Anthropological Perspectives on Religion

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Anthropological Perspectives on Religion
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Religious v. Secular Worldview

• Since 1960s people worldwide have become more
  religious than predicted
• On the rise televangelism, fundamentalisms,
  Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism, Pentecostalism,
  Neo-paganism
• Still going strong belief in afterlife, heaven,
  angels, miracles, power of prayer to heal

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What is Anthropology?

• Holistic studying humans societies as
  systematic sums of their parts, as integrated
  wholes
• Comparative we are able to gain insight into a
  culture by comparing it to another
• Multiple Perspectives we look for the
• dominant or hegemonic way of thinking as well
  as the various counter-perspectives

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What is Anthropology?

• 5 interconnected subfields Physical,
  Archaeology, Linguistics, Cultural, Applied
• Started out investigating small-scale, nonwestern
  societies (1880s) v. large-scale, industrialized
  societies
• Methodology Ethnographic participant-observatio
  n, interviews, life histories, deep hanging
  out, field notes, photography, video, key
  informants, long-term collaborations

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Key aspects of an Anthropological Perspective

• Ethnocentrism using your own culture as the
  basis for interpreting and judging other cultures
• Is it possible not to be ethnocentric?
• Cultural Relativism Attempting to understand
  and evaluate another culture on its own terms
• When do we have the responsibility to judge?

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What is Anthropology of Religion Good For?

• Anthropology CAN NOT
• Verify, disprove, or judge anyones religious or
  spiritual beliefs

• Anthropology CAN
• Investigate relationships among religious
  traditions, doctrines, aspects of society
  (economy, culture, politics, media, etc.)
• Offer new insights into your own religious
  traditions cultures

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What is Culture? (1970's)-system of symbols
meanings (Geertz)

• Blurring boundaries between social sciences
  humanities
• Cultures texts to be read and interpreted
• Interpretation way people make sense of
  differences
• Creative Process take something that makes sense
  in one context and figure out its meaning in
  another
• Natives Point of View Perspective of people
  you are working with

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Culture as system of symbols meanings

• Meanings are not private or in peoples heads but
  public talked about everyday
• People are sophisticated interpreters of their
  own culture
• Anthropologists seek access to stories people
  tell themselves about themselves
• thick description layers of meaning stacked on
  top of each other

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What is Culture? (1990's)- emergent
contested(Anzaldua, Rosaldo)

• Cultural mixing at national community borders
• Borders are everywhere groups once defined by
  religion, race, class, gender, sexuality (etc.)
  are in contact
• Relationship between Power Culture analyze
  social inequality to move toward equality
• Shift from looking at cultures as consistent
  wholes to looking at differences within
  culturesdifference is more typical than sameness
• Culture is emergent (always being created)
  contested (always being debated)

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Anthropological vocabularyDescribing Culture
Religion

• VALUES widely shared assumptions in a society
  (eg. freedom, equality)
• BELIEFS cultural conventions concerning true or
  false assumptions, individual variation, not
  subject to scientific method (eg. ghosts, omens)
• WORLDVIEW Beliefs assumptions about the
  nature of reality (eg. the nature of human
  nature)

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Vocab cont.

• COSMOLOGIES beliefs assumptions about how we
  are interconnected with the universe (who are
  we?, where did we come from?, why are we here?)
• NORMS right or wrong behavior according to
  society (eg. the appropriate family)
• MORES core rules for maintaining a decent
  orderly way of life upheld by law (eg. ten
  commandments)
• SPIRITUALITY supernatural experience, intensely
  personal or private experience (how do we
  research this?)

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"Religion as a Cultural System"by Clifford
Geertz (1966)

• A religion is a
• System of symbols which acts to
• Establish powerful, pervasive, long-lasting
  moods and motivations in men by
• Formulating conceptions of a general order of
  existence and
• Clothing these conceptions with such an aura of
  factuality that
• The moods motivations seem uniquely realistic

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1. System of symbols

• Symbol external source of information
  publically shared within a society
• Ex. The meaning of Jesus Christ
• Son of God who died for our sins
• Human suffering
• Human sacrifice
• Hope
• Human goodness

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2. Establish powerful, pervasive, long-lasting
moods and motivations in men

• Moods religions teach us how to feel about
  humanity
• Ex. Reflecting on the crucifixion or human
  suffering
• Motivations religions teach us what to work
  towards or hope for
• Ex. Eternal salvation, inner peace, enlightenment

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3. Formulating conceptions of a general order of
existence

• Religions teach a particular worldview that helps
  to provide meaning or purpose in life
• Religions provide us with ways to endure pain,
  suffering, injustice
• Ex. Belief in Satan, karma, the law of 3-fold,
  etc.

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4. Clothing these conceptions with such an aura
of factuality

• We come to believe in metaphysical ideas about
  spirits, souls, revelations through participating
  in RITUALS
• Deeper religious realities are reached through
  rituals
• Ex. Catholic mass, Jewish Passover, Native
  American sweat lodges, pilgrimages to holy
  places, etc.

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5. Moods motivations seem uniquely realistic

• Religions teach us to experience, inhabit, or
  believe in an underlying spiritual reality that
  fulfills a purpose in our lives
• Religions are based on faith commitment, not
  the scientific method
• Ex. Religious practice can make us feel hopeful,
  grounded, happy, etc.

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Anthropology for the new milleniumEngaged
Humanistic

• All humans share in the human condition
• No room for extreme cultural relativism
  anthropologists bear the responsibility to
  publicize violent practices so as to protect
  human rights
• Understanding respecting differences in
  religion culture will lead towards respect for
  all human beings, a perspective that will create
  a more peaceful sustainable world