Section 4 Flashcards
(25 cards)
Religion
Common features
• sacred stories
• symbols
• proposed existence of supernatural beings, powers, states, places & qualities
• rituals & means of addressing supernatural
• specific practitioners
Animism
People, animals, plants and objects have souls or spirits
- traditional religions
Polytheism
Belief in multiple gods
Monotheism
Belief in one god
- in addition to supernatural beings, also see notion supernatural states, qualities or powers
Ex: Saintliness in Catholicism
Ancestor cults
Ancestors maintain a strong interest (presence) in living beings
Myths/Sacred stories
Sacred narratives, explanatory, validate beliefs, values and behaviors, linked to moral and social order, often a highly developed verbal art form
Symbols
Words, material objects (masks, paintings, costumes), objects in physical environment (tree, sun, ect.) or through performance, dance & music, some may have supernatural powers (Ex: Mana), can have multiple meanings
Individualistic Religions
Individualistic relationship with deity or supernatural. Specializations:
Subsistence pattern: foragers. Ex: crow vision quest, indiv. Establishes a relationship with spirits through visions (via dreams, fasting, showing
Shamanistic
Specialization: part time shaman have powers through birth, training, inspiration, use powers to heal, tell fortunes or …. Subsistence pattern: foragers or pastoralists/ horticulturalists
Religion
Common features
• sacred stories
• symbols
• proposed existence of supernatural beings, powers, states, places & qualities
• rituals & means of addressing supernatural
• specific practitioners
Communal
Specialization: group performs rites, for the community. Subsistence pattern: horticulture/ pastoralists.
Ecclesiastical
Specialization: full time, hierarchy, myths & beliefs support supremacy of ruling class (priest often in this class). Few or no women (vs. shamanism). Clear distinction between priests & laypeople
Rites of Passage
one or more people are ritually transformed from one kind of social person to another. Ex: initiation into adulthood, marriage, birth, funerals
female genital operations
Vary, tool for preserving virginity before marriage, symbolizes role as marriageable
Rites of intensification
Rituals that reinforce values & norms. Strengthen group identity. Ex: Totem: object animal or feature of natural world. Associated with kinship group. Rituals celebrate Totem.
Ritual
Repetitive social practices, many do not have to do with religion
Magic
Rituals that do not have scientifically apparent effects but are believed to influence outcome
Religion vs. Magic
1) non-rational (can’t be scientifically verified but a matter of faith)
2) Practice as a way to cope with anxieties, unknown, ect.
Witchcraft
performance of evil by humans believed to possess an innate, non-human, witchcraft substance.
Social Control (Religion)
- ethical system- rules regarding behavior
- sanctions (positive & negative)
- outside- doesn’t matter if sanctions are enforced
Conflict Resolution (Religion)
-alleviate stress & frustrations that to social conflict (prayer) –diffuse anger and hostility
→ good
→ bad – religion is the opiate of the masses (Marx) (Sports) in this view religion preserves economic structures that allow upper classes to exploit the poor
Psychological functions of religion
1) Cognitive- helps explain the unexplainable
2) Emotional- coping & controlling tool
• The less control people feel they have the more likely they are to practice a religion
• Emotional strength- prayer
• Gives confidence- baseball football
Conversion
adopt a new world view
Syncretism
Merging of 2 or more religions
