I Am Sharing 'Religion - Anthropology Class' With You

RELIGION I
Religion, Magic and Science and Cosmology

DEFINITION -
RELIGION
• Religion A social institution characterized by sacred stories,

symbols, and symbolism; the proposed existence of immeasurable
beings, powers, states, places, and qualities; rituals and means of
addressing the supernatural; specific practitioners; and change.
DEFINITION
• Religion - 'the belief in spiritual beings'. (Tylor, 1913, p. 8).

EARLY ANTHROPOLOGISTS
• Tylor – Evolution from

Animism : The notion that all objects, living and nonliving, are
imbued with spirits.
Polytheism: : Belief in many gods
Monotheism: Belief in one God
FRAZER’S MAGIC
• Age of Magic, followed by an Age of Religion, which in turn

was followed by an Age of Science.
• According to Anthropologists, religion were used to provide
meaning and order in people’s lives, and it may reduce social
anxiety and give people a sense of control over their destinies.
• It may promote and reinforce the status quo. But religion may
also make people anxious or fearful. It may serve to resist the
status quo, and it may catalyze radical politics and even murderous
violence.
RELIGION AS SYMBOL AND
SYMBOLISM
• Material objects such as masks and statues, in body decorations,

by objects in the physical environment, or through performance.
Some religious symbols are understood to have power in and of
themselves, such as the masks used in African ceremonies.
• The Christian cross, for example, includes the meanings of death,
love, sacrifice, identity, history, power, weakness, wealth, poverty
REASON BEHIND SYMBOLISM
• Symbolic representation allows people to grasp the often complex

and abstract ideas of a religion without much knowledge of the
underlying theology.
• For example, In Hinduism, the abstract idea of communion with
God, is represented in plays, paintings, and sculptures as the love
between the divine Krishna..
PRINCIPLES OF MAGIC:
HOMEOPATHIC MAGIC
• The first, homeopathic or imitative magic, is that like produces

like, so that a magician trying to bring about an effect may imitate
the effect he wants to produce
PRINCIPLES OF MAGIC:
CONTAGIOUS MAGIC
• The second, contagious magic, assumes that 'things which have

once been in contact with each other continue to act on each
other at a distance'.
FRAZER’S DEFINITION OF RELIGION
• Religion is a conciliation of powers superior to man which are

believed to control and direct the course of nature and of human
life. Thus defined, religion consists of two basic elements, a
theoretical and a practical, namely a belief in powers higher than
man and an attempt to propitiate or please them.
CULTS
• Cults represent the persistence of religious movements despite

advances in science, secularization and modernization.
• New religious movements have often appeared in times of great
social change, upheaval and cultural confusion e.g Ghost Dance
Religion, Cargo Cults
• Sometimes also called 'millenarian movements' because they are
characterized by a belief in the imminence of the end of the
world.
PRAYER, SACRIFICE AND MAGIC
• Prayer, sacrifices, and magic are found in most religious traditions.

It mainly involves words recited aloud or silently, but in Buddhist
tradition, people may pray by hoisting flags or spinning wheels
with prayers written inside them.
• Magic is an attempt to mechanistically control supernatural forces.
When people do magic, they believe that their words and actions
compel the spirit world to behave in certain ways.
• Sacrifice is an offering made to increase the efficacy of a prayer or
the religious purity of an individual.
RELIGIOUS PRACTITIONERS
• Shamans: An individual socially recognized as being able to

mediate between the world of humanity and the world of gods or
spirits but who is not a recognized official of any religious
organization.
• Priests: One who is formally elected, appointed, or hired to a full-
time religious office.
• Witches/witchcraft: Sorcerers:
MALINOWSKI
• “when forsaken by his knowledge or coming to a ‘gap’ in his

practical activities, the individual’s nervous system and his whole
psyche drive him to some substitute activity”.
TOTEM POLES
ORIGINS OF RELIGION
• Durkheim postulated that Totemism was the earliest form of

religion.
• Totems represent society and God. Therefore. Worship of God
was worship of man made social systems.
ALTERNATIVE ANTHROPOLOGICAL
APPROACHES TO MAGIC
• First Approach to Magic states that magic is false

• Second approach is associated with Malinowski and functionalism.
• Malinowski critiqued Frazer stating that all three modes of
thought could co-exist.
• Malinowski’s approach argues that magical practices are not
attempting to achieve some direct physical result but rather a
psychological end.
FUNCTIONAL EXPLANATIONS
• Not how but why?

• Malinowski – psychological factors were important in religion and
magic. Eased apprehensions, allowed people to work together,
recharged bonds of society
• Better to explain even if explanation is wrong.
• Allows one to deal with the unknown symbolically – sacrifice,
spirit possession etc
RELIGION AS A MORAL SYSTEM
• large world religions such as Christianity, Judaism, Islam, and the

Indian religions, important aspect of role in society is to layout the
moral order by which people are expected to live.
• Small scale societies the sacred and profane worlds interact much
more immediately. A breach in one world can lead to immediate
consequences through ancestors sending down punishments.

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RELIGION I

Religion, Magic and Science and Cosmology

• Religion A social institution characterized by sacred stories,

• Religion - 'the belief in spiritual beings'. (Tylor, 1913, p. 8).

• Tylor – Evolution from

• Age of Magic, followed by an Age of Religion, which in turn

• Material objects such as masks and statues, in body decorations,

• Symbolic representation allows people to grasp the often complex

• The first, homeopathic or imitative magic, is that like produces

• The second, contagious magic, assumes that 'things which have

• Religion is a conciliation of powers superior to man which are

• Cults represent the persistence of religious movements despite

• Prayer, sacrifices, and magic are found in most religious traditions.

• Shamans: An individual socially recognized as being able to

• “when forsaken by his knowledge or coming to a ‘gap’ in his

• Durkheim postulated that Totemism was the earliest form of

• First Approach to Magic states that magic is false

• Not how but why?

• large world religions such as Christianity, Judaism, Islam, and the

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