Ch. 9 Flashcards
(24 cards)
Sir Edward Burnett Tylor
founder of the anthropology of religion; began as people tried to understand conditions and events they could not explain
animism
earliest form of religion, belief in spiritual beings
polytheism
belief in multiple gods
monotheism
belief in a single, all powerful deity. one god.
mana
sacred impersonal force existing in the universe; can reside in people, animals, plants, and objects
taboo
set apart as sacred and off limits to ordinary people
magic
refers to supernatural techniques intended to accomplish specific aims
imitative magic
attempts to control the universe through the mimicking of a desired event
contagious magic
whatever is done to an object is believed to affect a person who once had contact with it
rituals
formal, stylized, repetitive, and stereotyped’ performed in special places at set times
liturgical orders
sequences of words and actions invented prior to current performance
rites of passage
customs associated with the transition from one place or stage of life to another, found throughout the world. 3 stages
rites of passage stage 1: ______
separation; people withdrawal from a group, move from one place in their status to another
rites of passage stage 2: _______
liminality; period between states, left one place not in the other just yet
rites of passage stage 3: _______
incorporation; becoming an official/ full member of a group
totemism
important in the religions of the native australians and used nature as a model for society
totems
could be animals, plants, anything w/ identity
shaman
general term encompassing curers “witch doctors”, mediums, spiritualists, astrologers, palm readers, other divines
communal
community rituals, lack full-time religious specialists
olympian
arose w/ state organization and marked social stratification
monotheistic
belief that there is one god
revitalization movements
social movements that occur in times of change, religious leaders emerge and undertake to alter or revitalize society
cargo cults
arisen in colonial situations where local people have regular contact with outsiders but lack with their wealth, technology, and living standards
secular rituals
formal behavior of man and is not religious in nature. include day to day activities and actions.