-1941).Current Lecture Taylor 1832-1941o E. B. Taylor was born in 1832, in Camberwell, London too His parents; Joseph Taylor and Harriet Skipper were Quakers, and owned a London brass factory.o He was influenced by both Christianity and theories of evolution- Charles Darwin. – everything in society evolves. Educationo A self-educated anthropologist & Professor at Oxford University.o Pioneered the field of cultural anthropology. o Studied customs & beliefs of people who lived in “primitive” conditions Pre-historic communities Tribal communities of the present dayo Thesis: “How did ideas like the “soul” and the “spirit” come to be? Famous work -Primitive Culture (1871). Social Evolutiono Influence of social evolutionism:  A cultural mindset based on the assumption that all societies and cultures evolve from “primitive” to “civilized” societieso Humans and religions in these societies evolved as well.These notes represent a detailed interpretation of the professor’s lecture. GradeBuddy is best used as a supplement to your own notes, not as a substitute. Progress began with hunting, food gathering, farming, trade and industrialization. Early humans - “Savages” were “primitive” who - hunted and gathered food.  In middle ages, they adopted agriculture & farming. Modern cultures embrace trade, science, and industry.  The origin of religion o Pre-historic people (primitive, savages) developed religion out of the need to explain puzzling and threatening aspects of human existence. e.g. death, dreams, trances, and visions. o Death was puzzling because the dead seemed to “live” in dreams, memories & otherpsychic phenomena.o Religion is the belief in “spiritual beings” All religions, ancient or modern are about belief in “spiritual beings,” -- beingsthat think, act and feel like human beings (personified). Animismo Religion emerged from the failure of “savages” to distinguish between “waking and sleeping” “the living and the dead,” “animate and inanimate.”o Religion evolved from animism. “Animism”-meaning “the belief that everything has a “soul” or “spirit” is the essence (origin) of religion.  The idea of the “soul” or the “shadow self” first existed in primitive minds.  It led to the belief in “nature spirits” – plants, animals, mountains, rivers etc. Animism represents the “primal” form of religion.  Evolution of religiono Belief in nature “spirits” progressed towards belief in polytheism then later in monotheism. o “Soul”(spirits) = animism/primal o Deities/ many gods = polytheism o Single God - monotheism J.G. Frazer o Sir James George Frazer, a Scottish social anthropologist was born 1854-1941, in Glasgow Scotland in a Protestant family.o He studied at the University of Glasgow and Trinity College Cambridge.o Frazer's interest in social anthropology was aroused by reading Taylor's Primitive Culture. o His work: The Golden Bough (1890-1915). Basic Argumento Magic is the origin of religion.o There are 3 stages in the human intellectual progress (evolution of religious ideas) The magical The religious The scientifico Human’s main concern is to extend mastery over the world and their destinies. o Their need to feel in control led to magic, the lowest form of religious practice. First Attempt - Magic o The conviction that humans have the ability to control or predict the natural world through manipulation of the mystical and or the supernatural power – mana. o Events, objects, people, and physical phenomena can be manipulated.o Magical rites & formulas were used to manipulate impersonal sacred in an attempt by humans to explain & control the world.  Second Attempt - Religiono Religion arose out of the failure of magic produced religion.o Through magic, humans realized that they could not master or tame the world and nature.o They became dependent on nature & supernatural beings associated with nature -through religion.o Religion: is an attempt by humans to overcome helplessness and vulnerability through cajoling and supplicating the gods.  Ritual, prayer and sacrifice are necessary to win the God/ gods.  “Dear God, if you would grant me what I desire, then I will give you a gift in return.”  Third Attempt - Scienceo Science is the third attempt to control the world. It is an indicator of human development stage born out dissatisfaction with religious conceptions & explanations. o Because magic & religion are based on mistaken understanding of the world, they will both decline as scientific explanations increased.  Critique of Taylor, Frazer o No evidence that the age of magic preceded religion.  In indigenous communities they studied, magic and religion co-exist. o Social evolutionism is contradicted by existence of monotheism and polytheism together in one society.  There is no evidence of intellectual progression in the way humans conceive the sacred/ holy. No progression from mana-> animism-> polytheism -> monotheism or vice versa. o In spite of critics, Taylor and Frazer’s theories have thrived because of concepts they introduced – animism and magic.  Devolutional Theory? o Evidence that Indigenous communities have a concept of a “High God” validated by other scholars: - Andrew Lang (1844-1912), Wilhelm Schmidt (1868-1954), E. E. Evans - Pritchard (1902-1973).o – Wilhelm Schmidt (1868-1954) Australian ethnographer/philologist argued  Monotheism may have been the first conception of a deity from which animism, ancestral spirits and polytheism later