Religion, supernaturalism, the paranorma,l and pseudoscience : an anthropological critique / H. Sidky.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Sidky, H., 1956- author.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Anthropology of religion.

Supernatural.

Pseudoscience.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (xiii, 501 pages) : digital, PDF file(s).

Place of Publication:

London : Anthem Press, 2020.

Summary:

"Religion, Supernaturalism, the Paranormal, and Pseudoscience" provides a comprehensive rejoinder to the challenges posed to science, scientific anthropology, evolutionary theory and rationality by the advocates of supernatural, paranormal, and pseudoscientific perspectives and modes of thought associated with the current rise of irrationalism, antiintellectualism, and emboldened religious fundamentalism and violence. Drawing upon H. Sidky's scientific anthropological background and ethnographic field research of supernatural and paranormal beliefs and practices in several cultures over three decades, the book answers several important questions: Why do humans have a proclivity for the supernatural and paranormal thinking? Why has humanity remained shackled to sets of ideas inherited from a violent past that have no basis in reality and which bestow an illusionary solace, promote bloodshed, endless cruelties and fervent hatreds, and have come at a high cost? Why have ancient superstitions been held as sacred, inviolate truths while other aspects of the archaic belief systems of which they were a part have long been discarded? Why have not humans outgrown religion and paranormal beliefs?

Contents:

The problem with religion : preliminary issues

The unreal real : the supernatural, religion, and the paranormal

Can science say anything about religion and the supernatural?

Ghostly rappings, the science of the soul, and the religious nature of the paranormal

Ghostly encounters in the field : anthropology of the paranormal or paranormal anthropology?

Why we think the world is haunted

Cognitive biases and why people think eerie thoughts

Miracles as evidence of God's actions in the world

When God talks to people : are religious experience evidence of God?

Books authored by God? : sacred texts as evidence of the supernatural

God's fingerprints in the natural world : intelligent design, irreducible complexity, and cosmic fine-tuning

The miracles of the Bible : the quintessential foundations of paranormal beliefs in Western culture

Jesus the miracle worker, magician, and sorcerer

Jesus's empty tomb, missing body, and return from the dead : sources for the paranormal tale

The post-resurrection appearances in the New Testament

Coping with failed prophesy : a socio-psychological explanation for the rise of Christianity

Conclusions : why religious and paranormal beliefs persist and their dangers.

Notes:

Title from publisher's bibliographic system (viewed on 18 Dec 2019).

ISBN:

9781785271649

1785271644

9781785271632

1785271636

OCLC:

1504538572