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Religion & Society > Test 2 > Flashcards

Test 2 Flashcards

1
Q

Early historical comparisons between magic and religion:

A
  1. Manipulation vs Supplication
    - magic manipulates the natural world, religion is supernatural invocation to affect natural world
  2. Utility vs Celebration
    - magic is utilitarian, religion is about birth of a child, death of a mother, wedding
  3. Personal vs Communal
    - magic is personal, idiosyncratic, while religion is communal (Durkheim)
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2
Q

A universal complex of beliefs

A
  • Magic is the belief that people can directly control forces of nature through symbolic communication without supernatural aid
  • Magic is “good”–no “black magic” in anthropology–it is helping the world move in a positive direction
  • There’s a continuum of magic–Longuda are keenly aware of their use of magic, we are not
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3
Q

Definition of Magic:

A

“The belief that people can directly control forces of nature through symbolic communication and without supernatural aid”

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4
Q

5 Magical Principles

A
  1. Symbols–conduit for magic work
  2. Power–mana
  3. Forces in nature
    a) Intrinsic Forces
    b) Predetermined plan
    c) Independent
    d) Can be influenced
  4. Humans are connected to the natural world
  5. Sir James George Frazer’s principles
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5
Q

5 Magical Principles: Sir James George Frazer’s Principles

A

a) Law of Similarity (homeopathic magic): things that are similar may influence each other
- ex: Luba in Zaïre used a dried grass ring shaker (which sounds like rain) to ask for rain at the end of the dry season
b) Law of Contact (contagious magic): things that have been in contact can influence each other
- ex: Hottentot–grab sand from footprints of game for hunting
c) Principles of Association
- ex: eat walnuts to be smarter because walnuts look like brains

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6
Q

Does magic work?

A

Nocebo effect (nocebo for negative impact)
- ex. Walter Canon and Vodoun zombies–you think you’ve been turned into a zombie, so you don’t eat/drink/sleep, your community shuns you, and in three days you die

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7
Q

Magic / Sorcery Continuum

A

Can also use 5 principles of magic to hurt the world
- Sorcerers are selfish/antisocial–help themselves at expense of others
- they work in private, because they know they shouldn’t do it
- countering sorcery is blurring lines

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8
Q

Taboo Definition

A

“A ritually sanctioned prohibition against contact with a thing, a person, or an activity”
OR
“The avoidance of establishing a magical connection”
ex. pregnancy in Leviticus, or women who don’t cut cords or carry water during pregnancy

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9
Q

Perspectives on Taboos: Frazer

A

A symptom of primitive irrationality

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10
Q

Perspectives on Taboos: Durkheim

A

A means of maintaining the distinction between the sacred and the profane

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11
Q

Perspectives on Taboos: A. R. Radcliffe-Brown

A

A way to stress the importance of certain people/objects (structuralism)

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12
Q

Perspectives on Taboos: Mary Douglas

A

A window into how a culture classifies the world (things are taboo when they don’t fit into the classification system)

One chapter from Purity & Danger (1966)
- Leviticus 11 (clean & unclean animals)–things that are liminal have taboos
- holiness is closely associated–holiness is goal of Jewish behavior
- People in this time period conceptualized world in 3 realms:
a) Firmament - 2 legged animals with wings
b) Water - scaly fish with fins
c) 4 legged things with split hoofs which chew the cud

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13
Q

Religious Organizations in North America: Stages

A
  1. Cult
  2. Church
  3. Sect
  4. Denomination
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14
Q

Cult

A

Charismatic leader
Unethical conversion: ex 60s-80s notions of brainwashing
Questionable beliefs (is the pop culture notion)
Sociology:
- 1st stage of new religious movement (cult)
- Weber–every religious movement begins as a cult
- NRMs claim to have knowledge which average person doesn’t
- Charisma (NOT mana)–leader is given a supernatural thing (like connection to God)
- Weber: charismatic leader is anti-establishment, unstable (challenges authority)
- Issues with NRMs: what happens with loss of charismatic leader? Need “routinization of charisma”
1) Authority of CL shifted from person to position–things are written down, too
2) Buy-in–divine sanction to transfer of power, along with social acceptance–ex chiefdoms justify power with the divine
3) Need financial structures built in to keep it running–formalized

