The Anthropology of Religion, Magic, and Witchcraft

Chapter 1: The Anthropological Study of Religion

Chapter Summary

Theories of Anthropology quiz 

Match the theory with the appropriate description:

This approach reinforces the idea of multiple ways of seeing the world – that there is no one right way to think or do things.
This approach considers religion as a false consciousness designed to divert people’s attention from the exploitation of the masses by those in power under a capitalist system.
This approach asks questions such as: could experiences such as seeing a ghost, having an out-of-body experience, or being visited by an angel be examples of brain-created realities?
This approach sees religion as having a particular role or task in society. Through the practices of the belief system, society meets its needs.
One example of this approach hypothesizes a connection between the characteristics of parents and the characteristics of supernatural beings.
This approach emphasises empiricism, or observing and measuring, arguing that religion has changed over time from simple to complex.
Proponents of this approach believe that anthropologists need to seek to interpret the culturally specific “webs of significance” that people both create and are caught up in.
The bio-cognitive approach
The interpretive approach
The psychosocial approach
The functionalist approach
Postmodernism
The evolutionary approach
The Marxist approach

Infographic

An infographic describing the main theories and founders or followers of different anthropological theories of religion.
An infographic describing the main theories and founders or followers of different anthropological theories of religion.

Videos

Study Questions

  1. What is an “anthropological perspective”? How does an anthropological perspective help us understand religion?
  2. What are the differences between an emic and etic perspective? Why is this important in the study of religion?
  3. Identify and explain the primary theoretical approaches to the study of religion.
  4. What is the practice of cultural relativism and why is it important in anthropology?
  5. What is the operational definition of religion presented in Chapter 1? What are the advantages of using an operational definition?
  6. What are some of the primary ways that religion shifts from one to another subsistence pattern?
  7. Think back to a ritual that you have attended—a wedding ceremony, for example. Write three brief descriptions of the ritual from each of the following viewpoints: analytic, functional, and essentialist.

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