Geertz

Question 1

Who is Clifford Geertz?

Answer 1

A prominent cultural anthropologist associated with symbolic anthropology

He spent much of his career at the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton.

Question 2

What is Geertz known for analyzing?

Answer 2

Culture as a system of shared symbols

He interprets symbols to understand how people make meaning of their lives.

Question 3

What are the five elements of Geertz’s definition of religion?

Answer 3

• Symbols
• Moods and motivations
• A conception of an invisible order
• Believed to be true
• (sometimes condensed to four elements)

Points 4 and 5 are often combined.

Question 4

What do symbols in religion include?

Answer 4

• Material symbols (e.g., the cross, icons)
• Ritual activities (e.g., prayer, communal ceremonies)

For Geertz, religion has a practical or ceremonial dimension.

Question 5

What emotions are related to Geertz’s ‘Moods and Motivations’?

Answer 5

• Awe
• Fear
• Love
• Moral impulses

Also includes Schleiermacher’s “feeling of absolute dependence” and Otto’s “mysterium tremendum et fascinans.”

Question 6

What does the ‘Invisible Order’ in religion refer to?

Answer 6

A structure to reality beyond mere physical facts

It may be hierarchical or egalitarian and aligns with James’s notion of the unseen order.

Question 7

What does Geertz mean by ‘Believed to be True’?

Answer 7

Religion’s claims are perceived as real by participants

This distinguishes religion from satire or parody.

Question 8

True or False: Geertz believes that religious beliefs are treated as mere games or fiction.

Answer 8

False

He argues that participants genuinely take their beliefs to be real.

Question 9

What is a key distinction in Geertz’s view of religion?

Answer 9

The community actively believes in truth-claims, even if disputable from a secular viewpoint

This contrasts with views that might reduce religion to mere stories.

Question 10

How does Geertz view the relationship between ideal moral beliefs and human practice?

Answer 10

There is often a gap between them

Religious traditions acknowledge imperfection in practice, as seen in the saying “All have sinned.”

Question 11

Geertz’s approach to defining religion is often seen as a culmination of whose ideas?

Answer 11

• Tylor
• Durkheim
• James
• Otto

It resonates with common usage of the word “religion” in everyday contexts.