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15
Q

Niebuhr’s Take on Denomination Formation

A

Differences don’t come from theological issues (Bellah)
- Your theology reflects your cultural context, and different theologies come from differences in socioeconomic status–so theologies justify social stations (for example, Baptist split in the US was north/south split over slavery)

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16
Q

H Reinhold Niebuhr Comparison Church and Sect (1-5)

A
  1. Sect - Volitional membership (emphasis on adult conversion and commitment)
    Church - Membership largely on the basis of birth (emphasis on religious education of children).
  2. Sect: exclusive membership policy.
    Church - inclusive membership—may coincide with national citizenship or geographic boundaries.
  3. Sect - Particularism—judgmental attitude toward those who do not accept the one true path; self-image that of the “faithful remnant” or the “elect.”
    Church - Universalism—acceptance of diversity and emphasis on the brotherhood and sisterhood of all humanity.
  4. Sect - Small faithful group.
    Church - Large, bureaucratic organization.
    Sect - Salvation achieved through moral purity, including ethical austerity or asceticism.
    Church - salvation granted by the grace of God—as administered by church sacrament and church hierarchy.
17
Q

H Reinhold Niebuhr Comparison Church and Sect (6-11)

A
  1. Sect - Priesthood of all believers; clergy de-emphasized or nonexistent; lay participation high.
    Church - Leadership and control by highly trained professional clergy.
  2. Sect - Hostile or indifferent to secular society and to the state.
    Church -Tendency to adjust to, compromise with, and support existing social values and social structures.
  3. Sect - Fundamentalist theology—only the original revelation is an authentic expression of the faith.
    Church - Either orthodox or modernist theology—formulations and interpretation of the faith in later periods of history are legitimate in their own rights.
  4. Sect - Predominantly a group of lower-class persons or those otherwise socially disfranchised. (Worldly prestige is rejected.)
    Church - Membership composed of upper- and middle-class people, but with professional classes controlling most leadership positions.
  5. Sect - Informal, spontaneous worship.
    Church - Formal, orderly worship.
  6. Sect - Radical social ethic—emphasizing the equality of all persons and the necessity of economic equality.
    Church - Conservative social ethic—justifying the current socioeconomic relationships.
18
Q

Church vs Sect (Weber)

A
  1. Born into church
  2. Church is very inclusive–encourages community members to join
  3. Churches don’t require too much commitment from members
    Sect:
  4. Deny validity of churches–sect is religious org which has returned to the truth
    - hearken to past, see selves as authentic
    - church has wandered
  5. Required/expected heavy involvement
    - adhere to specific practices–ex don’t drunk alcohol, get baptized as an adult
19
Q

Denomination

A

Religious group that has slightly different beliefs from other groups that share the same religion
Robert Bellah: most of human history is lived out in microcosm–30-50 related people
- includes religious beliefs

20
Q

Christian Landscape Today: Beyond Denominations

A
  1. Trans-denominational evangelicalism: over half of Protestants today self-identify as evangelical
  2. Nondenominational churches: most synonymous with evangelicalism, and no confessions (Calvin is “confessional”)
21
Q

Witchcraft Definition

A

“A belief in a power that develops in some people, that enables those people to do evil and use this power without supernatural assistance”
- it’s a belief system

Witches are the embodiment of societal evil in culture.

