The Anthropology of Magic, Witchcraft, and Religion The Study of Religion

anthropology ánthrōpos (Greek) = human lógos (Greek) = word = the “word about humans”, the study of humans, the organized and systemized body of knowledge about humans

The “Study of Human Cultures” As interesting in their own right Ethnography = a description of a specific culture For purposes of comparison Ethnology = the comparative study of different cultures

Herodotus Born in Halicarnassus, then a part of the Persian Empire Traveled to Egypt, Babylon, Athens, and other locales Wrote “The History” Herodotus (?) c. 484 - c. 425 B.C.

Opening Lines of The History I, Herodotus of Halicarnassus, am here setting forth my history, that time may not draw the color from what man has brought into being, nor those great and wonderful deeds, manifested by both Greeks and barbarians, fail of their report, and, together with all this, the reason why they fought one another.

Herodotus by Jean-Guillaume Moitte, 1806. Louvre palace, Paris Herodotus’ Work Accounts not always accurate Appears to have had “an agenda” “Father of History” “Father of Ethnology” Herodotus by Jean-Guillaume Moitte, 1806. Louvre palace, Paris

And the desire to understand the “other” The Age of Discovery And the desire to understand the “other”

Whose agenda was to dominate rather than understand “first contact” Missionaries Soldiers Politicians and bureaucrats Whose agenda was to dominate rather than understand

The Confusion of Tongues Genesis 11 1 And the whole earth was of one language, and of one speech. … 4 And they said, Go to, let us build us a city and a tower, whose top may reach unto heaven; and let us make us a name, lest we be scattered abroad upon the face of the whole earth. 5 And the Lord came down to see the city and the tower, which the children built. 6 And the Lord said, Behold, the people is one, and they have all one language; and this they begin to do; and now nothing will be restrained from them, which they have imagined to do. 7 Go to, let us go down, and there confound their language, that they may not understand one another's speech. 8 So the Lord scattered them abroad from thence upon the face of all the earth… The Confusion of Tongues (by Gustave Doré 1865)

“Degenerationist” Ideas An attempt to understand newly discovered peoples in light of the Bible and other European sources of knowledge Non –Europeans had “fallen” or degenerated from an earlier, more perfect state

Lewis Henry Morgan Ancient Society, or Researches in the Lines of Human Progress from Savagery through Barbarism to Civilization (1877) Lewis Henry Morgan 1818-1881

posits that human societies evolve in a “unilineal” fashion Morgan’s Model Civilization Barbarism Savagery posits that human societies evolve in a “unilineal” fashion

The Beginnings of Ethnology The comparative study of societies But based upon inadequate and/or biased data Posited that one’s own culture was the standard which others should try to attain

Edward Burnett Tylor Culture, or civilization, taken in its broad, ethnographic sense, is that complex whole which includes knowledge, belief, art, morals, law, custom, and any other capabilities and habits acquired by man as a member of society. Edward Burnett Tylor 1832-1917

human religions similarly evolve in a “unilineal” fashion Tylor’s Model monotheism polytheism animism human religions similarly evolve in a “unilineal” fashion

Franz Boas Physicist and geographer by training Encountered the Inuit in Baffinland Became interested in establishing a “science of humankind” Franz Boas 1858-1942

The Study of Cultures Should proceed on an “objective” (= scientific) basis Avoid ethnocentrism Use the methodology of cultural relativism “salvage” anthropology Franz Boas c. 1915

four field approach cultural anthropology linguistic anthropology archaeology biological anthropology plus: applied anthropology

cultural anthropology studies “culture” learned by individual as part of a group passed on from generation to generation three components material (artifacts) behavioral (actions) ideational (cognitive, affective elements)

cultural manifestations of “religion” objects activities beliefs and emotions His Holiness Vazgen I Supreme Patriarch and Catholicos of All Armenians (1955-1994)

cultural anthropology and the study of religious systems investigates the functions of religion, both for the individual and for the group looks at how religions change through time, and why

linguistic anthropology studies the role of language in culture Sapir-Whorf hypothesis does language mirror reality? OR does language shape reality? language as a human universal deep (biological) meanings  surface (social) structures

linguistic anthropology historical linguistics evolution of languages relationships between languages how has “religious” language changed over time and why are their linguistic similarities in different cultures?

archaeology the study of humans of the past based on evidence preserved in the ground (and elsewhere) emphasizes material aspect of culture, but also looks to behavior and ideation

archaeology aims at reconstructing the past, both as an end in itself and as a way to understand the present

archaeology and the study of religious systems Chauvet Cave, France (app. 30,000 yBP ?)

biological anthropology a.k.a. physical anthropology considers humans as animals how do modern humans differ? = variation how did humans arise? = evolution

biological anthropology studies behaviors in non-human species what is the relationship between biology and culture? how does our biology shape us? how does our culture affect our biology?

biological anthropology looks for genetic bases of belief (“gullibility gene”) of “trance” and other altered states of human need to be in a group “neurotheology”

 anthropology is a biocultural discipline four field approach cultural studies cultural anthropology anthropological linguistics archaeology biological studies biological anthropology (aka physical anthropology)  anthropology is a biocultural discipline

Applied Anthropology the “fifth field” Using anthropological insights to improve people’s lives Promoting understanding between members of different religions Bridging differences in healing traditions to increase health and well-being Drawing upon basic insights about the human brain and mind to minimize negative consequences and maximize positive outcomes of different states of consciousness

anthropology is “holistic” in its approach views its phenomena as interrelated and integrated views societies both in their own rights and from a comparative perspective

anthropology eschews ethnocentrism (the practice of using one culture as the standard to evaluate another) based upon cultural relativism (the idea that cultures can only be evaluated and understood on their own terms)

Anthropology views Religiosity as a function of “hard-wired” components of our mental hardware whose products are interpreted within cultural systems  religious systems are (or once were) adaptive mechanisms

Key Terms Religiosity: an inclusive term for all aspects of concepts and experiences of the supernatural – a biological capacity of Homo sapiens Religion: a group phenomenon – social and cultural beliefs and practices about spirits and the supernatural Spirituality: an individual phenomenon – a person’s experiences of spirit entities and supernatural realities