Religion

What is Religion?***Religion• The beliefs and behavior related to supernatural

beings and forces.

E.B. Tylor: Argued that a minimum definition of religion was, “the belief in spiritual beings.”

“…Religion is an attempt by human beings to make sense of their experiences and the world in which they live.”

Religion as category is fluid and contextual, and that any attempt to define the subject matter too narrowly risks giving a positivist stamp to what in fact is an interpretative process.

Examining Religious Identities*** Religious IdentityThe ways in which identities are formed and maintained through the use of symbols, in particular symbols that draw upon the body, whether in its biological functions, such as eating or through clothing

IdentitiesWhoever we are, we do not exist as individuals, but belong to a hierarchy of social groups. – Individuals operate within several spheres of

social identities.

Cultural/Ethnic

background

Physical self

Linguistic

Kinship and family group

Religious/ political

affiliations

The supposed features of a World Religion

1. It is based on written scriptures2. It has a notion of salvation, often from

outside(a coming deliverer or messiah)3. It is universal, or has universal potential.4. It can subsume or supplant a “primal”

religion.5. It often forms a separate sphere of activity.

The supposed features of Primal Religions

• 1. They are oral- if the culture is literate, the religion lacks written scriptures and formal creeds

• 2. They are “this worldly” in orientation• 3. They are confined to a single language or ethnic

group.• 4. They form the bases from which world religions

have developed.• 5. Religion and social life are inseparable and

intertwined, and there is no clear division between the “sacred” and “profane” or natural and supernatural

• Magic– The attempt to compel supernatural forces and

beings to act in certain ways. • Doctrine– Direct and formalized statements about religious

beliefs.

• Animatism – A belief system in which the supernatural is conceived

of as an impersonal power.– An example is from the South Pacific called Mana,

refers to a force outside of nature that works automatically; it is neither spirit nor deity. Mana is associated with personal status and power, because some people accumulate more of it than others.

– Other religious belief systems assert more zoomorphic and anthropomorphic deities.

***RitualPatterned behavior that has to do with the supernatural realm.Life-cycle ritual: A ritual that marks a change in status from one life stage to another (Rites of Passage).Ritual of inversion: A ritual in which normal social roles and order are temporarily reversed. Sacrifice: A ritual in which something is offered to the supernatural(s).

6 Categories of Ritual ActionProposed by anthropologist Catherine Bell (1997) as a

compromise between emic and etic views.

1. Rites of Passage of, “life crisis,” rituals.2. Calendrical and Commemorative rites.3. Rites of exchange and communion.4. Rites of Affliction.5. Rites of feasting, fasting and festivals.6. Political rituals.

**The threefold structure of a rite of Passage

• Separation----->Transition----->Incorporation• Preliminal Liminal postliminal• ***Liminal: Latin limen, meaning “threshold.”

• **Pilgrimage – Round-trip travel to a sacred place or places for

purposes of religious devotion or ritual.

Acts of Devotion: may involve high monetary costs, hardships of the journey, and/or deprivation.Typically involve travel either solitary or in groups to locations regarded as sacred (i.e. Mythology, legends, and religious traditions.

Complex vs. Small-Scale SocietiesComplex societies: In complex societies a pilgrimage would be considered a voluntary act organized by the participating individual or group of individuals. Small-Scale Societies: In small-scale societies pilgrimages are considered a mandatory and communal act organized by the religious leaders of a group. These mandatory processionals tend to occur at set times throughout the calendar year.(Reinforces social order and religious traditions). • In both forms of society pilgrimages can also be

undertaken in response to a crisis.

Divination Techniques• Oneiromancy: Divination by the interpretation of dreams.

Dreams are often thought of as visits from spirits or visions of journeys taken by one’s soul during sleep. The Interpretation of the experience(s) within a dream is primarily symbolic and may require the assistance of a specialist.

• Presentiments: A feeling in a person that something is about to occur. A presentiment can simply be having a bad feeling about an upcoming event or meeting.

• Necromancy: Divination through contact with the dead or ancestors.

Omens and DivinationOmens: Fortuitous happening or condition that provides information.

Knowledge can be derived from the observation of living or dead animals.

Ornithomancy: Involves reading the path and for of a flight of birds.Apantomancy: Refers to a chance meeting with an animal. (i.e. Black

Cat crossing your path).

Haruspication: The examination of the entrails of sacrificed animals.

Scapulamancy: A divination technique in which a dried scapula, is placed in a fire and the pattern of cracks and burns are interpreted.

• Many physical entities within the natural world are “read” for divination information.

• Astrology: Is based on the belief that all of the stars and planets, as well as the sun and moon, influence the destiny of people.

• Aleuromancy: The use of flour (such as; fortune cookies).• Dowsing: A forked stick is used to locate water

underground.• Graphology: Hand writing analysis.• Palmistry: The reading of the lines of the palm of the hand.• Phrenology: The study of the shape and structure of the

cranium.• Tasseography: The reading of tea leaves.• Tarot Cards: The reading and interpretation of the cards in

response to a question.

• Religious specialists• Priest/priestess– A male or female full-time religious specialist

whose position is based mainly on abilities gained through formal training.

Shamans/Shamanka, prophets, witches, and diviners.

Understanding Myth***Myth –A narrative with a plot that involves the

supernatural(s• Myths tend to have common cross-cultural

elements that relate to the story or stories:• Myth Types:

Origin myths, Hero Myths, Apocalyptic myths, and Trickster Myths.

Forms of NarrativeFolktales Legends Myths

Regarded as fiction; not considered to be sacred; meant to entertain.

Based on real people, places, or event and are considered to be factual .

Regarded as fact; accepted on faith, source of authority on moral and ethical issues.

Include supernatural elements, yet are secular

Include few if any supernatural elements; can be sacred or secular.

Include a great many supernatural elements, are considered to be sacred.

Characters are human and/or nonhuman

Characters are generally human

Characters are human and nonhuman.

Exist Independent of time and place.

Take place in the present or recent past; in the modern world.

Take place in the remote past, in another world or in an earlier manifestation of today’s world.

Population Distribution of Major World Religions

ChristianityIslamHinduismNonreligiousBuddhismOther

33%

22%15%

14%

6% 10%

• World religion – A religion that based on written scriptures or

sources, has many followers, is regionally wide spread and is concerned with salvation.

– Religious pluralism • The condition in which one or more religions coexist either

as complementary to each other or as competing systems.

***Religious SyncretismThe blending of feature from two or more

religious traditions.

Tonantzin

• **Revitalization Movements – A socio-religious movement, usually organized by

a prophetic leader, that seeks to construct a more satisfying situation by reviving all or parts of a religion that has been threatened by outside forces or by adopting new practices and beliefs