The Anthropology
ofMagic, Witchcraft,
andReligion
anthropology
• ánthrōpos (Greek)= human
• lógos (Greek)= word
= the “word about humans”,the study of humans,the organized and systemizedbody of knowledge about humans
four field approach• cultural anthropology• anthropological linguistics• archaeology• physical anthropology
• plus: applied anthropology
cultural anthropologystudies “culture”
• learned by individual as part of a group• passed on from generation to generation• three components– material (artifacts)– behavioral (actions)– ideational (cognitive, affective elements)
cultural anthropologyand the study of religious systems
• investigates the functions of religion, both for the individual and for the group
• looks at how religions change through time, and why
cultural anthropologyand the study of religious systems
• studies manifestations of “religion”– objects– activities– beliefs and emotions
anthropological linguisticsstudies the role of language in culture
• historical linguistics• evolution of language• relationships between languages
anthropological linguisticsstudies the role of language in culture
• Sapir-Whorf hypothesis• does language mirror reality? OR• does language shape reality?
anthropological linguisticsand the study of religious systems
• how has “religious” language changed over time and why are their linguistic similarities in different cultures?
anthropological linguisticsand the study of religious systems
• relationship between conceptual constructs and reality
• religious concepts as universal components of cultural systems
archaeologyextends the study of humans into the past
• based on evidence preserved in the ground (and elsewhere)
• emphasizes material aspect of culture, but also looks to behavior and ideation
• attempts to reconstruct the past, both as an end it self and as a way to understand the present
archaeologyand the study of religious systems
Chauvet Cave(31,000 – 24,000 yrs. B.P.)
biological anthropologyconsiders humans as animals
• how do modern humans differ? = variation
• how did humans arise? = evolution
• what is the relationship between biology and culture?– how does our biology shape us?– how does our culture affect our biology?
biological anthropologyand the study of religion
• views religious systems as adaptive mechanisms
• studies ritual in non-human species
• looks for genetic bases – of belief (“gullibility gene”)– of “trance” and other altered states– of human need to be in a group– “neurotheology”
four field approach• cultural studies– cultural anthropology– anthropological linguistics– archaeology
• biological studies– biological anthropology
anthropology is a biocultural discipline
anthropology
• is “holistic” in its approach
• views its phenomena as interrelated and integrated
• views societies both in their own rights and from a comparative perspective
anthropology• eschews ethnocentrism
(the practice of using one culture as the standard to evaluate another)
• based upon cultural relativism(cultures can only be evaluated and understood on their own terms)
“Religion is a fact in nature and, to be understood, must be seen as a product of the same laws of nature that determine other natural phenomena”
Anthony F.C. Wallace 1966