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The Structures of Religion

The Anthropology of Magic, Witchcraft, and Religion. The Structures of Religion.

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The Structures of Religion

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  1. The AnthropologyofMagic, Witchcraft,andReligion The Structures of Religion

  2. “How does one recognize a religion? Why does one say that certain behavior is religious? The answer lies in the fundamental pattern, or structure, which the layman and the ethnographer alike recognize when they look at a society and which, whenever it is found, is called ‘religious,’ despite the manifold diversity of its forms.” Anthony F.C. WallaceReligion: An Anthropological View1966, page 52

  3. 13 categoriesof religious behavior • prayer • music • physiological exercises • exhortation • reciting the code • simulation • mana • taboo • feasts • sacrifice • congregation • inspiration • symbolism … the “smallest religious things” of a society

  4. rituals • composed of varying numbers and sequences of the 13 categories of religious behavior • two basic types • calendrical • non-calendrical

  5. calendrical rituals • occur on a regular schedule • related to an event in some natural cycle • day and night • lunar phases • solar cycles • positions of planets • almost always communal • attend to regularly occurring needs of the group

  6. non-calendrical rituals • usually performed on occasions of crisis • often follow a life cycle calendar • birth • circumcision • marriage • death • may or may not be communal

  7. beliefs • provide the justification for the rituals • two components • cosmology • pantheon (list of supernatural beings) • myths (narratives which tell of events in the careers of supernatural beings) • substantive beliefs (about planes of existence and the relations of causes and effects) • values

  8. rituals, together with the beliefs that substantiate them, form cult institutions: “a set of rituals all having the same general goal, all explicitly rationalized by a set of similar or related beliefs, and all supported by the same social group.”

  9. the “religion” of a society • consists of multiple cult institutions • not all of these cult institutions are equal in importance • each cult institution is more or less autonomous with regard to its • beliefs • rituals • history • cult institutions may influence one another

  10. “American religion” • the organized denominations of an area • Christian • Jewish • Moslem • Hindu • Buddhist • Ba’hai • Sikh • etc.

  11. “American religion” • the “religio-political” cult • non-denominational • theistic • used to rationalize and sanction political, military, and other secular institutions • expressed in • Pledge of Allegiance (“One nation, under God”) • currency (“In God We Trust”) • has its own rituals and beliefs

  12. “American religion” • “superstitions” • good and bad luck • “what goes around comes around” • “justice will prevail” • “on a roll” • black cats, breaking mirrors, spilling salt, etc.

  13. “American religion” • children’s cult • sanctioned by parents • believed only by children • Christmas (Santa Claus) • Easter (Easter Bunny) • Halloween

  14. a society’s “religion” • NOT a • a summative notion • with one single unifying, coherent set of rituals and beliefs • which all members follow equally • but RATHER • a loosely related group of cult institutions • plus other, less well-organized special practices and beliefs

  15. types of cult institutions • individualistic • shamanic • communal • ecclesiastical • Olympian • monotheistic

  16. individualistic cult institutions • not performed by specialists • each person enters into his or her own relationship with supernatural entities • requires no intermediaries • examples: • vision quests • hunting magic • “luck” • “children’s cult

  17. shamanic cult institutions • involve part-time practitioners • involves simplest expression of religious division of labor • examples: • shamans proper • diviners • medicine men • palm readers • astrologers

  18. communal cult institutions • led by groups of laity • who only occasionally carry out their cult roles • are organized via a bureaucratic structure • are not full-time specialists in these duties • examples: • puberty rituals • ancestor ceremonies • political functions (U.S.)

  19. ecclesiastical cult institutions • most complex type • feature a professional clergy who are organized in a manner similar to the military, political, and economic institutions of the society • clergy undergo a formal training • clergy are formally elected or appointed

  20. ecclesiastical cult institutions • clergy are full-time religious specialists • clergy is exclusively responsible for performing certain rituals on behalf of individuals, groups, or the whole community • clergy may claim authority over laity

  21. ecclesiastical cult institutions Olympian Polytheistic a hierarchy of supernatural entities, each with a more or less independent character Monotheistic all supernatural entities are Either subordinate to, or simply manifestations of one Supreme Being

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