Anthropology and religion : what we know, think, and question / Robert L. Winzeler.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Winzeler, Robert L.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Ethnology--Religious aspects.

Ethnology.

Religion.

Physical Description:

xii, 325 pages : illustrations ; 24 cm

Edition:

Second edition.

Place of Publication:

Lanham, Md. : Altamira Press, [2012]

Summary:

Drawing from ethnographic examples found throughout the world, this revised and updated text offers an introduction to what anthropologists know or think about religion, how they have studied it, and how they have interpreted or explained it since the late nineteenth century. Robert Winzeler's balanced consideration of classic topics, basic concepts, and new developments in the anthropological study of religion moves beyond cultural anthropology and ethnography to gather information from physical anthropology, prehistory, and archaeology. Written as a sophisticated but accessible treatment of the issues, Anthropology and Religion is a key text for upper-division courses. Book jacket.

Contents:

1 Anthropology and Religion 1

Words and Things 1

Is Religion a Human Universal? 3

The Meaning of Religion 4

The Anthropology of Religion 12

Types of Anthropological Studies of Religion 15

Types of Religion 16

Religions versus Religion 19

2 Religion Here and There: Western Notions in Comparative Perspective 21

Religion Is Primarily a Matter of Belief or Faith 21

Religion and Identity: One at a Time 22

Religion Is a Separate Realm of Life 24

Religion Is Associated with a Special Building 25

Religion Concerns Transcendental Rather Than Practical Matters 27

Religion Is the Basis of Morality 31

3 Religion, Evolution, and Prehistory 37

The Bio-evolution of Religion 38

When Did Religion Develop? 39

The Origin of Religion: How It Began 46

The Nature of Early Religion 52

Has Religion Evolved? 53

4 Religion, Adaptation, and the Environment 57

Ecological Functionalism 58

Religion as a Regulator of Ecological Processes 60

Cultural Materialist Explanations of Seemingly Maladaptive Ritual Practices (or, Solving the Riddles of Culture) 61

Religion and Environmentalism 67

The Problem of Reaching Conclusions about Religion and Adaptation 76

5 Natural Symbols 77

Are There Natural Symbols? 77

The Natural Environment as Symbolism 78

Animals 80

Colors 89

Lateral Symbolism: Left-and Right-Handedness 92

Percussion Sounds 94

The Head and Its Parts 95

Natural Symbols and Natural Religion 101

6 Myth and Ritual, Old and New 103

What More Exactly Is Myth? 104

Theories, Approaches, and Explanations of Myth 106

The Protagonists of Myth 111

Myth and Gender 120

Contemporary Urban Myths 121

Contemporary Rumor Myths 122

7 Ritual and Belief 129

The Nature of Ritual 130

Religious Ritual 131

Some Common Forms of Religious Ritual 132

Some Common Types of Ritual 134

The Structure of Ritual According to Arnold van Gennep 135

Journeys and Boundaries 135

Rites of Passage 133

Mortuary Rituals 142

Bad Death 144

Funerals as Rites of Passage 145

8 Witchcraft and Sorcery: Past and Present, Far and Near 151

Traditional Witchcraft and Sorcery in Small-Scale Societies 152

Witchcraft in Late Medieval and Early Modern Europe 163

Modern Witchcraft or Neo-paganism 171

9 Spirit Possession, Spirit Mediumship, and Shamanism 177

Spirit Possession and Spirit Mediumship 178

Shamanism 184

Shamanism in the Modern World 192

10 Religious Movements and the Origins of Religions 197

Three Native American Movements 198

Cargo Cults in Melanesia 207

A Religious Movement in Borneo 212

Revitalization? 214

11 Anthropology and the World Religions 217

The World Religions from an Anthropological Perspective 218

Anthropological Studies of the World Religions 231

The Conversion of Indigenous Peoples to and within the World Religions 239

12 Anthropology and Religion on a Larger Canvas: Religious Change under Socialism and Capitalism 249

Religious Change in Socialist and Postsocialist Societies 250

Socialism and Shamanism in Siberia and Mongolia 252

Religion under Socialism in China 256

Religion, Social Complexity, and Socialism in Cuba 258

Vietnam and Laos as Socialist States 264

The Return of the Occult 271.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN:

0759121907

9780759121898

0759121893

9780759121904

9780759121911

0759121915

OCLC:

773023692

Publisher Number:

99948524841