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Chapter 14 Supernatural Beliefs
Transcript
Page 1: Chapter14

Chapter 14

Supernatural Beliefs

Page 2: Chapter14

What We Will Learn

• What is religion?• What functions does religion perform for

the individual and the society as a whole?• What different forms does religion take

among the societies of the world?• What role does religion play in the

process of culture change?

Page 3: Chapter14

Defining Religion

• A set of beliefs in supernatural forces directed at helping people make sense of the world and solve problems.

• All forms of religion are founded on a belief in the supernatural.

Page 4: Chapter14

Religion in Societies

• All societies have:• Religious rituals that appease

supernatural forces• Sets of beliefs concerning what we

would call the soul• Notions about life after death

Page 5: Chapter14

Religion in Societies

• Evangelist Timothy J. Keller thrives in Manhattan by embracing the city and identifying with its culture.

Page 6: Chapter14

Religion

• Animism • Belief that people have souls or spirits

in addition to physical, visible bodies.• Polytheism

• The belief in the existence of many gods.

• Monotheism• The belief in only one god.

Page 7: Chapter14

Religion• Animatism

• Belief in a generalized, impersonal power over which people have some measure of control.

• Mana• An impersonal supernatural force, inhabiting

certain people or things, which is believed to confer power, strength, and success.

Page 8: Chapter14

Question

• ______ is a set of beliefs in supernatural beings and forces directed at helping people make sense of the world and solve important problems.

a) Beliefb) Religionc) Rituald) Superstition

Page 9: Chapter14

Answer: b

• Religion is a set of beliefs in supernatural beings and forces directed at helping people make sense of the world and solve important problems.

Page 10: Chapter14

Supernatural Healing

• A traditional healer from Jamaica uses supernatural powers.

Page 11: Chapter14

Magic

• Vodoo, a form of imitative magic, is practiced in Togo.

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Magic• Supernatural beliefs that involve manipulation

of supernatural forces to intervene in human activities and natural events.

• Imitative magic• Based on the idea that the procedure

performed resembles the desired result.• Contagious magic

• Based on the premise that things, once in contact with a person continue to influence that person after separation.

Page 13: Chapter14

Sorcery and Witchcraft

• Witchcraft is an inborn, involuntary, and often unconscious capacity to cause harm to other people.

• Sorcery is the performance of certain magical rites for the purpose of harming other people.

Page 14: Chapter14

Wicca

• A modern-day movement of witches and pagans.

• Covens are local groups of witches found in major cities in the United States, which are presided over by high priestesses.

• Satanists are individuals belonging to a group of people who worship Satan.

Page 15: Chapter14

Wicca

• Led by Amy Krinner, a coven of Wiccans practices magic in Bayshore, New York.

Page 16: Chapter14

Question

• _______ involves the manipulation of supernatural forces for the purpose of intervening in a wide range of human activities and natural events.

a) Magicb) Witchcraftc) Sorceryd) Religion

Page 17: Chapter14

Answer: a

• Magic involves the manipulation of supernatural forces for the purpose of intervening in a wide range of human activities and natural events.

Page 18: Chapter14

Question

• Unlike magic or witchcraft, ________, stories of a culture's gods, their origins, and such, serve to explain the large questions surrounding human existence.

a) legendsb) mythsc) religiond) tales

Page 19: Chapter14

Answer: b

• Unlike magic or witchcraft, myths, stories of a culture's gods, their origins, and such, serve to explain the large questions surrounding human existence.

Page 20: Chapter14

Myths

• Sacred literature that states certain religious truths.

• Include stories of the gods, their origins, their activities, and the moral injunctions they teach.

• A culture’s mythology is closely connected to its moral and social order.

Page 21: Chapter14

Social Functions of Religion

• Social control• Conflict resolution• Intensifying group solidarity

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Psychological Functions of Religion

• Cognitive • Provides an intellectual framework for

explaining parts of our world that we do not understand.

• Emotional• Helps reduce anxiety by prescribing

straightforward ways of coping with stress.

Page 23: Chapter14

Question

• By helping individuals cope with the anxieties often accompanying deaths, accidents, illnesses and other misfortunes, religion serves a/an:

a) group identity function. b) cognitive function.c) positive function.d) emotional function.

Page 24: Chapter14

Answer: d

• By helping individuals cope with the anxieties often accompanying deaths, accidents, illnesses and other misfortunes, religion serves a/an emotional function.

Page 25: Chapter14

Classifying Religions: Anthony Wallace• Wallace identified four principal patterns of

religious organization based on what he calls cults.

• Wallace uses the term cult to refer to forms of religion that have their own set of beliefs, rituals, and goals.

• This use of the term should not be confused with the definition used to refer to an antisocial religious group that brainwashes its members before leading them to mass suicide.

