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Chapter 13
Spirituality, Religion,
and the Supernatural
Worldview
• The collective body of ideas
that members of a culture
generally share concerning the
ultimate shape and substance
of their reality.
Religion
• Organized belief in the
supernatural.
• Fulfill numerous social and
psychological needs.
• No known group of people
anywhere on the face of the
earth, at any time over the past
100,000 years, have been
without religion.
What Are Religion and
Spirituality?
• Religion is an organized system of
ideas about spiritual reality, or the
supernatural, along with associated
beliefs and ceremonial practices.
• Spirituality, which also concerns the
supernatural, involves less
formalized spiritual beliefs and
practices and is often individual
rather than collective.
Religion
• All cultures have religion
– Deals with supernatural on some
level
– Some cultures do not have a
specific word for religion, it is
tied to everyday life
– Religion is tied to the natural
world
Religion and Symbols
• Religion has symbols
– Actions, words, ideas, objects
that represent something else
– Symbols put together become a
system of knowledge
Myths
• Sacred stories with
supernatural explanations
• A culture will see their myths
as real
• Usually concerns ideology and
worldview
Rituals
• Anything you do in a
repetitive nature
• Religion has rituals
• 2 types of rituals
– Calendric
– Crisis
Supernatural
• The supernatural is around
you all of the time, especially
in non-industrialized societies
• In a lot of cultures, health,
wealth and daily things are
related to supernatural.
Forms of Religion
• Animatism – impersonal –
impersonal power that exists
out there – does not care about
people
• Deitys – Cares about people
– Different forms
• Anthropomorphic
• Zoomorphic
• Biomorphic
• Most cultures are polytheistic
Dealing with Supernatural
• Religion per se system –
supernatural very removed
and powerful
• Magic per se system – deals
with things on a small scale
– Uses recipes
– 2 ways to use magic –
• Contagious – obtain something from
a person
• Imitative – imitate desired effect
Functions of Religion
•
•
•
•
•
•
Explain things
Establish order
Justifies things
Provides support
Socializes people
Vehicle for passage
Theories of Religion
• Cognitive – give sense of
meaning and purpose to the
world
• Psychological – how people
cope with stress
• Social Function – Looks at
socialization and cohesiveness.
Promotes conformity.
Non-industrial Cultures
• Supernatural intervenes all of
the time
– Breaking a taboo
– Angered ancestor spirit
– Someone using magic
Levels of Religion
• Individualistic – individual has
direct contact with
supernatural
• Shamanistic – Shaman(s) deals
with supernatural
• Communal system – a lot of
part-time specialists
– Ancestor worship
– Totem worship
Levels of Religion (con’t)
• Ecclesiastical – religious
bureaucracy. Full-time
religious specialists
Examples of Religion
• Australian Aborigines and
Dream Time
• Maori of New Zealand
Major Religions of the World
Anthropological Approach
to Religion
• Religion is an organized system of
ideas about the spiritual sphere,
along with ceremonial practices by
which people try to interpret and/or
influence aspects of the universe
otherwise beyond their control.
• Spirituality is also concerned with
the sacred, as distinguished from
material matters, but it is often
individual rather than collective and
does not require a distinctive format
or traditional organization.
Polytheism
• Belief in several gods and/or
goddesses (as contrasted with
monotheism–belief in one god
or goddess).
• Pantheon
– The several gods and goddesses
of a people.
• Animism
– A belief in spirit beings thought
to animate nature.
Judeo-Christian Theology
• The patriarchal nature of Euramerican society is expressed in its
Judeo-Christian theology, in which a supreme male deity gives
life to the first man, as depicted here on the ceiling of the Sistine
Chapel in Rome. Only later is the first woman created from the
first man.
Sacred Places
• Pilgrims at Mount Kailash in
Tibet. Rising 22,000 feet, this
mountain has been held
sacred for thousands of
years by Hindus, Buddhists,
Jains, and followers of Bön.
• Year after year pilgrims
follow the ancient tradition
of circling the mountain on
foot, a holy ritual they
believe will remove sin and
bring good fortune.
Rites of Passage
• Arnold Van Gennep rites of
passage into the following:
– Rites of separation
– Rites of transition
– Rites of incorporation
Rites of Passage
• Rites of separation
– In rites of passage, the ritual
removal of the individual from
society.
• Rites of transition
– In rites of passage, isolation of
the individual following
separation and prior to
incorporation into society.
Rites of Passage
• Rites of incorporation
– In rites of passage,
reincorporation of the individual
into society in his or her new
status.
• Rites of intensification
– Religious rituals enacted during a
group’s real or potential crisis.
Rites of Intensification
• Rituals to mark occasions of
crisis in the life of the group.
• Functions:
– Unite people.
– Allay fear of the crisis.
– Prompt collective action.
Witchcraft
• An explanation of events based
on the belief that certain
individuals possess an innate
psychic power capable of
causing harm, including
sickness and death.
• Divination
– A magical procedure for
determining the cause of a
particular event, such as illness,
or foretelling the future.
Functions of Witchcraft
• Effective way for people to
explain away personal
misfortune without having to
shoulder any of the blame
themselves.
• Provides an outlet for feelings
of hostility and frustration
without disturbing the norms
of the larger group.
Revitalization Movements
• Social movements, often of a
religious nature, with the
purpose of totally reforming a
society.
Sufism
• A Sufi sema (prayer dance) in Istanbul, Turkey. Sufism, a
mystical Muslim movement that emerged in the late 10th
century, borrowing ideas from Buddhism, Christianity, and
Neoplatonism, emphasizes the surrender of individual ego and
attachment to worldly things in order to be receptive to God’s
grace.
Cargo Cult
• Spiritual movements in
Melanesia in reaction to
disruptive contact with
Western capitalism promising
resurrection of deceased
relatives, destruction or
enslavement of white
foreigners, and the magical
coming of utopian riches.