1 / 23

The Structures of Religion

This text explores the fundamental patterns and structures of religion, including the 13 categories of religious behavior, calendrical and non-calendrical rituals, and the significance of beliefs. It also examines different types of cult institutions, from individualistic to ecclesiastical, and their roles in shaping religious practices.

butts
Download Presentation

The Structures of Religion

An Image/Link below is provided (as is) to download presentation Download Policy: Content on the Website is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use and may not be sold / licensed / shared on other websites without getting consent from its author. Content is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use only. Download presentation by click this link. While downloading, if for some reason you are not able to download a presentation, the publisher may have deleted the file from their server. During download, if you can't get a presentation, the file might be deleted by the publisher.

E N D

Presentation Transcript

  1. The AnthropologyofMagic, Witchcraft,andReligion The Structures of Religion

  2. “How does one recognize a religion? Why does one say that certain behavior is religious? The answer lies in the fundamental pattern, or structure, which the layman and the ethnographer alike recognize when they look at a society and which, whenever it is found, is called ‘religious,’ despite the manifold diversity of its forms.” Anthony F.C. WallaceReligion: An Anthropological View1966, page 52

  3. 13 categoriesof religious behavior • prayer • music • physiological exercises • exhortation • reciting the code • simulation • mana • taboo • feasts • sacrifice • congregation • inspiration • symbolism … the “smallest religious things” of a society

  4. rituals • composed of varying numbers and sequences of the 13 categories of religious behavior • two basic types • calendrical • non-calendrical

  5. calendrical rituals • occur on a regular schedule • related to an event in some natural cycle • day and night • lunar phases • solar cycles • positions of planets • almost always communal • attend to regularly occurring needs of the group

  6. non-calendrical rituals • usually performed on occasions of crisis • often follow a life cycle calendar • birth • circumcision • marriage • death • may or may not be communal

  7. beliefs • provide the justification for the rituals • two components • cosmology • pantheon (list of supernatural beings) • myths (narratives which tell of events in the careers of supernatural beings) • substantive beliefs (about planes of existence and the relations of causes and effects) • values

  8. rituals, together with the beliefs that substantiate them, form cult institutions: “a set of rituals all having the same general goal, all explicitly rationalized by a set of similar or related beliefs, and all supported by the same social group.”

  9. the “religion” of a society • consists of multiple cult institutions • not all of these cult institutions are equal in importance • each cult institution is more or less autonomous with regard to its • beliefs • rituals • history • cult institutions may influence one another

  10. “American religion” • the organized denominations of an area • Christian • Jewish • Moslem • Hindu • Buddhist • Ba’hai • Sikh • etc.

  11. “American religion” • the “religio-political” cult • non-denominational • theistic • used to rationalize and sanction political, military, and other secular institutions • expressed in • Pledge of Allegiance (“One nation, under God”) • currency (“In God We Trust”) • has its own rituals and beliefs

  12. “American religion” • “superstitions” • good and bad luck • “what goes around comes around” • “justice will prevail” • “on a roll” • black cats, breaking mirrors, spilling salt, etc.

  13. “American religion” • children’s cult • sanctioned by parents • believed only by children • Christmas (Santa Claus) • Easter (Easter Bunny) • Halloween

  14. a society’s “religion” • NOT a • a summative notion • with one single unifying, coherent set of rituals and beliefs • which all members follow equally • but RATHER • a loosely related group of cult institutions • plus other, less well-organized special practices and beliefs

  15. types of cult institutions • individualistic • shamanic • communal • ecclesiastical • Olympian • monotheistic

  16. individualistic cult institutions • not performed by specialists • each person enters into his or her own relationship with supernatural entities • requires no intermediaries • examples: • vision quests • hunting magic • “luck” • “children’s cult

  17. shamanic cult institutions • involve part-time practitioners • involves simplest expression of religious division of labor • examples: • shamans proper • diviners • medicine men • palm readers • astrologers

  18. communal cult institutions • led by groups of laity • who only occasionally carry out their cult roles • are organized via a bureaucratic structure • are not full-time specialists in these duties • examples: • puberty rituals • ancestor ceremonies • political functions (U.S.)

  19. ecclesiastical cult institutions • most complex type • feature a professional clergy who are organized in a manner similar to the military, political, and economic institutions of the society • clergy undergo a formal training • clergy are formally elected or appointed

  20. ecclesiastical cult institutions • clergy are full-time religious specialists • clergy is exclusively responsible for performing certain rituals on behalf of individuals, groups, or the whole community • clergy may claim authority over laity

  21. ecclesiastical cult institutions Olympian Polytheistic a hierarchy of supernatural entities, each with a more or less independent character

  22. ecclesiastical cult institutions Monotheistic all supernatural entities are Either subordinate to, or simply manifestations of one Supreme Being

  23. So… Who’s your Daddy… …or your Mama?

More Related