Anthropology of Religion

Introduction to Anthropology & Sociology: Religion & Belief Systems

• Anthropologists and sociologists aren't interested in whether a religion is true or false.
• They study the social organization of religions.
• They see religion as a significant source of social solidarity.
• Their focus is on social forces rather than personal, spiritual, or psychological factors.
• Anthropology defines religion as any behaviors, attitudes, and beliefs connected to supernatural forces, gods, spirits, etc. (Ember & Ember, 1992).
• All societies exhibit beliefs categorized as religion.
• Religion is a cultural universal.
• Sociologists define religion as a cultural system of shared beliefs and rituals providing meaning and purpose (Durkheim 1965; Berger 1967; Wuthnow 1988). This involves shared beliefs, rituals, and functions in society.

Durkheim's 3 Features of Religion

• Durkheim identified three essential features present in all religions across the past and present.
• Beliefs about the sacred and the profane.
• Rituals.
• Communities of worshippers.

The 'Community' in Religion

• Religion is a group behavior with adherents internalizing a common meaning system.
• Effervescence refers to collective emotional intensity generated during worship (Durkheim 1912).
• Communitas is the intense community spirit, solidarity and equality. (Turner, 1969)
• The word "religion" comes from Latin, meaning "to tie/bind."

Animism (E.B. Tylor, 1871)

• Animism centers on the belief in spiritual beings.
• Inanimate objects (like trees and stones) are believed to have spirits.
• Tylor posited animism as the earliest form of religion, developing from people's attempts to explain daily experiences beyond their understanding.
• Dreams and trances led to beliefs about two entities inhabiting the human body: one active during the day, and the other in dream/trance states.
• Death is viewed as the departure of the soul.

Evolution of Religion (Tylor)

• The order of religious evolution: Animism → Polytheism → Monotheism.
• Societies develop, and so do their supernatural beliefs.

'Mana'

• Mana is a concept with Melanesian and Polynesian origins.
• It represents an impersonal sacred force existing in the universe.
• Mana can reside in people, animals, plants, and objects.
• Melanesians ascribe success to mana, acquired in various ways (e.g., through magic).
• Objects with mana influence luck. (e.g., charms, amulets).

Taboo

• Taboo designates people or objects with significant mana, setting them apart from ordinary people.
• Examples in Polynesian societies relate to chiefly status.
• Contact with high-mana individuals is often forbidden.
• Accidental exposure to taboo individuals could require purification rites.

Magic and Religion

• Magic is an important element of religion, involving special actions (words or rituals) to achieve outcomes that seem impossible.

Anthropology's Definition of 'Magic'

• Magic involves supernatural techniques intended for specific outcomes.
• It's the manipulation of spiritual forces to achieve good or bad ends (e.g., success in crops, curing diseases).

Malinowski & Magic

• Pacific islanders utilized magic, often in high-risk activities like sailing.
• Malinowski observed that magic emerged in the face of uncontrollable events.

Questions

• Can you think of instances of 'magic' in your culture?
• Have you or have you seen others use magic?

Example: Iban Crocodile Earthmounds

• The Iban used a ritual, "mali umai," involving crocodile-shaped earthmounds.
• The mounds were believed to offer protection against pests, especially for rice crops.

Variations in Religious Beliefs

• There's diversity in religious beliefs and practices across cultures.
• Beliefs involve specific supernatural beings, structures, and interactions with humans.
• The ways in which rituals and ceremonies relating to death are handled.

Rituals

• Rituals involve repetitive, formal, and stereotyped behaviors performed in special settings (typically sacred spaces) and at specific times.
• Rituals translate enduring cultural values and messages into tangible actions, signifying values into action (e.g., ceremonies).
• Rituals represent social activities strengthening social norms.

Rites of Passage

• Rites of passage mark transitions between life stages, often involving changes in social status (e.g., baptisms, bar mitzvahs).
• These rites are typically collective events.

Totemism

• Totems can be animals, plants, or geographic features.
• Totemism uses nature as a model for society.
• Totemism also serves as a system for understanding universes for particular tribes, often religious.
• Totemic groups believe themselves to be descendants of their totems.
• Totemic animals or objects are often treated with respect, and can not be consumed or killed.

Totemism (Emile Durkheim)

• Durkheim studied totemism in Australian Aboriginal societies.
• He saw the origin of religion in totemism—connecting totems to both god and society.
• Within totemism, members of a clan revere their totem animals/objects as both god and society.

Functionalist Perspective of Religion

• Religion serves vital individual and group social functions: coping with uncertainty, understanding life and death, and alleviating misfortunes.
• Shared beliefs and rituals promote group unity and solidarity.
• Religion provides a framework for proper conduct and social relationships that help lessen anxieties.

Criticism of Functionalist View

• Religion is not just an integrative force; it can also support conflicts, such as wars and public executions.
• Throughout history, religions have been involved in "negative" activities.

Conflict Perspective of Religion

• Conflict theorists highlight religion's potential to uphold social inequalities.
• Religion is seen by some as a means of repression, constraint, and exploitation, for example, ideologies justifying oppression.
• "Opium of the people" is sometimes used to describe religion as used to prevent the masses from fighting oppression.

Criticism of Conflict Perspective

• Religion is not always a tool of oppression.
• Some religions have contested social inequality.

Symbolic Interaction Perspective

• This perspective views religion as a system of symbolic behaviors.

Explore religion from anthropological and sociological perspectives which focuses on rituals, beliefs, and their role in transmitting cultural values. The study covers Durkheim's essential features of religion and Victor Turner's concept of 'Communitas'.