Page 26: Chapter14

Classifying Religions: Anthony Wallace

• Four forms of religious organization:• Individualistic cults• Shamanistic cults• Communal cults• Ecclesiastical cults

Page 27: Chapter14

Individualistic Cults

• The least complex form of religious organization in which each person is his or her own religious specialist. • Vision quest

• A ritual found among a number of Plains Indian cultures wherein through visions people establish special relationships with spirits who provide them with knowledge, power, and protection.

Page 28: Chapter14

Shamanistic Cults

• Forms of religion in which part-time religious specialists called shamans intervene with the deities on behalf of their clients.

• Shaman• A part-time religious specialist who is

thought to have supernatural powers by virtue of birth, training, or inspiration.

Page 29: Chapter14

Shamans

• Piaroa Indian shaman Miguel Ochoa is pictured here with medicinal plants gathered from the jungle village of Aska aja, near Puerto Ayacucho, Venezuela.

Page 30: Chapter14

Communal Cults• Societies in which groups of ordinary people

conduct religious ceremonies for the well-being of the total community.

• Rites of passage• Any ceremony celebrating the transition of a

person from one social status to another.• Rites of solidarity

• Any ceremony performed for the sake of enhancing of social integration.

Page 31: Chapter14

Ecclesiastical Cults• Highly complex religious systems employing

full-time priests.• Ecclesiastical cults are characterized by full-

time professional clergy, who are formally elected or appointed and devote all or most of their time to performing priestly functions.

• Unlike shamans who conduct rituals during times of crisis or when their services are needed, these full-time priests conduct rituals that occur at regular intervals.

Page 32: Chapter14

Question

• The most complex form of religion is the ________, which is commonly found in societies with state systems of government.

a) individual cultb) communal cultc) ecclesiastical cultd) shamanistic cult

Page 33: Chapter14

Answer: c

• The most complex form of religion is the ecclesiastical cult, which is commonly found in societies with state systems of government.

Page 34: Chapter14

Major Religions of the World

Page 35: Chapter14

Rabbi Naamah Kelman

• Rabbi Naamah Kelman, the first female rabbi to be ordained in Israel, is a full time religious specialist who works within a hierarchical organization.

Page 36: Chapter14

Number of Adherents of Major World Religions

Religion Millions

Christian 2106

Roman Catholic 1105

Protestant 369

Orthodox 218

Anglican 79

Independent 416

Page 37: Chapter14

Number of Adherents of Major World Religions

Religion Millions

Bahai 7.5

Buddhist 375

Hindu 851

Jewish 15

Muslim 1283

New Religionists 107

Page 38: Chapter14

Characteristics of Different Religious Organizations

Role Specialization Subsistence Example

Individualistic NoneFood

collectorCrow vision

quest

Shamanistic Part-timeFood

collector Pastoralism

Tungus shamanism

Page 39: Chapter14

Characteristics of Different Religious Organizations

Role Specialization Subsistence Example

CommunalPerform rites for

communityHorticulture

Totemistic rituals

Ecclesiastical Full-timeHorticulture/Pastoralism

Christianity and

Buddhism

Page 40: Chapter14

Religion in the U.S.

• Summary of the findings of two recent surveys on religion in America:• Roman Catholicism is the largest single

religious group, comprising 24% of the adult population.

• Anglicans, Eastern Orthodox, and Protestant churches, comprising some 220 denominations, represent 36% of the adult population.

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Religion in the U.S.• Summary of the findings of two recent surveys on

religion in America:• Approximately 1.5% of the population is Jewish.• The Islamic religion is the fastest-growing organized

religion in the United States.• The percentage of adults identifying with a religious

group dropped from 90% in 1990 to 81% in 2001.• The fastest-growing group in the U.S. Is those who

do not identify with any specific religion; this group went from 14.3 million in 1990 to 29.4 million in 2001.

Page 42: Chapter14

Globalization of Religion

• Cardinal Bernardin Gantin represents a part of the world that is growing rapidly in the number of people practicing Catholicism.

Page 43: Chapter14

Liberation Theology

• A form of Catholicism found throughout South and Central America in which priests and nuns became actively involved in programs for social justice for the poor.

Page 44: Chapter14

Religious Forces of Social Change

• Nativistic movements, found among American Indians.

• Cargo cults, found in Melanesia.• Separatist Christian churches are

small-scale churches that break away from the dominant church to gain greater political, economic, social, and religious autonomy.

Page 45: Chapter14

Religious Forces of Social Change

• Mahdist movements is a term to describe revitalization movements in the Muslim world.

• Millenarian movements found in Christian areas of the world.

Page 46: Chapter14

Revitalization Movements

• Aim to add new life and purpose into the society.

• Tend to occur during times of cultural stress brought about by:• rapid change• foreign domination• perceived deprivation

Page 47: Chapter14

Religious Nationalism

• A phenomenon that is occurring in many parts of the world today in which traditional religious principles are merged with the workings of government.

Page 48: Chapter14

Religion and Nationalism• On July 4, 2006, this

Statue of Liberation Through Christ was consecrated at a fundamentalist church in Memphis, Tennessee, as a way of demonstrating their belief that Christianity is the foundation of American society.


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