  • No one in a culture with witchcraft would call themself a witch.
  • Some born with power, some not (dormant until puberty)

Etic: witches explain why bad things happen

22
Q

European/modern witchcraft ideas

A

European witch crazes:
- diabolism: not witchcraft because they get their power via ritual from a supernatural source
Today: neo-paganists or Wiccans are not witches anthropologically

23
Q

Sir Edward Evans-Pritchard

A

1902-1973
Witchcraft, Oracles, and Magic among the Azande (1937)
2 dynamics among Azande:
- Ngwa: magic & sorcery–anyone can do it
- Mangu: black, gelatinous substance in people’s ribcage which gives them the power to do witchcraft
- also, a witch can be a witch without knowing it

24
Q

Reo Fortune (2nd husband of Margaret Mead)

A

Sorcerers of Dobu (1932) (Dobu near Papua New Guinea)
- according to Fortune, everyone lives in fear–men are sorcerers, women are witches
- Fortune’s discussion of female witchcraft is really similar to that of E E Evans-Pritchard

25
Q

Attributes of Witches (12)

A
  1. Subvert society - antithesis of moral & ethical behavior
  2. Nocturnal
  3. Transformation - invisible, humans, or other animals
  4. Fly
  5. Have a familiar - ties back to transformation
  6. Sabbat - witch coven gathering
  7. Kidnap children - children are hope for societies
  8. Illicit sex - whatever is taboo
  9. Ritual murder - “blood libel”, too
  10. Cannibalism/Vampirism - sometimes literal, sometimes not
  11. Spread illness
  12. Associated with death - if it weren’t for witchcraft, we would not die
26
Q

Human Agencies of Evil

A
  1. Spirit invocation - call on supernatural
  2. Sorcery - ritualized activity, anyone can do it, 5 magical principles
  3. Witchcraft - born with power, some people don’t even know they have it
27
Q

Suspicion/Rumors vs Accusation

A

Normal times: rare for accusation - just a way to understand why bad things happen - even if you might have a suspicion who it might be
Severe social stress: accusations start to pop up

28
Q

Common Questions: How do witches get their power?

A
  1. Strike a deal (incredibly rare–European diabolism)
  2. Hereditary - most common anthropologically
  3. Coercion - in 1932, Danish missionaries introduced the devil to the Longuda–started to mix “swanye” and the devil, but ppl were uncomfortable abt diabolism–so witches have coercion
29
Q

Common Questions: Is there a physical manifestation?

A
  • Azande - black, sticky mangu
  • Jiv - Tsav - yellow fat around heart
  • Yoruba - brass covered ball in stomach
30
Q

Common Questions: Who can be a witch?

A
  • not sex-linked (though can be)
  • not children
  • usually people who are marginalized:
    1. Age - older people
    2. Gender - more often than not, women
    3. Social status - below your social status (perceived as potential challenge/threat)
    4. Kinship - someone in your lineage is safe
    5. Other relationships - ex ppl in competition for a job
    6. Lifestyle - witches tend to be selfish, antisocial in day lives
    7. Proximity - always someone you know
31
Q

How do you know you’ve been harmed by a witch?

A
  1. Pattern of misfortune
    - repetitive illness
    - Longuda have Kumeye (3rd eye–but born w it, can they be trusted?), Cauneye (women, who are possessed by supernatural)
  2. Nature of the problem
  3. Determined by shaman or divination
    - divination is less credible than shaman
32
Q

Can you cure a witchcraft illness?

A
  1. MOST COMMON METHOD: shaman breaks tie in supernatural world–easiest because it doesn’t require accusing the witch
  2. Withdrawal & cure–have to go to witch, accuse, and make their ability go dormant
33
Q

Functions of witchcraft/sorcery beliefs

A
  1. Why bad things happen
  2. Maintain correct societal behavior/define social values
    - witches are anti-society
    - ppl do what isn’t witch behavior to avoid suspicion/accusation
  3. Reinforces authority - ex Azande–chief grants sanctuary
  4. Affords human intervention
  5. Can relieve personal guilt–ex why did I survive but my younger sibling died?
  6. Support social cohesion–us against them, good/evil, in-group/outgroup

Religion & Society (2 decks)

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